Chapter 811: Got What He Needed
Chapter 811: Got What He Needed
By the time lunch ended, Liam was walking alone through the halls toward his final class of the day.Tactical Espionage waited in the western academic wing, and the closer he drew to it, the more the dining hall’s noise faded behind him. Students moved through the corridors in smaller streams now, some heading to final lessons, others rushing because they had spent too much of lunch pretending time was not real. Liam kept a steady pace, his report tucked neatly inside the document case beneath his arm, while Edith’s words turned over in his mind with quiet precision.
’With this, it should be easy to make Lucian speak,’ he thought.
The information Edith had given him was not large in quantity, but it was enough. That mattered more. A person did not need a full history to be pressured. Sometimes one correct detail, placed at the right angle, did more work than an entire biography. Edith had been careful. Liam had expected that. She had not told him everything, and he doubted she had given him anything that would truly damage Lucian if used carelessly. But she had given him context. Familiarity. A few habits. A few old things Lucian likely would not expect Liam Hunter to know.
That was enough to open the first lock.
’I can find him after classes end,’ Liam thought as he passed a row of tall windows showing the gray afternoon beyond. ’Edith said his final class is Earth Magic. That means I will need to go back toward the Magic Department after Tactical Espionage. Annoying, but manageable.’
The Magic Department sat farther from the western wing than he cared for, especially with the weather worsening by the day. It would require crossing more of the academy grounds after the final bell, which meant more cold air, more wind, and more time wasted before he could return to his room. The thought irritated him almost as much as the reason for going.
Lucian Kellor had become another inconvenience.
That was the word Liam had settled on.
Not threat, not enemy, not mystery, at least not yet. An inconvenience. Something sitting in the path of information he wanted, refusing to be moved by ordinary means. If Lucian answered quickly, the matter could be handled with minimal trouble. If not, Liam would have to become more deliberate.
’Deal with him today,’ Liam thought. ’Get the report submitted. End the day. Return to the room before this cold nonsense gets worse.’