Voice of the World

“What on earth are these?!”

Miss Cynthia stared at a dozen weird potato-looking plants on the floor inside the conservatory.

“Um, I believe… these are mandrakes, ma’am.”

Annette stood next to the pile of mandrakes on her feet. Her hands were full with traces of soils while a small red bird rested on her shoulder.

“I know that much! I mean why are there so many of them in our conservatory?? Who planted them?! These are toxic plants!!” Miss Cynthia placed a hand on her forehead, pressing it lightly.

“Ah, um, I was… following a student and just happened to come here, ma’am.”

Cynthia turned to the girl. “Following a student? Why would you do that?”

“It’s, um… I thought she might have something to do with, um… the accident today, ma’am.”

“The one where a student got injured today? Huh? What made you think so?” Miss Cynthia asked, perplexed.

“Um, we bumped near the scene today… and I saw her hands were dirty… so, um… after school, I spotted her again and decided to follow her, ma’am.”

“You followed a suspicious student and ended up finding a cluster of mandrakes hidden here?”

Annette nodded.

“Was she the one who planted these then?” Miss Cynthia asked.

“Hmmm, she was working around this corner for a while so, um, there is a possibility she was tending these mandrakes, I think, ma’am.”

“How did you even find these? How come other people didn’t find it?”

“The Azurebeard flowers here were feeling down… so, um, when I was staring at them, I just happened to spot something under the bushes, ma’am.”

Miss Cynthia raised her eyebrow slightly. “Feeling down? What do you mean by that?”

“Um, I mean they sounded sad?”

“Huh? What do you mean they sounded sad?”

“Eh?”

Both of them blinked at each other at a loss of words.

Shortly, the red bird on Annette’s shoulder flapped its wings and moved to the side. A red fog of flames engulfed the bird before it vanished, revealing a man with bright orange hair from within.

“Fernoville! Why are you transforming into a human?” Miss Cynthia was surprised.

“What? You would not understand me if I was still in my bird form, would you?? Just like how you can’t hear the sounds of these peeps around us now!” Ferno said in response.

“The sounds of these… plants? So, are you saying that the plants… make sounds? And Annette can hear that?” Miss Cynthia was bewildered.

“Why, of course, they are! I think Auvry would know better, but it is basically the language that the likes of us speak. I heard from Aldo that you are the master of four seasons, shorter human mage. Isn’t that why?” Ferno explained with one eyebrow raised.

Annette stared blankly at Ferno. “...oh, so that’s why…”

“What? You did not know? Ha! I am cleverer than you it seems!” Ferno puffed up his chest pridefully.

Miss Cynthia stared at her hamster in silence and thought to herself, So that’s how she could speak with Esmeraldo in his dragon form. Master of four seasons is really something else, indeed.

“Alright, in any case, I definitely have to report this to the faculty, and I need your help to find that student who might have planted these.”

“Yes, ma’am”

***

“Is she the student you saw, Annette?” Miss Cynthia asked, scowling.

Annette had a concerned look on her face as she stared at a third-year female student with long black hair lying in the infirmary’s bed.

“She is the one… ma’am,” Annette quietly replied.

After Miss Cynthia reported to the faculty about their discovery in the conservatory, some time passed before one of the staff members told the teachers that a female student had suddenly fallen into a critical condition. The other female students in the dormitory found her groaning in front of her room, suddenly vomiting endlessly and then seeming to be in severe pain, before she finally collapsed.

All of the staff members and the teachers seemed to feel very troubled. There weren’t just one or two incidents that had happened that day, but three in total.

“Hm, Miss Paula, how is she?” Miss Cynthia asked.

Miss Paula, the physician, furrowed her brows. “Yolanda’s condition is very concerning. Her pulse is rather weak, her breathing is unusually shallow, and her body is barely responding to stimulation. Her temperature is also extremely low. As you can see here, her red eyes, dark circles, and pale complexion don't seem to be signs that developed merely over the past day or two.”

Miss Cynthia placed one hand under her chin. “Is it a life-threatening situation, Miss?”

The physician glanced at the student lying on the bed. “Hmmm… I need to monitor her closely to determine whether it will worsen. However, there is a possibility that it might threaten her life.”

“Um, do you know what could be the cause, ma’am?” Annette asked.

“To be honest, I can’t be sure. However, her condition reminds me of… the female students you brought here last year. I suspect she may have consumed some kind of sedative for a considerable length of time. The thing is, there are also signs that she may have been poisoned.”

“Sedative… and poisoned? What’s going on here?” Miss Cynthia muttered as Annette fell silent.

***

Henry and Lucas had ended their class earlier than usual today and were collecting their belongings in the classroom.

“You are heading to the back room again, I assume, Your Highness?” said Lucas indifferently as he collected his books.

Prince Henry turned to his cousin and silently stared at him with a straight face.

Noticing that, Lucas stared back at him. “What’s wrong, sir?”

Henry then approached Lucas and wrapped his arm around Lucas’s shoulders which made Lucas instantly baffled. Even though both of them had grown up together like siblings, they had maintained their formality and dignity, especially when they were in public. In other words, Henry's behaviour now was extremely unlike him.

“Huh?! What are you doing, Henry?!” asked Lucas as he looked around, checking if there was anyone nearby. Fortunately, they were alone.

“You know Luca, that you’re stuck with me forever whether you like it or not?” said Henry, casually calling his cousin by his childhood name.

“Ha? That's out of nowhere, Rey.” Lucas also dropped his usual formality in response.

“I'm saying I noticed you’ve been quieter these days, but don't be jealous over Annette.” Henry glanced at his aide.

Lucas raised his eyebrow in bewilderment. “Haa?!?! I'm not!”

“Hmmm… Are you sure?”

Lucas frowned in silence. Huh? What does that even mean? Am I jealous? Ridiculous!

“Aren’t you thinking that she is going to take your spot one day? Since she is a master of four seasons?” Henry asked again, as though he could read what was on his cousin's mind.

Lucas’s eyes widened. He shifted his gaze, pondering. That… sounds about right. I see. So I was unconsciously afraid of that.

He noticed how Henry had gradually changed after he met that girl. As Henry often asked him to let the two spend time together alone, he unconsciously felt that his cousin, who he had spent his life growing up with, had found a stronger person to be on his side. Then, maybe one day, eventually, she'll take over.

“You should remember this, Luca. If she ever joins us, she will be an addition, not a replacement.” Henry removed his arm from Lucas’s shoulders as he mischievously smiled before he said, “Now, let's go, shall we?”

Lucas smiled slightly as he sighed softly.

***

“I take it that you grew fond of that human mage, Aldo?” Auvry said.

Aldo shoved his snack into his mouth as he innocently stared back at Auvry. He silently munched on it for a while before he said, “Yes.”

Auvry smiled. “I see.”

The door to the back room opened, and two male students came in.

“Good evening to you, the guardians,” Henry greeted.

“Good evening, Prince. You are early today. Was it because of the incident yesterday?” Auvry asked.

Henry took a seat next to Aldo while Lucas took the chair next to them. “We just happened to end our class early. As for the accident yesterday, I shall leave that to the professors.”

“Accident? I am talking about the mandrake and the collapsed student,” said Auvry.

“Right, I vaguely heard our classmates talking about a third-year student who collapsed but… mandrake?” Lucas tilted his head.

“The mage of four seasons found them in your botany garden last evening.”

“Huh?! A mandrake? In our conservatory?” Lucas asked.

“A dozen of them,” Auvry added.

“A dozen?!” Lucas asked in disbelief.

Henry placed a hand under his chin. “Mandrakes are toxic plants, if I recall correctly. I believe Athenya doesn't cultivate them.”

Auvry glanced at Henry as he continued. “According to Professor Cynthia, the collapsed student seemed to be the one who planted them.”

“Hm? So, they are connected. But how did Annette find the mandrakes?” Henry asked calmly.

“Ferno said she heard one of the plants being sad and so she observed it and found the mandrakes beneath.”

Lucas tilted his head. “The plant being… sad?”

“Yes, the master of four seasons can understand the Voice of the World, the language magical beings usually speak. For example, you can’t hear Aqua’s sobbing right now, can you?” Auvry pointed to the small turtle on the table, behind a jar of snacks.

Both of them finally noticed the presence of the small turtle on the low table before them.

“Is she… still sobbing?” Lucas asked.

“She had been sobbing ever since before the two of you came, until now.”

Both of them stared blankly at Auvry, speechless.

The door to the room once again opened and Annette with her adviser came inside.

“Oh, good evening, Your Highness, Lord Lucas,” Miss Cynthia greeted them as Annette quickly offered her bow.

“Good evening, Miss Cynthia, Annette. I just heard that it seems like something had happened last evening on the campus,” Henry greeted.

“Yes, Your Highness. I was thinking of reporting it to you this evening.”

Before they closed the door behind them, Ferno in his human form came. The moment he entered the room, he ranted, “Argh! Why are you still sobbing, Aqua!! ………..Oh, come on! Stop weeping!!”

Annette jolted.

“So is she really crying now? I can't hear a thing,” Lucas asked, puzzled.

“And you can hear her, Annette?” Henry turned to Annette.

“Ah, um… Yes, sir.”

Ferno raised a hand to scratch his orange hair with a grunt, catching Annette’s attention. Her gaze instantly focused on the accessory on his wrist.

“Um, that is…?” Annette spoke up.

“What? Ahhh… this thing? I found it here and just wore it. It looks good on me, right—Geez, you are noisy, Aqua!”

“Ah! How could I forget! That is Mia's bracelet!” Annette's eyes widened.

“Oh, yes, I left it here last time. What about it?” Miss Cynthia recalled.

“Um, I just remembered that I… saw that emblem when we were in Eldora! It's the same emblem the book the occultist in Eldora held!” Annette exclaimed.

“Huh?”

All eyes shifted to the accessory wrapped around Fernoville’s manly wrist, the bracelet with an emblem engraved on it, that they had long forgotten about all this time.