Tori Transmigrated

Chapter 154: She Has Crystal Fatigue; She's Not Dead

“Guevera!” Gideon rushed forward and extended his arms, but he was too far away. Guevara seemed to crumple into herself, and her head hit the ground. Sir Atienza managed to grab her to soften the blow, but Gideon grimaced. Sir Atienza put his hand under her head and frowned.

The tall knight looked over his shoulder and shouted. “Bring the carriage closer and contact His Highness!”

His Highness he was referring to was Piers. Gideon felt his heart tighten as he looked at the pale young woman in the blue robes. All he had seen was a blue blur sprinting towards the collapsing schoolhouse. His own reaction wasn’t as quick. He’d just stood there, stunned to see the roof collapsing. He’d done nothing.

“Sirs, what happened to the Countess?” The Abbess made her way through the crowd that had gathered. Gideon looked around. He’d been so caught up in the moment watching Guevera use crystals to remove most of the debris blocking the doorway into the classroom that he hadn’t noticed that nearly all the guests who had been sitting in the benches had gotten up and come closer.

All around him, nuns were gathering children into groups and comforting them. The Abbess knelt beside Guevera.

“The Countess is proficient in crystals, but she is still a student. She overexerted herself and has crystal fatigue,” Sir Atienza said. Gideon didn’t know if he was so calm because everyone else was panicking or if it was because he expected such a thing to happen to Guevera after she exerted herself. Whatever the reason, his brother’s knights deserved to be his brother’s knights.

“Will she be all right?” A small voice asked from the crowd of small children trying to look past the nuns corralling them.

Sir Atienza gave the children a comforting look. “Of course, she’ll be all right. She’s only tired. After a nap, she’ll be awake and ready to go.”

“Will there be any lasting side effects?” The low, tight voice came from behind him, and Gideon turned around. Prime Minister Guthry was pale as he looked at Guevera.

Two of Piers' knights seemed to move in front of them, as if to block Guevera from their sight. Their faces were dark, and they looked at the Prime Minister with disapproval.

“Prime Minister, if you’ll excuse us, we must take the Countess to the palace to rest,” one of them said.

“We can make room! The palace is so far! Let the Countess rest in the abbey.” Another nun rushed forward, and Gideon recognized her as the nun who had shown Guevera around when they arrived.

Sir Atienza was already standing, lifting up Guevera across his arms. His lips were in a tight frown, and he shook his head. Another knight was beside him and moving Guevera’s arms so that her hand clutching her bracelet was carefully resting on her stomach. Gideon wondered how much his brother’s knights knew about Guevera that they’d be so cautious when caring for her to the point that they knew the importance of that bracelet.

Sir Atienza shook his head at the nun. “No, His Highness Prince Piers would prefer that the Countess be taken to the palace to rest and be checked by imperial doctors.”

The weight of Piers’ name seemed to block all other attempts to stop them from leaving. It was as if his brother gave the order from his own mouth. It also stressed Guevera’s importance to his brother.

“Your Highness,” one of Gideon’s knights said behind him. “We must go with them. You were only to stay as long as the Countess stayed.”

Gideon nodded. He took a step forward to follow, but felt a small hand grab his wrist.

“Gideon, are you leaving?” Alessa pulled him back and gave him a desperate look.

He hesitated. “I’m sorry, I can’t stay long.”

“Gideon, we can really use your presence to help calm the crowd,” Fabian said. He motioned to the side and Gideon’s eyes swept across the dozens of guests muttering amongst themselves and the children who were crying, sniffling, or being checked for any injuries.

Already, there were a few who had cuts and bruises from when parts of the ceiling caved in and pieces flew out at them. The worst seemed to be a boy who couldn’t walk and was laying on the ground, being checked by one of Piers’ knights. Someone was calling for a doctor; the boy’s leg had been crushed by a beam.

He wanted to stay. A small voice in the back of his mind was keeping him rooted in place. He had to stay and calm the crowd, if only to help reassert order and stop Alessa’s opening from becoming even more of a disaster.

You should help your friends as much as you can when it is needed, but you cannot do everything for them. You will only make them too reliant on you. They should not be made helpless because of your affection. His brother's words echoed in his head. Piers had spoken to him more recently, and Gideon took all his words to heart.

Gideon’s eyes narrowed. He looked towards one of his knights. “Call for an imperial doctor to come here to check on all the children at once. Request assistance from the Imperial Engineering Commission to inspect the buildings and find out what happened,” he said in a cold voice. One of his knights bowed his head.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Fabian!” Gideon called his friend and Fabian rushed forward. “Wait here for the imperial doctor and if anything, else is needed call me.”

“You’re leaving?” Fabian looked at him with surprise. “But we need you to help calm the crowd!”

“The nuns will take care of the children and Alessa is the hostess; she has to be the one to calm the crowd,” Gideon said, looking towards her. “You are Baroness Hart and this is your project. You can and will take control and calm the crowd. I believe you can.”

Alessa seemed hesitant and her grip on his arm tightened, but she lowered her head and nodded.

“You’re right. I am the hostess. This is my responsibility.” She still hadn’t released his arm. She lifted her head and gave him a pleading look. “But must you leave? Everyone is nervous and a few words from a prince would calm them. Even if you don’t say a word, they will be relieved to see you.”

Gideon held his breath. It wouldn’t hurt to stay, would it? It would show Alessa had backing. At the very least, it would give her more confidence.

“Your Highness,” his knight spoke in a low voice. “We must go. The Countess has been taken to the carriage.” The knight paused. “His Highness the first prince will want to speak to you.”

Gideon tensed. He looked at Alessa and took her hands. “I need to go. Guevera is injured and if I don’t return with her, my brother will be furious. He holds her in a favorable position and if something happens to her, he will be angry.”

Alessa lowered her head once more. “I see....”

“But I’m not going to let this go. The Imperial Engineers will find out what happened, and we’ll find the party who caused this,” Gideon assured her. He looked back at Fabian. “Take care of her and wait for the doctor.”

He let go of Alessa’s hands and gave a small bow of his head to the Prime Minister and the Abbess before heading to the awaiting carriage. The knights quickly mounted, and they rushed off.

Inside the carriage, Gideon looked at Guevera lying across from him and propped up by pillows. The bells were still on her ankles and wrists, but her hand was holding the gold bracelet with the crystals.

Sir Granger, one of Piers’ knights, sat on the floor with his back to Guevera, and seemed to act as a brace to keep her from rolling off the carriage bench in case of a sudden stop. Her plain canvas bag that she had brought with her was next to him.

A glowing comcry was in his hand. “Thank you, Captain. We appreciate the escort.”

“I will inform Her Majesty of Countess Guevera’s condition,” a man’s voice replied from the comcry. “A room will be ready for her and a doctor on standby.”

Gideon fumbled with his own comcry. “Has my brother been contacted yet?” Gideon asked as Sir Granger ended the call.

“Not yet, Your Highness. He is not answering.”

Gideon frowned. He picked up his comcry. “Call Piers du Soleil.” The crystal pulsed for several counts, but no one picked up. Gideon swiped his finger across. “Call Axton Alvere.” The same thing. No one answered. Gideon tapped his foot impatiently. He knew he needed to tell them what happened, but he was told they’d be at some meeting most of the day.

If that were the case, they likely couldn’t get through for some time.

“Call Lions Gate Duel.” Gideon lifted his head and looked at Sir Granger. His comcry flashed once before someone answered.

“This is Lions Gate Duel. How may I help you?”

“Captain Somerset,” Sir Granger greeted in a respectful voice. “This is Sir Granger, escort of Prince Piers. Is Lady Agafonova present and available to speak to?”

“Yes, she just arrived with the others, Sir Granger. Please wait a moment.” There was silence for a while and Gideon could hear vague, muffled voices. Then, a young woman’s voice answered.

“Hello, Sir Granger, is something the matter?”

Gideon didn’t know if Agafonova sensed something was wrong at once, but her voice was laced with trepidation.

“My lady, there was an incident at the abbey this morning. Countess Guevera stepped in to save orphans and overexerted herself. She fainted due to crystal fatigue.”

“She what! Is she hurt elsewhere? Where is she now? I’ll come at once-”

“Lady Agafonova, rest assured, she is with us on the way to the imperial palace. I have already contacted the palace and they are preparing a room and an imperial doctor will be waiting,” Sir Granger almost seemed to report. “We are in the process of contacting His Highness. Would you be able to contact Madam Biancci about her niece’s condition?”

“Yes, I’ll contact her right now. I will arrange my work here and then rush to the palace. Please inform them of my arrival.”

Gideon blinked and drew his head back. That was rather daring of Agafonova to invite herself to the imperial palace. It wasn’t a normal residence she could just go to uninvited.

“Yes, my lady. I will inform them of your arrival and the possible arrival of Madam Biancci.”

Gideon stared at Sir Granger in horror. Did he just agree? Didn’t need to go through the appropriate channels? Gideon could understand if Guevera had such privilege, but Agafonova wasn’t tied to the imperial family in any way.

When Sir Granger ended the call, he looked towards Gideon. “Your Highness, please continue to call His Highness Prince Piers. I will continue to try to contact Duke Alvere.”

Gideon nodded his head and slid his finger over the crystal. If this were a few months ago, he doubted Piers would answer even if he saw the comcry flashing, but in recent weeks, Piers had answered him every time he called.

Gideon tried to restrain himself and not call for unimportant matters so as not to bother his brother, but this was a legitimate reason.

He continued to call, and it wasn’t until they were halfway to the palace and well past Horizon’s gates that Piers answered his comcry.

“What is it?” Piers sounded a bit annoyed.

“Piers, Guevera tried to save orphans and got crystal shock. She passed out and-”

“Bring her to the palace.” The annoyance in his brother’s voice disappeared at once. His voice became stern and authoritative. He was giving an order and Gideon felt his heart thump.

He was filled with a sudden swell of admiration. His brother was made to rule.

“Yes, Piers! We’re on our way there right now!” Gideon told him earnestly. “Sir Granger has called ahead and there will be a room and an imperial doctor waiting. He has also managed to call Lady Agafonova.”

“Make room for Lady Ilyana, Miss Sonia, Ewan, and Nanny Rey.”

Gideon knit his brows together and drew his head back. “Why-”

“They will come to see Tori. Heed my order, Gideon.” The comcry call ended and Gideon stared at it. Did his brother not question her friends at all?

“...Yes, His Highness also requested a spare room for Lady Agafonova, Miss Vissage, Ewan Conner, and Commander Reystrom.” Sir Granger was back to speaking on his comcry and Gideon looked across the cabin at him. “Madam Biancci will likely come, but will not stay the night as she has two children at home.”

“We will have the rooms prepared, Sir Granger.”

After the call ended, Gideon looked at Sir Granger. “None of you questioned allowing them into the palace?”

“They are approved guests of His Highness Prince Piers,” Sir Granger told him with a serious look. “In the case that Countess Guevera is injured and must be taken to the palace, there is a list of people approved for access to see her. It has been approved not only by His Highness, but Their Majesties, and Countess Guevera herself.”

Gideon narrowed his eyes. “My brother had such a list approved?”

Sir Granger nodded. “Countess Guevera is a special case.”

Ilyana grasped the counter and nearly slumped over. Her friends surrounded her with varying looks of concern.

“Albert, call Nanny Rey. JP, call Auntie Lucia,” Sonia said as she moved closer to Ilyana and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. She looked towards the guards that were lingering around. They were Ilyana’s usual guards when she traveled and were now used as semi-permanent escorts. “Please have Mr. Novak prepare a carriage to bring us to the imperial palace.”

“Ilyana, she’ll be fine,” Ewan said, patting Ilyana’s shoulder. “It’s crystal fatigue, not shock.”

Ilyana shut her eyes. “I knew she shouldn’t have gone to that stupid opening!”

“She wanted to go. If Tori wants to do something, she’s going to do it,” Henrik said. “How should we tell our guests to reschedule-”

“No!” Ilyana’s eyes flew open, and she looked at Henrik. “Tori said that no matter what we have to open on time, even if we open without her.”

Henrik frowned. “They’re going to ask where she is-”

“Then tell them that she got sick last minute and can’t come,” Ilyana replied. “Tori wants to open on time, and she’ll be angry if we delay it because of her.”

“You know she’s right,” Sonia told him.

“Henrik, you had several soft opens for experience. You can run the grand opening by yourself,” Ilyana said.

Henrik’s eyes went wide, and his face filled with momentary panic. “I can’t run it by myself.”

“You have Albert and JP with you,” Sonia told him. “The last few weeks, Ilyana and Tori haven’t helped. They just stood to the side and took notes. You’ve run all the soft openings and know what you’re doing. Tori trusts you.”

“It can open without me and Tori, but it can’t open without you,” Ilyana said, clamping a firm hand on his shoulder. “Sonia and Ewan can come with me to the palace to check on Tori. You oversee the grand opening.”

Ewan looked at Henrik’s hesitant face and gave him a reassuring look. “It’s what she’d want.”

Henrik crinkled his eyes and shot him a glare. “She has crystal fatigue; she’s not dead. Don’t say it like that!” Sonia and Ilyana also gave Ewan a look. He blushed and shrank back. Henrik rubbed his head. “All right. You three go to the palace and keep us updated on her condition. JP, Albert, and I will take care of Duel’s opening. If anyone asks, Tori got a cold, and you all went to check on her.”

“As long as she’s stabilized, I’ll send Sonia and Ewan back,” Ilyana said. “Tori will be fine.” She wasn’t sure if she was saying it to reassure them or to reassure herself.

The group split up and by the time she, Sonia, and Ewan reached the imperial palace, Auntie Lucia had already arrived along with Nanny Rey. Tori was still en route, and they waited at the southern gatehouse for the imperial carriage to arrive.

Ilyana saw several servants around a tall, narrow bed with wheels at the top of the steps, waiting. The Empress was standing at the top of the stairs with an unusually serious look on her face. The carriage seemed to take a long time to arrive and when it finally did, Ilyana had to be restrained to keep from running down to see Tori.

Sir Granger passed her unconscious friend to Sir Atienza, who carried her up to the wheeled bed.

Tori’s room was on the ground floor in a near-by guest wing. Her usual room was upstairs, but this was more convenient. Ilyana was relieved that Tori wasn’t wounded, though the doctor did say that she had a bit of a lump on the back of her head from when she fell. It shouldn’t have been anything serious.

Ilyana, Sonia, and Ewan stood in the corner of the large room, watching as doctors and a crystal master checked on Tori. Aside from her slight lump, Tori really just had crystal fatigue and was expected to wake up in a few hours, after her body rested. The entire room seemed to let out a breath of relief.

Nanny Rey stayed to guard and Auntie Lucia went home, noting that she had to report this incident to her brother. Ilyana could only imagine the Marquis’ irritation. The Empress told Auntie Lucia that if the Marquis and his wife had questions, they could call her directly.

Ilyana was sure this was said not as the Empress, but as the friend of Tori’s mother.

The Empress then had food delivered for everyone and allowed Ilyana and the others to remain in the room. Ilyana and the others ate in silence. No one was in the mood to talk. After lunch, Tori was still asleep and Ilyana tried to convince Sonia and Ewan to return, but they refused.

“Henrik and the others will be fine,” Sonia told her. “I’m more concerned about you.”

“Me?” Ilyana drew her head back.

“You might go out and attack Hart and her little friends,” Sonia said in a deadpan voice. Ilyana cracked a small, sad smile.

“It’s not too late to do so at school.”

“Don’t joke about such a thing. You should keep your safety in mind, or you’ll worry my sister.” A deep, masculine voice came from the doorway and the three teenagers guarding Tori’s bed shot up to their feet. Ilyana’s face reddened as she bowed her head.

“Lord Kasen!”

“Good afternoon, my lord,” Sonia and Ewan said. They saw another man enter behind Tori’s brother. “Good afternoon, Your Highness.”

Prince Piers gave them a curt nod and walked past them to get to Tori. He leaned over her bed and his frown deepened. “I will find out what happened.”

“Go and wait for the engineers and investigation unit to arrive,” Lord Kasen told him as he knelt by the bed and touched his sister’s forehead gently. His voice lowered. “I want to know exactly what happened.”

Prince Piers seemed hesitant to leave, but Lord Kasen gave him a firm look and the prince lowered his head and stepped out. When he was gone, Lord Kasen looked at the trio and seemed to wait with a calm, but unwavering gaze.

“My lord, Tori’s name was put on a program....” Ewan spilled the story immediately and all Ilyana and Sonia could do was fill in gaps and further explain the details. Lord Kasen’s face didn’t show much emotion, though Ilyana saw the anger and irritation flash across his ice blue eyes.

He took a deep breath at the end of their tale. “I see....It seems they don’t want to stop troubling my sister....” His voice was cold, and Ilyana shuddered, as if the underlying threat were directed at her.

Lord Kasen was called away by the Emperor. Ilyana and the others didn’t dare ask what he was doing at the palace, so they were silent when he left. Prince Piers didn’t return, but after a few hours, Duke Alvere arrived.

“The Guthrys have come,” he said in a low, annoyed voice. “They’re in the hearing room. Do you want to go?”

Fire seemed to shoot through her as Ilyana jumped to her feet. “I have things I want to say.” Her hands clenched at her sides and Sonia grabbed her arm to calm her.

“Let’s go and hear what they have to say first,” Sonia said.

“The knight outside will lead you there,” Duke Alvere said as he took the vacant chair beside Tori’s bed. “I’ll watch her.”

Ilyana nodded and she left with Sonia and Ewan, silently hoping that Hart was with Guthry so she could scream at her, too. However, when they reached the hearing room, there were only the three members of the Guthry family, the Empress, and Prince Gideon standing beside her with a neutral expression.

The Empress gave Ilyana and the others a small nod of her head and motioned for them to stand to the side. All the words Ilyana wanted to spew upon the sight of Guthry died her throat. She quietly took her place with her three friends.

“Speak,” the Empress stood before her throne, looking down at the Guthrys with a demanding expression.

The Prime Minister lifted his lowered head, but Guthry and Madam Guthry remained standing on either side of him with their heads bowed.

“Your Majesty, we came to check on Countess Guevera and to apologize to her,” the Prime Minister said.

Ilyana narrowed her eyes. Sonia’s grip on her arm tightened. The Empress frowned further.josei

“Why would an apology be necessary?” she asked in a low voice.

The Prime Minister took a deep breath. “It was my son who insisted on having the Countess dance for the event.”

“That was him?” Sonia’s voice cut through the hall. Her brown eyes were boring into the young man standing to the left of his father. “You’re the one who put Tori’s name on the invitation?”

“We needed someone to dance a blessing for Saphira!” Guthry lifted a hand to his chest and flushed as he defended himself. “You know very well that Alessa cannot afford to hire a dancer! And how can we ask the abbey to pay for one?”

“We?” Sonia snapped. “Is it her project and yours now, Guthry?”

Guthry grit his teeth and seemed to grind them as he looked at Sonia. “You know what I meant.”

Sonia sneered. “Yeah, I do.”

“Why did you put Tori’s name on the invitation?” Ilyana asked. “You didn’t ask her before the invitation was sent out.”

Guthry jerked his head back. “What are you talking about-”

“Tori got her invitation a month ago, before you and Hart asked her to dance,” Ilyana said. She narrowed her eyes. “Did you think we didn’t know that you used her name without her consent?”

“It was an accident with the printer! I told you before,” Guthry insisted. “We always meant to ask Guevera-”

“Why her?” Ewan asked. He took a half step in front of her and Sonia, as if wanting to tower over Guthry. “Why Tori?”

“When Alessa was coming up with ideas for the program, she thought getting a dancer to do a blessing dance to Saphira would be a good idea. Later, she found out it was rather expensive, and the nuns didn’t know how to dance a blessing dance. Mr. von Dorn said that Guevera knew the dance,” Guthry told them.

“Just because she knows it doesn’t mean she has to perform it at your will,” Sonia replied in a cold voice. “You had no right to put her name on the program in the invitation!”

“It was a mistake-”

“A convenient one.” Sonia glowered and Ilyana clenched her jaw.

“You knew she would agree to it if you used her name. It’s an old trick amongst nobles,” Ilyana said. Miss James explained it further and said it wasn’t really done any more, but nobles had used the method to put rivals and enemies in uncomfortable positions. Reputable print shops began to confirm guests and even omit programs and the names of unrelated parties from programs as people blamed them for blindly following orders.

Eventually, the ridiculous trick fell out of favor and the printers had a large hand in ending it. Doing such a childish practice made printers look bad and lose business.

Of course, what did the Cow Man know about shame?

“Dimitri,” Madam Guthry reached past her husband and grasped her son’s arm. “Did you really use the Countess’ name to advertise the orphanage?”

“We didn’t use her name to advertise. A program was with the invitation and the program had her name.”

“Before you asked her?” Madam Guthry choked out at the words and looked at her son as if he’d lost his mind.

“We were planning to! I didn’t think the invitations would be sent with the placeholder name.”

“It wasn’t necessary to put a name,” the Empress said. “A simple mention of a blessing dance would suffice. Prime Minister Guthry, Madam Guthry, you would do well to better educate your son on these matters.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Prime Minister lowered his head once more. “It was our negligence.”

“Mother.” They turned towards the entrance at the sound of the voice. Prince Piers walked into the hall along with several men and women, all with serious looks on their faces. “The Imperial Engineers and knights have made a conclusion.”

Ilyana was both impressed with the speed of which the conclusion had been found and impatient to find out what caused the school’s roof to collapse.

“Report.” The Empress gave the men and women a nod. The Guthrys stepped to the side, closer to where Ilyana stood. An old man stepped forward to represent the group.

“Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, Prime Minister and honored guests,” the old man said, giving a respectful nod to each party. “In regard to the collapse of the roof, we found the wood used to support it was painted over to cover dry rot.”

“What?” Guthry stood up straight.

“In addition, while the bricks in most parts were of excellent quality, the bricks in roughly a little over a quarter of the building were poor quality bricks. They were not fired well and could not hold the weight of the support beam. They developed cracks early on. With children coming and going, the vibrations from their activities were enough to overwhelm the faulty bricks, causing cracking in the brick and mortar. The bricks cracked first and the beams fell apart.”

Several eyes, including Ilyana’s, moved to Guthry. His face had lost all its color and he seemed to take a step back, shaken.

“But...but those are the highest quality bricks and lumber....” He mumbled and shook his head, unable to believe it.

“It is also the mortar used. The masons who mixed the mortar did so improperly. From experience, it is likely they were rushing to finish.” The old man took a deep breath and frowned. “It’s a miracle that the structure did not collapse sooner.”

Ilyana drew her lips inwards and bit them. Sonia glared at Guthry. “Aren’t those masons trained at your school? How could you let them pass and think they’re qualified for construction?”

“Tori was right to ask you how many people need to die before you stop them....” Ilyana said, bitterly.

Guthry shook his head. “No, I’ve been paying attention recently! I had experienced masons evaluate them!”

“Commander Makris, please share the results of your investigation,” Prince Piers said.

A middle-aged woman stepped forward and bowed.

“Two masons and a carpenter who were sent to do the construction for the abbey were newly passed craftsmen who learned from Mr. Dimitri Guthry’s craftsmanship school in Fosse Village. Working on the school’s construction was part of their training to gain experience and as such, the pay was minimal. To compensate for the low remuneration, the two masons and a carpenter sold some of the donated high-quality bricks and lumber. They then replaced the sold materials with far inferior materials that were not fit for construction.”

Ilyana felt her blood rush to her head. She turned towards Guthry and wanted to claw his eyes out. “Those are the kind of people you sent? Didn’t you check their backgrounds or send an experienced foreman to oversee them?” The construction at the delta had such precautions and periodic checks, and the craftsmen were all seasoned guild members. Safety was always a priority.

“Mr. Guthry, did you send these craftsmen to build the school by themselves?” Prince Gideon, who had been standing beside his mother in silence since the Guthrys arrived, spoke up. He looked at Guthry with disbelief.

Guthry swallowed hard. His forehead glistened with sweat as his eyes darted around. His face had lost color and he lifted his hand to rub at his temple. “There was a half dozen. I...I let the instructors at the craftsmen school arrange it.”

Ilyana gritted her teeth as murmurs of frustration and anger swept through the room.

“Mr. Guthry, do you understand that your negligence has played a part in this?” The Empress was seething. “Piers, aside from the Countess, were there any more injuries?”

“There were more than two dozen children injured, most with cuts, scrapes, and bruises during the panic. One little girl required stitches when brick shrapnel cut her above the eye. Dr. Ozola reports that the girl is lucky, as the shrapnel could’ve blinded her in one eye if it was just a little lower.”

Ilyana’s eyes reddened. It was bad enough that Tori passed out again, but the children she was trying to save were still hurt. She glared at Guthry, hating him for walking away from that event without a single scratch on him.

“Two children have what appear to be fractured bones in their arms, a boy got a gash on his leg that also required stitches. The worst is a boy whose leg was crushed by the debris.” Prince Piers seemed to clench his jaw. “He is currently in surgery to get that leg amputated.”

Madam Guthry’s hand shot to her mouth as she gasped. Her son shook her head.

“No...no, he was all right. I saw them taking him away, they said he’d broken his leg-”

“It was worse than what they thought,” Prince Piers said in a chilling voice. “Mr. Guthry, I have requested that due to your involvement with the construction, you will be included in being held accountable for today’s matter.”

“But I didn’t know!” Guthry choked out. He shook his head wildly. “I didn’t know they sold the materials-”

“Your Highness, how will my son be punished?” the Prime Minister seemed resigned to his son’s fate.

Prince Piers didn’t hesitate. “As this involves Lycée Projects, the school will need to be involved. I have spoken to Headmaster Laurent and while his punishment is being decided, he will be suspended-”

“Suspended!” Guthry stepped forward. “Your Highness, this was all an accident!”

“An accident that could’ve been prevented!” The Empress’ cold voice filled the room.

“Your Majesty, I beg you to have mercy! I’m in my third year. I can’t be suspended! I have been working to reform the craftsmen school and will take responsibility for that, but it was not my intention for anyone to be injured. I only wanted to help Alessa Hart with her expenses.”

The Empress narrowed her eyes. “You assigned this as training to those men to assist Baroness Hart? Knowing full well they were building a school for orphans? With no oversight?”

“There was supposed to be oversight. I don’t know what happened. I’ll talk to the instructors at the school.”

“And what about the injured children?” Sonia snapped. “Will you talking to the instructor at your school help them now?”

“I’ll compensate them!” Guthry shouted back. “I’ll pay for any medical costs and help them find jobs later. That’s enough compensation, isn’t it?”

Ilyana stared at him with disgust. Did he just insist that money would solve the problem? That the boy’s leg wouldn’t matter because he’d find him a job later?

“Mr. Guthry, you must take some responsibility for this,” the Empress said.

“But this isn’t entirely my fault! I tried to ensure that suitable craftsmen were sent; I didn’t know that they dared to sell and replace the construction materials!” Guthry’s face reddened. He dared to take a step forward. “And Guevera should be questioned as well!”

Ilyana’s stunned eyes bore into him.

“Why should Tori be questioned?” Sonia almost snarled with anger.

Guthry turned to look at them. “Guevera entered the building that morning. How can we be sure she didn’t do anything to cause the building to fail so soon? Isn’t it too much of a coincidence?”

Ilyana never hated anyone so much in her life. Blood rushed to her face as her mind went blank. All the rapid talking around her was drowned out and her eyes fixed on the young man just a few steps away.

Guthry dared to blame Tori.

It was because of his ignorance and his idiotic love-struck fixation on Hart that children were almost killed, and her best friend was unconscious trying to save them.

This was the second time - the second time, that Tori had to step in to fix Guthry’s mistake and he dared to blame Tori?

Ilyana snapped.

Her slender fingers curled into a fist, and she darted out of Sonia’s hold. She vaguely heard her friend cry out to stop her, but it was too late.

Ilyana didn’t feel the pain of her hand hitting flesh and bone. She didn’t feel the sharp sting. She only wished she were stronger.

“Ilyana!” She felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and hold her back as tears streamed down her face.

“This is your fault! You have the gall to blame Tori just because she was there? All you think about is Hart and nothing else! It was your arrogance and negligence that caused this! Children could’ve died because of you! The gods have no conscience to let you stand here and defend yourself when there are wounded children and Tori is unconscious again! It should be you who pays for your mistakes! It should’ve been you! You ignorant, disgusting man! You don’t deserve your name! You don’t deserve to go to Lycée! You don’t deserve anything!”

“Ilyana!” Sonia tried to cover her mouth, but Ilyana turned her head away, refusing to be silenced as Ewan’s thick arms wrapped around her to keep her from flailing her arms or going in for another hit. Despite his strength and skill, he struggled to keep her contained.

“No, I want him to hear it! I want him to know that this is his fault! That this is all his fault and that he almost killed people! A child can’t walk anymore because of you! Tori passed out again because she had to save people due to your negligence! This is your fault! How dare you try to blame others! It’s all your fault and you should be punished! I wish they never found you in that forest!”

Sonia finally managed to grasp her head and pull her against her to try to calm her. Ilyana’s choked cries cursing Guthry became muffled as Sonia held her tight.

“I hope you’re happy, Guthry,” Sonia said in a venomous voice. “I hope you think pleasing Hart was worth it. Don’t try to blame Tori for this. It was you who had her name put on that program to coerce her to come. It was you who sent incompetent, hateful craftsmen. It is your fault.”

Ilyana couldn’t stop trembling. She looked through her messy bangs as she turned away from Sonia’s shoulder.

Guthry was on the ground, blood all over his face as his hands tried to stop blood from pouring down his nose. A blank look was on his pale face. Ilyana didn’t bother to wonder if he was stunned she hit him or surprised that she wished he were dead.

Madam Guthry was kneeling beside him, screaming, and begging for someone to help her son. The Prime Minister stood behind them and made no move to help his son. There was anger and shame on his face as he looked away, clenching his hands at his sides.

Ilyana heard a heavy breath.

“Someone bring the Prime Minister’s son a towel and call for an imperial doctor to make sure his nose isn’t broken,” the Empress said in an emotionless voice.

No, Ilyana corrected herself. The Empress wasn’t emotionless, she was cold and disgusted. She remained standing straight with her lips in a tight line and her eyes narrowed.

“Dimitri, hold on! Don’t move!” Madam Guthry tried to talk to her son, but Guthry didn’t seem to pay attention. Madam Guthry had tears in her eyes as she turned and looked at Ilyana with confusion and accusation. “Why did you hit him, Lady Agafonova?”

Ilyana felt ice in her veins as she met Madam Guthry’s gaze, unflinching. “Because he deserved it.”

Her cold words seemed to have chilled Madam Guthry. Sonia stroked the back of Ilyana’s head to try and calm her.

“Don’t pay attention to them. They’ll get what’s coming to them,” Sonia said in an even voice. “Don’t keep yelling and calm down. Tori’s going to wake up soon. You don’t want her to see you like this, do you?”

“Tori will be worried about you,” Ewan added. His hold on her hadn’t loosened. “She already has enough to worry about, right?”

Ilyana’s trembling breath wavered, and she shut her eyes. She tried to get her breathing under control. Her friends led her away gently.

“Lady Ilyana!” A voice called from the entrance of the hall and Ilyana opened her eyes to turn and look. Duke Alvere skidded to a stop and his eyes locked on to her. “Tori’s awake and she’s asking for you!”