"You can't tell me, or you won't tell me?" Noble knew there was a distinct difference between the two.
One was an inability because she didn't know or was forbidden. The other was a willful holding back of information.
"I...shouldn't tell you."
"Lady Yuma." Noble used the girl's formal title, making her wince.
Yuma glanced to where Mei and Lumi were quickly retreating.
Noble could see the young woman debating whether or not to call them back. Their years together as children and now their months together as sleepers had forged a bond deeper than blood.
In the end, Yuma let them leave. This would be her burden, not theirs.
Sighing, the princess lowered her voice. "Is there somewhere private we can speak?"
"Follow me." Noble led the way across the campus to her office. Const looked up from his desk to inform her of something, but upon seeing her guest, he switched tracks entirely.
"Tea, Ma'am?" The scent of lilac filled the air as Const stood to greet them.
"Light refreshments would be nice, thank you. Please knock before you enter." Noble knew he would, but she wanted to make her guest aware that they would not be interrupted suddenly.
"Of course." Const left his work behind to complete the task.
Almost instantly, all that was left to attest that he had been there at all was the pile of papers and the calming scent that lingered around his desk.
Noble entered her office with Yuma and motioned to the couches. "Please make yourself comfortable."
The young woman's emotions spiked as she selected a seat and attempted a comfortable posture.
'Ah, it seems I may have given the wrong instructions.'
"There is no wrong way to sit on the couch, Lady Yuma. You don't have to relax if you do not want to." Noble smiled gently.
Yuma sat up straight and placed her hands in her lap. Her body was absolutely rigid, yet somehow she looked much more relaxed than she had before.
"Whenever you are ready, I would like to know what has you so worried today. What has caused all of you to go on a frantic search for young Lumi?" Noble took a place on the cushions perpendicular to her guest and waited patiently.
Whatever it was seemed extremely delicate, and the provost did not want to cause Yuma to shut down entirely.
"The Song Domain has had many victories." She said as if searching for a good starting place.
"If you mean Mordret, I am aware of his exploits," Noble recalled how people had reacted to the news of the House of Night's fall.
Valor had gained some supporters from his massacre, but most people were already too entrenched in their beliefs for his actions to make much difference. Noble doubted that regular people really knew what had happened that fateful day. Or if they did, then they didn't really understand it.
His ongoing assault on Bastion had fallen to the back of people's minds as well. The Prince of Nothing was like a boogeyman, but little seemed to result from his actions.
"No, not him. It's much more recent. My elder sisters have made a lot of inroads in Godgrave. Indeed, I think if they continue as they are, things could end quite swiftly. Our progress has become quite frustrating to the King of Swords, though." Yuma paused.
'How does she know that last part?'
The first pieces of information might have been relayed via communication in the waking world. Any one of the princesses could have gotten news from their clan if someone from the front line returned to pass along messages.
The last statement was too definitive to be speculation. Yuma was certain that she was telling the truth.
"And what does the King of Swords's frustration have to do with you?"
The princess looked at her lap. "Since he cannot seem to win through brute force and military strategy alone, Lord Anvil has devised another way to get to our mother."
Noble felt a knot forming in her stomach.
"What way is that?"
Yuma shut her eyes.
"Us."
"Us?" The provost raised her eyebrows.
"Not you and me, Master Noble. Lord Anvil is coming after my sisters and me." The young woman balled the center of her skirt with her hands.
"What?!" Even though Noble had been expecting a similar incident based on what she had seen and heard, the revelation still shocked her.
Lord Anvil was a tactician, sure. But coming after children…
'Maybe that's where Mordret got it from…'
Hadn't the Prince of Nothing killed entire families of the House of Night because it was convenient. Perhaps he had learned that ruthlessness before he and his father had fallen out of favor with one another.
'Hold on, I'm making a judgment without all the facts.'
Noble took a deep breath.
"Dreamer Yuma, when you say that the King of Swords is coming after you, what exactly do you mean?"
"He plans to use my sisters and me against our mother. That's all I know." Yuma was telling the truth.
It was no wonder she had been so panicked before. A little knowledge could be more dangerous than too much or none at all.
Unfortunately, Noble could not cling to ignorance. She had to investigate this problem to its fullest extent, which led her to the next, very important part of her inquiry.
"Lady Yuma, how did you come by this information?"
Before the Princess could respond, there was a knock at the door. The ladies fell silent while Const entered and put a tray on the low table between them. He wasn't bothered by the lack of conversation.
The assistant went about his work, pouring both cups full of hot water before leaving without a word.
Yuma watched him go, waiting for the door to shut with a crisp click. Then she picked up her cup and looked deep into her reflection as she bobbed her tea bag idly.
"He can't hear us, right?"
"Const? No. The room is soundproofed." Noble had discovered that he truly couldn't hear a few times when she failed to use the intercom system and raising her voice had not summoned her dutiful assistant.
Yuma seemed to accept the promise. Setting aside the teabag, she sighed.
"Do you really need to know where I got the information?"
The provost nodded. "I need to know if the person is credible."
How could Noble act on such minimal intel without making sure it wasn't just a rumor?
"They are credible. They risked their life and safety to return from the Dream Realm to reach me. If he didn't believe it was true, he never would have contacted me. It's far too dangerous." Even though Yuma had tried to stay neutral, she had let slip that her informant was a man.
'Who could it be?'
Disregarding the gender, Noble could easily tell that the person wasn't from Clan Song or the Academy. If that had been the case, then Yuma wouldn't have had so much difficulty in warning Noble of the danger.
That only left one option.
The informant that had warned the young princess of the King's intentions…
Was a spy inside Valor.