The Crown Prince In Hiding

Chapter 28

Black Moon Rising

Back to life at Artheris Academy.

Both Nora Ophilis and Rafinya Saint Pauli returned to their routine as second-year students. Before they knew it, the opening ceremony for first-year students was approaching, with entrance exams set to take place in less than a day.

And of course, now that everyone was back, the first place both of them would head after class was, without question, the natural sciences building.

Nora arrived to wait outside the building. She had heard the bell signaling the end of classes since three in the afternoon. However, when she reached the gate, she found Rafinya already there, leaning against the fence reading a book.

"No afternoon classes today?"

"None."

"Neither do I."

"The Knight Division, really?"

"They need the field to prepare for the new student entrance exams."

That explanation made sense. It was rare for Rafinya to have this much free time, a whole half-day like this.

So Princess Nora took out her own book to read as well.

After waiting a while, they lowered their books and saw Dan coming out of the faculty building, along with the students who had just been released.

The moment he stepped past the gate...

Nora/Rafinya: "Mr. Fury."

"...Ambushed right at the gate, huh."

Anfield

"So you told Senior Thomasin the truth?"

"Dragging it out any longer wouldn't have helped. Better to fight it out and get it over with, so we could finally start the excavation project."

Dan said as they headed back to the cabin.

"Dominic checked their backgrounds thoroughly. Neither of them is from a nation that dislikes Diablo, which made the decision much easier."

Casca. Mother. Casca. Raven. Nora. Us. Thomasin. Professor Pi'erre... seven people.

Rafinya counted silently in her head.

"So what are you having them do now?"

"Two things."

Dan said while searching for his key to unlock the cabin.

"Building the Warehouse, and drafting an excavation plan for Diablo to submit to me."

"Do you think you should hire more workers?"

"Excavating specimens is delicate work. We Diablo can't do it, kid."

"Too heavy-handed?"

"Go ask Rafinya if it's heavy-handed."

Nora turned to look at her. Rafinya's face carried a slight air of pride, as if to say 'not that bad.'

Which made the Princess narrow her eyes.

"Doesn't look like it was that heavy."

"Squad Captain level, Unit 7."

The more Rafinya talked, the prouder she seemed, her natural arrogance showing through.

"Once I have time, let's fight again. Round two."

Dan said, half-teasing Rafinya, as he slid the key into the cabin door.

"I'll reclaim my soldier's honor."

"But you're the one who told me to fight him..."

click

Dan cut the conversation short as the sound of a commotion came from inside.

"Before we go in, I should tell you something. The cabin's going to be especially loud today."

"Did Ms. Casca and Freya cross paths again?"

"That, and one more reason."

"What reason?"

"Turns out someone hitched a ride on the way back."

With that, Dan pushed the door open.

And the first thing all three of them saw was Casca Saint Maximin standing in an argument with Freya over laundry drying or something along those lines.

"Can't you see the fabric's still damp?! Damp, I said, damp! Do you understand?!"

"It's just one little patch, why make such a huge deal out of it!"

"No! Everything has to dry evenly!"

"Ugh, this woman's completely unhinged!"

And then the two of them started slapping at each other, a sight so familiar it barely registered anymore.

However, what was decidedly not familiar was the presence of a man also inside the cabin.

A man sitting comfortably sipping tea, as though the two-woman noise pollution had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever.

A young man with sleek, long white hair, a cream-colored suit, pale smooth skin, and expensively handsome features.

"Dominic?"

Both girls startled.

"Why are you here?"

"Good day, young misses."

Dominic set down his tea, put aside his newspaper, and waved a greeting.

"I just stopped by. I'll be heading out shortly, don't worry."

Dan set down his bag and glanced left and right, as though he'd expected more people to be here. He turned back to Dominic and asked.

"Are they all gone?"

"All released, yes."

"Released who? What are you talking about?"

Dominic rose and smoothed back his cream-white hair before explaining.

"I was just here to look after the kids, that's all."

"Your subordinates?"

"More accurately, subordinates of Princess Fiorentina."

"I thought Mr. Fury commanded the entire military?"

"He does. But this isn't the military. These are Intelligence."

He answered Rafinya, then let a moment of silence do its work.

The military and intelligence operated differently.

They had actually encountered them before, early on. Six Diablo spies in human form, scattered across every nation, every social class.

They were called SARQ.

SARQ was the highest-level covert intelligence and special operations organization of the Diablo Empire, founded and directly overseen under the command of Princess Fiorentina. They served as Diablo's "third eye" in human lands, operating under the philosophy that the survival of the empire came before all else, achieved through intelligence, infiltration, and the most cunning schemes possible.

And should the need arise, they could also provide support to Diablo abroad, such as Fury's own arrival.

"The more we open our nation, the more we understand it's essentially inviting an enemy right into our home. So we need to start deploying them now, and we'll keep sending more. This is generation two."

Not every demon could join this unit. Those selected had to pass through a selection process that was hellish beyond description.

They had to suppress their demonic aura completely, 100 percent, even while asleep, or even at the brink of death.

They had to understand human thought, behavior, and desire with profound depth, in order to play the role of a human flawlessly, without ever slipping back into viewing humans as mere "prey."

They needed genius-level patience, able to calmly maintain a disguise as "a lazy ordinary person" or "an invisible nobody" for years on end, waiting for that one split second to relay critical intelligence... or more than that, to eliminate a target.

Diablo who served as SARQ would never have their names or identities revealed to the public.

"That last part is the standard system, as it should be. But for us right now, I think it might not be..."

"Why is that?"

"Miss Rafinya probably knows the answer best."

At that moment, everyone in the house turned to look at Rafinya.

"One of our SARQ happened to become acquainted with you, miss."

And then Dominic's eyes shifted toward the back of the room. He gave a firm, commanding order.

"Come out."

The figure of a young man slowly slunk out from behind the bookshelf, hands clasped behind his back.

Yildiz.

Rafinya's eyes went wide with the most intense shock she'd ever felt.

The slouching posture and the lazy, hunched walk with drowsy eyes had vanished entirely. His back was perfectly straight. His stride was silent and elegant, like a black panther on the hunt.

"Yildiz is one of our SARQ."

And most notably, his current appearance was almost unrecognizable from the island. His hair was neatly trimmed. His stubble was clean-shaven. His black clothes were immaculate and crisp. His nails were manicured and neat. He looked every bit the handsome Velmount man.

The pieces clicked together in her mind in a split second.

"His companions have all dispersed elsewhere, but the reason he's still here is because he'll be stationed at Artheris."

"...You're joking, right?"

Rafinya's face drained of color, while Yildiz remained perfectly composed. She might as well accept that fate wasn't going to let go of her that easily.

"So what will he be stationed as, at... Ar...the...ris..."

When Princess Nora looked down at what Yildiz held out for her to see.

Her eyes went wide.

What Yildiz was holding, Dan and Freya had once held themselves.

It was an Artheris Academy entrance exam application, already paid in full.

Which meant that tomorrow... Yildiz would infiltrate Artheris Academy as a student.

He would become the incoming first-year junior to all three of them.

Rafinya pulled the application form to see it with her own eyes.

Applicant name: Sauce Gardner.

"What kind of lunatic names their kid Sauce? Sauce like barbecue sauce? Is he an idiot?"

Dominic flinched, because he was the one who had come up with that name, though he'd never told anyone, and he had no intention of admitting it now.

"It's catchy though. Kind of like your name."

Rafinya handed the application back, shaking her head.

And in that single fleeting exchange... it did not escape the notice of Princess Nora Ophilis, Casca Saint Maximin, and Zeedee Lamb. All three of them raised an eyebrow, sensing something.

"This generation of SARQ only sent four operatives, and Yildiz is one of them. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask someone to help show him around."

"Sure."

Dan didn't refuse.

"Come with me."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Sauce gave a small, respectful bow.

"Or we could have Rafinya help him out."

Princess Nora suddenly threw that out casually, making the person referenced twitch an eyebrow, her face hardening into a scowl.

"What's that about?"

"Nothing, just saying. Isn't Mr. Fury supposed to be busy these days?"

"This is our internal business. It's fine."

"It's just showing him around the school, that shouldn't cause any harm, right?"

"Casca?"

Dan raised an eyebrow.

"Have someone else handle it. He's already trained. He'll get around far more smoothly than you and this rotten mushroom combined. Just walk him to the front gate, that's all."

"Hmm..."

Dan turned to Rafinya.

It was obvious that his star pupil was shaking her head in refusal. Understanding this, he was about to turn and argue with his wife.

But behind Rafinya, Nora was nodding and giving him a signal, her expression strongly suggesting he should listen to Casca.

What in the world were these people playing at...

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