Chapter 98

The flashback continues at Eden Academy, where a newly hired teacher Henry crosses paths with Martha, who has since earned her Imperial Scholar cape. He tells her the war's manpower drain forced the school to trim half a year off its degree program, and the two old friends fall back into their habit of taking tea together. During an air raid drill, Martha wonders aloud whether teaching shields him from the draft; Henry admits the deferment is only temporary, and privately he starts doubting whether education means anything in wartime, stung by relatives who accused him of hiding behind the classroom.

Grief arrives when word spreads that the Marlov Ballet Company, the troupe Martha dreamed of joining, lost many performers to a bombing while touring devastated Anber. She weeps in the school garden with Henry beside her. The company soon disbands, and Martha responds by signing up for the Women's Defense Auxiliary. Henry erupts at the news, insisting she is throwing her future away, but Martha counters that with her ballerina path gone she would rather fight for what she still has, him included. He refuses to accept her protection, and they separate on bitter terms.

Narrating from the present, an older Henry admits his younger self hid behind lofty ideals he could not actually defend against her reasoning, concluding he was the powerless one. Back in the past, Martha overhears staff discussing the combat death of Henry's cousin and talk of him marrying before a possible draft notice, which leaves her in tears. Resolving not to let him slip away, she asks him to dance at the senior graduation party. Mid-dance, Henry apologizes for forcing his convictions onto her, and Martha, charmed by his clumsy footwork and humility, works up the nerve to confess. An air raid alarm drowns out her words before she can finish.

Henry joins Eden Academy's faculty during the war and rekindles his tea gatherings with Martha, now an Imperial Scholar. An air raid kills much of the Marlov Ballet Company in Anber, ending Martha's dream of dancing professionally, and the troupe disbands. Martha volunteers for the Women's Defense Auxiliary, triggering a bitter falling-out with Henry over her decision to fight.

At the graduation party the two reconcile during a dance, with Henry apologizing for imposing his ideals on her. Martha's attempted love confession is interrupted by an air raid siren, leaving her feelings unspoken. Mr. Fowler makes his first appearance in this chapter.

The chapter belongs to the Love and War Arc, runs 19 pages, and appears in Volume 14. Its cover features Martha Marriott and Henry Henderson, and the chapter illustration nods to the Beatles' Abbey Road album art. A bombing target named Turindia mentioned on page 3 may reference Thuringia, a region once part of East Germany. The story picks up in Chapter 99 after the extra chapter Research Mission.