Chapter 264: Doubts

(Western Territories, Alaric Ironveil’s POV)

As Alaric Ironveil rode his griffin back towards the Western capital, he found himself unable to shake off the conversation he had just had with Drew Dawnriver.

Had his own son not been involved in such an inexplicable incident, Alaric would have most likely dismissed Drew’s accusations as the paranoid ramblings of a man who had lost too much and was now drowning in grief.

However, the circumstances surrounding Black Week were undeniably suspicious, and the more Alaric considered them, the harder he found it to dismiss his old friend’s concerns.

Of all the students attending the Imperial Academy, the mysterious Ascendant had somehow appeared precisely where Riven and Gary were present, and the subsequent investigation had conveniently placed the blame upon the Dawnriver heir.

And although Alaric was reluctant to believe that the Emperor had orchestrated such an elaborate scheme, he could not deny that the entire incident bore the appearance of a deliberate attempt to discredit House Dawnriver.

What troubled him even more was the pattern Drew had described.

Three Dawnriver heirs had already died under suspicious circumstances, with several of those incidents connected to the Imperial Academy, and now the fourth had nearly found himself condemned for a massacre he might not have committed.

’Once could be a coincidence, perhaps even twice. But how many times can the same family suffer such misfortune before it stops being a coincidence?’

Alaric wondered, his expression growing increasingly grim.

To make matters worse, there was also the matter of Vice Principal Chadwick, the very man who had interrogated Riven using an unauthorized Truth Orb.

According to the latest Imperial reports, Chadwick had fled after stealing from the Imperial treasury, with his trail supposedly leading towards the Southern territories before disappearing altogether.

A Vice Principal implicated in the investigation, suddenly becoming a fugitive immediately after the incident, was yet another development that Alaric found difficult to explain.

’Was he really running from the law, or had someone decided that he knew too much?’

The thought left Alaric deeply unsettled.

’Gods above, Drew. What if you’re right? What if Diomande really is behind all this?’

Until today, Alaric had intended to remain neutral should war break out between the Imperial throne and House Dawnriver, believing that neutrality would be enough to protect his family.

But now, for the first time, he wondered whether the Emperor would even permit House Ironveil to remain neutral.

’And if I refuse to support him, will my children be next?’

Alaric let out a weary sigh, deciding that there was little point in tormenting himself with questions he could not yet answer.

For now, he would return to his capital and hear what Vinicius had to say tomorrow, before deciding where House Ironveil’s loyalties would ultimately lie.

—----------

(Meanwhile, The Imperial Academy, Jack Sullivan’s POV)

Jack Sullivan ground his teeth in frustration as he stared at the empty chair across his desk, struggling to contain the anger that had been building within him ever since Vice Principal Chadwick’s disappearance.

’How the hell did I let that bastard escape?’

He thought bitterly, clenching his fists as he recalled the numerous opportunities he had been given to place the Vice Principal under detention.

Looking back, the warning signs had been there all along, particularly Chadwick’s suspicious involvement in the unauthorized interrogation of Riven Dawnriver and his subsequent attempts to distance himself from the investigation.

Sullivan had questioned him several times, but he had never considered placing him under formal detention, believing that a man occupying such a prominent position within the Academy would hardly abandon everything and disappear.

And now, because of that single mistake, one of the most important witnesses in the entire investigation had slipped through his fingers.

’Should’ve locked him up the moment I realized something was wrong.’

Sullivan cursed inwardly, knowing that whatever information Chadwick possessed was now beyond his reach.

Unfortunately, the consequences of his disappearance had extended far beyond Sullivan’s personal frustration, as the Imperial capital had responded by imposing sweeping changes upon the Academy’s administration.

Principal Boseman had been forced to step down following mounting pressure from the Imperial Court, with the Academy’s leadership held responsible for allowing a key suspect to escape while the investigation into the deaths of twenty-one students remained unresolved.

A temporary headmaster had since been appointed directly by the Imperial capital, and within days of assuming office, the man had introduced restrictions unlike anything the Academy had experienced in recent memory.

A strict curfew now applied to students, professors, and administrative personnel alike, while movement between the Academy’s various buildings required special authorization from the newly appointed administration.

Even senior professors were no longer permitted to leave the grounds without reporting their destinations, as every member of the Academy’s staff was now being treated as a potential suspect in the ongoing investigation.

As for Boseman, the former Principal had been barred from entering the Academy altogether, despite having served the institution faithfully for decades.

And although Sullivan considered several of these measures excessive, he could hardly argue against the reasoning behind them.

After all, the Academy had already suffered a massacre under its own roof, and now one of its highest-ranking officials had disappeared immediately after becoming implicated in the investigation.

’An inside job.’

The thought had been troubling Sullivan ever since the beginning, but Chadwick’s disappearance had made it increasingly difficult to consider any other explanation.

Someone within the Academy had assisted the attacker, and whether Chadwick had been directly involved or merely possessed information about those responsible, Sullivan was becoming convinced that the Vice Principal’s disappearance was no coincidence.

What bothered him most, however, was the fact that Chadwick had been the one who had encouraged him to explore the Stormborn angle.

’Did that bastard deliberately send me down a rabbit hole, knowing full well it would lead nowhere?’

Sullivan wondered, his expression darkening as he considered the possibility that the past several days of his investigation were for nothing.

*Sigh*

Letting out a deep sigh, he leaned back in his chair, staring towards the ceiling as he considered his next course of action.

The Imperial capital might have been content to accept the explanation that Chadwick was corrupt, but Jack Sullivan had never earned his reputation as the Rabid Dog by accepting convenient answers.

"Starting today, I’ll look into everything the vice principal was up to in the days leading up to his disappearance."

Jack muttered, as he decided that he would get to the bottom of this, one way or another.