Trafalgar looked at Selara for a moment.

That was certainly one way to describe someone.

"A unique way to put it," he said. "But who is she?"

Selara’s expression still carried clear disgust, the kind that did not fit her usual chaotic cheer. She folded her arms, fingers tapping once against her sleeve as if the name itself had made her skin itch.

"Merisse Varn. Alchemist. Engineer. Very talented, unfortunately. Just like many people going to Aurevane, she knows how to make things that should never be placed in the hands of unstable people." Selara clicked her tongue. "And she was one of the people who helped build this train, which means she knows too much about its structure."

Trafalgar’s gaze shifted toward the sealed door.

"Shit," Selara added, quieter this time, as if the thought had only finished settling in her own head.

"You have history with her?"

"Aside from what I just said?" Selara’s mouth curled with irritation. "She was removed from several projects years ago. Officially, reckless conduct. Unofficially, she did something she absolutely should not have done, and the people funding that project decided pretending morality existed would be useful for their reputation."

Trafalgar raised a brow.

"That sounds familiar."

"Yes, the alchemical world is full of brilliant idiots, rich cowards, and people who call it research when they should be calling it a crime." Selara looked toward the sleeping students spread around the room. "Merisse was never the worst of them, but that almost makes her more annoying. She knows where the line is. She crosses it with measurements."

Trafalgar absorbed that.

If Merisse had helped create the train, then the attack was not only planned around the storm. It had probably been planned around every weakness she remembered. The explosion near the mithril-reinforced cargo wagon suddenly made far more sense.

"What do we do?" he asked.

Selara’s gaze hardened.

"If you want to find my master, the Conclave needs to happen. If Aurevane closes down, if the delegation turns back, or if the event is delayed, our opportunity may disappear." She inhaled through her nose, forcing the anger back under control. "So we fix this."

"That simple?"

"No. But I prefer simple goals when the situation is awful." Selara moved toward one of the students and adjusted the protective seal over the floor near him with her foot. "Also, I received information through the train’s emergency channel. The new force from the Council is already moving toward us. The Concordant Wardens are on their way."

Trafalgar’s expression changed slightly.

"That is good."

"It is," Selara said. "But they will take time. The storm is slowing everyone. Even if they have better equipment than normal guards, this is still a half-disabled train in the middle of a snow region."

"I handled five already."

Selara turned toward him.

"Five?"

"Six came into my wagon."

Selara stared for a moment, then pointed a finger at him.

"Of course. Of course you did. I leave you alone for half a trip and you turn a passenger car into a morgue."

"They attacked first."

"That is usually how your excuses begin."

Before Trafalgar could answer, someone knocked on the sealed door.

Selara’s hand moved instantly.

A mana firearm formed beside her, compact and elegant, the barrel glowing with layered circles of green light. The whole room seemed to hold its breath around it.

From the other side came a familiar voice.

"Young Master. The lower floor is clear. There are five civilian casualties. One of them is a woman who was..."

Trafalgar opened the door before Caelum could finish.

"Don’t finish that word. Come in."

Caelum stepped inside.

He still wore the golden-eyed disguise and the stolen attacker’s clothes, though now there was blood along one cuff and a small cut near the collar that almost certainly did not come from him. His posture remained calm enough to be insulting.

Selara looked from him to Trafalgar.

"Who is this?"

"A train waiter," Trafalgar said.

Selara opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"Right. Of course. A waiter." Her gaze moved down Caelum’s bloodstained sleeve. "Very common service quality these days."

Caelum inclined his head politely.

"Director Selara."

Selara looked at Trafalgar again.

"I am not even going to ask."

"That is probably wise."

"It usually is with you."

Trafalgar turned toward Caelum. "Lower floor?"

"Secure for now," Caelum replied. "Several passengers remain unconscious. I found two attackers already dead before I arrived. Likely resistance from armed guests. Three more were active. They have been removed."

Selara narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Removed."

Caelum gave her a courteous look. "Permanently."

"Wonderful. My students are safer with the murderer waiter than with half the official guards."

"Thank you."

"That was not praise."

Caelum did not seem bothered.

Trafalgar brought the conversation back before Selara could keep going.

"So? Do we wait for the Council force or move?"

Selara’s expression lost the sarcasm.

"We move. If Merisse is opening that cargo wagon, we cannot wait. Whatever is inside was protected for a reason, and if she gets it before the Wardens arrive, this becomes much worse."

For the first time, Selara hesitated.

Her eyes moved to the students.

The room held several of them, all asleep beneath the thin greenish film she had laid across the floor and walls. Some were still pale from the gas. One of the summoners stirred faintly but did not wake. The barrier she had made kept the air clearer here, but it required attention.

Trafalgar followed her gaze.

"Stay here, Director Selara."

She did not answer immediately.

"You said it yourself," he continued. "You have to protect the students. If anyone breaks in while you are gone, they are dead weight against people who came prepared."

Selara’s jaw tightened because he was right, and she hated that.

She looked at him again.

"Be careful with Merisse. She has curious toys, and by curious I mean things that bite, cut, explode, crawl, cling, and sometimes do all of those at once."

Trafalgar’s face went flat. "That sounds annoying."

Caelum glanced toward the hall.

"Young Master, if the cargo team is already working, every minute we spend here increases the chance that they either open the sealed case or prepare their escape."

Trafalgar nodded.

"Right."

Selara stepped closer before he left.

"Trafalgar."

He turned his head.

"If you find the blueprints, do not let them burn. If you find the sealed case, do not open it unless there is no other choice. And if Merisse starts smiling, assume you have already stepped into something."

"That useful?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"It has kept people alive before."

Selara lifted the mana firearm again, not toward him this time, but toward the door behind them.

"I will hold this room. If anyone tries to enter, they will regret it creatively."

Trafalgar adjusted the breathing mask and looked at Caelum.

"We are going."

"Understood, Young Master."

The two left the sealed room behind.

The corridor outside felt colder now. The storm pressed against the windows in white sheets, and the train continued to groan under the strain of damaged mana lines and emergency seals. Somewhere farther ahead, beyond the private rooms and the ruined restaurant, people were trying to steal something important enough to cripple a Council-regulated train in the middle of a snowstorm.

Trafalgar walked with the stolen sword at his side while Caelum moved beside him in perfect silence.

Their destination was clear.

The mithril-reinforced cargo wagon.