Chapter 475: 475. Confronting The One And Only... The Strongest Mage In Aethelgard

They arrived inside the academy and were so close to meeting Valentina.

"Diana, Lily," Rex said. "Give us a moment."

Both of them recognized the register of the request and withdrew without requiring explanation, which was one of the things Rex appreciated about both of them.

Lily glanced back once before she and Diana moved down the corridor, and whatever she read in Rex’s posture was enough to keep her moving.

"Look, Elizabeth, I know this is kinda sudden, but I think I’m going to handle this on my own." Rex said with a serious look.

"W-What...?" Elizabeth waited until they were out of earshot.

"You’re going up alone...?" she stated, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

"I am," Rex said.

"Rex." She lowered her voice, not because anyone was near enough to hear but because the conversation had moved into a register that called for it. "I know you said there’s a piece of intelligence that needs to be handled directly."

"I’ve been thinking about that since yesterday morning, and I haven’t pressed the issue, but are you going into Lady Valentina’s office by yourself?"

"Oh, now I want to understand why."

"Because the way she receives it matters," Rex said. "And she’ll receive it differently if it comes from me alone than if it comes from both of us."

"That’s not a full explanation."

"It’s the one I have right now," Rex said.

Elizabeth studied him with the expression she used when she was deciding how much she trusted a person’s judgment on a specific question. It was a different calculation from whether she trusted the person in general, and she was wise enough to know the difference.

"The piece I don’t know," she said carefully. "Is it something that changes what I said to Lady Valentina about the key?"

"No," Rex replied. "Your account remains valid. This is a separate matter."

"But it involves the Legion."

"It came from the Legion," Rex said. "What it involves is something Valentina needs to assess before it goes through any other channel. Including yours."

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. "You’re... protecting something."

"I’m managing the order of information," Rex said. "There’s a difference."

She looked at him with a specific expression that indicated her dissatisfaction, but she had decided that pressing further would not yield any additional information. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Fine," she said. "I’ll be here waiting until the good news comes."

"Good girl," Rex said. "Finally, you’re being obedient for once."

"Rex, just so you know..." Her voice had the quality of someone who is about to say something they know won’t change the outcome but needs to say anyway. "She is not a person who responds well to surprises."

"She is not a person who takes information delivered by a student without significant existing context."

"She is going to—"

"Be here when I come out," Rex said. "Yeah, yeah, I don’t know care."

"You’ll have to wait and see how it goes."

Elizabeth looked at him with the expression of someone who is simultaneously worried and curious, which was a combination Rex found genuinely interesting to produce in a person of her caliber.

"Be careful," she said.

"I’m always careful," Rex said and walked into the office.

...

Valentina’s office occupied the corner of the Academy’s upper floor, boasting the best view of the floating island’s edge and the Convergence Waters beyond—something Rex suspected was intentional.

The room was meticulously arranged, reflecting the intent of its occupant to convey specific information to anyone who entered: achievements adorned the walls, authority emanated from behind the desk, and the strategically positioned emptiness of the seating for visitors suggested, you are here at my invitation.

Valentina was seated behind the desk when Rex entered, and she presented an image that reflected her status: the most powerful mage in Aethelgard, seemingly decades younger than her actual age.

She was engrossed in a set of documents, displaying the focused attention of someone who was genuinely involved in her work rather than merely going through the motions.

She looked up when Rex entered and indicated the chair across from her with a brief gesture.

"Rexilion," she said. "I expected Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth is in the building," Rex said. "She’ll come up when we’re done."

Valentina looked at him with the same critical evaluation she used for unexpected information. "Excuse me...?"

"When we’re done," she repeated. "You’ve separated yourself from the expedition leader to brief me privately."

"There’s something I wanted to bring to you directly," Rex said, "before it went through the standard review channels."

"Elizabeth is aware of this?"

"She knows there’s a piece of the intelligence that requires your direct involvement before it goes anywhere else," Rex said. "She doesn’t know the content."

Valentina held his gaze for a moment. Her expression was a blend of suspicion and interest, reflecting the careful attention of someone who had managed an institution long enough to anticipate the contours of a conversation before it fully unfolded.

"Sit down, Rexilion," she said.

He settled into the chair and said, "The expedition to the canyon produced comprehensive intelligence on the Legion of Anti-Reincarnators."

"I’ll give you a complete account, and most of it can go through standard review immediately."

He paused for exactly the right length of time.

"But there’s a piece of it that requires your direct involvement before it goes anywhere else."

Valentina set down her pen.

Rex walked her through the intelligence in order, the way a professional presents a report: the canyon engagement, Kregg’s operational role, the relay structure, the compact document, and the ring.

He placed the document on the desk in front of her and let her read the relevant sections while he continued with the structural summary of what Kregg had described. She read and listened simultaneously without interrupting, which was a skill Rex noted as the mark of someone who had been receiving intelligence briefings for decades.

She stopped him once, when he reached the section on the regional powers protecting Solmordia’s secrecy.

"The Valdric Trade Consortium," she said. "You’re certain Kregg named them directly?"

"He confirmed them as the screening mechanism for new reincarnators entering from the northern routes," Rex said. "He was specific about the Aurelian Compact contact as well, though he only had function, not identity."

"Senior institutional administration, his words."

Valentina was quiet for a moment.

"That narrows the field considerably," she said, not offering any further explanation, indicating that she was already processing potential candidates without needing to vocalize her thoughts.

She gestured for him to continue.

When he reached the section about Solmordia, her expression shifted. It wasn’t dramatic, but Rex was attentive, and he noticed it—a subtle tightening at the corners of her eyes and a fleeting compression of her lips that she released in less than a second.

She knew the name.

The mention of Solmordia seemed to resonate with her. Rex noted this and moved on.

"The Balance Keeper," Rex said. "Kregg described her as the founder of the Legion, active for thirty years, operating through a highly compartmentalized structure from a base in Solmordia."

He kept his voice level and even. "He had heard her given name once, in a conversation he wasn’t intended to be part of."

Valentina was very still.

"He gave me the name," Rex said.

The room was quiet. Outside the window, the Convergence Waters spread in the morning light.

"Celestina Von Starlight," Rex said.