Tick... tick... tick...

Whirr... click... tchik...

The gears tightened—

CLACK!

And the machine erupted into a furious metallic ringing.

Tenth time today. And that was before accounting for the aggressive hissing from the gas pipe. No one could have predicted the Duke’s son sleeping so soundly on a bed that seemed to have survived a world war.

Leomaris was long gone, though. He’d spent his entire night combing through every ability he’d acquired as a Magician and working out how to make use of them.

Three hours of sleep at most. His alarm had been set to pull him up for the results at ten in the morning. It was nearly eleven now.

Tick... tick... tick...

Knock... knock...

Alarm eleven, paired with a concerning knock at the door, was what finally grabbed him. His head buzzed aggressively, as though his brain was being pierced by a thousand blades. He could hardly keep a straight face.

Checking the time on the antique clock by his bed, he immediately frowned.

"What? It’s 10 a.m. already?"

He scrambled to his feet, pushing the pain in his skull aside. Despite how much he disliked the room, a few days had made it something he was getting used to. It wasn’t a hospital bed, after all.

But that could change today.

Knock... knock...

More knocks came. Leomaris heard them and ignored them, not deliberately, but out of necessity. He wanted to be everywhere but where he currently was.

After nearly thirty minutes, Leomaris stood neatly dressed and campus-ready. Not overdressed, but carrying enough elegance to prove, without question, that he was the son of a Duke.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He reached out for the handle and twisted the door open. The face before him made him regret not opening it earlier.

It was Hazel. Her blue puppy eyes glistened with concern as her head darted in every direction. Worried sick, clearly, and to think she’d been standing there the whole time.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Are you okay, young master?" Her expression went flat. "No, you look perfectly healthy, young master."

"Yes, I am." Leomaris nodded certainly.

"I thought about checking your results for you, but I assumed you’d prefer to see them yourself, young master."

Leomaris smiled awkwardly. If she’d checked it for him, he’d have been very happy, his day was packed. He needed to speak with Raine, and today was also the perfect day for an encounter with Charlotte Greenwood, a key character in the story. The anxiety of what he might find, though, was sitting with him too.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"I believe in you, young master. I believe you have already topped the class."

"You think so?"

She smiled. "I wouldn’t have it any other way... young master."

He met her with a smile in kind as they made their way toward campus. Such results would have ordinarily been delivered to him through the academy’s personal newspaper, but that prestigious service wasn’t extended to someone without status. He’d have to find the campus pinboards and see it for himself.

Something else, however, was already on Leomaris’s mind before any of that. Something concerning Hazel.

"You bought your grimoire, correct?"

Hazel had clearly been sitting with something, a lot, by the look of it. She seemed to struggle with where to begin, but soon enough, she spoke.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"My money wasn’t enough to buy the grimoire. I thought it was 5,000... but it was actually 50,000 Crownsmark."

Leomaris could feel the weight of it crushing Hazel. Saving enough for a grimoire had been one of the very reasons she’d become a butler, and yet the original Leomaris had never truly paid her. Their situation had been dire enough to push Aaron, his other butler, to turn against him entirely and want him dead.

Now wasn’t any better, though. Leomaris was broke. His mother’s trust had been gained, but redemption wasn’t complete. The one who mattered most was his father, Godfrey. And the money he had on him wasn’t anywhere near the five thousand Hazel held.

"You can still use your ability, can’t you? Honestly, I’m glad you were able to find your grimoire here."

She nodded with certainty.

From the moment Samael showed interest in Hazel, Leomaris had suspected there was something unique about her. He was right on the money.

It wasn’t unheard of for humans to be born in proximity to a grimoire they were compatible with. The best example of this was Leomaris’s own fiancée, Raine.

However, there were cases where humans were born near creatures that had yet to be sealed. That was Hazel’s situation.

She was born somewhere near the Crimson Continent, to parents she never knew. And somewhere along the way, she’d found a creature her soul connected with before scholars had even discovered it, let alone sealed it in a grimoire.

The creature must have loved her deeply. Even without a contract, she carried the subtle magic of illusion. Once in a blue moon she could use it, and whenever she did, she’d lose her sense of direction for hours. Daily side effects left her either too heartless or far too trusting.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’She used that little illusion of hers to help me rescue Raine from the Unholy Priests... The least I can do is make sure she has her grimoire.’

Twisted as that might have made him, he had no intention of helping her out for free.

"I would like you to do something for me, Hazel. If you succeed, I will ensure you get the grimoire."

"Really? I will do anything. Just tell me..."

He smiled. He had a sister in this world already, and yet he’d have loved for Hazel to be one too. She was simply too cute to be a butler.

"Calm down, Hazel. You’ll know what to do soon enough."

His expression turned deadpan.

’I believe we are in the ’Fall of the Great Citadel’ arc. I wouldn’t normally involve myself, but I need to impress Rosemary and Godfrey. I must uphold the family tradition: playing both hero and villain. I’ll need Hazel’s help to clear the path. If I become a Calamity, getting her a grimoire within a month or two will be easy.’

—

Nearly an hour of navigating the streets before the pair finally reached the nearest pinboard. More crowded than expected, over twenty cadets beneath the canopy sheltering the board in an open pathway. Some looked amazed, some wept, some struggled for a view of the board, and some wore no expression at all.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

None of it mattered to Leomaris. He and Hazel approached the board, his eyes fixed immediately on the top five. Going through all two hundred listed students wasn’t something he intended.

Dazzled, shivering, heart battering against his chest like a caged bird, he stared. He’d never imagined finding himself back in the days where checking exam results carried this kind of tension.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Ah, young master... your name isn’t in the top five."

Hazel’s voice made his body flinch instinctively, like a snail doused with salt.

His eyes soon found the first five names: "First: Alfred Mathews, 490 points.

Second: Charlotte Greenwood, 488 points.

Third: Lucius Cutler, 480 points.

Fourth: Warner Black Nova, 478 points.

Fifth: Emerald Vernal Isle, 470 points."

His mind was too hazy to read on, and worse, he was rooted to the spot. Then Hazel spoke.

"Young master... I think something is wrong."

As she spoke, murmurs rippled through the crowd. "We have two number fives... this is history."

"I heard they will have to settle it with a duel since there cannot be more than five Calamities."

"I can’t wait to see it, though."

All of it was background noise for a moment. He needed to be a Calamity. Not just to escape that shithole of a room, but because it was the best position for him at this academy if surviving was the goal. Now, though, all his effort felt like it was crumbling. The position was still within reach, but not until the second semester.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"You are also fifth with 170 points, young master. I believe you are the ones they are referring to. You must settle this through a duel."

How those words reached him, he didn’t know, but relief coursed through him immediately. His eyes sparkled, and he finally regained his senses.

"Fifth? I see it now... what a relief. But wait... who’s Emerald?"

’That name sounds familiar somehow.’

His eyes lingered on the board longer than intended. Emerald wasn’t a named character in the novel, and yet the name felt too familiar. And now that his thoughts had cleared, he was beginning to notice other changes too.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

’What? Raine is supposed to be third... where is she? Fifteenth? What?!.. And where’s Alex? How is Lucius third? He’s not supposed to become a Calamity until next semester.’

Not changes to be sneezed at, but then again, his own existence at the academy had already altered things significantly. Two hundred students were admitted every year without exception, which meant his presence had displaced someone from the original story.

He didn’t want to dwell on it any longer, though. There was someone he needed to see at that very instant. Charlotte Greenwood. His only chance to make her an ally, and he needed to get to Beans and Blooms at Carter Plaza.