Retrospect

Laying atop his bed, Theodore endured the aching of his fingers. He had healed the skin to hide his injuries, but the insides were still mostly held together by threads of Aether. It will take some time before they fully heal. The wound on his neck, on the other hand, had been fully restored. He had prioritized the healing of his throat, considering that it was a far deadlier injury.

"What a disaster..." he whispered to his pillow.

It was nighttime and Theodore was attempting to sleep. However, what happened earlier kept haunting his mind, preventing slumber from arriving. With one hand hanging over his bed, caressing the soft fur of Peter by the bedside, Theodore contemplated the day's event.

The plan was supposed to be simple. Too simple, evidently.

Theodore had been successful in unraveling Albatross's secrets through interrogation, but everything after that went terribly wrong. While Theodore had expected a few things to go awry, he was not prepared for her to be so terrified of her secrets being revealed that she would forfeit her life while being more than ready to take him down with her.

(Perhaps I should have taken the time to know her better. Then perhaps I could have just partnered up with her without going through all that trouble. Yet, at the same time, without being so underhanded, can I truly trust her? Can I truly trust anyone in this city? Even now, I can't help but feel that I might have stepped into a trap.)

"Even so... I can't sit around. I just can't," Theodore uttered under his breath.

(I have to go back.)

(Something might have happened.)

(Why aren't there any letters for me?)

(I must go back! I must!)

(What if it's too late!?)

(What if everyone is already...)

Picking up Peter from the ground, Theodore held the small creature in his arms and curled into a ball.

(Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. I must be going nuts. I don't know if anything has happened yet. It's just a bad dream. I got lucky this time, but I have to calm down. Just do this one step at a time and I'll escape this place in no time. Then I'll go home and see them, and they'll all be okay. There's no problem. So let's do this slowly.)

Upon calming down, Theodore continued to reflect on the day's events.

To negotiate with Albatross, to make her believe that they stood on equal grounds, Theodore gave up his own secret, revealing that he was the Demon Lord reincarnate. It wasn't a secret that he was most willing to share, but of all the vulnerabilities he could reveal, this had to be the safest. Far better to admit what the Circle of Mages likely already suspected him of being than pretend to be something that might put him into a worse situation.

(Of course, revealing that only made her want to kill me more.)

The risks were calculated, and though Theodore did not expect lady luck to be on his side, he didn't think that she would be actively working against him. As it turned out, standing before him was someone with the deepest of grudges against him and Theodore had just dug himself into a deeper hole.

Though, despite everything going wrong, after many twists and turns, the two finally came to an agreement. They would be partners for as long as they were trapped in Lancea. As for what would happen after they get out, on the other hand, was anybody's guess.

Mysteriously, it wasn't any of his calculated moves that convinced Albatross. Instead, it appeared to be him losing his temper and spilling his guts at her that made Albatross reconsider. It would seem that Theodore expressing his confusion about his identity made Albatross confused about her feelings towards Theodore as well. It served to soften Albatross's hatred for him, allowing her distaste for the mages and their city to just barely surpass her desire for revenge in that moment.

Afterwards, Theodore gave Albatross the cure to her Aether accumulation. It was something Fiana had gotten for him after seeing him gulp down pots after pots of Aetherglow tea. It was an experimental cure, but it could be used in an emergency.

(Everything turned out well enough in the end, I suppose. Still, looking back, it's hard to believe I pulled it off. It just goes to show how easily plans can fall apart, especially with so little to work with. Being a mastermind sure isn't as easy as it seems.)

***

The next day, Albatross came to visit once again. However, rather than the usual cheery smile plastered on her face, she wore a sour look and a mean glare. Somehow, Theodore felt that this suited her more, likely because it was more genuine than how she usually was.

"So you came," said Theodore as he led the girl into his room, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I did," Albatross replied begrudgingly. "You told me to because that troublesome cure of yours required yet another cure. *After* I took it, no less."

"It's just the nature of the cure, unfortunately. It's not a means to continually manipulate you, honest. That being said, you should have been more careful about what you put into yourself. You'd think that the lesson was learned after the first time."

"I was in a hurry, remember? Having shards of crystals forming inside of me and whatnot. Whatever! Just hand me the medicine!"

Seeing that Albatross was getting impatient, Theodore reached into his drawers and pulled out a bottle of white pills. Dropping two into his hand, he presented them to Albatross.

"No tricks this time, right?" asked Albatross, having no trust in Theodore whatsoever.

"None," Theodore answered without skipping a beat. "As I've said before, I need your help. But as you know, you just can't trust anyone in this city, so I needed some insurance."

"I'm not here to listen to your excuses." Albatross had not forgiven anything. She merely wanted to leave the city and Theodore happened to want the same. With their secrets in one another's hands, their fates were tied. "So I just swallow these, right?"

"Correct, though you may want to stick around for a while. The pills induce some stomach trouble, you see. Better to take care of it here than run around looking for an outhouse later."

Albatross frowned but swallowed the pills regardless. While she didn't trust Theodore, she understood that he needed her alive, at least. After all, she knew his secret, one that she believed will have him suffer a fate worse than death should she leak it to the mages. If he hasn't killed her for knowing that, then he wasn't going to do anything that would endanger her life anytime soon. That is if he wasn't lying about being the Demon Lord, of course.

Either way, Albatross recognized that Theodore was desperate to escape this place. His desperation was the only thing she could trust about him. If not so, why would he go out of his way to seek the help of someone as insignificant as her?

And if he were to truly be the Demon Lord, the score can be settled once they're far away from this place.

"Would you like some tea to wash it down?" asked Theodore as he picked up the pot placed on his desk. Hot steam could be seen rising from the snout.

"I'd rather not," Albatross replied vehemently. The memories of what happened just a day prior were still fresh in her mind.

"If you fear that I might poison it, you can always use Aether to feel it out first, that's what every other mage does. Kalman always stays in either his study or the workshop proper anyways, so there's no need for you to hide your abilities here."

"Feel it out?"

With a deep frown, Albatross stared at Theodore, as if she wanted him to explain something but was too stubborn to ask. As far as Albatross was concerned, Theodore was no friend of hers and thusly felt reluctant to show any weakness, no matter how slight.

"Don't tell me, you don't know how to do it!?" Theodore exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. "Though, now that I think about it, you didn't use your Aether to fight back yesterday either. Did you only know how to condense Aether? Can you not manipulate Aether outside of your body?"

"Of course I can! I just... I haven't gotten the hang of controlling it, that's all."

"Well then, show me," said Theodore as he handed Albatross a mug, filled with the tea he had just poured.

Albatross glared at Theodore briefly before taking the mug and shifting her focus towards the hot liquid within. Meanwhile, Theodore stood to the side, watching with his arms crossed.

Then, a low growl could be heard. It came from Albatross's stomach.

"Well, that was faster than expected," Theodore commented as he watched Albatross placing the mug down and beginning to head for the exit.

With Albatross gone, Theodore let out a sigh, feeling uneasy about this troubled partnership going forward. As he pondered on what he could have done better, he sipped on the mug of Aetherglow tea left on the table, though not without checking it with his threads first, of course.

***

End of Chapter 49

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