Chapter 235: What Remains

Professor Antoine Chastellain was discharged from the observation ward six days after his confrontation with the mysterious voice.

Doctor Henri Valmont had initially wanted to keep him under supervision for another week, but the examinations showed a steady improvement in his condition.

His mana had returned to its normal circulation, the spontaneous manifestations had ceased, and the unfamiliar woman’s voice had remained silent.

The physician was satisfied with the progress, although he refused to declare Antoine completely recovered.

“You’re free to return home, Professor, but I expect you to attend your follow-up appointments. I would also recommend limiting your workload until we’re certain your condition has stabilized.”

Antoine accepted the instructions without complaint. After everything he had experienced, he had developed a greater appreciation for the importance of allowing other professionals to do their jobs.

Of course, Valmont still looked suspicious when he promised to take things slowly.

“I’ll be speaking with your student,” the physician warned. “If you return to working sixteen hours a day, I expect to hear about it.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“Given your history, absolutely.”

Ilya, who had arrived to accompany the professor home, considered the arrangement perfectly reasonable.

“I’ll prepare weekly reports, Doctor. Would you prefer them with illustrations?”

“That won’t be necessary, Belozersky.”

“A shame. I was looking forward to documenting the professor’s natural habitat.”

Antoine gave him a disapproving look, although he couldn’t quite suppress his amusement.

The journey home was uneventful.

The Imperial Capital had gradually resumed its usual activities following the Saint Aurelia massacre, although memorials remained outside the school and several government buildings. Investigations were continuing, and the surviving perpetrators were being prepared for prosecution.

Antoine watched the city through the carriage window.

He had spent much of his life believing that knowledge could improve the world. The tragedy had shaken that conviction, particularly after discovering how easily the cult had turned legitimate research into an excuse for cruelty.

However, his recent experience had given him time to reconsider what he wanted to accomplish.

The world remained full of people who needed help, and he still possessed the knowledge to provide it.

That was reason enough to continue.

When they arrived at the Chastellain residence, the household staff welcomed him warmly. His absence had caused considerable concern, especially after the clinic extended his observation period.

Antoine thanked them before returning to his study.

Lucile’s communication device remained inside its wooden case, exactly where he had left it. Her drawings were arranged beside it, including the unfinished plans for the mechanical bird she had intended to give him.

For several minutes, the professor examined the little collection.

The memories were painful.

He doubted they would ever stop being painful.

However, the familiar melody no longer sounded through the room, and the drawings remained where he had placed them.

His magic was quiet.

Ilya eventually joined him.

“Are you planning to work on the bird?”

“Not today. Doctor Valmont would probably send someone to arrest me.”

“I doubt that’s within his authority.”

“After the way he treated my research privileges, I’m no longer certain.”

Ilya laughed.

Antoine carefully returned the drawings to their folder. He still intended to complete the invention someday, but he wanted to do it properly, using the tools and materials Lucile had left behind.

There was no need to hurry.

The professor had spent years teaching his daughter that good inventions required patience, and he thought she would appreciate him following his own advice for once.

Their conversation then turned toward SkyRune.

The research initiative established during Antoine’s absence had received preliminary approval from the Imperial authorities. Its members would assist legitimate institutions in identifying dangerous modifications to magical equipment and provide technical support when investigators encountered suspicious research facilities.

The arrangement had attracted considerable interest.

Several organizations had already requested access to SkyRune’s recommendations, particularly after the government announced additional inspections of private laboratories.

Antoine was pleased.

The initiative would operate under the supervision of SkyRune’s senior researchers, allowing it to continue without requiring his constant attention.

He intended to return gradually once Valmont approved.

However, there was another project he wanted to discuss.

“Remember the educational program I mentioned?”

“The one for children?”

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about how we might organize it.”

Antoine explained that SkyRune possessed numerous discarded components and demonstration devices that could be repurposed for teaching. With proper supervision, children could learn the fundamentals of magical engineering without needing access to expensive equipment.

He wanted the program to welcome students from ordinary families as well as those attending prestigious academies.

Ilya considered the proposal.

It would require funding and administrative approval, but SkyRune already possessed the facilities and expertise necessary to begin on a small scale.

“Have you discussed it with the administration?”

“Not yet. I wanted to prepare a reasonable proposal before bringing it to them.”

“Then I’d suggest starting with a limited number of students. It’ll be easier to secure approval if the first program doesn’t require rebuilding half the campus.”

Antoine agreed.

They spent some time discussing practical arrangements, including suitable instructors and the types of projects children could safely attempt.

The professor appeared increasingly enthusiastic as the conversation continued.

For Ilya, it was encouraging to see him interested in something beyond the tragedy and the investigation.

Antoine still grieved for Lucile, but he was beginning to imagine a future in which her memory inspired something worthwhile.

Later that afternoon, an official communication arrived from Inspector Laurent.

The Imperial Intelligence Bureau had completed another stage of its investigation into Edmund Falkenrath’s financial network. Several additional suspects had been detained, and the authorities had recovered documents establishing connections between the missing financier’s associates and multiple research institutions.

Matthias Reinhold remained at large.

However, the investigators believed they were narrowing the search.

Laurent also informed Antoine that his technical assessments had been valuable in identifying equipment used by the cult.

The Bureau intended to continue cooperating with SkyRune’s new initiative.

Antoine appreciated the update.

However, he declined Laurent’s offer to resume personally reviewing the recovered materials.

“For the moment, my colleagues can handle those matters,” he explained. “I’ve been advised to limit my workload.”

Laurent understood.

He assured the professor that the investigation would continue regardless of his involvement.

After the communication ended, Ilya regarded Antoine with mild surprise.

“I expected you to demand every document they recovered.”

“So did I.”

“Then Doctor Valmont’s treatment must have worked.”

Antoine smiled.

He had spent days believing that personally uncovering every detail of the conspiracy might somehow ease his grief. However, he now understood that the investigators possessed the necessary resources and that his own recovery deserved attention.

The people responsible for Saint Aurelia would still be pursued.

He didn’t need to sacrifice his health to ensure it happened.

As evening approached, Antoine accompanied Ilya to the residence’s small workshop.

The room had remained untouched during his absence.

Lucile’s miniature tools were arranged beside her unfinished projects, while several older inventions occupied the shelves.

Antoine remembered how often she had complained that her father took up too much space.

Now the worktables seemed unnecessarily large.

He examined the mechanical bird’s drawings once more before placing them beside the unfinished frame.

“I think I’ll leave this here until I’m ready.”

Ilya agreed.

They had already spent enough time discussing future projects, and there was no reason to begin working immediately.

However, Antoine had another request.

“When I return to SkyRune, I’d like you to help supervise the educational program.”

Ilya considered the proposal.

“Professor, I’m still a student.”

“An unusually capable one.”

“That sounds suspiciously like the beginning of another unpaid assignment.”

“Would you prefer academic credit?”

“I’d prefer money.”

Antoine laughed.

“We’ll discuss compensation.”

Ilya accepted the arrangement.

The program would provide an opportunity to help younger students discover magical engineering, and he suspected the professor would enjoy teaching them far more than spending his remaining years pursuing the people responsible for his daughter’s death.

However, Antoine’s intentions extended beyond establishing another academic project.

He wanted children to experience the same excitement Lucile had felt whenever an invention finally worked.

He wanted them to ask unreasonable questions, make mistakes, and discover solutions their instructors hadn’t anticipated.

Most importantly, he wanted them to have the opportunity to grow older.

That was something Lucile had been denied.

The professor remained in the workshop after Ilya departed.

He examined the unfinished mechanical bird before opening one of his daughter’s notebooks.

Several pages contained sketches of inventions she had planned to build, including a miniature flying machine and a device intended to deliver messages across the city.

One drawing attracted his attention.

Lucile had sketched a small building filled with children working at tables.

Beneath it, she had written a title in her uneven handwriting.

‘Papa and Lucile’s Invention School.’

Antoine remembered the conversation.

She had once declared that after becoming a famous inventor, she would establish a school where children could build whatever they imagined.

Naturally, she had appointed herself headmistress.

Her father would be permitted to teach, provided he followed her instructions.

Antoine smiled at the memory.

He had completely forgotten that conversation.

For a while, he studied the drawing.

Then he retrieved a blank sheet of paper and began preparing a proposal for SkyRune’s administration.

At the top, he wrote the name of the educational program.

[The Lucile Chastellain Foundation for Young Inventors.]

He considered the title before deciding it was suitable.

It would require funding, instructors, and several months of preparation, but none of those obstacles appeared particularly difficult compared with the problems he had solved throughout his career.

Lucile would have complained that he was taking too long.

Antoine could almost hear her telling him to stop thinking and start building.

The memory brought tears to his eyes.

He allowed himself to cry for a while before continuing his work.

There was no need to suppress the grief or pretend that everything had returned to normal.

His daughter was gone, and he would spend the rest of his life missing her.

However, the work she had inspired could still continue.

By the time the household staff informed him that dinner was ready, Antoine had completed the first page of his proposal.

He put down his pen and prepared to join them.

Tomorrow, he would begin discussing the program with SkyRune.

And when the time came to finish Lucile’s mechanical bird, he intended to make sure its wings worked exactly as she had imagined.