Chapter Text
Vil Schoenheit was heading toward the mirror chamber, to him at least it was any other day. He’d wrapped up his club meeting and intended to retreat to his room to finish up some assignments and do some editing. To his surprise, however, there was one Idia Shroud standing outside his mirror the strange thing however was that his normally blue (sometimes red) fiery hair was tinged purple. He seemed to be muttering something as he brought his hands out in a quick chopping motion. “Can I help you Idia?” Vil asked looking at him in confusion, as he placed his hands on the hips of his dorm uniform.
“Aaaaa” Idia nearly jumped. “Not so loud!” he hissed as his eyes darted toward Heartslabyul’s mirror, before grabbing Vil’s hand and dragging him into the Dark Mirror’s chamber.
“Idia what in Twisted Wonderland has gotten into you!” the actor protested as he ripped his arm away from his fellow dorm head.
“Shhh.” the technophile brought a finger to his lips. “Look this is the only place on campus where there isn’t some kind of security feed. You could thank me you know. I’m sticking my neck out for you. Consider this repayment for what happened in Tartarus.”
The blonde crossed his arms and stared at Idia with a disbelieving look. “What could possibly be considered repayment for that? I was nearly stuck as an old man if Malleus hadn’t been able to-”
“I told you you have to be quiet.” the Ignihyde dorm leader insisted as he glanced around. “Look I’m not repeating myself, whether you pay attention or not isn’t my problem. But you have to be careful with Cater Diamond.”
Of all the crazy things Vil expected to hear from his fellow 3rd year that was not it. “This is ridiculous.”
“ Not ” Idia rolled his eyes. “Look Cater Diamond is not what he seems. I know you look at him and see some nobody wannabe magicam influencer, but that couldn't be further from the truth. That's a carefully crafted exterior he uses to deflect attention.” Yellow eyes darted around. “It's the reason why I do what he suggests. He may do it with a goofy smile but there are consequences of defying someone from the Diamond family. Do you know why Lilia Vanrogue joined the light music club? Why Malleus Draconia avoids him any chance he gets? Because they know he’s dangerous.”
“You’re seriously telling me Malleus Draconia is afraid of Cater Diamond.” the actor scoffed. “Have you lost your mind?”
Idia brought a hand to his forehead. “You don’t have to believe me, but open your eyes. You’ve seen STYX, you know who my family is. I know you heard of Olympus Corp and the Jupiter group. Just look up the name Vahn Diamond, I think you’ll figure out what you need to from there. I only say this because I know Cater’s taken some kind of interest in you. For what purpose I don’t know. But all I can say is it's best to prepare yourself.”
Vil took a moment to close his eyes and take a deep but before he could respond again Idia had already turned heading back for Ignihyde’s mirror. Determined to put the encounter out of his mind the actor returned to Pomefiore and his room. His intention was to proceed with his original plan, but as he sat at his desk, staring at the icons on his laptop’s home screen he tapped his fingers. Curiosity got the best of him as he pulled up his browser. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” he groan as he typed in the name Vahn Diamond.
The first thing he came across was a Magipedia page. “Okay so this guy at least exists,” he muttered as he clicked on the link. He rose an eyebrow at an image that very much resembled the boy he knew. It would be easy to believe this man was Cater’s father.
Vahn Diamond is the current head of the Diamond family and the owner and CEO of Crown Holdings, Twisted Wonderland’s oldest and largest network of banks.
That caused Vil to sit up in his seat a bit straighter as he folded his arms and stared at the screen. “Cater wouldn’t hide something like that.” he tried to refute, but he had his curiosity peeked. He scrolled down the page but there wasn’t actually a lot of information on the man. No mention of his personal life, family, or anything. Nor anything about the Jupiter group Idia had mentioned.
“This is ridiculous.” the actor closed his browser and opened up his homework. But 10 minutes into trying to work through equations for Crewel’s Alchemy class he found his mind wandering once more. What if Idia was right? The whole reason he never trusted Cater was because he knew he was putting up a front, a facade. He made a clicking sound with his tongue, if anyone could be considered knowledgeable about secret organizations it would be Idia. And now that he was pressed to think of it, it seemed true. The Ignihyde dorm leader’s introversion was a well known fact. Anything and everything he could send his tablet to, he did. But at various school events, especially this last year since he’d been assigned to Cater’s class group, he’d appeared in person more and more.
With another groan, he reopened his browser, this time typing in Vahn Diamond, Cater Diamond, and Jupiter group. Vil almost immediately closed it, the first half of the page were various listings for wedding bands in a “Jupiter setting” a halo of diamonds surrounding a larger circular center stone. Right before he went to close it tho he accidentally hit the scroll wheel on his mouse and an image of Cater caught his attention.
It wasn’t that odd he suppose he had specifically looked for his name, but he raised an eyebrow reading the title. “Hidden Truths Behind the Elite Families that Run the World.” It seemed to be your almost stereotypical conspiracy theory page. But…why would they have an image of Cater?
It wasn’t like Cater was in hiding. He had a large magicam presence, last time he checked he was just over a hundred thousand followers. It wasn’t a huge following compared to his own, but it was respectable for what amounted to an unconnected high school student. His day, his life, was usually on full display. “Why am I listening to Idia.” he wanted to smack himself but he was already so far down the proverbial rabbit hole he couldn’t go back. He almost closed his browser again but he knew he was in too deep to turn back now. And Idia was right he had heard of the Jupiter group before and after STYX he couldn’t deny their existence. Vil wasn’t completely naive no, he’d heard whispers. Themes in some of their movies coming down from “above” but he wasn’t sure who was above the director and studio executives. Something his father taught him not to question.
“Cater can’t really be connected to them can he?” the blonde muttered, as he gazed at the information on this website that looked like it was outdated a decade ago. There was a lot of text about the Jupiter group, their connections to various royal families, and others of influence and note. The organization itself had 12 members according to this diagram and it split out describing their influence over various aspects of well everything.
It was all dizzying to take in and not what Vil was here for, nor did he intend to take some random website he’d found at face value. So he scrolled down until he found the man who was supposedly Cater’s father. The section on Vahn Diamond started out the same as the Magipedia page but quickly dove into more detail. “Okay.” Vil brought a hand to his mouth. “That’s definitely not true.” he stared at a copy of a marriage certificate. “That woman would never have a husband.” but as he stared, he realized that the youngest of Victoria Water’s children had….a very similar shade of ginger hair.
She’d always wielded an incredible amount of power in the fashion industry, more than what Vil thought warranted a woman who’d never outgrown a toddler’s temper tantrum. But even his own father had cautioned him against crossing her. “I can’t believe I’m even entertaining this idea.” The urge to close his browser and get out of this particular rabbit hole was strong. But Idia had phrased this like a warning. But why if Cater could wield the same kind of power his supposed mother did, why didn’t he now? Sure his alleged father was some mysterious figure, but his mother was not. He could easily flaunt his fame the same way those pair of harpies did. And for that matter Victoria Waters only claimed her daughters.
“Idia if I find out this is some kind of prank I’m going to curse you.” Vil threatened to the empty space around him. He read through more information. Basically claiming that Victoria Waters and Vahn Diamond had only wed for the purpose of having children. Which the blonde hated that it was so believable. “While the couple has 3 biological children together. The two eldest daughters bear their mother’s name, and are intended to carry on her legacy,” That explained at least some of his questions. But then he made it to the section on Cater.
Cater Diamond is the only male child, and the only one to carry the Diamond family name. While he too has a modest following on the Magicam social media platform, there is no outward connection to either his biological mother’s side of the family nor his family other than his surname. Don’t let his smiles and charm fool you. It's all an act of a child playing with his toys. He attempts to reflect a normal life, mind you as he attends one of the world’s most prestigious magic schools alongside the likes of Malleus Draconia- Crowned Prince of Briar Valley, Leona Kingscholar- Second Prince of the Savannah, Idia Shroud- Heir to the Shroud family (click here if you wish to know more about the Shroud family) Vil Schoenheit- World Famous Actor and Model.
The blonde was torn out of reading the entry as he glanced across his own name. It wasn’t that he was unaccustomed to reading his name in print he just hadn’t expected to see it in a conspiracy theorist blog on Cater Diamond of all people. “I mean…they’re not wrong.” Vil crossed his arms. “I’ve always seen through Cater’s Magicam personality. But there isn’t anything nefarious going on there. It’s fake but that’s because he’s chasing trends. He always seems to be ahead of the curve, but…” wheels started turning in his head. Vil knew how hard it was to stay ahead of and on top of trends. It wasn’t something he’d ever put any thought into in connection to Cater Diamond. The boy always complained about being broke but….yet still somehow always had the money to do whatever he wanted. Vil let out another groan as he cursed Idia in his head. “None of this means anything.” he insisted. “Yes we’ve got some very high profile students, but we also have just as many if not more who have no claims to their name at all. Magical aptitude is all that's needed to attend NRC, and while I may have my faults with him, Cater is an adept mage.”
Vil kept reading, however. “The most telling evidence however is in his friendship with Kalim Al Asim. The two are often spotted together, members of the same club, whose only other known member is one of Prince Draconia’s elite guard. Historically the Asim's have close ties to the Diamond family, trusting them with their finances, and there are records to support that it was in fact the Diamond family’s favor that allowed the Asim’s to rise into their powerful and prosperous position. It is otherwise notoriously hard to get near the heir of the Asim family. Often never seen without their servants, but upon several occasions, Kalim Al Asim has been left in Cater Diamond’s care”
“I mean….” the blonde felt weird reading something like this. He knew both of them and while yes Kalim was very approachable, Jamil was never far from him. They were in separate class groups and clubs, but otherwise the other seemed to be his shadow. There were a few shots of the pair of LMC members together in Silk City, but that was Kalim’s home, even if they weren’t with Jamil, there would have been guards everywhere. “There’s a reasonable explanation for all of this. This is the problem with conspiracy theorists, they ignore the easy answers, looking for something more sinister. Cater and Kalim are in the same club, they’re just friends. Both are easy going of course they’d hit it off.”
“All of this falls apart if you take two seconds to actually talk to these people.” Vil finally did close his browser done with it. He’d give Idia a piece of his mind for wasting his time the next time he saw them. Cater did indeed have a very interesting last name and bore a more than passing resemblance to Vahn Diamond. But that's all he could substantiate. Refusing to put any more energy into it he moved on to his school work, determined to put the whole thing out of his mind.
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A few days later and the thought had crossed his mind a few more times than he’d have liked (which meant he’d thought about it at all.) but a few quick glances here and there at Cater and he’d put the issue to rest. Idia Shroud just had to be messing with him. Given his technological aptitude, he figured it would have been nothing for the Ignihyde dorm leader to create or alter the websites to feed into his little prank.
That might have been the end of it if not a week later he found himself cornered in an unused classroom by Jamil Viper. There was an indignant look on his face, as he stood there this time in his school uniform, looking down at the Scarabia vice dorm leader. “Can I help you?” he tried to keep the hostility out of his voice but this was getting beyond ridiculous now.
“Other way around.” Jamil, just as Idia had seemed spooked. “Look, I shouldn’t be saying anything, and normally I’d never stick my neck out for anyone but this is big.”
“Let me guess, this has to do with Cater.” the actor deadpanned.
The other’s eyes widen. “You know.”
Vil folded his arms. “Idia said something a few days ago. Look I don’t know how he got you to participate in this prank, or if Cater put you two up to this or what. But I’m not going to fall for it.”
Jamil brought a hand to his forehead. “Vil this is deadly serious. There’s something coming soon. I don’t know the details but I know it involves you. I just…be careful.” and with that, the other was gone just as quickly as Idia before had disappeared.
This second encounter left the blonde more shaken than the previous one. There were questions that he didn’t know how to get the answer to. The urge to go up to Cater and demand answers was strong. This was foolish, he needed to put a stop to it. But a fear buried deep within him wouldn’t let him take that route. “I can’t actually be afraid of him, can I? This has to be a prank.”
The soft click of his heels filled the air as Vil made his way back to his room, but as he settled in, trying to figure out what he wanted to do about the situation, his eyes caught sight of an ivory envelope on his desk, his name elegantly written in a golden script. “How….” The only person that could get into his room was Rook and there was no way the man would play along with such a prank.
His hand was slightly shaky as he opened the envelope to find a piece of gold foil with a date and time written in the same script as his name only in black ink. On either side was a cluster of four black diamonds that formed one. A symbol he had seen represented the Diamond Family.
“This can’t actually be real…” he said once more, though, for the first time, he was really beginning to have his doubts.