Aric leaned heavily against Eryx as they made their way through the forest, each step sending a fresh throb through his broken arm. His body felt unbearably heavy, and even walking had become a struggle after everything they had endured.
"Search the lower paths!"
"Check the surrounding forest!"
"People," Eryx muttered. "They must be looking for you."
"Heyy!" Aric called out weakly.
Eryx cupped his hands around his mouth. "We’re over here!"
Footsteps rushed through the undergrowth, and moments later, six knights emerged between the trees, their armour bearing the sigil of House Noctra. The leading knight froze at the sight of Aric before rushing forward.
"We’ve found the young duke!"
Relief crossed Aric’s face, but his strength finally gave out. His knees buckled, and as he fell, someone hurried past the knights towards him.
"Ivar..." Aric whispered.
Then the world went dark.
When Aric regained consciousness, he found himself in his familiar bedroom. His injured arm had been bandaged, and the comfortable bed beneath him felt almost unreal after the hardships of the previous days.
"You look terrible."
Aric turned towards the voice and found Eryx sitting beside the window, looking clean, well fed, and considerably more handsome than before.
"Who are you?" Aric rasped, blinking at him in confusion.
"Huh?" Eryx’s smile dropped, and he scrambled forward, leaning close to examine Aric’s face. "It is me, Eryx! Did you lose your memory? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"I know who you are," Aric muttered, pushing his hand away. "You just look entirely different"
Eryx blinked, then looked down at his clean clothes with a smug grin. "Ah. You are seeing my beautiful face clearly. A bath and a proper meal work wonders, do they not?"
Aric shook his head, smiling despite his exhaustion.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Three days. Ailo said you needed rest, and your brother has been checking on you constantly."
Before Aric could respond, the door opened, and Ivar entered. His dark hair was neatly kept, but heavy exhaustion showed beneath his red eyes. However, when he saw Aric awake, relief immediately crossed his face.
"Aric."
"Hello, brother."
Ivar approached the bed and examined him carefully before releasing a long breath.
"You have absolutely no idea how worried we were."
"Sorry."
"Two weeks," Ivar replied. "We’ve been searching for two weeks. We found your wrecked carriage and the bodies of the knights who accompanied you, but there was no sign of you or Roland."
Aric lowered his gaze.
"Were the knights buried?"
"Yes. They were our men, and they deserved a proper burial."
Ivar pulled a chair closer to the bed.
"Tell me what happened."
Aric explained the ambush, describing the woman and the bald man slaughtering the trained knights easily. He told Ivar how he and Eryx had escaped by jumping off the cliff to escape them.
Ivar listened without interrupting, his expression growing darker as the account continued.
"They were specifically targeting you?"
"Yes. They wanted to capture me, but I still don’t know why."
"Alright, but why couldn’t we find you in the forest?"
"That’s because of the monster," Eryx answered.
"Monster?" Ivar replied. "What monster?"
Aric turned towards Eryx. "Can you give me the monster’s core?"
Eryx hesitated before reaching into his belongings. "You saw me take it, didn’t you?" He pulled out the core and handed it to Aric. "I was planning to sell it."
"We don’t know exactly what it was," Aric said, tossing the core to his brother, "but we killed it."
"The two of you killed a Warden?" Ivar asked.
"It’s called a Warden?" Eryx remarked. "I guess that fits its abilities."
"It was pretty hard, though, especially with Aric’s magic," Eryx added.
"You were out of mana?" Ivar asked, turning towards Aric. "Were you the one who cast that ridiculous lightning magic?"
Aric laughed and scratched his head. "The attackers didn’t leave me much of a choice."
Ivar laughed. "Of course it was you. Lady Inara taught you well"
He rose from his chair. "I’ll go tell Father everything. You should get some rest."
Before leaving, he threw the core back to Aric.
"It’s yours, after all. You killed it."
Ivar paused by the door and glanced back at Aric.
"Before I forget, there’s something I wanted to ask you. Why were you travelling along that route?"
Aric looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"There were safer roads available, yet your carriage travelled through an isolated area. How did you end up there?"
"Roland recommended it. He said the scenery was worth seeing."
Ivar’s expression changed.
"Roland recommended that route?"
"Yes. I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore."
"And you haven’t seen him since the attack?"
"No."
Ivar fell silent, considering the implications.
"We found the wreckage and the dead bodies but Roland’s body wasn’t among them."
"You think he betrayed us?"
"I don’t know whether he arranged the attack or assisted someone else, but I won’t ignore the possibility. Father will investigate his disappearance."
Aric looked down at his bandaged arm.
"I never thought Roland would do something like that."
"Neither did I. That’s why we need evidence before deciding what happened."
"Ivar’s expression softened slightly.
"For now, concentrate on recovering. I’ll personally escort you to Starglade."
"You’re coming with me?"
"Of course, why would I miss the chance to show off on my little brother?"
Aric smiled faintly. "Don’t you have things to do?"
"I do, but I’m sure Darian can cover for me." Ivar said while leaving the room.
Several days later, Aric finally left his bedroom and entered the sitting room, where his family had gathered.
Kyra immediately rose from her chair.
"Aric!"
She hurried towards him and embraced him tightly, her green eyes filling with tears.
"Look at you," she whispered, pulling back to examine his face. "You’ve barely recovered, and you’re already walking around."
Aric smiled faintly. "I’m fine, Mum."
"Fine? You were missing for two weeks, and when we finally found you, you were unconscious and covered in injuries!"
"I’m sorry for worrying you."
Kyra held his hand, her expression softening as she looked at him. "Just promise me you’ll be more careful from now on."
"I will."
Emilia walked up to Aric and hugged him.
"Aric!"
"I’m fine, Emilia," he said, gently patting her head.
"You scared me!"
"I’m sorry," Aric said "I couldn’t resist."
Feron gestured towards the seats. "Come, Aric. We need to discuss your journey to Starglade."
Everyone settled down, and Feron spoke.
"The attack will be investigated. Whoever targeted you and killed our knights will be held accountable. However, we must decide whether your journey to Starglade should proceed."
"Father what do you mean?" Aric said "I have to g—"
Kyra immediately turned towards him.
"He isn’t going."
"Mother," Aric retorted.
"No! You were attacked while sightseeing imagine what will happen in the academy, and we don’t know who those people were or whether they’ll attack again."
"Staying here won’t make the danger disappear."
"Then we will increase the guards. Your father can assign the finest knights in the duchy to protect you."
"And what happens when I need to leave the estate? Am I supposed to spend my life hiding behind our walls?"
"You nearly died!" Kyra cried. "Do you understand what it would mean if we lost you again?"
Aric fell silent briefly before answering.
"I know how close I came to dying. That’s why I need to become stronger. Those people were beyond my ability to defeat, and if they come after me again, I need to be prepared."
"You can train here."
"Its not only about training, mother. I need to meet other people too." Aric replied "My reputation is at the bottom right now"
Kyra looked away, struggling with her emotions.
Feron finally spoke.
"Aric will go to the academy, Ivar will accompany him, and I’ll arrange additional security for the journey."
"Feron!" Kyra protested.
"We cannot protect him forever by refusing to let him leave."
"He’s our son!"
"And that is precisely why I want him to become strong enough to protect himself."
The room fell silent. Kyra looked between her husband and son before finally reaching for Aric’s hand.
"Promise me you’ll be careful."
"I promise."
"And no unnecessary risks."
"I’ll do my best to come home safely."
Kyra sighed and reluctantly nodded.
Aric then turned towards his father.
"There’s something else I’d like to ask."
"What is it?"
"I want Eryx to accompany me to Starglade and also for him to be my personal knight."
Eryx immediately looked up. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Aric replied.
"I’d appreciate an explanation before everyone decides my future for me."
"Shut it," Aric explained. "were you planing to go back to stealing?"
Eryx pressed a hand to his chest, looking genuinely wounded. "After everything we went through together? After I sat by this bed for three days listening to you snore? I am insulted. I have standards now."
"Your standards used to include not getting caught," Aric pointed out.
Aric turned towards Feron.
"I want him to accompany me as my personal knight and also for him to be a student at Starglade."
Feron considered the request before addressing the blonde boy.
"Eryx, travelling with Aric will place you in danger. The people who attacked him may still be hunting for him. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"And you still wish to accompany him?"
Eryx gave a faint, wry smile. "Yes. It would be my honor."
"I can feel the sarcasm," Aric remarked.
"That was the intention," Eryx shot back.
Feron allowed himself a faint smile. "Very well. I will sponsor you as a student of starglade and officially appoint you as Aric’s personal knight. You will receive suitable clothing, provisions, and full training for your responsibilities."
Eryx stared at him in quiet disbelief, the banter suddenly vanishing from his face as the reality of becoming a knight sank in.
"Thank you, Your Grace. I will not waste the opportunity."
Deep beneath an abandoned building, a dim light illuminated a chamber of black stone. A shattered statue stood at its centre, and a hooded figure knelt before it, praying silently.
The woman, the bald man, and Roland stood around him.
"The boy escaped," the woman said coldly.
Roland leaned against the wall. "He dropped a massive lightning bolt on us, then jumped off a cliff. What did you expect me to do?"
"You were supposed to help us capture him."
"And I did my job. We even searched the forest, but couldn’t find him. It’s not my fault he disappeared."
The bald man stepped forward, silver Menos gathering around his fists.
Roland glanced at him. "I’d advise you not to do that."
"You think this is a joke?" the woman snapped. "That boy was necessary for us."
"Then we adjust the plan," Roland replied. "He’s still heading to Starglade, isn’t he?"
"Yes."
"Then we follow him. There should be plenty of opportunities at the academy."
The woman narrowed her eyes. "We will not underestimate him again."
"Wouldn’t dream of it."
The bald man suddenly swung his fist at Roland, but Roland caught it effortlessly.
"I’ve spent enough time pretending to be weaker than I am," Roland said, releasing his fist.
Slow clapping echoed through the chamber as the hooded figure rose from before the shattered statue.
"Excellent...Let the boy travel to Starglade. Let him believe he’s escaped, and let his family believe they’ve secured his safety."
He paused.
"Everything is proceeding according to his plan."