Not just any spy would have intimate knowledge of the King of Swords's thoughts and plans. It had to be someone close enough to the throne to gather intel without being detected.
If that were true, then the informant had felt the threat was credible enough to break away and warn the girls before anything happened to them. That person would easily lose their life if he were discovered.
'I can't ignore this and hope it will go away.'
"What else did this person tell you? Anything that could be useful in preventing it?" Noble's mind was spinning.
The number of ways that Valor could come at these girls was more than the provost could count.
There were no Dreamers from Clan Valor at the Academy just now, but there were plenty from its vassal clans. Having already thwarted one assassination attempt on the campus grounds, Noble had already taken measures to prevent violence between the clans.
Students from opposing Domains who wanted to duel were directed to the Dream Lab. They were only allowed to engage in combat there if both parties assured the instructor that there was no ill will between them.
More than that, Noble had personally overseen the pledges of neutrality of every student who was currently enrolled. None of them had been lying when they made their promise, unless they had somehow managed to control their emotions completely while saying things they did not believe.
Noble did not think any of the students were able to fool her that entirely, but she couldn't rule out that one of them might have changed their mind after their arrival or had been somehow coerced.
And that was not even taking into account the outside world. The safety measures of the Academy had nominally been put in place to protect the students from Nightmare Creatures. However, they were also meant to keep out unannounced guests.
While most who entered the Academy did so on peaceful terms, Noble wanted a record of who came and went through the front gate. Ray might have not intended any harm when he breached the women's dormitory, but Keth had. That is why in her newest critical upgrade she had even equipped the entire campus with an invisible protective dome, much like the NQSC had for filtering its air.
While she would have liked to have copied the design of the dome that she saw in Australia, there simply wasn't the time to bring that dream to life just yet.
'Maybe I should have…'
Noble's mind was racing so quickly that she almost missed Yuma's answer to her question.
"I don't have any more information except that Valor plans to act swiftly and decisively. My contact didn't have the details, or I would be less worried. All I know is that things will happen imminently, which is why I was gathering all my sisters together when..."
A large rumble entered the silence of the room, and Yuma's perfect posture faltered as she tilted to one side. Very few things could carry their sound through the walls, which meant that it had more likely traveled through the earth.
"The ground just shook, didn't it?" Noble asked, confusing the young lady.
"Did you not feel it? Uh, well then, yes, it did, Ma'am. Should we be worried? I didn't think earthquakes were common here." Yuma tried to remember her lessons.
"They aren't, but that wasn't an earthquake. Those 'imminent' guests seem to have arrived already, and I don't have enough tea..." Noble fished a device from her pocket.
"Tea? Wait, that shake was due to Valor?" Yuma bolted out of her seat.
"There's only one way to find out." Noble began to exit the room with her communicator in her hand.
Const was tapping away at the datapad on his desk. He rose as Noble entered, but she waved for him to sit back down. "Keep following protocol. I am going to check it out."
"Yes, ma'am." The young man followed her orders without question.
Noble considered asking him to follow her, but she doubted his aromatic warfare would be as effective on those trained by Valor. If it were just another mundane protest that had gone sideways instead, the provost would call her assistant immediately.
Before she had made it into the hall, her communicator connected, and a silver-eyed man was staring back at her as he rushed through the open air.
"Master Noble! The security dome..."
"Was that the rumble?"
Mori nodded as he continued moving at a brisk pace. "It's supposed to resonate at a high pitch when someone tries to breach it, but I think the frequency is off because it caused a small earthquake instead. I will have it recalibrated..."
Noble broke his train of thought. "We can talk about that when this is over. Do you have eyes on who or what caused the disturbance?"
"Only through the cameras. The unannounced visitors have made their way to the front gate, where they are now waiting patiently with the guards. They are wearing Valor's crest. I need to see them in person so I can gauge their intentions..." Mori's silver eyes shone brightly in the sunlight.
From his surroundings, he was at the back of the campus, most likely checking one of the other new features installed in the protective stone wall. That meant that Noble would reach the front of the campus long before he could.
"There's no time. Begin safety procedures; I will secure the gate. I need you to contact…"
The communicator went dark. All around her, the lights in the windows of the classrooms dimmed as well.
The NQSC did have rolling blackouts in the summer sometimes when energy consumption was particularly high. However, Noble could feel that magical forces that were suppressing the power which would normally run the Awakened Academy.
This wasn't a gate opening or poor infrastructure. A person had done this to her campus.
'I guess I don't need Mori to judge their intentions. They have already made them quite clear.'
"Master Noble?" Yuma was still following the Provost.
"Get your sisters and get to safety. Find Awakened Mori, Master Rock, or any of the trustworthy staff and tell them code six-one-seven. They will know what to do."
"But…"
"Dreamer Vis!" Noble caught the attention of one of the young men who had been so welcoming to the princesses on their first day. "Get Yuma to her sisters and then make sure they get out of sight. They must be kept safe."
"You mean…" Vis's eyes opened wider. "Yes, ma'am. No harm will come to them. I will guard them with my life!"
'Hopefully it won't come to that.' Noble didn't want to jinx things by saying it aloud. She nodded to the young man and left the pair to find the other princesses.
At the front gate, many of the campus guards were surrounding fourteen men and women with the crest of Valor emblazoned on their cloaks or armor.
Noble could feel the agitation of her guards as she approached, but she could not sense the emotions of the contingent from Valor at all. If she hadn't been looking at them with her own eyes, she would not have had any clue that they were there.
'That's not someone's Aspect like Ray. It has to be a Memory.'
Noble wasn't sure why she had come to that conclusion, but she was almost certain that it was due to the charm hanging around the neck of the handsome man standing confidently at the front of the group.
Even though Noble had never seen him before, she recognized him at once.
His winsome smile and chiseled jaw were both remarkably similar to and completely different from his deceased brother.
'Well, this just took a turn…'