Arminel went to the magic portal that led to the hideout where the leaders of the order always gathered. He stood in front of the huge rock, putting his hand in the middle of the big stone before reciting the magic incantation.

"Open up," he whispered.

Once the purple light from the portal faded, the former captain entered it. He walked down the long hallway which was lit by small candles.

'I hate this place,' he thought bitterly.

A few minutes later, he found himself in the meeting room with the large round table that was surrounded by chairs.

"Welcome, Arminel," greeted a slightly muffled voice.

The voice belonged to the person who sat on the throne at the end of the table. The chairs were all occupied except for three, one of them belonged to the former captain.

The latter advanced slowly before sitting down in his place between Marquis Kalmiv and Hastia.

"We were waiting for you to start our meeting," the Grand Master added coldly.

The latter wore a mask that completely covered his face and a long hooded cape that covered his head. As for his clothes, they consisted of a black set with a pair of boots that came up to his knees.

"What news do you bring back from our dear friends?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, Master. It turns out that the royal family discovered Hector's plan," Arminel replied.

The leader of the mercenaries, who was seated opposite to the former captain, banged the table hard with his fists in anger.

"How is that possible?! Who told them about this?! Our plan was top secret! There's no way they found out without getting any help!" he exclaimed, enraged.

"There's no point in yelling, my friend. What's done is done," Hastia replied calmly.

"So? How did they know about the plan, Arminel?" asked the Grand Master.

"I think they hired a very powerful mage to work for them. From what I understood, he hypnotized one of Clanti's servants into revealing everything to them," he explained.

"You think so? You're not sure?" Solen asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I didn't see him personally. I feel like they're doubting me and that's why they hid him so I wouldn't see him," he replied.

"How can we be sure it wasn't you who betrayed us, Hector?!" exclaimed Velthur in anger and doubt.

"Is that really a question you're asking me? I'm risking my life out there to bring information to the order and that's all you can think of to say to me? Accusing me of being a traitor?" he growled in displeasure.

"This really isn't the time to argue, guys," Roxy remarked, very annoyed.

"Instead of that, we should think of a new plan," Hastia added.

The two men glared at each other before calming down a little bit.

"The Imperial Knights aren't going to attack the mercenaries anytime soon, from what they said. So, Velthur will have enough time to prepare for the fight," the former captain explained.

"One month. That's all I need. One month and I'll have finished reciting the incantation and I'll be able to eliminate them all," the mercenary's leader replied.

"You will have enough time and even more. They're aware that they're not facing an ordinary army. So, they decided to take a little more time to work out their strategy and train more," he continued.

"That is if what you say is true, Arminel," retorted Marquis Kalmiv in a provocative manner.

"I only reported what they said in my presence, Dale Kalmiv. If there is one person to be wary of, it is you and not me. After all, you're very gifted to blame other people for your own actions," Hector replied dryly.

"What are you saying, you bastard?!" he exclaimed in rage as he rose up from his seat.

"Silence !" ordered the Grand Master while raising his hand in an authoritative tone.

The marquis reluctantly sat down again, glaring at the former captain with hatred.

"Fine... Now we'll execute our plan. Everything rests on your shoulders now, Clanti," he concluded in a very cold tone.

"Y-Yes... I understood, Master..." replied the latter.

"We'll see what happens," Roxy muttered amusedly.

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Once night fell, the Imperial Knights decided to camp in the forest where they were. The trees were long and not very close to each other which made the task of setting up the tents pretty easy for them.

They lit a fire and prepared their dinner together while helping each other. After that, some knights entered their tents to rest while the others stood guard outside.

Captain Koraxos was seated, leaning against a tree trunk to stand guard. He sharpened his sword slowly, lost in thought. Once he was done, he straightened his weapon to gaze at it to check if it was well sharpened.

Suddenly, he remembered the gift that the young princess have him. He hurriedly searched for the small package that was hidden in the pocket that hung around his waist. He picked it up and gently opened it to find a nice, neatly folded handkerchief inside.

He removed the gloves from his armor and put them next to him on the ground before taking the small piece of fabric and gently unfolding it.

"It's very pretty... She's very talented..." he murmured, amazed.

Turning it around, he could see the initials that were engraved on it, on the tip. He chuckled as he looked lovingly at them.

'I'm going absolutely crazy... Those initials clearly represent my first and last name... But I can't help mistaking the letter L for Luana... Luana Koraxos... Sounds pretty good...'

He blushed heavily from his own thoughts before burying his face in the handkerchief with a long, heavy sigh.

"My my. I've never seen the captain in such a state before," said a voice from behind.

"It's simple. The captain is just madly in love," replied another.

"Hey, Guys. I think he can hear us there," added a third.

"Elion, Eric and Matthew. I can hear you very well from here, do you know that?" answered the young captain, very annoyed.

With these words, the three knights burst out laughing before coming out of their hiding place behind the bushes and coming to sit down next to their captain.

"Is this a gift from Her Highness, Captain?" Elion asked teasingly.

"From who else do you want it to be? You clearly saw the expression on his face. It says it all," Matthew replied mischievously.

"I feel like I made the mistake of my life by bringing you with me here on this expedition," Lucas said, exasperated.

"Of course not, Captain. We know very well that you can't go without us," Eric said, smiling mischievously.

The young knight looked at them with boredom before rolling his eyes and resting them on his sword which he looked at again with insistence.

"Come on, Captain! We just want to help you," Elion added, patting him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Help me with what exactly?" he asked in confusion.

"We want to help you declare your love to the girl you love..." Eric added.

Lucas remained silent, staring at them with indifference as if they were crazy.

"By the way! From my own personal experiences with love and relationships-" Matthew began.

"What personal experiences are you talking about , right now? Oh yeah, I forgot! You're talking about the ones you gained from reading thousands of romance novels, right?" Lucas replied sarcastically.

The other two knights couldn't hold back their laughter at the young man's remark which made Matthew blush in embarrassment.

"But it still counts! I'm going to use them to prepare a very beautiful declaration of love to my beloved!" he defended himself.

The young captain turned to Sir Lobelia, a mischievous expression on his face.

"Are you sure you want to marry your sister to that guy?" he asked.

"I don't know... After some thought, I'm really starting to change my mind," Eric answered with complicity.

"That's not fair, guys! Besides, I thought I was your best friend, Eric!" pouted the burgundy-haired knight.

With these words, the knights burst out laughing like children as they teased each other throughout the night.

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Luana was standing again in a place she didn't know. A sort of a big, abandoned palace. Almost verything there was destroyed. Walls, stairs, furnitures and decorations. Everything was in ruins as if a war happened there.

'What is this place?' she wondered, very confused.

Like last time, she noticed that she was dressed in her nightgown and slippers while her hair was styled in her usual braid.

'I don't understand anything anymore... Have... Have the mercenaries changed location?! Is that why I'm having this dream?' she thought with concern.

At the back of the room where she was, she saw the silhouette of a very tall and very muscular man. She couldn't see his face because of the darkness.

"Who is here ?" she called out, on her guard.

The person moved towards her slowly until her face became visible to her. The girl's eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

"Lucas?" she whispered, not understanding anything anymore.

The knight didn't reply to her. Instead, he turned to the left before going up the large stairs which were half destroyed. The young princess followed him closely.

"What's going on? What are you doing here? Where are you going?" she asked, completely confused.

At the top of the stairs, he raised his hand to a painting that hung on the large wall, a canvas that was completely empty. All white. He pointed at it before turning to look at Luana.

"I betrayed you..." he whispered, a sad expression on his face.

"What? What are you talking about?" she wondered.

"You're going to die... I'm going to kill you... With my own hands... Now..." he said approaching her gently.

With that, he wrapped his big, strong hands around her neck before strangling her very hard.

"Lucas! Lucas, stop! Please! Lucas!" she cried out in pain.

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"Stop, Lucas!"

The young princess woke up hastily to find herself in her bed, in her room. She was all sweaty and her breathing was unsteady. She clutched her head tightly, massaging her temples.

"God, what was that?" she wondered, very confused.

She got up to take a small glass of water which she drank quickly before lying down in her bed again.

'Maybe this time it's really just tiredness... I shouldn't think about it too much... Let's just forget about it...' she reassured herself.

After a few minutes, she fell back into a deep sleep. Completely unaware to the fact that the black mark on her neck was glowing brighter.

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Four days later, the Imperial Knights arrived at the city of Yrane. It was night, so the dark made it easier for them to pass unnoticed.

They divided into three groups. One to deal with the mercenaries that were prowling the city. Another to head for the big mansion and take care of those guarding it from the outside. And the last one was the one who was going to take care of the leader and his servants who protected him inside the house.

The first group which was led by Eric made a diversion to allow the others to advance while they fought with the mercenary ghosts.

"Find the leader, Captain! We'll hold them for you!" declared the young Lobelia raising his sword towards the enemy, showing no fear.

The captain nodded affirmatively and walked through the dark alleys of the city, accompanied by Matthew, Elion and the others.

After twenty minutes, they found themselves a few meters away from the mansion. They stood there in silence, observing it. There were a huge number of mercenaries protecting the place outside.

"What should we do now, Captain?" Matthew asked.

"We're going to follow our plan... They're going to pay for everything they've done..." Lucas answered with a glare.