The first few days after the transformation Hatsumi hid her runes underneath her clothing. It was only a matter of time until our success would become known but for now we managed to keep it a secret. It gave her some time to get used to the changes and delayed me getting swarmed by curious students.

Having finished our spellblade project allowed us more time to study and prepare for the upcoming exams. While you could not truly fail in the middle of the year you could get extra lessons if you did badly. Something we could not afford, since I was expected at the conference during the break.

A week later we were called to the principals office. I knocked at the door as we arrived.

"Enter."

It was a good thing that the office was large considering our group. Between Kaito, Hatsumi, the cats and us girls we took up a lot of space. Besides Erik, Duncan was present as well.

We saluted.

"Sir."

Erik nodded. "At ease. I have decided to call all of you here because Duncan has found some more information. We have decided to keep you informed since Koyuki tends to end up at the centre of things."

Duncan gave us a nod. "It's good to see you again. Our raid was a much larger success than I could have hoped for. It gave us a lot of new information. What I can tell you so far is that Ilestria has been in conflict with the Brotherhood. They had been targeting them when they ran into Koyuki and shifted their focus last year. Their agents, especially the fake Eva, were already here. That is how they reacted so quickly."

"Sir, how did the thieves guild work with both the Brotherhood and Ilestria?" Helena asked.

"They are interested in profit, not morals." Duncan replied. "Although they do claim they had no idea that Eva was an Ilestrian agent. They are hiding behind her connection to Archibald and the fact that the real Eva is from Nethena."

"Did Ilestria work with the guild to get to the Brotherhood?" I wondered.

"Possible." Duncan answered. "But we found out more. The Brotherhood started spreading vampiric nightshades. They farmed them for their seeds to finance their operations. They fed them people and then used their bones for necromancy. But they lost control and the vampiric nightshades started to spread a bit too much. Partially that can be blamed on Ilestria's interference. They took out some of the Brotherhood's cells but left the nightshades behind. They might have even helped the spread to weaken our kingdom."

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"Ilestria made new bombs with those seeds." Cassie added.

"True." Duncan replied. "They likely gathered a lot of them during their operations and started using them. Also, the thieves guild sold the seeds. Ilestria might have used that to track down some of the Brotherhood's cells."

"Ilestria has been lying low since the Eva incident, however your recent discoveries might change that." Erik warned. "And the Brotherhood will be even more determined to get you, or your undead. After Kaito's demonstration and Hatsumi becoming a spellblade your undead have drastically increased in value."

"Which brings us to your newest spellblade." Duncan said. "Koyuki, do you think anyone could replicate your work if you shared your new discovery?"

I pondered that. "Finding out how to change spells to work on undead was a major breakthrough. But with that information alone you could not create a spellblade. You still need an experienced inscriber, a joint casting and most importantly, a powerful bound vampire. I find it unlikely that anyone else has all of that lying around."

Duncan nodded. "Gronir said something similar. Very well, you are allowed to share your discovery at the conference. But do not share the exact process of creating a spellblade, only the fundamentals."

"So, Hatsumi, how does it feel to be the first vampire spellblade?" Erik asked.

"Sir, I have not been able to test my full powers yet. I am still getting used to the runes and the changes. But I am very happy so far, it is a great honor to be the first." Hatsumi replied.

Erik stroked his beard. "Koyuki, do you plan to create more spellblades?"

"No sir. Hatsumi was the only one of my undead who wanted to follow that path." I replied.

Erik nodded.

"There is one other thing." Duncan said. "The dagger that you have found, it has been analysed. It has been enchanted to paralyse its victims. The style of the dagger is more common in the south. It is a great weapon to abduct people, or sacrifice them. It's also rather expensive. We will keep it for now and try to trace its origins."

While Duncan spoke Erik opened a drawer in his desk and retrieved a rather ornate letter. "I also have an invitation for you, Koyuki. It seems that our princess is very pleased with your progress and wants to meet you while you are at the capital. She is very excited to present you to the court. She also wants to meet your undead."

My ears drooped. Oh no, more politics!

"Marvellous. We shall need to buy a suitable dress." Hatsumi said, sounding pleased.

Oh no, more dresses!

Helena grinned.

After that we were dismissed.

"Hey, is that invitation only for you, or for all of us?" Skadi asked after we left the office.

I shrugged and just handed her the letter. I was still unhappy about appearing at court.

Skadi opened the letter and Cassie peered at it over her shoulder. "We all get to go." Cassie stated.

"I am sure it will be fine." Helena said. "If anyone bothers us we can ask Kaito, or Hatsumi, to deal with them."

"Certainly. Making sure you are treated properly is among my highest priorities." Kaito confirmed.

"We will make sure everyone envies you." Hatsumi added.

"Meow." Nyx said.

Kaito looked at the cat. "I believe the top hats you used in the past might be a good look. Do you believe you could add a small tie?"

Nyx formed a top hat out of ice, then added a frozen tie.

"Splendid." Kaito commented. "Now we only need a proper dress for Koyuki."

I sighed, my undead were way too enthusiastic about this.

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