Nick wasn't a stranger to powerful people. He'd been dealing with them almost constantly since waking up during the Class Ceremony, and things had only gotten more intense from there.

He'd seen Marthas wield the power of a Grand Exorcist against a Fae Queen. He'd seen a Goddess descend from above, however limited she might have been by the mortal flesh she inhabited. Hell, Xander, who sat next to him, was essentially a walking nuclear bomb.

However, something about the man who walked in made him sit up and take notice.

He was strong, there was no doubt about that. A Prestige warrior of some kind, he could easily match Arthur at his peak. Yet, that wasn't what he noticed, no. It was his commanding presence. His emotions seemed to ripple and echo through the ether, not hidden like Tholm's, or muted like Xander's, but openly out in the open, touching and influencing everything around him.

If Nick were to describe it, he'd say the Duke was like a snowstorm. Cold, dangerous, and capable of destroying anything it touched, yet strangely captivating to watch and just as likely to leave greatness in its wake.

He was on his feet before he even realized it, and even Xander, who could probably kill the man with a single finger, stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Your Grace," Xander greeted, and Nick followed his lead, murmuring his own.

"Grandmaster, I assume this isn't a social call, or you would have chosen a more civilized time," the Duke replied in a low rumble. He wasn't annoyed, but it was clear he hadn't expected his evening to be interrupted like this.

Xander nodded. "Indeed, Your Grace. I have been distancing myself from social gatherings for some time, but I still remember my basic courtesies."

A faint smile crossed the Duke's face, softening his features just enough for Nick to see a vague resemblance to Bellamy. Both were blonde with wavy curls, but where Bellamy still had some baby fat on his face and a softer body, the duke was all hard lines and muscle, with a lean build that hinted at explosive power and speed if needed.

His cheekbones were high, and his nose straight, but his eyes were too intense for him to be considered handsome.

After apparently deciding that was enough of an introduction, the Duke settled into the armchair opposite theirs, propping up his chin on his fist as he looked at them. "If that's the case, I won't bother summoning a feast. My wife will be furious that you were here and she couldn't take advantage of your presence, but I'll spare you her anger if the story you came to tell me is entertaining enough."

Xander nodded calmly, seemingly unaffected by the subtle threat. Given what he was, he likely had no reason to worry, and Nick cared very little about his social standing, as long as it didn't come back to hurt his family.

"I'm sure you'll see soon why we had to come at this hour," Xander replied, before turning to Nick with a raised eyebrow. "Well, tell the Duke what you found out."

Suddenly, the focus was on Nick, and he felt his worries fade. After all, this couldn't be worse than fighting off a divine possession.

"Very well. Again, you have my apologies for the late hour, Your Grace, but this couldn't wait," he said with a steady voice, ignoring the two guards at the door, the hidden one watching above him, and the Duke's own piercing eyes.

"I am a student of the Magic Tower, and I was conducting a field test for one of my enchantments when I noticed a suspicious gathering of people and decided to follow them. By observing them, I learned of a plot to interfere with the auction that your House will hold, Your Grace."

The mild interest on the Duke's face faded away, and the atmosphere grew tense. "Explain."

Nick complied with the order without hesitation, describing what he had heard and seen happen, while emphasizing the level of coordination between gangs and the danger he felt when this Changer had possessed Anthony.

The Duke listened in silence, but his face grew more grim with each detail, and Nick could see his emotions warp the ether around them. It was a passive effect, but it was enough that he'd need to exert significant effort to draw from it for his spiritual magic. He hadn't realized this could happen, and while now was not the time to study the effect, it did mean he'd need to rethink a few things.

"And that is why I decided to go to the Grandmaster. My mentor at the Tower will, of course, have to be informed, but since it is technically an independent organization and only tangentially involved, I wanted the information to reach your ears as quickly as possible." When his mouth closed, a moment of silence passed as everyone considered the consequences.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Now for the moment of truth. Will you step up and show your leadership in front of Xander, or will you dismiss us and handle it quietly on your own?

"Number three," the Duke finally called, and the hidden guard that had been waiting above them materialized at his side.

"Sir!" The masked figure said as it kneeled beside him, its dark red eyes the only visible trait that wasn't hidden by clothing.

That's a beastman, Nick realized with some confusion. As far as he had seen, very few of their kind lived in Alluria compared to Floria, and he definitely hadn't expected to find one serving the Duke, yet even if the eyes hadn't been a dead giveaway, the subtle bumps above his head where his ears were confirmed it.

"I need this information to be confirmed within the hour, and I need to know why I wasn't told of this before," the Duke ordered in an icy tone, his chilling wrath radiating all around him.

The reaction seemed genuine enough, so Nick hoped he hadn't just interfered with some convoluted plot the man himself had set up, and that this was truly just enemy action.

Not that he could do much about it if it were, considering he'd been brought into the lion's den, but at least he was safe with Xander beside him.

"Yes, Your Grace," the masked beastman murmured before disappearing again. Nick easily tracked him across the castle as he hurried through secret tunnels and leapt from window to courtyard until he vanished into the city, his trail growing too faint to keep track of.

No teleportation for this one, then. And still, he's very close to Prestige. Enough to suggest he either can't cross the boundary on his own or is deliberately holding back.

The Tower was full of Prestige mages, enough to have mostly become a common sight for him, but even more common were those who had gained the necessary experience and simply couldn't advance because their Paths were out of sync with who they truly were.

They made for sorry sights, as they endlessly searched for ways to achieve the impossible, and it seemed they weren't unique to the Tower.

I guess working for someone like the Duke means having access to resources and opportunities that wouldn't be available if they were on their own. Serving him is probably worth it in that case.

"There, that's done," The Duke muttered, leaning back. His face was pinched, and it was clear he was well aware of the implications of such an operation happening right under his nose. Since he trusted his men to oversee the investigation, he probably didn't think they were incompetent, which left only two options.

A spy, or a gap in power so vast he couldn't bridge it.

If it were the first, he probably had several ideas about how to solve it. Nick had no doubt the Duke hadn't just hired these secret guards from the common rabble and had likely bound them with some magical oath.

But if it were the second option... Well, there was a ready-made solution right in the sitting room.

"Grandmaster, can I count on you for this?" He asked, wintry-blue eyes glowing under the crystal light.

Xander closed his eyes for a moment before nodding.

That, it seemed, was enough, so the Duke relaxed slightly, and they settled back to wait for new information.

Nick was pretty sure he had done his part and shouldn't be here for the rest, but since no one seemed willing to send him away, he'd stay as long as he could.

Eventually, a different hidden guard appeared and knelt before the Duke. "Your Grace."

"Number seven, report," the man grunted, though his interest was clear to all.

I really hope it's not a spy issue. If they dispute my findings now, this could get ugly.

It was unlikely he'd be physically harmed, not with Xander there, but it would no doubt be an unpleasant experience, which was the whole reason he would have preferred to just say his piece and let the adults handle it.

"We have identified four individuals in known gangs who have received objects matching the description provided," the guard began, but hesitated for a moment afterward, which made the Duke turn toward him with a glare.

"Well?! What happened?"

"Your Grace, all four individuals activated some kind of artifact and took their own lives rather than being caught, destroying the evidence and injuring several of the numbers that were sent out."

Xander's eyes cracked open just a hair at that, and the already tense atmosphere grew even heavier. "What artifact?"

The guard glanced in their direction, clearly unsure how much to reveal, but continued when the Duke didn't deny them. "There was a lot of pressure, as if too much magic was being forced into the air at once, and then it collapsed suddenly, erasing anything in a ten-foot radius. Two numbers lost limbs, and another a foot."

The Duke didn't seem any more pleased by that, but he still nodded. "Very well, continue the operations with this new information in mind. Try to capture at least one of these devices, and see if you can't stop these men from killing themselves."

The guard nodded and disappeared to carry out his bidding.

"Well, it looks like you were right, young mage," the Duke said, observing him with interest.

Ah, man.

There hadn't been much else he could do after that. He had given them everything he knew, including information about One-Ear, though not his location, since he didn't know it himself. He was then allowed to leave soon after with Xander, with the promise of future contacts.

The Duke had told them he'd gather more information before acting, but as they walked back to the manor, Xander told him that it was likely he was planning a purge of his ranks in search of a possible traitor.

High nobles sure are scary. He never showed a hint of distrust during the entire thing, and always seemed in control, but he's about to carry out an inquisition on his own men? Even my empathic sense didn't pick up on that.

It was possible, of course, that the Duke held no ill feelings toward his men at all and that he was simply acting out of habit.

If that were the case, he'd be even scarier than he initially seemed, which was already quite something.

Shaking his head, Nick dismissed that thought. He had done his part to inform them. What happened next was beyond his control.

More urgently, he needed to tell Archmage Tholm what had transpired now that it was morning and Xander had deemed it safe for him to leave.

I wish I could have stayed a little longer and spent more time with Devon, but I've already waited too long. I really should have gone to tell him the moment we got back from the castle.

Hopefully, the old mage wouldn't take it badly.