The journey to Rosei takes two full days to reach their border and from there they will travel another three hours to arrive at the Capital. Darvan was in charge of driving together with Deck in the front seat, while the others were sitting at the back.
It was almost afternoon and everyone was still awkward around each other. After meeting Erika, Claude was silent for the entire ride and keeps on looking down, Tayne, on the other hand, was watching at the scenery while taking glimpses of the two and Tseng, he's the same as usual.
"This is awkward" Beck decided to start a conversation. "I knew Erika came from the Kingdom of Saveria and all but I wasn't expecting her to be the King's fiance, hahaha"
"Ex-fiance" Claude corrects him
"Right, sorry about that" Beck was immediately shut down, Tayne gave him signals to continue talking but the lad already felt embarrassed about it.
"I heard what happened" this time it was Erika who finally initiated the conversation "Are you okay?"
Claude looks at her, she was still the same, minus the appearance and all, the way she stares at him with the same violet-colored eyes can still make his heart pound. It's been three years already since she broke their engagement. "Yeah, I'm fine don't worry about it"
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you"
"There's nothing we can do anyway even if you're there, the results will be the same -- my family will still die"
Erika gave him a sad expression"You must be wondering why I became a merc now right?" She said, trying to change the topic
"Eh? What are you before?" Tayne join in the conversation
"Well, I'm a singer" Erika answered
"Wow, really? That's cool!"
"Why thank you, you must be a guard like Tseng judging from your clothes"
"Yup!"
"Hahaha, how lively of you, but it's unusual for Claude to have a female bodyguard beside him"
"My father hired her" Claude replied
"Your father?"
Claude nods
"I see"
Tayne change her sitting position, she now sits between the two "Erika, I wanted to ask you something, are you the one who told them about Victoria?"
Claude pause, creases forming between his brows by her sudden question "What do --"
"Yes, I was the one who told them about Victoria" she answered confidently as she looks at a confused Claude.
"I knew about the Angels of the Abyss as well"
"How? Is that the reason why you broke off our engagement?"
Tayne and the others stared at each other eyes wide open, it seems she had triggered something she shouldn't have
"Yes"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think they would harm the royal family because of the Duke, I heard him talking to someone, one time at a party about how he can do human experiments using Etheria, he wanted to continue his ancestors studies to strengthen the kingdom's army to attack Rosei. He saw me eavesdrop and from then on he keeps on coming to my shows, it has taken a toll on me"
"You could have talked to me about it, I would have helped you"
"No, you couldn't, Claude"
"What?"
"You were so blinded by what you have back then, your throne, your career as a doctor together with Vincent, your mom's illness. You were so busy that I felt left out, I don't want to add up. So I left Saveria and traveled to Rosei, I wanted to see it for myself how obsessed the Duke was in defeating that Kingdom, when I arrived that's where I met Beck and the others. I joined their group and became a mercenary like them"
She faces Tayne "Did Beck also told you we got hired by the Angels of The Abyss before?"
Tayne nods and Claude starts yelling at her "Wait! So you knew, why ---" he paused, he remembered their conversation.
*One secret at a time, alright?*
"Nevermind, I can't change the past anymore, anyway"
"I guess you already knew about the organization too?" Beck asked
"My father told me everything he knows about them and their true king --"
"Rell" Tayne mentions
"I thought he was just joking, during our battle at the abandoned church, he whispered to me that he was the True King and follow him, not Claude"
"The first King and the True King are brothers, right? So that makes you two cousins, talking about complicated family relationships" Beck jokes
Tseng elbowed the lad.
"Ah, sorry about that again" he apologized
"This is all that organization's fault, they were feeding the Duke's greed over his desire to make weapons to defeat the kingdom of Rosei, and that Rell person, I don't know much about the story of the brothers but I'm sure they have much bigger plans ahead, killing the entire royal family is just their first step" Erika further explained
"Don't you have any relatives or cousins, Claude?" Tayne asked
"I do, but if I'm being hunted because of my connection to the first king's bloodline, I'm sure my relatives will all end up like my family" Claude answer, he's gotten used to the news of his parents and sister's death.
Just when things were about to get awkward again, they finally arrived in a small town.
"Let's find some room and stay for the night here" Darvan came out of the truck
"Where are we?" Beck asked
"A town in the middle of nowhere doesn't matter"
They found a small inn around town and the place didn't have much to offer, it didn't differ from Saveria's slums.
"I hope you're already used to this kind of treatment, your majesty" Darvan told Claude
"Don't call me that"
"Hmph"
Darvan got them the dorm-type were all men stayed in one room while Tayne and Erika shared a separate one. It only took them a few minutes to get settled, Claude wasn't comfortable with the setup especially when there is tension between him and Darvan. But Darvan didn't spend his free time inside their room and stayed somewhere else so he felt quite relieved.
When night came, Claude still had problems sleeping and decided to take a walk around town, usually, Tseng would follow him but the bodyguard just kept lying on his bed, even though he knew he was awake. Claude goes out of the room and that's when he met Erika waiting outside.
"Heya" She greeted
(Damn that Tseng, how did he know she was here?)
"What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, c'mon let's take a walk"
Claude said no but Erika was persistent so he didn't have a choice. They walked together around the town and caught the eyes of everyone in the streets.
They were quiet at first, Claude was still skeptical to start a conversation. It has been three years since they've broken up but looking at them walking in the middle of the night brings a nostalgic feeling towards him.
"I'm sorry" Erika apologized
"For what?"
"For not having your back, even though I promised not to leave your side"
"That --" Claude was going to tell her it doesn't matter anymore, that it happened already but it felt wrong so he just replied "It's fine"
Erika smiled "There's something different about you, Claude "
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not quite sure myself but -- nevermind" she changed the topic "I kinda miss this, walking with you"
"Yeah, it's been a while. Are you still singing?"
"Not really, I'm a mercenary now, wait till you see how I fight, I'm no longer a damsel in distress!"
"Oh? That's good then. You usually cry and call my name every time you got into trouble"
Erika paused "Right, I was like that before huh"
"I'm sorry, was that offending?"
"No! No! No! Hahahaha, I just thought about how much I've grown, that's all"
They continued to walk towards the exit to town until they saw two familiar figures talking under the moonlight. Claude didn't need to second guess who they were.
It was Tayne and Darvan.
----
"Hoooo? They finally got their own time huh?" said Erika
Claude didn't understand why she said that but looking at them talking bothered him.
"I'll go back to my room now, you can continue walking if you want to" he leaves her alone
"W-wait! I'll go with you!" Erika followed him, she saw how irritated Claude was and turns around to Tayne and Darvan talking, it seems Darvan was scolding her at first but sooner and later his actions became gentler as she witnessed how he reaches out his hand and placed it on Tayne's face.
Erika suddenly flushed (Were they a thing before!?) she thought then she looks to Claude this time ( Why did he get angry though?)
----
The next morning, the atmosphere between Darvan and Tayne finally got better but when it comes to Claude and him it's the total opposite, the two were still not getting along for whatever reason it was, everyone didn't know the answer.
They did not spend the second day sleeping in another town, as they get nearer to Rosei's border Claude starts noticing the changes in his surroundings. Saveria was abundant in terms of land and water because of Etheria, it was the same for Rosei, the trees, the rivers, and the mountains were the same but somehow Claude feels like he entered another world.
"Oh? I see you're sensing it" said Beck
"Sensing what?"
"Etheria"
Claude looks surprised that it made Beck laugh a little "Well, how can I explain this, compared to your Kingdom who practically forced extracts Etheria, Rosei is more of the gentler type?"
"What do you mean by gentle?"
"The Kingdom of Saveria has its way of getting Etheria using their advance type mechanism, While Rosei has, well, it's not exactly what tiu call extracting but they practice alchemy and follow the will of the spirits in" Erika helped Beck explained
Claude's face became bitter "Will of the Spirits?"
"Hahahaha, I know you'll give me that kind of expression but it is better to see it with your own eyes, trust me on this --- I've been there"
It was reassuring for Claude that Erika said those words, he heard all kinds of stories from his father on how the two kingdoms were enemies as far as he could remember. He tried asking his father why but the King back then couldn't give him a direct answer, he simply just said the Kingdom of Rosei wanted Victoria. Speaking of Victoria, he didn't hear any voices inside his head anymore, maybe it was just his imagination and stress that he starts hearing things.
They arrived at the border earlier than expected and were greeted by a group of knights who guards the area.
"Darvan! You finally arrive!" one knight greeted them
"Yo! Were off to meet the King, is he available?"
"Hmmm... if you plan to travel by truck you might reach the capital by nightfall, okay then, I'll inform his majesty of your arrival"
"Thanks!"
They continued their travel as they got inside Rosei's territory and Claude felt a bit uneasy.
"You okay Claude?" Tayne asked
They haven't been talking since he saw her with Darvan, although Tayne never felt any different towards him.
"What does it matter to you?"
"Huh? Why are you being grumpy suddenly?"
Claude only replied to her with silence.
"Well, I don't know what I did to make you go grumpy on me but I hope you'll get used to this kind of environment now. The things you will see and experience here will be different from the life you know in Saveria, though it's not really my place to tell you that considering I've only been here once back when I was a kid"
"Tayne is right. The people here are a little bit out of the ordinary"
There was nothing to talk after that, only the revving sound of the truck can be heard as they continue to travel to the capital. Claude finally sees it, there was no need to tell what lies ahead, it was more than he could imagine it would.
But Why.
Why would Rosei go so far to wage war
against them when Saveria itself didn't want to fight back, they simply just defending their Kingdom.
He makes a fist out his knuckles, ever since he arrived he has this feeling of uneasiness that he couldn't shake off. They always told him to see for himself but what exactly is there to see?
Tall Skyscrapers? Advance Technology? Weapons he could never describe? What is it exactly?
Just like any other Kingdom, Rosei was surrounded by a huge wall. Claude could see it was heavily guarded with knights but there was something odd about them.
A tall long haired blonde knight with blue eyes greets them at the entrance.
(So it's true, blondes are common here)
"I'm glad you arrive safely Sir Darvan," the knight greeted
"Ah, Leon, so unusual to see you here"
"The King has sent me to come fetch you"
"Oh? Hahahahaha, you knights are something, okay then, lead the way, we can't keep him waiting"
Leon was riding a beautiful white horse and leads them slowly to the palace.
"Master" Tseng calls to Claude
"What?"
"Have you notice his ears? It was long, do humans have that?"
"What?" He looks at Leon up front, he wasn't hiding it but he did have long ears compared to other humans, going back, the knights who were guarding at the border were also the same.
"Just like elves? Ha. They only exist in fairytales though" Claude blurted out of the blue
"You-- you're kidding right?" Beck asked
"Why would I kid?"
"Hahahahs, I knew he would react like this," said Erika
"Well, he grew up in a very closed Kingdom anyway" Tayne followed
(Are they mocking me or something?) Claude starts to get angry.
"What are all of you trying to imply anyway?"
"Claude, it's not they are 'LIKE' elves but they ARE elves" Erika finally told him
Claude's eyes widen and his jaw almost drop but instead bit his lips and looks again at Leon who was now staring at him, smiling.
--- End Of The Chapter.