Upon leaving the room, Dalia and Sir George stood guard outside the door. They seemed to be waiting for the two with eagerness. Quinus spoke first to his retainer.

"We're heading to the dining room to eat something before heading out. Sir George, how much more time do we need before we can depart for Ironside?" Quinus asked.

Sir George looked at Rya and then at Quinus. "Well, the captain of the Rangers said everything is ready to go now, My Lord. Marko Aitken has given the Knights horses from the stables and he's giving us a carriage with enough room for all of us. Percy is gathering enough supplies for our week's journey ahead and will meet us at the stables shortly. So, whenever everyone is ready, we can depart, My Lord," Sir George explained with a troubled look.

"Very good... But what's the matter, George?" Quinus asked concerned.

Sir George looked down and then up at Quinus. "I don't know how to say this, but Percy seems to be walking around with a bit of a limp. I don't recall him injuring himself during the fight last night and I told him to rest up, but he kept insisting that he was fine. Maybe he just needs to stretch a little more?"

Rya looked at Dalia, knowing that the wolfkin was knocking boots with him during the night. She wagged her tail happily, and said, "The little wolf is fine. I'll make sure he'll be in shape for the trip."

Dalia smiled as she turned to look at Rya and gave her a nod which made Sir George more confused than ever. He didn't know what the wolfkin meant, but he didn't want to ask either.

"When did Lady Dalia start calling him 'little wolf'?" George said to himself.

"Why don't you two come with me and Rya to the dining room? We can discuss the details of our journey while eating breakfast." Quinus said to Sir George and Dalia.

Dalia jumps up excitedly. "I haven't eaten anything yet. My stomach is rumbling like crazy!"

"Aye, I could use a bit of food, my lord." Sir George said.

So the group made their way towards the dining room. Rya followed closely behind Quinus, watching his back.

'Hmmm... Quin is a nice guy and he's kind of cute, but I don't want a relationship. Besides, he would freak out if he knew I was a dude,' Rya thought to herself as she observed her friends.

Dalia walked alongside Rya and whispered, "Is everything okay, Alpha? Do you need anything from me?"

The dark elf looked at the wolfkin and smiled. She was touched by Dalia's concern for her well-being.

"No, I'm fine, Dalia. Thank you." Rya answered quietly. "Let's go get something to eat, and then we can head out," the Dark Elf said and the group continued walking towards the dining room.

***

They made their way to the dining room where they found Mr. Aitken and Percy were already sitting at the long dining room table.

"Ah! Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Breakfast is served!" Mr. Aitken said with a nervous smile.

Quinus looked at Marko with an unamused gaze and sat down at the head of the table. "Mr. Aitken... I hope no one has been thinking about betraying me over last night. It would be a shame to have Kishin lose a second Mayor in two days," Quinus threatened with a cold voice.

Marko's smile disappeared and he gulped audibly, "I-I would never, Your Highness... I've given all the information about the traitors to the Captain of the Rangers. He and his men worked overnight to rid the town of them. As we speak, they're being interrogated at the dungeon... I'm glad you and your party are unharmed after last night's events."

Quinus sighed and took a bite out of his bread, "That's good... How many have been captured?"

"10 were apprehended, and 4 are dead. All were loyal to your uncle, my prince."

Quinus nodded and continued to eat, "Alright. Well, thank you for the information. You may do as you please."

Marko stood up from the table and bowed, "Thank you, Your Highness. If you need anything, you can call on me. Enjoy your breakfast and farewell, Your Highness."

Quinus held his hand up and motioned for him to sit at the table. "Before you go, sit back down. Please join us for breakfast."

Marko froze for a moment but quickly regained his composure. He then bowed to the prince again.

"T-Thank you, Your Highness! I would love to!"

Quinus watched as Mr. Aitken sat back down and began to eat before he went back to his own plate. While that was going on Dalia was giving Percy a staredown.

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Dalia noticed Percy had two plates of food in front of him. One filled with all types of meat, that caused her to drool. She thought he was saving it for himself and she felt jealous.

"Little wolf? You took all the meat!? How could you after everything I've done for you," Dalia asks, glaring at him.

Percy is surprised by Dalia's statement and responds, "What? No. This plate is for you Lady Dalia. And this one is for me. I didn't know what you liked so I grabbed a bit of everything."

Dalia quickly did a 180 from glaring at him and smiled as she grabbed the plate with all the meat and sat on Percy's Lap. "Hehe! My little wolf is the best! I knew you'd take care of me. And you knew what meats I like best!"

*Nom, nom, nom, nom!*

The wolfkin dug into the plate of meats like a starving animal, which made Percy worry.

"L-Lady Dalia!? Please, chew your food! You might choke yourself. Here let me cut those for you." Percy says with a serious face while he starts cutting the food for Dalia.

"Hmm. My little wolf is worried about me. If you keep pampering me, I'll never leave you. Hehe~" Dalia giggled and kissed Percy on the cheek.

Sir George looked at Percy with an awkward expression. You could practically see the question marks above his head.

'Why does she keep calling him little wolf? And why is Percy cutting her food? And Why is she kissing his cheek?'

It took a while for Sir George to finally ask a question, "Percy? Why is Lady Dalia sitting on your lap?"

Percy gets a little embarrassed and says, "She uh... I mean, she's my~"

"He's my mate! I marked him," Dalia proudly announced before taking another bite of her food.

"M-Mate? Her!?" Sir George exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yep!... I love him so much that I let him mark me," Dalia said with a big smile and wagged her tail.

"But... But did he use any of my techniques?... He had to! Right Percy!? " Sir George asked in desperation.

The older teen looked at the old man in irritation. The "Love" techniques he learned from the knight had ruined his chance at getting his first love, Bell, and he wasn't going to scare his new love away like he did with the other girls.

"Lady Dalia came to me. And I'm never using your techniques again, love sage!" Percy looked at Sir George with a stern look on his face.

"You dare question my metho~" Quinus cut off Sir George.

"George! Cool it. You need to stop getting jealous when every one of your friends gets a woman. Now let's eat and get back to business," Quinus said with a sigh.

"S-Sorry my lord, I lost myself in the moment." Sir George said to Quinus while taking a bite of his bacon.

After breakfast, Quinus looked to Mr. Aitken and asked, "Would it be possible to impersonate Tomas, so my uncle isn't on to us Mr. Aitken?"

"O-Of course, My Lord! It will be done!" Mr. Aitken replied with a smile.

Quinus nodded and told him, "Good. Now once we've cleared out all the traitors in Kishin, I want you to meet up with Sir Menns, Captain of the 5th Rangers, and meet up with Sir Beck, Captain of the Western Knights. Since Sir Menns and his men have been rounding up all the city guards who are loyal to my Uncle, we should continue to wipe out his influence in the surrounding villages. I need you to find the other sympathizers who are currently in the village and round them up. We can't have any spies leaking the news about his son's death. I'm tired of Uncle's games and it's only fair to weaken his influence inside the Galfrei Domain, with Sir Beck's help. Sir Menns told me that the Western Knights would be gathered in the village barracks by noon. You must bring anyone you find to him. He'll keep them imprisoned there until we've dealt with my uncle."

"Y-Yes... As you wish, My Lord!" Mr. Aitken replies with sweat forming on his forehead

"That is all... Mayor Aitken," Quinus said and turned to look at Rya and the others. "Now, everyone, it's time we go to Ironside. Gather anything you might need before we head out."

'Damn! The shit is getting real! Well, I guess that's just how cutthroat it is during a feudal era?' Rya thinks to herself while eating her food.

"Aye, my lord," Sir George said and left the table.

Dalia finished her food and stood up, "Alright! I'm ready, Beta!"

"Beta?" Quinus asks with a curious gaze.

"Yeah! You're Alpha owns you right? Then that makes you Beta," Dalia said cheerfully.

Quinus blinked twice and looked at Rya, "Well? We are still figuring things out, but she's my companion."

Rya blushed and scratched her cheek. "Y-yeah..."

"Hmph. Alpha... Once you get the chance, make him your mate. You'll feel a lot better when you do," Dalia says with a wink.

Rya looked away embarrassed and Quinus' cheeks became rosy.

'W-We're just friends!... What the fuck did I get myself into?' Rya thought while shaking her head.

***

After a few hours, the group goes to the foyer of the mayor's mansion where there are horses and a carriage that looks like it could hold six people, waiting for them.

"Well, that's an extravagant-looking carriage," Rya says while walking towards it.

"Yeah, I was hoping for something a little less conspicuous. But This is the only one we can find that isn't a farm cart." Quinus replies while trying to hide his disappointment.

"Will it be a problem to use the mayor's carriage? We don't want anyone to know we're here, right?" Rya asks.

"Yeah, I just hope the Black Rose Mercenaries aren't here. The last thing we need is them going crazy over us showing up to Ironside." Quinus says while thinking of what to do if they were to run into an ambush.

"That traitorous dog will be too afraid to show his face in front of our lord." Sir George adds.

"I doubt he would have had time to send out a warning to the mercenaries already. Besides, we're going to take care of them." Percy said with confidence.

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry Percy," Rya says with a small smirk.

"Yeah, I would agree with Rya. Anyway, are we all packed up?" Quinus asks.

"Aye. All of our stuff is loaded on the coach." Sir George says while opening the door for Rya, Quinus, Dalia, and Percy.

"Who's the driver?" Rya asks, confused.

"One of the Knights we met up with after exiting the labyrinth. His name is Sir John." Quinus answers.

"He's someone we can trust?" Rya asks.

"Yes. He's a veteran of the Fiafyr Kingdom and has a good reputation." Quinus says.

"Then let's go," Rya tells everyone as she finds a seat inside the carriage followed by Dalia, then Quinus, and Percy.

Sir George closes the door and rides up front with the driver.

"Are we all set, Sir George?" John asked while George got seated next to him.

"Yes, we are ready to go, John," George answered.

"Alright let's head east. We should reach the city of Ironside sometime within a week. You keep an eye out for the Black Rose." Sir John instructs.

"Don't have to tell me twice," George responds.

"Hyah!" Sir John takes the reins and pulls the coach forward.

The carriage starts down the road with Sir George and John riding up in front while the others rest inside the coach as they begin their long journey to Ironside.