After their mission ended, Lucas and Hector parted ways in the middle of the way back home. The young knight took the one leading the palace while Arminel went to the place where he lived for the moment, awaiting orders from the Grand Master.

After two days, Lucas finally arrived at the capital and went straight ahead to the palace. Arriving there, he ordered the servants to take his horse to the stables while he went to the emperor's office. Arriving at the door of this one, he knocked on it softly.

"Come in !"

Once inside the room, he saw the emperor alone reading some documents that had to do with the finances of the palace. The young man walked towards him and bowed.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he greeted.

Arthur looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"Good morning, Lucas. Glad to see you back safe and sound. I see that Arminel didn't come back with you," he remarked.

"No, Your Majesty. We parted ways on the way back. He told me he was soon to meet with the other leaders of the order and the Grand Master to give them of our so-called news,” he explained.

"Very well. I understand. So, how was your mission?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"We managed to extract the information we wanted from the mercenary we kidnapped."

"What did you discover?"

"Velthur Clanti is preparing an attack on us which will take place in a month."

"An attack?! In a month?! But for what reason and for what purpose?!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"As Captain Arminel said, they seek to eliminate the Imperial Knights."

"These bastards! But why wait for a month?" he wondered.

"Their leader, Velthur Clanti, is studying a magical incarnation to make them invincible... Completely immortal... That's what the mercenary told us... And to do that, he only needs a month..."

"I see... It's really worse than I thought... What does Arminel suggest we do?" asked the emperor, crossing his fingers under his chest and putting his elbows on the surface of the desk.

"He thinks it would be better to prepare well before attacking them. We have to train very well and develop a good strategy. We must leave no flaws that could put us at a disadvantage."

"I agree. How long do you think it will take us to do this?"

"I think a week will be quite enough, Your Majesty."

"Okay. Good. We'll bring the others together to tell them about these news and to plan what we're going to do during this week."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

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After lunch, everyone was gathered in the great hall. They sat down, as usual, around the table with the emperor who sat at the end.

"If I have gathered you today, my friends, it is to inform you of the news that Sir Koraxos has brought us. We're in a time of war. A war against a very strong and very cunning enemy. An enemy who has several powerful servants. Until now, he is known as the Grand Master. His real identity is still unknown," he began.

"And his purposes too," Angus added.

"Exactly. Sir Koraxos and Captain Arminel have been able to find out some things about the leader of the ghost Mercenaries. In exactly one month, he is planning an attack on us."

"An attack ?!" Edgar exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. I have also been informed that he is studying a certain magical incantation that could make his servants very powerful. That's why he has decided to delay the attack until a month."

"That's really awful," whispered the young princess.

"What about their hideout? Have they found out where it is?" asked Eric.

"Yes. Apparently their hideout is an old abandoned mansion in the city of Yrane," replied the young captain of the Imperial Army.

Listening to this response, the princess stiffened while her eyes widened in surprise. Her little hands started to shake slightly.

'No... That's not possible...' she said to herself, trying somehow to calm down.

"Now that we know where their hudeout is, we have to attack them first," Eric suggested.

"I agree with you, Eric. We'll attack them first, but not right now," the emperor replied.

"Why not, Your Majesty? Isn't it better to eliminate them before they use the incantation ?" Matthew asked, confused.

"We are facing a very unusual army, Sir Carter. We need a good strategy and a lot of training. That's why we decided that we will attack them within a week. Like this, we'll have enough time to prepare ourselves. This isn't just a battle we're going to be in, my friends. This is a war," Arthur explained.

"I agree with you, Your Majesty," Angus asserted.

"Me too," Edgar added.

The emperor nodded affirmatively to them before turning his gaze to the other two knights.

"What do you think, Sir Lobelia and Sir Carter?" he asked.

"You convinced me, Your Majesty," Eric answered determinedly.

"I think that's a good plan too," Matthew added.

"Good. Now that everyone has agreed, we have to start preparing our plan of attack. There's not a minute to waste."

With these words, they began to discuss different possible strategies to apply. Completely unaware of the state of the young princess who was staring into space, completely lost in her thought. But the latter did not escape the worried gaze of the young captain.

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Before dinner, Luana went to the knights' pavilion in search of Lucas. She met a few if them on the hallways leading to the dorms.

"Good evening, Your Highness," a knight greeted her, bowing.

"Good evening. Didn't you see, Lu- Sir Koraxos, by any chance?" she corrected herself.

"Oh yes, Your Highness. He just finished his training with the new recruits. He left to change in his room before dinner," he replied.

"Oh, I see. Can you tell me where it is?"

"Yes, of course, Your Highness. It's upstairs. It's the door at the end of the corridor."

"Okay. Thank you very much," she said, smiling slightly.

"Please, Your Highness," the knight replied, bowing before continuing on his way.

The young princess walked down the long hallway before taking the stairs to the upper floor. She saw the door of the captain's room at the end. She advanced slowly towards it before knocking gently on it.

"I'm coming !" she heard from inside.

A few seconds later, the young man opened the door for her. He was dressed in a white tunic which was slightly wet at the collar, black trousers and boots of the same color. His hair was also a little bit wet.

Seeing the girl in front of him, he was taken by surprise, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Good evening, Luana," he greeted, smiling warmly.

"Good evening, Lucas. I'm not bothering you, I hope?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. Come in, please. I was about to come look for you," he said, pulling himself aside to let her in.

Once inside the room, Luana couldn't help but notice how tidy the place was. There was a bed in the middle of the room with a bedside table next to it. A small desk on the corner, a small full book shelve and a cupboard. There was also a large patio door that led to a nice little balcony.

"Your room is very pretty," she complimented.

"Thank you... I just had a bath, that's why I'm still a little wet," he explained.

"Yeah... I understand..."

Looking at him, she could see two necklaces on his neck. She recognized one of them to be the one she gave him, but not the second. She gazed at them for a short moment which did not go unnoticed by the young knight.

"You recognize one of those two chains, right, Luana?" he asked, smiling affectionately.

"Yes. It's the one I gave you before we went to Neldor Forest," she replied, smiling back at him.

"Exactly."

Lucas took the two necklaces and passed them over his head to remove them. He showed the second one to the young princess.

"This one, on the other hand, is a family heirloom," he explained.

"A family heirloom?" she wondered.

"Yes."

Luana took the chain and gazed at it in amazement. It was made of silver with a small medal hanging on it, like a sort of pendant. Engraved on it was the same symbol that was on the music box he had given her.

"This symbol..." she whispered.

"Sorry ?" he asked as he didn't hear her.

"This symbol is the same one that was engraved in the music box..." she continued.

"Yeah... I know... It's my family emblem..."

"Your family emblem? What does it mean?" she asked curiously.

"As I told you before, my father was also an Imperial Knight. Our family was quite famous for its different generations of knights."

"Really ?! That's fascinating !" she exclaimed in wonder.

"Yes. You see the sword symbol there?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Yes ?"

"It represents strength and chivalry. The power of our family."

"I see... And those roses around there? What do they represent?" she asked again.

"They represent peace, love and brotherhood. It was the most respected principles of our family."

"All of this is so beautiful," she marveled.

"Yeah... Every time a new baby arrives in the family, we offer him this emblem... It was a tradition within us..." he explained.

"I understand... The other members of your family... Are they all dead?" she asked hesitantly.

"My dad was an only child. And so am I. My grandparents died a long time ago. So, I'm the only one left," he replied, a sad little smile on his face.

"Do you feel lonely, Lucas?" she asked, a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Not really, no. I feel like I'm with my own family being with all of you here, actually."

"I'm glad to hear that... You need to know that you really are with your family here..."

The two young people smiled affectionately at each other without saying anything for a little while.

"So this necklace is your first birthday present, right?"

"Yes... And the music box is one too."

"I guessed..."

"The last gift I had received was from Her Majesty Isadora. It was for my fourth birthday. She had given me a pretty white fur cape. It was so that I wouldn't get cold during my training with Captain Arminel."

"You know, Lucas, I feel like I'm discovering my mother a little bit more when you tell me about your memories with her."

"She was a very admirable person, Luana. Really," he said, a sad smile on his face.

"Thank you... You told me it was your last birthday present... Why? Haven't you received any ever since?" she asked, slightly hesitant.

"No... I didn't celebrate my birthday anymore after her death. It was a bogus thing for me. The others didn't agree at first but over time they started to respect my choice."

"That's really sad... When is your birthday?"

"It has already passed. It was last September 12th."

"I happen to be rather late," she whispered, completely disappointed.

"Don't worry about it, Luana. After all, I consider our friendship to be one of the greatest gifts I can ever receive," he reassured, smiling at her.

These words emanated a gentle warmth in the heart of the young girl. A feeling of joy enveloped her whole being.

"The feeling is mutual, Lucas," she replied, smiling back at him.

The young captain put the two necklaces back on his neck before wiping his hair lightly with a towel that was placed on the back of the chair.

"By the way, you still haven't told me why you came to see me," he said curiously.

"Yeah, I completely forgot about that... Lucas, if possible, I would like that once we get rid of the mercenaries and their leader, we go to Breham city," she said with determination.

"To Breham? To look for the book that Mrs. Sofia told you about?"

"Yeah... I have to find it as soon as possible..."

"Why so suddenly? What's happening to you, Luana?" he asked worriedly.

"I... Actually... You're the first person to know that, Lucas... I haven't told anyone yet..."

"Don't worry about it... You know you can trust me..."

"The night you and Captain Arminel took the road to Avigona, I had a weird dream..."

"A dream? What was it about?"

"I dreamed of the exact location of the mercenaries and their leader's hideout. I went there in my dream and saw them."

The young knight's eyes widened in surprise.

"How is that possible ?" he whispered.

"At first, I thought it was just fatigue that was causing me to see dreams like this. But when you came home today and informed us that their hideout was actually a mansion that was in the city of Yrane, I told myself that it's impossible that these dreams don't have a meaning."

"That, I confirm it to you. That's why you were so out if it at the meeting, earlier."

"Yeah... That's why I want to know what all of this means... My immunity to all kinds of magic, my dreams, my ability to decipher ancient writings. I need to know all of that, Lucas," she said, determined.

"Okay. Once this war against the mercenaries is over, I promise you we'll go there. We'll take Mrs Sofia with us too so we could find the book faster."

"Thank you, Lucas. Really," she said gratefully.

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"It's getting really late, Sofia. You should get some sleep, Darling. We've come a very long way to get here," Alastair said.

The doctor laid down on the big bed that was in the room, next to his grand-daughter who had fallen into a deep sleep to travel to the world of dreams.

The little family had booked in an inn in Breham city. The building was close to the main library which made it easier for Sofia to bring books from there. The latter was sitting in the desk, a huge book in front of her that she leafed through with concentration.

"I'm almost there, Alastair. I've almost found what I'm looking for."

"You can continue tomorrow morning. You'll be in better shape."

He got no response from his wife who froze in place.

"Sofia? Sofia, Honey?" he called her out.

"Oh my god…" she whispered, her voice choking with shock.

The doctor sat up on the bed, very worried about the behaviour of the old lady.

"What is it, Sofia? What's the matter?"

"I can't believe it... Luana..." she whispered, shaking.