The next morning, two carriages pulled by wyverns had already arrived at the palace. On it were Shiina and Sakuya along with a few other dragonkin guards, acting as the security force for bringing Kaze's group over to Aravel.
"Oh man… this is really it," Ethan shuddered with a huge smile on his face. "The day where representatives from our nation get invited over."
"Come on dear, you don't have to overreact now," Kathy, standing by his side, sighed at her husband. "You have already freaked out enough yesterday. Mia, please check on Yuuji and his friends."
Yuuji had arrived back at the palace the day before to reconfirm everything with his parents. By the time the rest of the group had obtained approval, the matter of them going abroad to Aravel was ordered for their parents to keep silent about this. Since this could very well concern international issues, it could be said to be a royal decree that everything concerning this was kept confidential.
Right now, Yuuji and the rest were already waiting at the hall of the entrance of the palace with their luggage. Since it was already confirmed in the letter that the carriages to bring them would be stationed at the palace, everyone moved out of the house to sleep at the palace in preparation for the journey tomorrow. Other than the trio being Lunaria's close friends, everyone couldn't get much sleep the night before.
"Father, you called?" Yuuji approached Ethan with Mia following closely behind. "Is it time already?"
"Yes. Please have everyone get ready to board the carriage," Ethan nodded. "We have secured the area."
With permission, the group picked either one of the two carriages to board together. Ethan, Kathy and Mia were among the few available at the scene to watch the departure. It took a bit of convincing for Mia to not make a fuss over the fact she wasn't invited, probably because she was not a close friend of Lunaria. Mia wasn't so keen on visiting Aravel, rather it was the fact she had to be separated from Yuuji for an extra week. Thankfully, Yuuji managed to reassure her by means unknown to the rest and thus their trip was settled.
Everyone else was able to get permission without an issue. They would be spending their break over at Aravel, which arguably was the best break possible for them. Not even the rulers of Czech were able to travel due to it being a visit rather than a business trip. Plus, Ethan had his hands full with the devil situation so a visit at this time would only be detrimental to his nation.
Waving goodbye to the small group, the carriages departed and left for Aravel. Kaze, Sera, Rena, Chris and Irene were in the first carriage, whereas Yuuji, Shoko, Albert and Noel rode in the second. To enable communication between both carriages, a magic device was built in place such that the voices of others in the separate carriage would be heard individually by each person. It was certainly technology not applied in Tristania, something that amazed everyone upon realizing this.
Once they got over the fright of being lifted into the air, they quickly realized how steady the flight was. The wyverns being led by the dragonkin guards were doing a great job keeping the process steady, albeit a few shakes here and there due to the current. Wind magic was also casted around the carriage to further stabilize it during the flight, once again emphasizing the amount of consideration put into their transportation.
"What do you plan to do once we are at Aravel?" Chris asked the group. "I'm definitely going to try to savour their cuisine. If Lunaria is able to make such delicious foreign food, I'm ecstatic at what we would be eating there."
"Man, you really got me thinking," Shoko responded from the other carriage, her voice filling the first carriage. "It's been a while since I was in Aravel."
"Oh, were you not from Aravel?" Noel asked Shoko politely while hugging her swords close to her chest.
"Nope. Sera, Rena and I might be Lunaria's close friends, but that does not mean we live there," Shoko shook her head, her tone implying so. "As the one with wings, she travels often between Yvel and Aravel for fun."
"I see. From my knowledge, Yvel is situated right next to Ile, so it makes sense that Lunaria wouldn't find it a huge hassle to meet up with the three of you," Mitsui smiled at this. "Must be nice having a friend who can fly around."
"It is rather special, I won't deny it, but once you get to know Lunaria she is just like any other person you would expect," Sera answered. "As all of you must have experienced, especially a certain someone here."
"Are we referring to the one and only Kaze?" Mitsui giggled, her cheeky attitude showing. "The man's depressed for so long, I nearly though the Kaze right now is someone else entirely."
"He is just happy we get to travel to Aravel," Rena laughed along with the teasing. "Please don't make too much fun of Kaze, I already feel sorry for him."
"What's there to feel sorry about, Rena?" Yuuji played along. "The past few days was so agonising watching him mope around the house."
"I'm going to have to agree," Irene gave Kaze a light poke on the cheek. "I want to see the look on Kaze's face when he reunites with his princess~"
"Aren't you all just exaggerating now?" Kaze sighed, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. "You all act like you aren't happy to meet Lunaria for once, even though I wasn't the only one feeling down."
"Of course we are, but your case is special," Sera pointed out. "We are all very clear of the difference in treatment you receive from her compared to us. Don't get me wrong, Lunaria treats everyone very well, but she does tend to be more biased when it comes to you."
"That's saying a lot, coming from Sera, whom I can agree with," Rena nodded at Kaze. "I believe Shoko can vouch for this as well."
"Kaze, just give up. Nothing you say can make us change our mind," Shoko taunted Kaze with a gleeful smile. "Well, back to the topic of food, Chris is right. Aravel offers a pretty interesting choice of cuisine that I'm sure everyone will be happy to savour once we are there. We have two weeks, which means we must make use of that time well."
The rest of their travelling involved casual talking with each other. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the border of Aravel for travelling by air was the fastest mode by far. Only an hour had passed and they had arrived.
From there, they had to pass through various checkpoints before they could arrive at the palace. Since they had the passes with them, there was not much trouble at the border inspection with the dragonkin guards. Only a certain member among the group was not given a pass, to everyone's surprise from the night before.
The pass issued by Lunaria was only enough for 8 people. This definitely wasn't a mistake nor a miscount, since each pass had their names labelled on it so they wouldn't mix up their identity. None of them knew what significant the pass had other than acting as proof of being invited since there wasn't any details stated in the letter itself. Still, they obeyed and stuck the pass, being a sort of sticker, onto their clothes. The guards gave the passes a quick scan using a magic device to verify their identity.
"Um… what am I supposed to do?" Kaze asked nervously, realizing the significance of the pass.
Kaze was the only one not assigned with a pass. In other words, he was the 9th member of the group that Lunaria had intentionally omitted.
The dragonkin guards instantly surrounded their carriage. As everyone knew that Kaze did not have a pass, they were worried for what would happen to him. Did Lunaria have some sort of motive for exempting Kaze from the rest of them?
"You, come here," Sakuya called out to Kaze in a cold manner. "Leave the luggage."
Gulping nervously, Kaze left his bag in the carriage and stepped out into the open. Two dragonkin guards walked up to him and restrained his arms behind his back, causing him to feel even more nervous than he already was.
"Alright, take them away," Sakuya then nodded at the others, permitting entry for the two carriages.
Without a word, Sakuya led the smaller division of guards with Kaze to a separate, smaller ground-based carriage already left waiting by the guard post. As the border of Aravel was also built around a massive stone wall like Tristania was, Kaze couldn't tell what was beyond those walls. All he could think about was what crime he had done to deserve being taken away by the guards.
The door of the carriage opened and Kaze got pushed inside along with the two guards.
"Yo~"
"… L-Luniel?"
The face of Luniel, the fifth of the dragonkin sisters, greeted Kaze once he was inside. She had a cheeky grin on her face with her right leg crossed on top of her left. It was clear that she had been waiting for him separately already.
"Yep, I'm glad you still remember my name. It would be a shame if you didn't," Luniel said. "Sakuya, take us."
At her words, the carriage began moving. All Kaze could hear were the faint sounds of the wheels turning against the road, but otherwise it was complete silence.
"Surprised? This carriage has a sound barrier around it to keep any sound from outside being transmitted inside," Luniel explained when noticing Kaze's puzzled face. "It's an invention of mine."
"You… invented this?" Kaze asked, looking around the carriage.
"Not the carriage, but the magic feature," Luniel simply nodded. "It would be troublesome to conjure a wind barrier every time we want to isolate sound, so I made a device that would activate said magic to isolate sound once anyone input their magic power into it. You can't see that device now since it's built into the carriage, but it looks like a small black box."
"Um… that is amazing, Luniel. If I may ask… why don't I have a pass like the others?" Kaze decided to get straight to the point. "Did Lunaria forget to assign one for me?"
"No? The pass was made only for your friends," Luniel made a small frown at his question. "Oh, was it not included in the letter? I think Lunaria-nee omitted that part on purpose then."
"Am I being brought in for questioning?"
"You wish. If anything, my father would like to thank you for what you have done."
"What… I did? By Reginsleif-sama?"
"Yeah. Well, I will spare you the details now, it would be better to have it heard formally by him."
"Oh. Then I'm not in trouble?"
"Why would you be? Lunaria-nee specifically insisted you be given the VIP treatment. The problem is that it had been so long since we last had human visitors in the nation that it took a bit for us to refer to the past… I mean, everyone invited is receiving the VIP treatment too, but your VIP treatment is different from theirs."
"Uhh… okay?"
"Don't ask me why Lunaria-nee insisted. If anything, I want to ask you why Lunaria-nee acted that way. So, why did Lunaria-nee act this way?"
"I don't know?"
"Hmm, alright then. I know you aren't lying, so I won't further pursue this. Also, please accept my apology for why you are restrained. It's the law, so even I can't intervene."
"Wait, that goes against your statement of being treated as a VIP then. Why am I the only one restrained by the others aren't?!"
"That's true. Don't ask me, I'm simply someone to ensure instructions are being delivered. Whatever being delegated to Sakuya is unknown to me~"
When the carriage stopped, Kaze was blindfolded before exiting the carriage. His arms still restrained, the guards pushed him along to act as a guide since he could not see where he was or knew which way he had to go.
"Watch your step here, there are a few stairs. Turn right in front. Follow my voice…"
Luniel continued guiding them down whichever way they were headed now. The noise from the surrounding differed based on the distance they were walking, but the one thing that remained constant was Luniel's chatty voice. It might not look like it to Kaze, but she was actually doing her job properly. Right now, everything felt like an elaborate scheme to make a fool of him.
A few minutes of walking later, Kaze deduced they had entered a room from the sound of the doors closing behind them. The guards finally let go of Kaze's arms, already firmly tied behind his back so he could not move around freely. With a light push from someone, presumably Luniel, Kaze stumbled backwards and fell into a chair.
"Hello Kaze, we meet again."
"T-That voice… is it Laevia-sama?"
"Mm, I'm happy you managed to remember me by my voice."
"No, not at all. It sounds very similar to Lunaria's, so…"
"I see. So I'm that alike with my daughter then?"
"I mean-"
"No worries, I'm taking it as a compliment. You don't have to feel so nervous. Let us have his blindfold removed please, Luniel."
"Alright~"
Luniel grabbed the blindfold and tugged it away, allowing Kaze to see.
The first thing that he noticed was the sight of Laevia sitting in front of him. They were in a secluded room that looked to be a work room, with shelves upon shelves of books piled neatly in cabinets by the wall. With a table at one end of the room, they were currently situated in the middle of it, Kaze sitting directly opposite of Laevia, the Empress of Aravel and Lunaria's mother.
"It is a rather messy room, I agree," Laevia gave her room a simple look around, following Kaze's bewildered gaze. "Perhaps we should have chosen a better spot to meet."
"A-Ah, no, your Highness. This room is very neat," Kaze broke into a bundle of nerves at Laevia's comment. "I was looking around because I was fascinated by the design…"
"Laevia will do, my dear, but you may refer to me formally too. I was just joking," Laevia giggled, causing Luniel who was standing by Kaze's side to smirk at Kaze once again.
Sighing at this, Kaze had never thought that Laevia of all people would be the one to pull a fast one on him. Still, he didn't say anything out of relief that she was not mad.
"Okay, let's get to the point," Laevia sat up straight and began conversing in a formal manner. "Kaze, as the Empress of Aravel, I would like to apologise for our methods of bringing you here. It couldn't be helped due to various reasons, which may or may not be explained depending on the circumstance. Also, we would like to express our gratitude for taking care of our daughter, going so far as to risk your life for her in the process."
"Thank you, it was only necessary considering that Lunaria had treated me well too," Kaze responded politely. "I regret nothing."
"Just for her treating you better than the average person, I don't think that would suffice as a reason to be willing to sacrifice yourself normally," Laevia made a thin smile as she said so. "Kaze, sometimes I wonder if going by that logic, you are willing to throw your life out for anyone who offers you something in return."
"It's not like that, Laevia-sama. While it is true that every good deed deserves a return, whether it be big or small, I didn't help Lunaria because she treated me to food or anything. I would have helped anyone even if it wasn't Lunaria who was the victim."
"Then wouldn't that go against your own statement? You said that 'it was necessary' because Lunaria treated you well."
"I-I meant…"
"Regardless of that, it is undeniable you helped her a great deal. My other daughter, Lunatea, has given me proof of that too. You aided them in search of Lunaria when she went missing."
"Yes, Laevia-sama. I could not deny the opportunity. Your daughters are all capable on their own."
"I'm glad to hear that. What did you do that helped them locate Lunaria?"
"Uhh, I… honestly did not do much. I only followed them around and waited for a chance to help."
"Oh. So it was their own efforts that enabled them to find their sister."
"I mean, there were a few times where I helped by giving suggestions, but I think ultimately most of the hard work came from your daughters, Laevia-sama."
A cold sweat ran down Kaze's back as he struggled to answer each one of Laevia's question. The previous kind and motherly outward appearance she had dawned on when he first met her had faded away, revealing the Empress side that Laevia wore for centuries now. Just like her husband, she exceeded an authoritative pressure towards Kaze while questioning him, almost like this was an interrogation.
First Laevia acted friendly with him, now it felt like she was getting passive-aggressive. Was Laevia actually angry at him for reasons unknown, or did she suspect Kaze to be an imposter who purposely trapped Lunaria?
After a series of gruelling questions, Laevia finally stopped and got up from her seat. Luniel, who had been listening to them this whole time, untied the restrains around Kaze's hands. It seemed like the questioning had ended, leaving Kaze baffled, confused, afraid and lost.
"Thank you for your time, Kaze. You may leave," Laevia told Kaze, taking a sip of water. "I have obtained all the information I need. It was a pleasure meeting you again."
"Wait, um, Laevia-sama?" Kaze stood up shakily from the chair and voiced out his concern. "What was the point of interrogating me?"
"That's a pretty strong word to use, dear, considering I went easy on you," Laevia's kind side returning as she smiled at Kaze's question. "I would say this is to understand what sort of person you are from your responses. The only reason I stopped is not because I am satisfied with the answers I got nor did I run out of questions, but rather it was 'enough' for now. You may leave. Luniel will guide you."
Luniel dragged Kaze out of the room when she noticed he just stood his ground after being told to leave. Kaze did not resist, simply allowing his body to follow Luniel.
"Don't fret over it, mother was purposely harsh on you compared to the last time," Luniel consoled him, referring to when he saw Laevia after getting help to break out of confinement. "These are tough times for us. She needed to make sure that you are specifically not a threat to us."
"But why would she have any reason to suspect me?" Kaze groaned. "Laevia-sama even said before that she trusted me…"
"I think she is already very happy that you showed up wearing the outfit we gave you last time," Luniel grinned, talking about the new outfit he received after being broken out. "This is the one, right?"
"Um, yeah," Kaze glumly replied. "I only wore it because I had nothing more proper to wear."
"Hoho, is that true?" Luniel raised an eyebrow at this. "Well, I won't judge. For now, why don't we bring you to your room? Everyone else should have settled down already."
Bringing him down the hallway of the palace, Kaze couldn't help but look around. Unlike Tristania's palace, the Aravel one felt more sombre and silent, as if there wasn't much activity going on. The palace wasn't dark and gloomy, despite Kaze's self-description of 'sombre', it just so happened that there were fewer windows than expected which reduced the natural lighting in the hallway.
The design of the walls and the floor were similar to a certain extent in terms of material, but different as they vary in design. Kaze wasn't well-versed in the type of material used to construct the internal structure, hence he wasn't able to draw a line with comparing which was better. It was still clear that security was tight since this was a palace to begin with. The countless number of rooms they passed by definitely reminded Kaze of what it was like inside Tristania's palace, expressing that the size of the palace was nothing to scoff at.
Turning down a curved hallway and down a flight of stairs, Luniel led Kaze to a room towards the corner of the dead end. There were multiple other rooms as well, as evident by the doors lined up next to it.
"Are these rooms for the others?" Kaze asked Luniel, who unlocked the door of the room with magic. "I can't hear any movement from inside."
"Of course not. Each room within the palace is enchanted with the same type of sound magic that you experienced in the carriage," Luniel stated. "Here you go, your room for the visit."
"Thanks. How do I lock the door? I saw you using… whatever magic that was."
"Ah. Just input your magic into the handle and it will lock or unlock, depending on what mode it is in. Don't worry about security, it will only respond to certain individual's magic pattern"
"Alright, noted."
"Lunch's in an hour. The rest of your friends are gathered at the main hall. Here's a pamphlet containing the brief structure of the palace in case you get lost, so have it with you at all times. Please read it while you unpack, since it contains certain rules you have to follow along with other miscellaneous information. Anything else you like to ask? Your luggage is already in the room."
"Uhh, not really, at the moment. I do have more questions regarding that weird interrogation. Wait, I actually want to ask about the pass. Is it true that it is only used for entering Aravel?"
"Is this because you don't have one with you? Well, that is only part of the reason. We will be exploring frequently asked questions that we expect you and your friends to ask over lunch, so no worries. Try to get comfortable."
With that, Luniel left Kaze to himself. This marked the start of their two-weeks stay in Aravel, one that certainly would be filled with lots of surprises.