Chapter 24

Aaron Pov

In the middle of the road a carriage was speeding by. It was surrounded by knights in a protective manner. Other carriages gave the way for them after seeing the insignia etched on the banner which indicated that it was of Elcot house. The shattered door seemed to have been mended but looking closely one could see some cracks. Inside there was Rowley, Aaron and Fiore on one side while the princess was unconscious on the other. Few hours had passed by but Nina did not seem to wake up. Fiore seemed to be worried for her elder-sister like figure. She looked at Aaron and asked him.

“Aaron nii-sama, is big-sis going to be ok?”

Aaron just smiled slightly, ruffling her hair in the process. She just swatted his hand away and gave a cute pout.

“She will be. After all it is Nina we are talking about. You do know how she still could kick my bu- *ahem*, she could still beat me right? She is your ‘invincible onee-sama’ after all. She is strong, kind, brave…and so much more.”

His voice seemed to be filled with confidence before it swayed to forlorn one. Fiore blinked innocently at the words spoken by her brother and just giggled. That seemed to get to snap Aaron out of his own world, curious about why Fiore was giggling about.

“Hmm? What is Fii-chan giggling about?”

Fiore just smiled sweetly.

“Because when you talk about Nina onee-sama you sound like dad when he talks about… mom.”

Just then Fiore’s mood plummeted about thinking about her mother. Aaron just smiled sadly before patting her head. Fiore just gave a shaky smile but held on.

‘She is a strong girl. She did not cry like she used to whenever we talked about our mother.’

“Maybe I do, maybe I do not, it’s confusing.”

Brand, who was driving the coach, just smiled while Rowley was thinking about his daughter Alicia.

‘Honey, you have got a long road ahead of you.’

Rowley just coughed to get them both into focus.

“Ahem! Aaron, according to Brand-san we are going to reach the capital by tomorrow afternoon by the speed we are going.”

Aaron asked his uncle in an uncertain voice, just outside the hearing capability of his sister.

“I wonder uncle, is she going to be all right? She is not waking up.”

Rowley just sighed.

“I believe it is due to stress, Aaron. From the conversation of the cult members, it seems it was Named Assassins that had abducted her and knowing how strong-willed the princess is, she must have put up a fight. It is likely due to that as well as the drug that was in her body that rendered her powerless.”

Aaron looked worried as Rowley placated him.

“Aaron, she is ok. You do know that we have someone here who is well versed, if not the best, when it comes to poisons and other secret arts.”

They both looked at Brand who seemed to be whistling in a happy tune. Rowley continued on.

“If he had already fed Nina the remedy and is not worrying then why should you?”

Aaron just sighed.

“It’s cause…… she has been my friend for so long, even longer than the crown prince. Isn’t it ok if I am little worried?”

Rowley just nodded.

“It is. She is your childhood friend but I am sure she would be insulted if you thought of her too lowly that she did not have will power to shoulder on this incident without help.”

Then a childish voice rang out.

“Nina onee-sama!”

Another voice sounded out, a bit groggy but nevertheless it was a calm and serene voice as he remembered.

“Mmmmm….eh? Fii-chan?”

The beauty seemed to stir up from her sleep and looked groggily at Fiore who just jumped onto her lap.

“Oomph! It is Fiore chan.”

“Nina onee-sama, you had me so worried.”

Nina just smiled a bit and hugged Fiore.

“It’s ok. I am all right. See Fii-chan?”

Then she seemed to register Aaron and Rowley in her sight. They seemed to look into each other’s eyes. Then both of them smiled. Aaron kneeled as well as Rowley.

“It seems you are awake, your highness.”

“Aaron! How many times do I have to tell you that you are my friend. Stand up and give your onee-sama a hug. Yes, yes I must keep my image but I know it is just Uncle Rowley so it is all right.”

“Wha..a.a.h?”

Aaron blushed and sputtered a bit. Rowley just grinned.

“It seems your highness can also pinpoint my identity. Impressive.”

Nina just smiled.

“Of course. After all I have spent living in Elcot house for eight years with you, Aaron and Elcot family when we were kids.”

Rowley’s eye saddened at that remark.

‘Eight years this lass stayed with us away from her family. All because of that…’

Aaron finally got the time to rearrange his feeling before going to the main point. He seemed to have missed the pained look in Rowley’s eyes.

“Nina, what happened? How did you get kidnapped?”

Nina just sighed. Her troubled expression gave a pang in Aaron’s heart. She spoke as she kept her hand covering Fiore’s ear.

“I was going secretly to Clara’s birthday party. After all the commotion in the capital father thought that the cult would target the family so he tightened the security of the castle. Nobody was to go out before this whole fiasco had ended. Even if we did, it would be in secret with maximum security. I was on my way when suddenly the guards seemed to yell aloud, then screams rang out.”

Aaron just calmly listened while Rowley seemed to be in a thought.

“Clara….”

Aaron mused. She was the only one Nina could say was her only friend. He still wondered why everyone in the Academy stayed away from Nina.

‘Maybe because she is the princess? Was that why no one wanted to associate with her? That’s wrong, no matter how far away from the succession line they are, they are still influential enough for nobles to talk to them. No wonder, she wanted to go to Clara’s birthday party.’

“Then the carriage seemed to speed up. The coachman was screaming that it was an ambush. Suddenly he seemed to disappear. I got out of the carriage before it could turn over. Then suddenly there was someone behind me, I could feel it. I caught a glimpse of the person. Then there was this sweet fragrant smell which knocked me unconscious.”

Rowley nodded, contemplating something.

“Yes, the Named Assassins are strong, some even prefer using such things to incapacitate people. It is likely that the guys we fought were the one that kidnapped her.”

Nina nodded hesitantly.

“Must be. Fortunately, our paths crossed and Aaron was able to save me. So why were you people travelling?”

Aaron was reminded of his brother, Wallace. After all the crazy things that was happening it seemed that he had forgotten about his brother’s death.

‘What is wrong with me? My brother’s death should have been more impactful to me but I don’t feel anything?’

Aaron just did not know how to break the news to her. After all her little sister was harassed by his brother. Nina was the one who nearly chopped off his ‘manhood’ if not for the fact that he had spent his childhood as ‘not good, not bad’ friends with her.

“Ummm, it is about my brother….”

Nina’s eye narrowed, her voice filled with loathing.

“What about that lecher? Did he cause another incident where you and uncle had to bail him out?”

“He’s….. dead.”

Nina’s eyes widened a bit. In the background Fiore was yawning with tears in her eyes as she seemed to be in a trance on Nina’s lap.

“Oh…..OH! I am so sorry! My condolence.”

“It’s ok. You didn’t mean to and after what happened last time, I thought you’d be like ‘Serves him right for destroying the lives of many maidens and family.’”

Her eyes narrowed again as Fiore was swaying sleepily.

“Hey! I am sure if he had that another incident, I’d be like that but this time it is about his demise.”

Aaron nodded, profusely sweating a bit.

Their banter was quickly ended with Fiore falling to sleep. They looked at Fiore as it seemed that exhaustion had quickly caught up to her. Suddenly Nina said seriously.

“Aaron, I have something to confess. But it was not for Fiore to listen.”

Aaron and Rowley narrowed their eyes a bit. Rowley said, a bit of curiosity laced his voice.

“Do go on princess.”

Nina inhaled deeply before exhaling and said.

“When I said I caught a glimpse of my perpetrator who knocked me out, I meant I saw the face.”

Aaron was not liking the situation. If Nina was like this then it meant that there was something going on, bad.

“And..?”

Nina looked away.

“She had the face of your mother.”

Aaron’s eye widened and Rowley took a sharp breath. Rowley asked as Aaron was shocked.

“Are you sure?”

Nina shook her head as if indicating she did not know how to say it.

“Not sure as I only got a glimpse of the side of her face but it was Aunt’s face. The mole under her eyes was there but the other side of her face was bandaged up so I couldn’t see completely.”

Rowley looked grave.

‘Did Madame defect to the other side? It can’t, no shouldn’t be possible. She hated the cult as if it was her mortal enemy. So who was that person?’

Aaron seemed to be shocked.

“Mother…. is ….. alive?”

Rowley shook Aaron and chided him.

“Aaron, she said she is not sure so try not to jump to conclusion hastily.”

“Ah Uncle, sorry….. I am all right now.”

Rowley looked at him weirdly.

‘Strange, he’s usually calm headed. Is he facing emotion contradiction? It wouldn’t be strange since he is nearing the age. A point to be noted till we visit milord Duke Stan….’

He kept on looking at the banter between two childhood friends. Mostly Aaron, being the one led around by Nina. Nina was teasing him as usual.

“Remember that time, Aaron? The time that you walked on me when I was changing my clothes?”

Which left him a sputtering mess.

“Wha….Wh….Ack! It was your fault that you changed in MY room. Besides we were 8!”

Rowley smiled wearily, his eyes grown soft.

‘To wish things stayed like this forever is fool’s errand but I still wish that for things to never change.’

The next day

They continued their journey and it was already afternoon. It was mostly Rowley and Brand sitting in the coachman seat while Aaron, Fiore and the Princess who seemed to be showing the starry-eyed Fiore on her lap, a thing or two, about the surrounding areas. They did not run into any sort of problems whatsoever. The knights helped in sorting out minor problems like monsters and the likes. People usually think that despite being near the capital, there shouldn’t be any monsters at all. The answer was no. Monsters existed everywhere and could thrive nearly everywhere in all shapes and sizes. They are big as a castle or as small as a cat. They are found near the pits of the volcano or at the center of frozen wastelands.

In fact, if cities did not clear their sewers periodically, then chances are some monsters would be found to have made it as their nesting place and an infestation of monsters to occur. Therefore, big sewer systems are implemented so as to let the Adventurers to swing their swords and the likes with no problem in the sewers. They accepted such jobs and completed it. Therefore, monsters do exist near the capital. Regularly, small armies are sent to check in the places like woods and other places near the capital to sort out the monster problem as well as a practice method for newbies on coordination between them.

Uncle Brand’s voice boomed out.

“We are nearing the capital. I estimate that the gates will be seen in 10 minutes.”

The capital of Posat was on a harbor. Meaning that the capital of Posat, Keipnihar was a harbor city. It was three side wall one side sea. But considering that It has the biggest naval armada, commandeered but the crown prince himself only the truly brave or utterly foolish would try to attack from the sea. But the capital itself was protected by an ancient barrier made by Solomon himself as well. Keipnihar meant ‘The Brave’, therefore the Capital City of the Brave, a tribute to The Magic King Solomon. One could already see the wall rising from the horizon from a distance along with a massive amount of people going towards it for the biggest festival held in Posat; The Victory day.

They entered through the gate with no problem as a knight had been sent as a messenger. The gate guards let them enter the place but not before saluting as the carriage passed. It was common that the Duke controlled the army and protected it from monsters and invaders alike. As they went on the knights seemed to have cleared out the road for smooth transportation. They had just passed the inner gate as the massive castle came into view. The white castle was massive as well as big with a big moat surrounding it. The only way to get inside was to use the only bridge that connected it. It had many guard towers connected to each other by curtain walls with guards and mages keeping close eye of the surroundings.

Before they could enter the bridge they were stopped by an armor wearing figure. The figure wore full set of armor with black and yellow cloth color scheme on their breastplate, which indicated that he was a [Royal Guard], an elite group which protected the castle. The other guards were also looking at them warily. Not that Aaron could fault as what was happening in the capital recently.

The man spoke.

“Halt, state your business, House of Elcot, the Duke has already entered the premise.”

Aaron looked thoughtful.

‘They must have seen the insignia.’

But before he could speak, a voice rang out from inside the carriage.

“It is I, Princess Nina of Kingdom of Posat, here to assure my father of my well-being.”

The guard seemed to freeze before the door of the carriage was opened by Brand to reveal the princess inside. The guard looked at his fellow members as they used a crystal for verification. They must have found the answer as they nodded. The guard seem to relax.

“Welcome back, princess Nina. The king is worried sick for you. You may proceed but the knights would have to stay back.”

Then the guard looked at his member and the other before saying.

“Send the message that the princess has returned!”

Then they were allowed to enter the bridge. Just as they were proceeding, another carriage seemed to arrive at the entrance. The guard seemed to quirk an eye at that, despite his face being hidden behind the helmet. The noble had already arrived in the castle so who were they? There was only one more guest that the messenger had spoken about and by the looks of it they knew the coachman in front of them.

“Hmm… Albert, are the envoys inside?”

The coachman, whose name was Albert, nodded.

“Yes. It was pretty confusing that the Temple envoys were these kids. Pretty much expected they would at least send a paladins or someone like that for what is going on nowadays.”

[Holy Paladin] were the elite of the elite warriors of the Temple of Origin. Their authority was just under 8 Archbishops and the ones above them, the 4 cardinals and then The Pope. The guards seemed to be in disbelief. The others seem to look at each other.

“They sent kids? What are they thinking about?”

The coachman just shrugged off.

“But don’t be confused, they seem to be few of the Heroes of this generation. Can we enter?”

The guards seemed to be surprised at first before he nodded and let them enter the gates. His eyes grew fervent.

“Heroes, huh….. Wonder what kind of miracles they will bring to this land…”

Back at the castle. The princess hurriedly walked along the marbled corridors escorted by Aaron and Rowley behind him. Brand was elected to stay with Fiore. The corridors were filled with [Royal Guard] and [Royal Mage]. She asked a maid nearby.

“Where is father?”

The maid bowed her head before replying.

“His Majesty is in a meeting with the Lords in the meeting hall.”

She nodded and went to the meeting hall. It was guarded by the guards, who upon looking her, opened the door. She entered the room as Aaron and Rowley just sat outside the door. They knew it was rude to intrude unless they were asked for. Inside the room she saw her father, wearing his signature clothes, her uncles, Duke Stan and the prime minister Hugo, the Guild-master of Adventurer city as well as the most powerful ‘man’ in the world who was smiling at her. There were other important figures of the country like Minister of Health, Mining, Agriculture, Magic, some old Generals and others inside the room. The others looked at her warily. She curtsied and spoke.

“Father… I have returned.”

Her father looked at her and spoke.

“It seems so. I am happy that you have returned but we need to investigate the one responsible for your kidnapping.”

Nina’s smile dimmed a bit before nodding.

“I know; it was the Demon Cult that kidnapped me.”

One of the Minister looked skeptical, a minister of Security denoted by his formal blue wear, as he questioned her.

“Princess Nina, do you have proof that it was the Demon cult? And aren’t you trained as well? Are you that weak?”

Despite being a rude gesture, the king spoke of nothing and watched the scene. The others looked neutrally at her as Duke Stan clenched his hand in anger but did not show it in his face. Nina looked sharply at him.

“It was a Named Assassin.”

The minister then questioned her.

“If so then how did you escape?”

Nina inhaled a bit, keeping her face neutral.

“It was Marquis Aaron who saved me. They rescued me from the clutches of the Cult.”

Duke Stan’s eyes widened a bit and the others started to discuss among themselves except for the king, her uncles and the Guild master. They seemed to have reached to a consensus. Then this time an old general asked her.

“If so, then summon him to verify the claim.”

Then a malevolent aura spread out from the Duke, aiming at the general. The general in question seemed to be sweating profusely.

“My son isn’t some random person in the street that you can casually talk about. Do be careful in the tone you speak of, lest I cut it off.”

“My….My apologies, Grand Marshal…..It was a slip of tongue. We need to verify the claim if she is speaking the truth or is she fabricating herself being saved. It is after all a very important event coming near that she is a part of.”

The Duke looked sharply at him as the old general felt as if a sword was pointed at his throat.

“It seems your old age has finally caught up to you if you cannot sense the person outside this door, general. And as for the event, it is yet to be verified by his majesty.”

He looked at the king who nodded. Stan looked towards the door and said.

“Marquis Aaron, my son, you can enter the room.”

-Creak-

Aaron entered the room as he kneeled down.

“Greetings to the king and his vassal. What do you want me for, father?”

Stan looked at his son before speaking.

“Is it true that you saved the princess from being kidnapped by the Cult.”

Aaron nodded.

“Yes father, Princess Nina was kidnapped by the Cult and we were able to rescue her. We were confronted by Named Assassin but were able to drive them off. However, from her kidnapper we have learned that the cult is planning something big on the day of the festival.”

That seemed to make the table go around for another discussion. Aaron was still frowning at what had happened earlier. The others were rudely questioning the Princess, yet no one was standing up for her. He looked at the Princess as the Princess, sensing his gaze, looked at him and smiled a bit. It was her usual smile but having spent a lot of time with her he knew that she seemed to be sad as if she had expected such reaction. He frowned as he thought that he was missing something very crucial. Just then the door was knocked once more. As the person entered the gate as he proclaimed.

“Your Majesty! The envoy from the Temple has arrived!”

 The king sighed. It was the second time for the meeting to be interrupted in the middle. He replied.

“Send them to the Throne room.”

The guard saluted and went off. The king looked at the crowd and spoke.

“The meeting is adjourned for today. However, we will meet tomorrow as well at the same time. Princess Nina you may proceed to your room and stay there until I say so. Guards will be posted and you are not to venture off anywhere.”

But before they could all agree the meeting room was suddenly slammed open. A guard was sweating a lot as well as huffing and puffing his chest out.

“*huff* Your Majesty! *huff*”

The king was getting less than amused for the repetition of Guards entering what was supposed to be an important meeting, even more so if they kept shouting at the top of their lungs every time they enter the damn place. The Prime Minister was snickering in the back. Hugo composed himself as he asked the Guard.

“Now calm down and take a deep breath young man. What is the problem that you had to barge in the meeting room?”

The guard did as he was instructed before he spoke gravely.

“We have report from the border camp Beacon in the south that General Sodus has been sighted in the Camp opposite to ours….”

That gave an abrupt end to the mood of the crowd. Everyone seemed to be gloomy, even the king while the prime minister looked serious and Duke Stan seemed to narrow his eyes. Aaron remembered about Sodus, the Iron General…..

‘….And the strongest General of Sholiy…Relationship between Posat and Sholiy was never good. What is the General doing there, right at our Borders? Only Father is able to repel him should anything occur.’

He looked at his father who looked at the king. He asked, his voice calm.

“Permission to teleport to the Border Camp Beacon?”

The King narrowed his eyes, contemplating.

“Permission granted.”

With that he abruptly stood and hurriedly went towards the door. Aaron looked at him and he nodded urging Aaron to follow him. Aaron just bowed to the King and the Prime Minister before following his father. His eye followed to the distant lonely figure of the Princess as she was escorted by her guards. As the door opened to show Rowley as he quietly followed the head of the family. After walking for few seconds Stan asked his son.

“So how are you, son? What became of your brother?”

Aaron swallowed as he looked away. The Duke understood him and signed heavily as well as wearily. His shoulder shagged a bit.

“That idiot son of mine……How is your sister?”

“She is fine, a little tired but well overall.”

“I am sorry Aaron that our meeting has to be this short, but I must be going once more.”

Aaron shook his head.

“It’s ok father, I know our responsibilities as the Strongest Sword of the Kingdom.”

“Doesn’t make it all right to neglect both of you.”

Stan looked at Rowley.

“Any development?”

Rowley just shook his head.

“No milord. Except it seems our Aaron here has started to face his contradiction in his feelings.”

The Duke stopped walking and looked at Rowley, wide eyed.

“Is it true?”

Rowley just nodded. Aaron was confused. What was this contradiction in his feeling? He looked at his father for information who just looked at him before asking a question as they walked once more. The hall echoing their footsteps.

“Aaron, you do know what is special of our Bloodline?”

Aaron nodded. Of course he did. It was the first thing he was taught about when he started learning.

“We of House Elcot have the Bloodline of the Dragon.”

“Yes, Dragon’s power mature when they grow older so does those Bloodline of Draconic Origin. A dragon has two conflicting personalities before they mature into an Elder Dragon. One that is full of emotion that a slightest thing can set them off into rampage or calm them. It flips randomly. Eccentric behavior where emotions sets off randomly. The other is calm, collected and cold. They are pragmatic, ruthless and won’t hesitate to do anything without feeling anything.”

Aaron just listened on as it was the first for him. The Guards saluted the Grand Marshal as he walked by.

“What we go through is similar thing. Our emotions conflict making it harder for us to make sound decision. To control there is a process you need to go through, a trial. There is an Ancestral realm given to us by the same dragon that we share our blood with. Nobody knows why he gave us but we have been using it to cure our problems. Go there, finish the trial. You will experience an increase of your level tremendously as well as unlock the abilities of the Dragon which you have not yet. It is located right in Sacred Forest near our mansion. Rowley will lead you there. Take your sister back to her home as well. Teleport there, you have my permission.”

Rowley nodded so did Aaron. He needed as much strength as possible to fight the cult in the coming days.

“How much time does it take to complete the Trial, father?”

Duke Stan just shrugged.

“It depends. But time moves faster in there meaning one day here is 4-5 days in there. Every trial you face is different from what we faced so no one knows what your trial will be. Last time I heard it was Alicia who was undergoing her trial.”

Aaron looked determined.

‘I will be strong if I have to protect people who are precious to me.’

They seemed to have reached the place as Duke Stan stood straight in front of the door where the teleportation array of the Royal Family was. 

“I will be going Aaron. Good luck on your trial.”

With that he entered the room and his presence vanished, indicating that he had teleported to his destination. Then, Rowley spoke to Aaron.

“Come let’s go Aaron. Wait here, I will bring Fiore here. Brand will lead the knights to the Dukedom.”

But before he could go, Aaron stopped him.

“Uncle Rowley…”

Rowley looked at the hesitation marred on his face.

“What is wrong Aaron? Having doubts for your trial? Don’t worry about, just steel your resolve and find a balance between the two of your emotions.”

Aaron shook his head. He was confused.

“Why….Why does everyone speak to Nina like that? They were…. I don’t know but kind of feeling like they did not want Princess Nina there in the first place. What did she do?”

Rowley signed in resignation.

“It’s something bad….. Her situation is a delicate one. It was one of the reason why she spent 8 years living with us. I can only say this much. You can ask her about it later.”

“Then why was I let on before? That there was something troubling her? All my colleagues seemed to maintain certain distance of communication with her. Why did no one tell me even though I was her closest friend?”

“It’s precisely that.”

Aaron was in confusion.

“What?”

“It’s precisely that, that no one told you. Everyone thought you were childhood friend and so on that no one would believe that you did not know the reason why she was discriminated in the first place.”

Aaron looked shocked, a little heart-broken. He looked down and spoke softly.

“Then why did she not tell me?”

Rowley just kept his hand on Aaron shoulder, encouraging him.

“Maybe she will in the future. Maybe she did not want you to worry for her. Or maybe she did not want you to think bad if her.”

With that he left Aaron.

Back at the Meeting room the King and the Prime Minister seemed to be in discussion. Hugo was whispering something as the Ministers and Generals left one by one leaving a smiling Arthur behind.

“Spy intelligence have got intel for weeks that many of Sholiy forces are beginning to move north, towards our border. So, General Sodus being there is not a coincidence. But the question is that is it a ruse to lure Stan in that place and weakening the capital or are they planning on invading once the Cult has made their move?”

William nodded as he spoke gravely.

“It could be. Most of the Royal mages protecting the palace and the capital are outside the wall investigating the disappearance of children. They all claim that clues have been found and are investigating further. But it is likely the clues have been faked to weaken the security of the capital as well as to lure them into traps. But they all have teleportation scroll to teleport if they sense a trap.”

Hugo seemed to be thinking a bit.

“But you do know there are countermeasures for such things as well, William. And about that plan, are you willing to give up on your daughter?”

William sighed.

“I know, I know you don’t like that plan. You and Stan don’t like it but what can we do? We may know her better but the Nobles and the upper echelon doesn’t. They are all paranoid and superstitious fools. It all started due to that ‘Wandering Prophet’.”

Hugo shook his head.

“No need to fret over it now however do note the fact that no information have been discovered about that Prophet. But now there is a festival going on in less than a week and we need to be ready for whatever the Cult has plan for our Kingdom. We should make sure to crush their plan. We need to be more alert. Speaking of the cult, we still have guests.”

They both looked at Arthur who was smiling slightly at them. He knew what they were going to say so he spoke first.

“I know that the Cult is responsible for the kidnapping. I will use my Authority to hold a meeting for Guild-masters to discuss this problem. No need to worry little King, I will help you now that the Cult has finally started to show its fangs once more.”

The king bowed slightly.

“You have my outmost gratitude, Sir Arthur. However, we must entertain other guests as well.”

Arthur seemed to ponder for a while before doing a ‘ah-hah!’ gesture.

“Maybe I will look at those envoys from the Temple. From my information network, it seems that they are few of the Heroes the Temple had summoned. Let’s meet them.”

Hugo looked at him suspiciously.

“If you wish.”

Thanks for reading.