Ch 12.1 - The Nun and The Courtroom Circus

This is bad, Tevu thought the moment she stepped fully into the cabin.

They had stormed in ready for blood. Mana coiled around wrists, claws flexed, porcelain and steel hovering like silent executioners at their backs. What they had not expected was an audience.

Wallus lounged comfortably on the sofa, one arm draped across the backrest, his smile lazy and amused. Beside him sat another man—tall, impeccably dressed in a white suit and gloves, posture straight, legs crossed with deliberate composure. His gaze was steady and assessing.

Nosmos.

Guildmaster of the Tooth & Nail guild.

Unlike his younger brother, Pilos, Nosmos carried himself with discipline and restraint. Where Pilos had been indulgent and reckless, Nosmos was calculating. Yet the indulgence he had shown his only brother had shaped Pilos into the degenerate he became, and the humiliation Pilos had suffered within these walls had left Nosmos nursing a quiet, simmering resentment. He had already investigated. He already knew someone within the Pavilion had harmed his brother.

Now he sat here, watching.

Two birds. One stone.

Nosmos’ eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded Tevu and the sisters behind her.

“Let me repeat my question,” he said evenly, his voice neither raised nor hurried. “What do you intend by barging into the residence of our continent’s valued guest while armed and with spells primed?”

His gaze flicked briefly to the hovering blades and porcelain orbiting Gina and Fina before returning to Tevu.

“I would appreciate a sufficient answer,” he continued calmly. “Otherwise, I will be forced to interpret this as a criminal act against both the Church’s envoy and the authority of this continent.”

The room felt suddenly smaller.

Behind Tevu, the faint hum of magic from her sisters’ prepared abilities seemed louder than before.

Wallus leaned back even further into the couch, fingers lazily drumming against the armrest as he watched the tension thicken. There was no surprise in his expression—only satisfaction, as though this was the very scene he had anticipated.

Tevu felt it immediately. Wallus alone had been troublesome enough. With Nosmos present, however, any misstep would ripple far beyond this cabin. The Tooth & Nail guild held influence among the tribes, and striking their guildmaster—even indirectly—would ignite more than a hallway skirmish. It would fracture alliances.

Her mind churned, searching for a move that did not end in disaster.

Sweat traced down her temple beneath her mask. The air in the room felt heavy, waiting.

Wallus smiled faintly. Nosmos regarded them with cool disapproval, his gloved hands resting lightly atop his knee. Behind Tevu, Gina and Fina stood ready, the floating knives and porcelain hovering in deadly stillness, awaiting only a single word.

Tevu clenched her jaw. I wish Aisha were here.

She exhaled slowly. “We were just—”

Kazyak stepped forward before she could finish.

Her claws extended with a metallic rasp, eyes blazing as she pointed directly at Wallus. “We’re here to drag this polished bastard out of the Pavilion and throw him onto the street where he belongs. And if you plan to shield him—” her gaze snapped toward Nosmos, sharp and unapologetic, “—you can share the pavement with him.”

The words hung in the room like a thrown blade.

Wallus’s smile widened. Nosmos’s eyes narrowed.

Tevu felt the ground beneath her grow far more unstable than any stone she could command.
“Kazyak, you—” she began, stunned by the outright declaration.

Wallus immediately pointed at them, seizing the moment. “You heard her,” he said smoothly.
“A direct confession. This is the hostility I’ve endured since arriving here.”

Kazyak stepped forward without hesitation, claws glinting under the cabin’s dim light. “You brought this on yourself. You’ve overstayed your welcome, and we’re here to empty these cabins. And don’t pretend innocence—you pushed Nisa to her death, didn’t you?”

Wallus gave a lazy shrug. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who is this Nisa?”

Tevu’s jaw tightened. “Nisa was one of the girls assigned to serve you. Since your arrival, every girl placed under your care has deteriorated emotionally and mentally. The decline began the moment they started working for you.”

“Tch,” Wallus clicked his tongue. “Baseless accusations. I’ve done nothing to them. If they’re unstable, perhaps it’s your own courtesans tearing each other apart. I suspect that hotheaded one there is more than capable of bullying her peers.”

Kazyak's temper snapped. "Say that again, and I'll rip your tongue out. If you've got any spine left, take this outside—just you and me."

Before the confrontation could tip any further, Nosmos rose slightly from his seat, adjusting his gloves with deliberate calm. "I believe I've seen enough."

Sweat beaded on Tevu's forehead.
If nothing's done, we'll be fighting two guildmasters. Our odds aren't looking good either way.

At that moment, the door opened again.

Aisha entered, supporting a limping Meriath at her side. Both froze when they took in the scene—and the presence of Nosmos.

Tevu felt a flicker of relief at the sight of reinforcements arriving before things could escalate any further. She was careful, though, not to let it show on her face.

“What is going on here?” Aisha demanded, and then her gaze sharpened.
“Mr. Nosmos. What are you doing here?”

“Inspection,” Nosmos replied coolly. “As a governing guildmaster of Barville, I have every right to ensure that foreign envoys are treated appropriately. From what I see, the Tranquil Pavilion is threatening accredited diplomats of the Church.”

His eyes hardened.
“If this hostility continues, I will formally recommend the deduction of your guild’s standing points, the suspension of your license, and potentially the dissolution of this establishment. That would be the minimum consequence for jeopardizing our continent’s relations with the Church.”

Aisha’s ears twitched sharply, her tail flicking once behind her.
“It seems you are going out of your way to shield the Church’s representatives,” she said evenly. “I hope your loyalty remains with your own people and this continent—unless you’ve already allowed yourself to be chained to them.”

The temperature in the room dropped.

Nosmos’s expression turned glacial.
“Watch your tongue,” he said, voice low and cutting. “You question my loyalty? I have bled for this continent more times than you can imagine. I fought invaders, mana beasts, rival tribes—built my guild with my own hands. Do not compare that to what you do here.”

His gaze swept over them with open disdain.
“You girls spread your legs for anyone and everyone for a coin and dare lecture me about loyalty. Do not make that mistake again.”

The insult struck like a slap. Behind Aisha, Meriath’s talons flexed despite her injuries.
Tevu’s stone aura pulsed faintly.

And Wallus, seated comfortably between two powers on the brink of collision, was enjoying the show.

All while the situation deteriorates even further.