The former captain of the imperial army smirked as he heard the marquis' words.

"You talk like it's been years since we've seen each other when it's only been a few months."

"You should be flattered that I missed you so much, my old friend Hector."

"I am. I didn't say otherwise. But I wonder why you missed me."

"Well, let's just say that you and I have a lot in common, My Dear Friend."

"A lot in common ?" Hector asked, confused.

"Yes. And especially one point."

"Which is ?"

Dale leaned slightly towards him and looked him straight in the eyes while smiling mischievously.

"We are both traitors, My Dear Hector."

Arminel smiled back before waving at the man that was standing in the doorway.

"I can't say otherwise."

A few seconds later, the man entered with a small cart full of plates filled with delicious food. He set them up on the table after bringing the cutlery.

"I wish you an excellent dinner," he said before disappearing from the room.

Hector took the bottle of apple juice and poured some for the marquis.

"This is my favorite juice," he says.

"Sounds pretty good. You've always had good taste when it comes to drinks."

"Thank you."

"By the way, the whole dinner is admirable. It creates a huge contrast to where we are," Dale added wryly.

"I like this house."

"I wonder why. It's completely ruined. You just have to cough into it and it will crumble to pieces."

"It's abandoned. It's normal for it to be in such a state. But it's a good place for traitors like us to meet without being detected."

"To tell you the truth, if we analyze things well, we're not really traitors, Hector."

"Oh really ? What are we then?" asked the former captain with a sneer.

"We just rebelled because we didn't get what we really deserved."

Hector remained silent, looking at his interlocutor.

"We have been wronged, My Friend. Many people have been favored over us. We have not received the esteem we truly deserve," the Marquis continued.

"Are you talking about Duke Lobelia here ?"

"Who else ? He took everything that should have been mine. Just because he's the Emperor's best friend. You think that's fair ?"

It was Hector's turn to lean over to Dale and look him straight in the eye.

"We both know that that's not true, Dale. Don't lie to yourself, My Friend."

"W-What ?! What do you mean ?!"

"Duke Lobelia proved himself in the great war against Vuglonith. That's why he has the position he has now. He was always a very strong Imperial Knight since he was young."

"Imperial Knights..." Dale muttered with a sneer.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

"Why did you ask to see me tonight ?" he asked coldly.

"Don't get upset, My Friend. I only told the truth."

Dale said nothing and just kept looking at him angrily which made the former captain sigh heavily.

"I brought you here because I wanted to know if you had been assigned a new mission or not."

"To be honest with you, I've only received one mission so far which was to make His Majesty believe that his best friend betrayed him. After that, I received nothing."

"I see... I wanted to ask you about something else too..."

"I'm listening to you."

"Since you and I are in rather a very delicate situation, I wanted to know if you had any idea of ​​the identity of the Grand Master."

"The identity of the Grand Master ?"

"Yeah... The reason why I joined his ranks is because I know he's super powerful but also because we have the same enemy. But I can't stay ignorant for too long. "

"As far as I know, the only two persons who knew his identity were Rufus Slater and the Great Mage Abras. But they're both dead, as you know."

"But how did they manage to discover his identity ?"

"That, I don't know. I think it will remain a mystery forever. But..."

"But ?"

"I think if you manage to win the Grand Master's trust, he will be able to reveal himself to you. And if I'm not mistaken, I think that of all of his servants, you're the one he's most interested in."

"And why's that ?"

"Think a bit. You were the captain of the Imperial Army and you gave up everything and betrayed your master, your comrades and your disciple to join the ranks of the Grand Master. You are no ordinary traitor, that's why. Besides, you're super strong and very smart. He'll need you more than anyone."

"So that's why he gave me a very difficult and delicate mission. I understand better now."

"What mission are you talking about ?" asked the Marquis, completely confused.

"Do they not say, My Dear Dale, that the best way to confront your enemy is to get as close to him as possible ?" he replied with a smirk.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

The next morning, Lucas and Luana prepared themselves to return to the capital. They had taken some provisions that Sofia had prepared for them and some vials of quick remedies that Alastair had given them.

Standing in front of the house's door, it was time to say goodbye.

"Take very good care of yourself, My Boy. And don't hesitate to come to me if you need me in any way. I'll always be ready to help," Alastair said.

"We thank you very much, Doctor."

"Yes. Thank you so much for looking after me and welcoming us into your house," the young princess added.

"It's the least we can do, Darling. We would have liked you to stay with us a bit longer," Sofia replied.

"Yes, Aunty Luana. I will miss you so much. Why can't you stay with us for a little longer ?" Susan asked with sad eyes.

Luana knelt in front of her and stroked her cheek and hair softly.

"I would like to stay with you a little longer, Susan. But I have to go back. My father really needs me."

"But you promise to come back one day, don't you ?"

"Yes, of course, My Dear. I promise you that."

With these words, the princess hugged the little girl tightly before getting up and hugging the grandmother.

"See you soon," she said, smiling affectionately.

"Take good care of yourself, My Daughter," Sofia said, smiling back at her.

Lucas helped the young princess onto her horse before getting on his own to head back to Stuvia.

Before walking away, little Susan's voice echoed through the air.

"Uncle Lucas !" she called.

The young knight turned to her, smiling affectionately at her.

"Yes Susan ?"

"Don't forget your promise !"

Hearing these words, the captain's face turned very red.

"Y-yes... Of course, Susan..."

"Goodbye !" added the little girl, laughing and waving her hand.

Walking a little away from the house, Luana turned her head towards Lucas, smiling.

"What was Susan talking about ? What did you promise her ?"

The young man nearly fell off his horse in surprise. His face turned red again as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"It's a little secret between us."

"I see you two are very close. You look like a father with his daughter. That's very cute," she remarked with a giggle.

Lucas smiled affectionately at her, his cheeks slightly rosy, before looking straight ahead to continue on their road.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Four hours later, they finally arrived in the capital and entered the palace. They were greeted by Gardner and the other servants who took care of leading the horses back to their stables.

"I'm glad that you came back safe and sound, Your Highness and Sir Koraxos," Gardner said, bowing.

"Thank you, Gardner. I'm happy to see you again too. I'm going to my room to take a bath. Let my father know that we came back and tell him that I'll go see him when I'm done."

"As you wish, Your Highness."

Luana smiles before turning to the young captain.

"See you later, Lucas."

"Yes, of course," he replied, smiling and bowing slightly.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

A few minutes after taking her bath and getting dressed in a comfortable outfit, someone came to knock on the door of the young princess's room.

"Yes, come in," she ordered.

It was Agnes, the maid, who came into the room.

"Sorry to disturb you, Your Highness. But you have a guest. She's waiting for you in the living room."

"A guest ? Who is she ?" she asked, curious.

"A certain Emery Salathiel."

A big smile appeared on the girl's face.

"Thank you, Agnes. I'll go see her now."

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Once in the living room, Luana saw a lovely young woman sitting on one of the sofas. She had lovely tanned skin, shoulder length dark brown curly hair and black eyes. She was slim and of average height.

She was wearing a pretty black suede dress with long sleeves and a pair of ankle boots of the same color.

Seeing the princess, she stood up and bowed to her.

"Greetings, Your Highness. Thank you so much for hosting me," she greeted, smiling warmly.

Luana slowly approached her before hugging her tightly.

"Nice to see you again, Emery. I really missed you."

The girl who was a little bit surprised at first hugged her back.

"I missed you too, Luana," she whispered.

After that, the two young girls sat down to have tea together.

"It's been a very long time since we've seen each other," the princess began.

"Yes. It's been about three years."

"Exactly. Since the day you moved to Nasca."

"Yes, that's true. Ever since my sister died. She was the only family I had left after my parents died."

"It was a real tragedy."

"We didn't even find her body. I had hoped that she would still be alive for a long time. Days passed, then months and years. And that's when I realized that she won't come back anymore."

"I'm sorry, Emery," Luana said, placing her hand over her friend's, a sad expression on her face.

"No don't worry, Luana. I'm feeling much better now. I know that all I can do now is pray for her."

"Exactly. It's reassuring to hear that you're okay."

"By the way, I came to see you to tell you about my marriage with Elion," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Oh~ Elion told me all about his confession~ It was very romantic~ Totally worthy of a romance novel~" she replied teasingly.

"Y-yes... It was the best day of my life... I loved him since I was little... And knowing that my love is mutual, I couldn't be happier..." she added with a smile.

"I remember he was always very nervous when he was around you. He was afraid that you didn't feel the same way he did."

"And now, we're engaged," she chuckled.

"That's true. And when is the wedding ceremony ?"

"We decided to organize it for the next month."

"That's great ! Where will it take place ?"

"We chose the great hall of the capital. It is there that the majority of Imperial Knights were married."

"Yes, that's true. It's a very nice place too. It's very spacious and incredibly decorated."

"Elion promised to show me around. Since I've already chosen my wedding dress, there's not much left for me to do."

"If you need anything, don't hesitate, Emery."

"I know. Thank you very much, Luana. I can't wait for the day when you too will get married~ I heard that Lucas Koraxos is your bodyguard now~" she said, teasing her friend.

"Yes, that's true... But he's just my bodyguard and friend... Nothing more..." the princess answered, blushing slightly.

"You can't know, Sweetie~ Besides, your cheeks turned red just by the mention of his name~" she teased her more.

"Oh, stop it !" exclaimed the young girl in embarrassment, which made her friend laugh.

After having tea and talking for a long time, the two friends said goodbye to each other.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Before nightfall, Luana went to her father's office to greet him. She found Angus and Lucas there.

"Good evening, Dad," she greeted.

Seeing her, the Emperor rose from his seat and walked over to her before hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad you're safe, Luana. Lucas told me all about what happened with you. Are you okay now ?" he asked, checking that she wasn't hurt.

"Yes, Dad. Don't worry. Doctor Ondynol and his wife took good care of me."

"I could never thank them enough, those two," he whispered.

"Now that the source of the Lemgan massacres has been eliminated, I think we can now breathe a little bit," Angus said, smiling.

"I agree," Arthur affirmed.

"The last few months have been really tiring for us," Lucas added.

"That's the least we can say. I think a little rest of two or three days wouldn't hurt," Arthur decided.