Lampard descended the carriage alone, then the carriage door was closed tightly once more.
It was obvious that he did not intend to allow Thales to go down with him together.
Still immersed in the information disclosed by Lampard, Thales tried to right himself in his astonishment and confusion. Under Little Rascal's concerned gaze, he stuck his face to the coach's glass.
'Lampard said someone wanted me alive. Who is it? Who wishes to keep me alive? Is it really who I think it is—'
Thales' thoughts were interrupted by the scene before him.
They were in a small alleyway that had been emptied into a slightly larger clearing by the Black Sand Region soldiers clad in patrol uniforms.
Archduke Lampard resumed his solemn and stern expression. He walked to the middle of the alleyway with steady footsteps, holding his sword.
There, a fair-skinned man wearing a thick, cotton-padded jacket with a relaxed face awaited the archduke's arrival.
