“I’m inclined to agree, but moving Aldric would look suspicious all on its own,” Kedrin countered. “I could sell the staff on it, but that would leave his students wondering. They would start asking questions, and it would eventually get out. Not to mention their education would suffer in his absence.”

“About that...” Aldric started, causing everyone to look his way. “I haven’t told them everything, but Nadrina and Lilianna are on to me. I curbed their curiosity by promising some extra lessons, but if the others find out, it might become a problem in the future.”

No one liked that. Zasia looked torn between being angry with him and being concerned. Kedrin and Balrus traded looks.

“This Lilianna you speak of,” Balrus asked carefully, “would that be the same Lilianna who is heir apparent to the Asimov family?”

“Yes,” Kedrin answered irritably. “I honestly thought Aldric would be good for her and Codrin. Besides, Lilianna’s family has almost completely cut her out as per their traditions, and Codrin openly despises his father. I thought the risk was slight enough that we could risk it.”

“Lilianna briefly attempted to look into me when she first met me,” Aldric interjected. “She didn’t get anywhere. Her family has totally shut her out. Honestly, I don’t think she’d dig any deeper if I asked her not to.”

“I know you’ve grown fond of your students, Aldric, but that seems rather naïve—.”

“I agree with Aldric,” Zasia abruptly said, all eyes turning to her. “Call it a woman’s intuition if you must, but I don’t believe young Lilianna has any malicious intentions. I will reserve judgement for Codrin, but I believe we are fine for now.”

Kedrin didn’t look entirely convinced, but Balrus thankfully brought them back on the topic.

“We can table this part of the discussion for now. We were discussing what to do with Aldric, not his students. If it is not possible to permanently move Aldric, could we perhaps do it temporarily? All he really needs is to be somewhere that I am not. It makes it easier to lie if I genuinely do not know what he is up to.”

Kedrin pondered that for a moment before his eyes lit up suddenly. “Perhaps... yes, that could work, actually.” He gave Aldric a crafty smile, very different from his usual cheery one.

“How would you feel about taking a field trip, of sorts?”

~~~

LILIANNA WAS DOING her best to appear unaffected, but the further they went into the forest, the more nervous she became. She and her class were delving deep into the Vildim wilds, located just off the outskirts of Nevis. Professor Aldric, in typical fashion for him, had told them all to pack a week’s worth of clothing, then explained absolutely nothing further than that.