The Honeymoon Suite 2 - Rumors

Titus

Month 3, Day 16, Tuesday 7:00am

When Titus got to Harrow Hill, he called for all the witness statements from Malcolm Gervin’s arrest to be brought to his office. He had read them already, of course, then sent Damien a half worried, half angry letter, unable to spare the time yet to meet his little brother in person. Damien, of course, had replied back that everyone was okay…and that with Sebastien around to protect them, as well as Damien’s own dueling skill, he and Ana were quite safe.

Titus knew that Damien could protect himself well enough in a duel. Both he and their Lord Father had agreed on the necessity of that training, and Titus had spent a good many hours of his own time sparring with Damien to make sure his lessons took. But Damien wasn’t…hardened. He wasn’t prepared for a life-or-death fight against someone sincerely trying to kill him.

Titus had a pile of work waiting for him—plans for the Naught trial, follow-up on the Gervin case, and a whole pile of no doubt useless witness statements about supposed sightings of the Raven Queen. Of course, these all inevitably came from people hoping only to get the reward and would turn out to be nothing more than a hungry raven stealing bits of pie off their windowsill or some other nonsense. All that along with sixteen reports on the investigation into the Architects of Khronos. But his niggling worry for Damien made it impossible to focus on all of that, so he instead spent the next hour re-reading the Gervin statements and the notes from his coppers.

Siverling had used some clever tricks to take down Malcolm Gervin…but also a battle wand, for which he had a suspiciously dated license. One of Titus’s subordinates had left a note about Grandmaster Thaddeus Lacer making sure they had it on file, to prevent any misunderstandings. Titus was no fool. Quite likely, Siverling had used the wand illegally, and his mentor had covered for him when he discovered the danger. This wasn’t the kind of thing Titus should be aware of, so Thaddeus wouldn’t have mentioned it, allowing Titus to truthfully deny knowledge.

Titus wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. After all, Siverling had used that wand to keep Damien and Anastasia alive when her uncle tried to murder them all.

But several of the witness statements mentioned how composed the trio had been when confronting Malcolm Gervin, and a few of his coppers had noted the same, but for Siverling particularly. Afterward, Anastasia had broken down crying, and Damien was shaken but determined. Siverling, though, was aloof, cold, and collected, seeming more irritated by the questioning than anything.

It made Titus wonder. Who had been the primary force behind this endeavor? He knew Anastasia disliked her uncles, and she had said this started because there were vague rumors about trouble with the businesses they ran, and that they had been acting strange. However, Titus suspected that she had hired that private investigator specifically looking for something to take them down. Would she have made that decision on her own? Or was she encouraged to do so by someone else? And if so…what might Siverling have gotten out of such a move?

Anastasia was heir to the Gervin Family and a powerful ally, to be sure.

In fact, Siverling seemed to have come out of nowhere and surrounded himself with powerful people. Friends with several Crown Family members, apprenticed to Grandmaster Thaddeus Lacer, and though the knowledge wasn’t widespread yet, it seemed he was either the ward of or being sponsored by Lord Oliver Dryden, that philanthropist from Osham.

Titus frowned. “Quite a collection,” he murmured.

Setting aside the witness reports, he gave the order for one of his beat coppers, someone who had directly questioned Siverling a few days before, to collect knowledge about Siverling from all the coppers who had family currently enrolled or teaching at the University, and report back to him at the end of the day.

With that, he forced himself to set aside the issue and focus on his actual work.

At the end of the day shift, a female copper came into his office, bowed crisply, and introduced herself as Alma.

Titus didn’t question whether that was her first or last name. “Did you have trouble gathering information about the individual I requested?”

“On the contrary. It’s actually somewhat embarrassing how knowledgeable some of our coppers are about a schoolboy. As I’m sure you suspected, many of those with family or friends at the University have heard of him to some degree,” Alma said, grimacing.

“And what did you learn?” Titus asked.

She hesitated, fingers pressing against the side seam of her pants as she stared over Titus’s shoulder for a moment. “The rumors are somewhat…contradictory. I suspect many of them have been exaggerated or warped in the retellings.”

“Go on.”

“Well,” she started, meeting Titus’s steady gaze, “he is widely accepted to be an exceptionally talented thaumaturge, if yet inexperienced. Obviously, Thaddeus Lacer would not have taken him as an apprentice otherwise, but this report was corroborated by nearly everyone I spoke to. However, Mr. Siverling is not particularly sociable outside of his small friend group and has a reputation for being either dismissive or openly insulting to those he feels are…beneath him. He seems to have made some enemies among the student body. Having said that, he also has a loyal…well, I hesitate to call them a following, but…an unofficial fan group? Several secondhand reports mentioned that some students in Mr. Siverling’s term feel that his gruff exterior only covers up a generous heart. This would be corroborated by the incidents where he has placed himself in danger in an attempt to help or protect others, as well as several anecdotes about him secretly helping those less fortunate. Those who consider themselves to be ‘on Mr. Siverling’s side’ insist that his enemies are just jealous of him, or are too embarrassed to admit that they were the one in the wrong during whatever altercations they’ve had with the boy.”

Titus frowned. “This fan group of Mr. Siverling’s. How does he cultivate them? How many are there? Do they hold influential positions, either among the student body or the wider world?”

Copper Alma blinked at him, then narrowed her eyes. “One might say that all students of the University hold influential positions, simply by nature of being thaumaturges. However, not only has this fan group seemingly come into being completely without involvement from Mr. Siverling, the students are a random mix that leans toward the less influential side of things.” She paused, then added, “It seems to be mainly composed of young women, though not entirely.”

“And what does this fan group do, exactly?”

She cleared her throat. “Um, well…they help small animals. Apparently the boy secretly feeds them and provides materials for their nests. And holds funerals for them if he finds them dead.”

Titus blinked at the absurdity.

“They also practice magic based on tips that he occasionally hands out in class.” She hesitated, exhibiting clear reluctance to continue.

“Go on,” Titus said impatiently.

Alma’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I am not sure if the boy is even aware of this, but there seems to be a small black market for drawings of him. And, well, some gossip suggests that some members of the group pass around stories they have written where he is one of the main characters…generally involved in some romantic entanglement.”

Titus narrowed his eyes, leaning forward. “Oh? With who?”

Copper Alma blushed, looking away. “Well, with Grandmaster Lacer or…or some of Mr. Siverling’s friends.”

Titus scowled. “You mean my brother Damien.”

She coughed awkwardly into her hand and resumed staring at the wall above his shoulder. “Yes—but not only him. I hope you won’t take offense to this. It’s just fanciful, romantic children being over-enthusiastic about a pseudo-celebrity figure that they feel some sort of kinship with due to his lack of noble status.”

Titus took a moment to think over everything she had said, an uneasy feeling settling more deeply in his chest. “You interviewed Siverling after the incident a few days ago, correct? What was your impression of him?”

Alma’s gaze went distant, her mouth quirking up on one side. “He was…impressively composed, though I noticed signs of strain as the hours wore on. I tried the prolonged eye contact tactic to see if he would start blabbering. Unlike men twice his age, he never seemed to grow flustered. If anything, it was his gaze that was hard to meet. He’s very striking, especially the contrast between his hair and his eyes. He grew obviously irritated at points, but it didn’t really feellike he was being rude. Or at least, his irritation wasn’t directed at me, but something he shared with me, if that makes sense. He lacked intent to offend.”

Titus reluctantly admitted that he did understand, as his friend Thaddeus had a similarly grumpy air that somehow failed to actually affront those he tolerated. Or perhaps it was that only those who could withstand his acerbic tongue could last long enough to grow closer with him.

“Mr. Siverling seemed protective of the other two. I noticed that they naturally positioned their backs slightly toward each other, probably a subconscious group defense mechanism. They trust him. And, well, for good reason. The boy likely saved their lives from a man colluding with the Raven Queen.” She fell silent again, looking out the window while Titus considered her words.

When she spoke again, her voice was slightly wistful. “I would guess that it’s far from the first time the boy’s found himself in a dangerous situation. He’s a bit rough around the edges, but…well, he somewhat reminds me of an abused animal. Outwardly snappish but on the inside just desperate for love and safety. He needs someone he can really trust before he’ll open up totally and show the sweetness inside. He may have found that in his friends. I hope so.”

Titus’s unease only grew. It seemed Siverling had charmed even one of his coppers, a woman twice his age. He would need to further investigate the young man’s background—discreetly.

Author Note:

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