At the Caspius manor, Yri was watering some of the plants when she heard clopping sounds from the distance.
Arsen and his knights emerged at the road leading to the manor. They wore their battle armor; Arsen had a golden one while the others were silver. Although Arsen and some of the knights looked as if they'd just woken up, the exhaustion of some of them was obvious even from afar.
Tereus opened the gate for them. He was one of the knights that remained to guard the place in case any emergency happened. He announced the lord of the manor's arrival. People went out to welcome Arsen. They knew that he returned from another successful mission and congratulated him.
Yri walked close to him, she offered help in removing his golden armor. Arsen asked her about the time and whether Aeneas and the others had returned from Pergis.
"They haven't," said Yri. She then took out a small pocket watch from a pouch dangling around the hip of her kirtle, "They've left around eight," she said while also showing the watch to Arsen.
Arsen smiled, "I see," he said.
"Did you forget to bring your watch again?"
The lord Caspius shook his head. He said that it was intentional this time since he knew that there would be a fight and that having his pocket watch with him would only act as a distraction.
Pocket watches cost between two to three silver coins in Pantera. To put it in perspective, in the current market of Pantera, a family of three could have three good meals including desserts in the entire day with a silver coin. The common wage for typical workers in a day is around one silver coin and five bronze coins to two silver coins.
Even after centuries since it was discovered and recreated, the mechanical parts of these watches remained flimsy. Watchmakers tried many ways to make it more durable, using better materials but costing more coins to make.
Carrying one in an expedition where a battle against a beast was ensured is a great waste of money, for more often than not, you would see your watch in shambles after the fight.
Yri passed Arsen's golden armor to one of the knights who offered to help clean it, "Aenie and the others should be home by noon." She also said that Sir Konon and the young lady Chronis came with them.
When the sun was at its peak, Aeneas and the others returned home from their journey to Pergis. They brought with them some fruits to eat as dessert.
At the dining table, Tiriara began asking Arsen to talk about his exploit from earlier. Everyone was also keen to listen, while the knights who came with him smiled as they already knew what happened.
Seeing the girl's expectant and gleaming eyes, Arsen smiled and told his story. But, his prose was direct and the others felt it ended without having a climax. So in his stead, Haemon took the honor and told the story through his eyes.
"On the road to the town of Oraza, a huge silverback grumalla has gone enraged. Houses were destroyed, a civilian was killed, and some bears grave injuries. But with the guidance of the Proud Lion, two knights close to the area responded to help.
The two were just traveling to the town when they saw the enraged beast. One of them was from Heos and knew the captain, so his messenger bird flew for help. Lady Luck has it that the incident was closer to us than that of Oraza.
When we arrived, the two knights were covered with injuries and were only trying their best to keep the enraged silverback from attacking civilians or other settlements close to the area. Travelers who noticed the commotion helped in blocking the road so that the others wouldn't get in the middle of the mayhem."
Tiriara took a sip from the pineapple juice made from the same fruit they've brought, "So what happened next?" she asked.
Kyra had a smug look on her face, "Of course, the captain jumped from his steed and ended the beasts with a single slash," she said.
Eyes widened and mouth wide opened, "Woah," Tiriara murmured while he stared at Arsen with great admiration. Meanwhile, Haemon was glaring at Kyra for snatching the honor of telling the best part of his story. To which the lady knight apologized with an embarrassed smile.
"That's an exaggeration of what happened," said Arsen with a smile.
He explained that he did unmount from his steed the moment he saw the enraged beasts. The other knights brought medicines with them and went to the injured. Arsen continued that although he did defeat the enraged silverback on his own, it took him more attacks than what Kyra said.
Even so, Tiriara's eyes were still directed at him, "I want to be like you, captain!" she said.
Arsen chuckled, while Konon apologized to him for the young lady's loud voice at the dining table.
Aeneas, who was sitting beside Tiriara, pinched her in the cheeks and said, "Brother's not your captain."
"I'll soon become a knight and join our older brother," Tiriara moved her head to remove Aeneas's fingers from his face.
The boy reached for her cheeks again, "That won't happen for ages, and he's not your older brother," he said.
Their bickering painted a smile on everyone's faces.
Tiriara looked at Aeneas with a confused expression, "But he will be my older brother too," she said.
"Huh?"
Aside from Arsen who felt a bit embarrassed, and Donos who knew where the conversation was going, everyone was as confused as Aeneas.
The girl noticed their expressions, waiting for her to explain what she meant. With a grin, "Father said that my sister…" Tiriara pointed at Aeneas, "and your brother, will get married," she said.
Silence filled the room, followed by a variety of positive reactions from the people at the table. All of Arsen's knights congratulated him and were excited about his wedding. Some even said that it was meant for him to marry the daughter of Arsida's guardian, for who else other than Arsen seems fitting to marry Nireus's daughter?
"I'm so envious," Kyra muttered. The knights who heard her made teasing comments about what she said. They thought she wanted to be married as well, but what she meant was that she was envious of Theresa.
"How come you haven't informed us about this grand event, my lord?" Crisa said. She has a big smile on her face, proud and happy for the lord she's been watching over since he was a toddler.
Arsen explained that they were still getting to know each other. It was clear to everyone that it was also something he wanted as his smile was the brightest and it was their first time seeing their lord's pale face turn a bit red. He cleared his throat and turned serious as he looked at Aeneas.
"What do you think, baby brother?"
Aeneas looked at everyone. Then, turned to his older brother, and with a smile, "I'm happy if you are," he said.
Arsen stood up to pat the boy on the head, and replied, "Thank you."
The dining halls became noisy once again as everyone congratulated Arsen even though their marriage wasn't set in stone. Crisa noticed that Yri's smile was forced, she knew that she had suppressed affection towards Arsen. But, the only thing she could do was feel bad for her.
A few hours after lunch, Aeneas wanted to train. Donos went with him and Tiriara followed.
On the way there, "Aren't you going home?" Aeneas said to Tiriara.
The girl smiled, she said that it was way boring at their residence and that his father would just pester her with random instructors to teach her stuff.
"Besides, I like hanging out with you."
Aeneas didn't say anything. The girl's words were both embarrassing and delightful to him, But, the atmosphere didn't turn awkward since the girl had another question.
"Do you think they're telling the truth?" Tiriara asked. Her face was a bit serious this time.
It was a sudden question without any context, Aeneas remained confused and answered, "What are you talking about?"
Tiriara realized that her question wasn't complete, "Oh, I mean those people with wooden boards at Pergis, do you think it's true?" she said.
Aeneas imagined the people Tiriara was talking about, as well as the boy around his age with the striking mask on his face. "I also don't know," he said.
"I thought you were smart," Tiriara said with a grin. She went for a playful punch on Aeneas's shoulder. He didn't attempt to dodge it, he knew that she would just continue doing it till her light punch connects.
She turned to Donos, who was walking a few steps behind them and asked the same question. He was about to reply with the same answer he said to Aeneas when they saw the same group after his first tournament, but Aeneas decided to answer for him.
Aeneas told the girl what Donos said about the fact that even if those people were proven right and people learned about it, none of the Zeal-bearers would give up on casting magic for it would deprive them of comfort and power.
"But if they're right we should just stop using magic," Tiriara looked at her Zeal, "we could just use our ability," she said.
"What if they also found out that just using your Zeal was the cause of the Age of Insanity, will you stop using your Zeal?" Aeneas said.
Tiriara paused. She argued that it wouldn't make sense since the Zeals were gifts from the twelve Gods.
Aeneas's eyebrows furrowed, "But your ability to cast fire magic was from your Zeal as well," he said.
"Ah. You're right," Tiriara looked at him, smiling from ear to ear, "I guess those people were wrong," she said before laughing.