After leaving the prison, Cale headed straight home. He had been under constant pressure over the last few days, afraid of saying or doing something wrong. Especially since he had been assigned to guard Jonat Paseru. Only when his old master had left the royal house could Cale relax again.

  If it weren't for the situation with Karekama.

  On his way home, he contacted the Eldest and informed him of the current situation. Above all, Cale revealed his suspicion that the religious groups from Winstest might have played a much greater role than he had previously assumed. Especially reguarding the fact that there had been break-ins at the Magistrat in Cale's past life that had never been fully clarified.

  At the time, Cale had not taken a closer interest in the matter, which annoyed him greatly in retrospect. It was one of many things he should have observed more closely.

  Together with the Eldest, Cale compared their stories in case Karekama became a major topic of conversation between the countries. In addition, the Eldest also initiated an investigation of all the magicians currently working for the Magistrat - which there were quite a few.

  After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he chatted briefly with Fengari before Cale set off for the palace again. Just because Jonat Paseru had been acquitted did not mean that his work was done. The verdict for the members of the Mornet ducal family would be announced tomorrow, and Cale had to take a closer look at the lists of children.

  Even though he had absolutely no interest in doing so, someone had to do it.

  So Cale spent pretty much the entire night at the royal palace, meticulously organizing his documents. After all, his work would be used as evidence against the Duke of Mornet, so he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

  "Zod?", the advisor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

  Zod looked up in surprise before realizing that the day had already dawned. A quick glance at the window also revealed that it was much later than expected and... that the time pressure had reached a new peak.

  "Good morning", Zod said hesitantly. "Looks like class is over. How was it?"

  "Unspectacular, with the difference that Prince William will be joining my lessons starting today."

  "Oh, really? Isn't he a little too young for that?", Cale replied, returning to his work.

  "King Leonhardt insisted. Whether it's really a good idea is another question. Do you know where Loys has gone? He wasn't in his office?"

  "He's with King Leonhardt. They've been talking to the Duke of Nihmskell for an hour. Don't ask me why."

  "I can guess why", Julius replied, grabbing a random sheet from one of the dozens of stacks. "What's all this?"

  "It's information about the children", he said half-heartedly.

  Even though Cale would much rather have concentrated on his work, yesterday's conversation came back to his mind. Especially the fact that he had been rude to Loys.

  With a loud sigh, he put his pen aside and gave Julius his full attention.

  "Please don't mess things up here. It took me hours to work through all the information."

  "I don't doubt that", Julius replied. "I knew it would be a lot, but this exceeds my expectations. How did you document it?"

  "I've divided the lists into two main sections. One contains descriptions of the abducted children and the other contains missing persons reports. The missing persons reports are the slips of paper in front of us", Cale began to explain, pointing to the table covered with sheets of paper. "I went through them all and sorted them by year and date, so the most recent ones are at the front. After all, it's more likely that these children are still alive than children who disappeared three years ago, if you know what I mean."

  "Sounds logical, yes. And the rest?"

  "These are the reports from the soldiers in Mornet. I've separated them into three categories. Children who could give their first and last names, children who only knew their first names or could say roughly where they came from, and the hopeless cases. There are so many children where it's really difficult to find their families."

  "And all the numbers?"

  "I assigned each child a number to make it easier for me to keep track. Then I started systematically working through the numbers and trying to match them to the missing persons reports."

  "Have you been successful so far?"

  "Yes", Cale confirmed, pointing to the small stack of documents he had piled up on his desk. "I only started matching them recently, which is why I'm not that far along yet. It was more important to me to get an overview of everything before I dove into the actual work."

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  "Makes sense", Julius replied, letting his gaze wander over all the documents that had taken over his office, when he seemed to realize something. "How long have you been working on this?"

  But before Cale could reply, he sensed Loys approaching the office and fell silent. His expression must have been telling, because Julius immediately noticed a change in his mood.

  "What is it?", Julius asked as the door behind him opened a moment later and Loys entered. "Loys?"

  "Good morning", Loys announced.

  "Where have you been, if I may ask?"

  "Preventing a major drama", Loys replied simply, closing the door and taking a seat on the nearest chair - while Julius watched him in confusion. "I was told that you worked on the reports all night. How far along are you?"

  "Almost done...", Cale began, gesturing toward a stack of documents.

  "But?"

  "There are some children I can't identify. Names and appearances... aren't enough to make a clear identification."

  "Then leave them open for now until we have more information from Mornet", Loys instructed, leaning forward slightly and reaching for the stack lying a meter in front of him. "Feel free to refer to Julius or me if there are any problems."

  "I will", Cale confirmed and sat back down at his desk. "Has a decision been made yet about what will happen to the Mornet ducal family?"

  "Not yet, they're still discussing it."

  "How come you're not there?", Julius interjected.

  "I was more or less thrown out", Loys replied.

  "Thrown out? Why?", Julius countered in surprise.

  "Because my noble title means I have connections to Mornet, and they're afraid I might interpret the outcome in their favor."

  "That's outrageous! We do all the work, but when it comes to the decision, they ignore our words?"

  "That's exactly how it is", Loys confirmed with a nod.

  "Insane", Julius muttered before he began to curse quietly.

  Since the discovery, Julius also seemed to have lost all patience. This was probably also a subliminal trigger for why Julius was dismissive of Jonat Paseru most of the time, even though reasoning is his greatest strength. At least, that's how it always seemed to Cale when he had talked to Julius in the past.

  Especially considering the fact that Julius was able to expose Fengari's cat form without any outside help.

  Nostalgia overwhelmed Cale at this thought, and he couldn't help but grin. Seeing Loys and Julius inevitably reminded him of Grischa and Aaron.

  "Zod...", Loys spoke cautiously, causing Cale to look up at him. "I... need to apologize for what happened yesterday. I have to admit, I underestimated the situation from the start and... after Mornet, I was rather unfair to you. That really wasn't best side and I'm sincerely sorry."

  "I wasn't fair to you either", Zod replied, relieved that Loys had apologized first. "I was always aware that you keep King Leonhardt informed about everything important, and... Karekama is one of those things. I should have been more careful myself and shouldn't have taken it out on you yesterday. I'm sorry."

  "It's okay...", Loys said hesitantly. "I'm very grateful that you kept an eye on King Leonhardt and Julius despite everything. Really."

  "Don't mention it", Cale replied, leaning back.

  When he had talked to Fengari yesterday, she had given him a long lecture about how rude Cale had been to Julius and Loys. If even a dragon could see that, then Cale had really behaved badly over the last few days and couldn't use the excuse that he was stressed.

  After all, they were all stressed.

  , he thought to himself and closed his eyes.

  First there was concern about Jonat Paseru, then the attackers from Winstest, and now the children's lists. There was a lot going on, and what made the whole thing worse was the fact that the High-Magicians would be visiting in the coming days. Cale had actually planned to prepare at least Loy discreetly for the conversation - but with his actions, he had achieved quite the opposite.

  The longer they knew each other, the more cautious Loys became.

  "Do you have any plans for today?", Zod asked, opening his eyes. "I don't know about you, but I could use a break. How about we have dinner together tonight?"

  "Dinner?", Loys and Julius repeated at the same time.

  "Don't tell me you never do that."

  "It's not that we've never done it before, it's just that eating..."

  "Oh, by the gods. Was that an impolite question on my part?", Cale interrupted his superior. "In Altona, it is customary to dine with friends and colleagues. Not just with one's own family."

  "That's not what Loys meant. It's a little difficult to move around the city unrecognized as an advisor to the king", Julius explained calmly, and for a few moments there was complete silence.

  It took Cale a moment to realize that the two in front of him had probably been seen by the public hundreds of times and were therefore celebrities. Julius and Loys were in a similar position to the High-Magicians of the Magistrat Council, but since Cale was rarely, if ever, in that position, he had simply forgotten.

  "That's right", he muttered in response, raising his hand to his mouth and clearing his throat with amusement. Sometimes he overlooked the most obvious things. "I hadn't thought of that. How about I invite you to my place and cook for us? We should be undisturbed there, even if my quarters are truly not large."

  "Ho? Well, that sounds a lot more tempting."

  "Well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to accept the offer as well", Julius confirmed the statement again in clear words and sighed, as if the thought of a quiet evening relaxed him. "Even though I feel bad that you're playing servant for us."

  "Oh, don't worry about it", Cale quickly countered. "Killing creatures hasn't been my only leisure activity, you know. I really enjoy cooking."

  "Really? How come?"

  "I don't know why. I kind of stumbled into it by accident and have liked it ever since. Cooking... always makes me feel like I'm doing something productive and somehow just makes me happy."

  "That's a completely different, harmless side of you. Did your mother...?", Julius asked before he realized what he was saying and awkwardly stopped.

  "Ah, no. She didn't. When I was younger, I was looking for work and ended up at a... restaurant. The owner was a chef and taught me pretty much everything I know now. It was a very nice time, I must admit."

  "He must be a really kind - hearted person."

  "He was, definitely", Cale replied calmly and closed his eyes.

  He thought of Henry, who had been like an anchor in a storm for Cale and had steered his life in the right direction. What he could never have from Vincent and Olivia, he had certainly received from the mothers at the orphanage and from Henry. They were the ones who raised him when his biological parents couldn't.