Meia stood waiting at the front of the carriage and watched Violet. The masked woman stood by the horses from the carriage and fed one of them carrots. If you wanted to call it feeding that is. The way she stuffed them into the horse's mouth was a bit like a forced fattening. Then she always pulled her hand away so quickly, as if she was expecting to be bitten. Meia had actually had the impression that they were well-behaved horses, but maybe it was because of Yuri. Maybe there was a previous incident?

After a short time, a wagon came into view. It was very similar in construction to the wagon they had. It had a loading area covered with tarpaulin. The tarpaulin was open to the loading area at the front and rear. If it wasn't so dark, you could see through it. Unlike the coach, the coachman's bench was low. The rest was very strange. A man was sitting on the bench with the reins in his hand and his head hanging down. He didn't look hurt. He just didn't look up. There was only one horse pulling the wagon through the mud. There was only a small storm lamp on the bench next to the man. The path may have been a little wider at this point and therefore a little brighter, but up to this point the path had been densely overgrown with trees. If the coming section was the same, you wouldn't be able to see anything from the bench. The lamp was unnecessary and a hindrance. There were reasons why lamps were attached to carriages in a certain way. This one was too low to light the way and was in the man's field of vision. So the only one who knew where the wagon was going was, at best, the horse. But even that was doubtful in this darkness. Nevertheless, there was certainly a reason why there were no lights on the wagon. But what reason could there possibly be?

Meia noticed that Violet didn't seem to be bothered by any of this. She continued to stand waiting on the path. Earlier she had said that an idiot was coming towards them. Meia had thought she meant someone stupid enough to take this path instead of the trade route. She had also implied that it wasn't an enemy, but then why was she blocking the way?

Suddenly the man stood up and waved with outstretched arms. It struck Meia that it was a warning signal, but then he began to shout.

"Violet! Hello~! It's me Falko~! Falko Wagner! What a coincidence!"

Violet's posture changed at that moment. It looked a little like she was going to slump and she clutched her head.

"Just what I needed..."

The wagon came closer. Meia could now see the man better. He looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had dark hair. It was longer at the top than at the sides. If it were a little shorter at the top and not combed back, it would be a military haircut. His jacket and his glasses were also striking. The glasses had rectangular lenses set in a narrow black frame. For that reason alone, they were probably expensive. The jacket was short and had a standing white fur collar. Meia had the feeling it was a foreign military jacket. Perhaps the man was a soldier? In any case, the jacket wasn't very suitable for this weather. Wouldn't it be better to wear a rain jacket or a cloak? Nevertheless, the man was dry. The sleeves were pulled up a little and the jacket was open. Perhaps he had some rain protection in the wagon? There was one more thing that was worth mentioning. - Meia thought the man was very attractive. He looked like a model. If you were looking for a handsome man - he was one. You'd have to look a long time to find a prettier one. But with his behavior, he had already lost all the points his looks could have earned him. He waved like a hiker who wanted to be spotted on a mountain path.

Long before the wagon reached Violet, the smell of cooked food reached Meia's nose. It smelled like boiling vegetables. It was undoubtedly coming from the wagon.

Meia had hardly eaten anything proper since departure. The carrots which the horse were tortured with had been the last thing. Did the man have any soup? Meia would give all her money for a single bowl of soup. Although she wasn't sure if it would be enough for one. Probably not.

Finally, the cart came to a halt before it had even reached Violet. The man had jumped down from the bench while the horse was still making the final checks. There was a broad smile on his face and he ran towards Violet. "Violet~ A-ha-ha-ha." he laughed happily and spread his arms.

Meia was a little taken aback. Maybe the man was her boyfriend? Maybe he was even her husband? Even if his behavior was questionable, visually they were a match. Together they would be the perfect picture of husband and wife. Meia held her hand over her mouth in anticipation. Perhaps she would see a kiss. But this expectation did not last long-

"Stop." Violet ordered.

On hearing that word, the man stopped and instead of hugging her, he pretended that he just wanted to stretch.

"Is that supposed to be funny?"

For a moment, the man seemed as if he didn't know what to say. His expression had changed completely. He looked like a defendant in front of a judge. It looked like remorse.

"I wanted to see you."

"I didn't want to see you."

The rejection was like an icy cold breath. The man initially wanted to say something, but then his gaze dropped.

A brief moment of silence. The man looked at her again and again briefly. It wasn't far from the look of a puppy dog.

"Come with me."

Violet didn't wait for him. She walked past his car on the left and quite a way ahead. He followed her closely.

Meia could no longer see them and they were now quite far away. She had to concentrate to understand what was going on under the rustling of the leaves.

"How did you find us?"

Violets sounded more monotone. It seemed as if she was no longer angry, but rather annoyed.

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"I would always find you."

The man sounded confident in that. Meia was slightly impressed. It was a little romantic.

"That's not the answer I want to hear."

"That's the answer I want to give you."

"Falko, this isn't a joke."

Violet insisted. The man hesitated. It looked as if he would rather not talk. But eventually he did.

"I visited a landmark last week and there I saw an unpopular man say something. I could guess the rest. It wasn't your fault. You don't have to worry. There's a watchtower in the forest from the civil war. I've been here for three days. No one is here. I can guarantee you that."

"I know there's a watchtower. Don't you actually trust me with anything?" Violet spoke a little more quietly. "Why did you come here?"

"I trust you with everything, but I don't want to put you through everything, that's why I'm here."

"What I do is none of your business."

"Then what I do is none of your business either."

Again, they both remained silent for a moment.

But then Violet gave in. She sighed: "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

The man sounded hurt, but determined. Meia was probably on his side by now.

"You're here alone?"

"Of course."

Violet sighed again and longer this time. It sounded as if she had let herself be swayed.

"You're scouting for us until Aoka. You'll drive us back to Reinas. On the way back, you can talk."

The man puffed air out of his nose as if he had been through a tough sales pitch. He said nothing. It was combined with a determined nod.

Aoka was the destination of the convoy, as Meia had already learned. Reinas was a trading city in the northwest of the country and probably Violet's next destination.

Meia's impression of the whole situation was that they were a couple, but he had messed up somehow, which was why they were separated and now he was trying to win her back, so he had ambushed her here to surprise her and so she couldn't avoid him. Meia nodded. It had to be like this. An unexpected meeting in the forest by moonlight... an ex who was fighting for his love... It was romantic and melancholy. Perhaps Meia would be able to witness how an old love blossomed anew.

Meia continued to listen spellbound and heard footsteps in puddles. The two of them seemed to be coming back.

Suddenly, a white light shone brightly from behind the tarpaulin. It must have been the swords.

Shortly afterwards, they both emerged from behind the wagon. Violet stopped by the horses and kept looking up at the sky. The man climbed up the bench and leaned through the tarpaulin into the loading area. When his upper body reappeared, he had a steaming wooden bowl in his hand. From the second Meia saw the bowl, she couldn't take her eyes off it. She was not mistaken. There really was food in the wagon. But judging by the direction the man was walking, the bowl was not meant for her.

"Here Violet, for you. A delicious soup~"

Violet turned to face him. She hadn't been watching what he had been doing at the wagon. From her expression, she seemed surprised to be handed food.

"I made it myself." the man added before she could speak and he looked a little proud.

For a brief moment, Violet seemed pleased, but by the end of his sentence, any sign of emotion had already vanished.

"Mmm, thank you. Give the others some too." she said, taking the bowl indifferently, then she stopped looking at him and walked towards the carriage.

"Anything you want."

"How about you stop sabotaging my escorts..." Violet muttered angrily to herself.

Violet came to Meia with the bowl. The smell of cooked vegetables grew stronger. Meia's drool was almost running out of her mouth. Violet held out the bowl to Meia. It was still a little unexpected. A quick look inside revealed that the bowl contained a simple potato soup with pieces of carrot and a wooden spoon. The soup was still steaming and had probably been freshly prepared. Almost all of the ingredients had been lovingly cut into heart shapes. - Meia was absolutely certain that this effort had not been made for her.

When she looked up again, she was even more certain. The man looked astonished and nodded a lot. It certainly wasn't: 'Yes, go ahead.' It was more as if something had been broken inside of him. Meia would rather not take the bowl, but there was no such option. Violet literally forced it on her.

Meia hadn't grabbed the bowl right away, but Violet had already seen that Meia had seen that she was getting a bowl. Violet could interpret the hesitation however she wanted. "Here." Violet pressed the bowl to her stomach with a smile, then stopped looking and it was clear that she was going to let go now. Meia had no choice.

After the handover, Violet went in front of the horses and stood so that she didn't have to see either of them. The man kept his eyes on the bowl. He didn't look angry. He was probably just inwardly saying goodbye to his hours of work. Meia climbed the wooden steps to the coach box. On the way up, she put the bowl down at the top and glanced at the carriage. The masked woman was still standing by the horse. She was standing in this direction and had been watching everything in silence. The carrots were all gone. Now she stood completely motionless, like a mannequin doll. ~Creepy.~ The woman was frightening. Meia quickly averted her eyes before she realized that she had been staring at her.

Meia came on the coachman's seat. The bench was wet. She wiped the water off with one swipe of her hand. Her trousers weren't dry either, so she sat down.

Meia could now take care of the soup in peace. When the first spoonful landed in her mouth, she realized that it was delicious. It could be due to the diet of the last few days, but in no way was it a bad soup. If she could wish for anything else, it would be bread. But one shouldn't be too ungrateful.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for something. Meia could guess what. They were probably waiting for the scrap of cloth. Meia herself was thinking about something else in the meantime.

The man had said he'd been here for three days. He had mentioned a watchtower from the civil war. He was supposed to be scouting. It was looking more and more likely that he was a soldier.

When you heard the word 'civil war' in Jena, it usually meant the first Mensei civil war before the beginning of the century. As the name implied, there was a second Mensei civil war, but in many people's eyes this was just a little uprising. If there hadn't been a first one, the second one probably wouldn't be called a war to begin with.

Meia knew about the civil war, of course. On the one side stood the king and his followers, and on the other the rebellious nobility. The Arvis were also involved with Wiestahl and on the losing side as always. Involved may be an exaggeration though. Wiestahl had not deployed any soldiers or anything like that at the time. Her grandfather had merely signed a declaration of intent and promised not to let any soldiers from the royal army through, but in the end none had ever shown up. Almost all the administrators of the prefectures in the west of Jena had signed the declaration. The important exceptions were Akaika and Reinas. Akaika was the strategic center of the west and had been under the administration of the crown for hundreds of years. Most of the citizens were originally from the East and did not share the views of the West. Reinas was a trading city. Those who had influence there probably had no interest in conflicts that could negatively affect business. There were many important people among the rebels, so there were hardly any punishments after the war. If you were mean, you could say that her grandfather had signed a declaration out of peer pressure that he didn't support. But not even Meia knew if that was truly the case. Her father had rarely said a word about his father. Meia suspected that he resented him for signing the declaration. The end of the war marked the beginning of the Arvis' decline. Some of the land was redistributed as punishment. Only a few years later, the first mine was exhausted. That's how it was.

.../ End Part