Chapter 16: Secrets

Ariella swung her greatsword down, and in response, Barrett raised his shield to block the attack. The heavy pressure of her sword was enough to cause his knees to buckle, but compared to the first duel they had, something was missing.

“Are you good?” Barrett asked after gliding her greatsword to the side and backing up. Normally, Ariella would’ve followed up with another attack, but her face was listless, as if she was thinking of something else.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s fine,” Barrett walked out of the circle, and Ariella followed.

At the start of class, when Professor Ward told everyone to find a partner to spar with, the two of them immediately looked for each other with their promise from lunch last week still fresh in their minds. Plus, at a glance, both of them knew sparring with anyone else wouldn’t help them improve. That wasn’t them trying to make light of their classmates. They both simply wanted to improve as much as possible, and what better way to do so than to spar with someone who could challenge them.

“What’s up?” Barrett asked.

Ariella debated about sharing the diary she found, but at the same time there was no reason to hide it. If anything, it was easy to explain. “I found this diary about the leviathan in the library, but it’s in an unknown language. Professor Bauer told me to ask Professor Marsh about it, so that’s been on my mind.”

Barrett looked around to make sure no one was in earshot of their conversation before asking a question he had been curious about all week. “Do you really plan to kill Leviathan? I apologize, but I caught some of your conversation with Alice before we talked.”

Ariella studied his face. She didn’t mind telling others her thoughts on the dragons, but she quickly learned while attending school that not everyone was fond of killing them. They either hated the idea or laughed at her. Even Alice found it hard to believe it was possible, so she kept those thoughts to herself, or if she wanted to talk about it, she shared them with Alice who listened.

“Yes,” she answered. “Crazy, I know. I’ve heard that enough in my life, you don’t have to tell me that too.”

“No, no. I actually have no problem with it. The dragons are quite a polarizing subject for the nobility, but most of them don’t like them.”

“How do you know that?” Ariella asked curiously.

“Ah, right. I never mentioned my last name. My full name is Barrett Sinclair from the Dukedom of Sinclair.”

“A duke’s son.”

“Yes, so I know a lot more than the average baron. The higher nobility do not like the dragons, but with the surge of newer nobility who have populated the lower nobility rankings of barons and viscounts, the voices in favor of the dragons have become more prominent.”

“Wait, why do they not like them?” Ariella questioned.

“I’m sure you were told in history class, but while the academy accepts students from all around the world, which creates a hotpot of different viewpoints, the country at its core has always been against the leviathan, and in turn, the other dragon too. I’m not sure of the reason, and I doubt I’ll find out until I take over my father’s spot as duke, but they know something others don’t.”

“And that’s the reason?”

“I’m positive about it.”

“So does this mean you don’t like the dragons?”

“I’m not sure,” Barrett admitted. “I’ve always been taught that Leviathan was bad and it should be slain, but it’s not like anything has happened since I’ve been born. My mind will probably change when I learn what they’re hiding, but until then. I don’t know.”

“But you have no problem with my goals?”

Barrett shrugged. “Like I said, nothing has changed, so would anything change if you did? If anything, slaying the dragon would only improve the world. We would no longer need to live under a barrier all the time and could see the real sky.”

“But what if Leviathan is a god? That’s what my village thinks.”

“I’m not familiar with the dragons enough to understand that, but if it really is a god, then why is it here to begin with? And if it is,” Barrett scoffed. “It’s not like anyone could kill it.”

“But the nobles believe it can happen,” Ariella smiled as the dots connected. “And if they think it’s possible, then that means they aren’t gods and that they’re fallible.”

“That’s what I believe, but even if this wasn’t true, you would still go after it, wouldn’t you?”

Barrett’s questions left Ariella skeptical. She wasn’t sure why he was so interested in her plans. From what she gathered, he seemed more interested in the death of the dragons, even if he didn’t say so himself. That would be the only explanation why he would devolve information only privy to the nobility. History class didn’t cover the gossip of nobility, so everything he told her was things she would’ve never known to begin with.

“You want the dragon dead, don’t you?” Ariella said to test his reaction.

Barrett scratched his head and sighed. It was a simple question with a complicated answer. The hidden truth had made him far too curious while growing up, which led him to do some secret research of his own, but the adults kept the information close to their chests and he didn’t want to come to a conclusion without knowing everything even if he was leaning one way more than the other.

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, you’ve been casually telling me about the secrets of the nobility.”

“The perks of being the son of a duke. Worst case, I’m given a slap on the wrist. So if you’re interested in Leviathan, then it doesn’t hurt to tell you.”

“Fine, but I have one more question.”

“I’ll answer it if I can.”

“Why hasn’t anything happened to my village? As I mentioned, they see them as gods, so wouldn’t that go against what the king and nobles think?”

“That’s the wonderful part about our nation. We’re pretty open to other opinions. It’s not like we’ll kill innocents just because they think differently. Now, if they broke the law, that would be a different story.”

“Which explains why such an academy could sit in the capital and have no problems.”

“And it’s why we’ll never end up in a war. There isn’t a legitimate reason to start one with us unless fabricated.”

“Well, if you find out the reason and if it’s something you can share, then I would like to hear it too, if you don’t mind.”

“If I do, then fine, but until then, I wanted to ask you something. Meeting up once a week won’t be enough, I think, if you want to learn aura and work on our deal. What days are you free?”

“The weekends are perfect after lunch if that’s fine with you. My weekdays are packed since I’m a freshman.”

“Ah, right. I forgot about that. Weekend it is then.”