MTO C20

Chapter 20

Fweee!

A piercing whistle split through Michel’s eardrums, jolting him awake. The candle on his desk had long since burned out, but sunlight pouring through the window lit the room brightly.

I must’ve dozed off.

He wiped the trail of drool from his mouth and rose to his feet. He had spent much of the night racking his brain over how to find the dragon, but with no answers in sight, he’d fallen asleep slumped at the desk. His body, stiff from sitting in the same position, ached as he stretched to ease the knots in his muscles.

There it was again— that shrill, high‑pitched whistle outside.

Michel shuffled over to the window and pushed open the shutter. Snow had fallen again during the night, leaving the whole world below blanketed in gleaming white.

The dazzling brightness made his eyelids clamp shut instinctively. When he squinted them open again, he saw David standing on the snowy ground outside.

“David!”

At Michel’s call, David turned around. He wasn’t alone. Perched squarely upon his arm was an enormous golden eagle, regal and imposing. Michel’s eyes gaped wide.

“You’re awake, Saint?”

“Yes. Good morning.”

Even as he responded with a polite greeting, Michel couldn’t take his eyes off the beast. He had never seen such a creature so near without bars between them.

Its hardened beak and razor talons looked strong enough to extinguish life in a single strike. Its half‑unfurled black wings cast a powerful contrast against the pure white snow. A glossy sheen rippled across the feathers—this bird was well cared for.

What a majestic creature.

Despite its aura of ferocity, the eagle remained steadfast on David’s arm, as if bound to him.

“Is that… your pet bird?”

“…It’s a courier bird. A message has just arrived from Eglence Castle.”

“Then… from Kaidan?”

“What did I tell you yesterday?” David’s stern tone made Michel blink owlishly. Then, catching his intent, he shifted to an appropriately composed expression.

“Ah, Brother Kaidan sent it, yes?”

Finally, David nodded, satisfied.

“Tomorrow morning, a carriage will arrive to escort you. It is time we return to Eglence Castle.”

The news struck like a bolt of thunder. Michel felt like a student summoned for an exam he had not studied for. He still hadn’t bonded properly with the orphanage children, nor solved the dragon dilemma—yet now he had to leave already?

“But I’ve only been at the orphanage a handful of days.”

“The winter relief festival is about to be held in the central square. The Duke wishes for the Saint to be present.”

The words sounded polite—yet were command in all but name. Just yesterday Michel had been reminded how mercilessly serious this social hierarchy was. To defy a duke’s order could mean dire future consequences.

No choice then.

Michel relented. Better to comply quietly, attend the festival, and hurry back.

“All right. But after the festival I can return here, yes?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll have to inform Sister Barbara… The festival lasts how many days?”

“Only one. You’ll return the next day.”

David deftly secured a slip of parchment to the eagle’s leg. With a sweeping motion of his arm, he sent the bird aloft. Its wings expanded, vast as a child’s body, before it climbed into the sky.

Michel leaned far out of the window, watching it soar.

“Incredible. I didn’t know eagles could be so loyal to people.”

“The black eagles of the Ducal House are trained from birth. Some serve as messengers; others fly with the knightly order into monster hunts.”

“Wow—seriously?”

“Their skill in bringing down prey far surpasses many young recruits beginning knighthood.”

Michel marvelled aloud, and already imagined how awe‑inspiring it would be to watch flocks of such eagles patrolling the skies alongside knights in battle.

But his reverie ended abruptly when a massive clump of snow toppled straight down onto his head.

“Phhhftt!”

“S-Saint!”

In an instant Michel was transformed into a snowman. Snow had spilled even inside through the window.

David rushed anxiously to him.

“Are you unhurt?”

“I-I’m fine. Just startled.”

Michel brushed down his hair, glancing upward. It seemed the load of snow had simply slid from the rooftop, unable to hold its weight.

We’ll need to clean that off later.

He laughed thinly at the snow soaking the floor. Then his eyes drifted to David’s attire—merely a shirt and thick vest. In such cold, this was hardly protection.

“You’re not cold, David?”

“I’m not overly sensitive to cold… and today is unseasonably warm.”

Indeed, even with the fire out, the room wasn’t unpleasantly cold. Michel looked again to the sun reflecting brightly over the snowfields. The orphanage yard, stretching into the forest’s edge, looked as soft and inviting as a quilt of down.

David stooped to scoop up a handful of snow.

“All the same, we should clear it before the ground freezes solid.”

“I have a better idea!”

Michel threw on his overcoat in haste and ran outside.

The children of Valois Orphanage had each been living through bewildering days.

For the first time, they knew the sensation of full stomachs—and not only once, but two days in a row, and then a third, hot food served at the table.

The fireplace, once sputtering only at night, now burned through the day with warmth. The windows, which had shrieked every night like ghosts, were muffled beneath firm planks.

Most astonishing of all: though the demon‑like headmaster moved still among them, not one child had been harmed.

The man, returning from the village early this time, had announced he had met God and repented of his sins—and had sworn to love the orphanage’s children henceforth.

And indeed, no further curses nor lash of whips had fallen. Instead, the headmaster now called each by name, handed out food with a gentle face, and even smiled.

“It’s a trick.”

So spat Heart, his words seething with mockery.

In the dark attic of the second floor—where no sun ever reached—a handful of children huddled close. Oliver, Alice, Heart, and Leon.

Heart pressed both his hands over Leon’s ears, glaring at Oliver and Alice.

“You saw him with the whip, didn’t you? If Sister hadn’t come out in time, that demon would have ripped Leon to pieces.”

“But why resort to tricks?” Alice snapped quickly, challenging the claim.

“What’s he to gain from deceiving us? We’re nothing but powerless orphans.”

“That’s…”

Heart bit his tongue. She had a point. Even he could not identify the true aim of the headmaster’s recent, bizarre behavior. Frustration flushed his face crimson, matching the scarlet hue of his eyes.

“So you actually believe that nonsense?”

“I don’t believe him either. I just wonder what he’s after. Why give us lessons in noble etiquette?”

“Obviously some new form of torture.”

Heart’s sullen growl lacked conviction. Alice frowned.

“…Or maybe,” Oliver said quietly at last, “maybe he’s planning to sell us.”

“Sell us? To who?”

“I don’t know. But Miss Hannah once told me we were lucky children. Other orphans are dragged off to mines, never to see daylight again as they dig rock until they die. Or they’re snatched by mad wizards, experimented on with twisted magic. Or…”

Oliver swallowed hard. The others leaned in tense silence.

“…there are nobles who kidnap children to eat them.”

“Gasp!”

“That’s it! He’s fattening us up to sell as meat to nobles.”

Heart clicked his tongue bitterly, hugging Leon closer as the boy shrank into him in terror. Alice turned pale as chalk.

“That’s absurd! Sister would never allow such a thing.”

“Idiot. That demon is deceiving even her!”

“Hush!”

Heart’s raised voice made Oliver hiss for quiet. Just then, the bell outside rang.

“Children! Come down—it’s time for breakfast!”

It was Sister Barbara’s voice. Alice rose swiftly and peered out the door.

“What do we do? If we keep eating, we’ll just fatten up. Should we all refuse?”

“If none of us eat, it’ll be suspicious. Yesterday, when Heart didn’t show, the headmaster kept asking where he was.”

Oliver spoke calmly despite the gloom.

“Let’s act as though we eat. Meanwhile, we prepare a plan.”

“What plan?” Alice asked.

“This time, we kill the demon.”

It was Heart who answered, not Oliver. His words so harsh that Oliver started in fright—but then nodded, face hard with determination.

It was the first time Alice had ever seen Oliver wear such a resolute expression.