After their encounter, Larian had stopped taking it easy on Aldrich during their daily sparring sessions. He had taken it upon himself to inflict as many bruises and small wounds as he could without Alistair noticing something was off.

Aldrich began to wish they used wooden swords for training. Wherever Larian nicked him stung like the hells and took forever to heal. He wondered if his blade was coated in anything.

The subtle torture didn't just go on in the courtyard though. Aldrich tried to avoid the man altogether as much as he could. He had tried talking to Levi and Veliona about him, but just like Larian had said, they didn't believe him. They just laughed him off with that same hazy look in their eyes.

Aldrich sighed as he sunk into a dining hall chair for dinner with his family. He was completely tired out, his head throbbing from when Larian had hit him with the pommel of his sword earlier that day. A few minutes later, Larian entered and took the seat right next to Aldrich.

Aldrich tried to ignore his devious little smile and instead focused on his plate. But when he shovelled his first spoon of food into his mouth, he almost threw up. It tasted horrible.

He looked up to see if his father or sister had noticed anything weird, but they were eating normally.

A chuckle came from beside him. "I altered your sense of taste just a little bit. It'll last only a few weeks. Enjoy your food, cousin."

Aldrich stared at him in disbelief. This was a new level of low even for him. What couldn't those neurotoxins of his do.

"Close your mouth when you chew, Aldrich-Alexandre." His father chided from across the table. "Honestly."

Aldrich tried his hardest not to gag as he cleared the rest of his plate.

×

After their chance meeting in the marketplace, Astra had invited Levi and Aldrich over on numerous occasions to ask them more questions about the knight of Brilliance. Even though they really didn't have that much more to tell.

Becoming regulars in the Order of the Cross meant they came across the imposing lady from the first day as well, Ethos. She was much less scary once you talked to her for a little. But weirdly enough sometimes she'd act like she didn't know who Levi was.

It turns out there were two other women who looked exactly like her. They were triplets. Her sisters, Pathos and Logos, had slightly different designs on their armor.

Pathos was the most friendly of the three while Ethos had a constant air of authority around her. Logos was somewhere in between, polite but straight to the point when talking.

"I got them mixed up all the time as well when I first joined the Order of the Cross," Astra shared. "They don't mind. And Ethos may seem scary but she's really the sweetest of the three."

She picked up her quill again. "Now then, how hot would you say Sir Kazuki was during your encounter? I'll take a rough estimate."

After a few more questions Levi and Aldrich excused themselves and made a beeline for the exit.

"What do you think she's going to do with all that information anyway?" Levi wondered aloud as they walked.

Aldrich shrugged. "Who knows."

"Have so many people really never seen him before?" Levi continued. "The knight of Brilliance I mean."

"Yeah, actually. That day was the only time I'd ever seen him." Aldrich answered. "He's here from time to time but never stays for long. Even with the king suppressing his aura there would still be a negative impact if he did."

"So he's always just moving from place to place." Levi said. "That must get lonely..."

Aldrich looked over to his friend. He had a pensive expression on his face. "Yeah I guess it must. I've also heard he's searching for something though."

"Really? What?"

Aldrich shook his head. "No idea, my father caught me eavesdropping before I could hear anything more."

Their conversation was interrupted by a shy looking boy in armor similar to Aldrich's. Order of the Rose armor.

"L-lord Aldrich, I was sent by your father to summon you."

Aldrich sighed. "I've told you before to drop the 'lord', Francis. Just call me Aldrich."

The boy, Francis, nodded.

Levi hadn't heard many people actually address Aldrich so formally. His family was a noble one, nowhere near the status of the Yves Royal Family though. He didn't think he had ever addressed Veliona by her title before either.

"Did my father say what this was about?" Aldrich inquired.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Francis shook his head. "He just said that it was urgent. And that your should get there... right now."

"Hmm... okay then. Thank you Francis."

Francis nodded quickly. Levi waved as he walked past, he waved back shyly and then scampered off. Levi watched as he disappeared into the crowd.

"Maybe I should head back to the inn now." Levi suggested.

"No no," Aldrich disagreed. "He'll be less likely to get on my case if someone else is with me. You're coming with me."

×

Aldrich and Levi found Sir Alastair in his private quarters in the Order of the Rose. He stood up as soon as he saw them enter and placed down a paper he had been reading.

"Aldrich... and Levi. Please, do come in." Sir Alastair didn't sound anymore irritable than he usually was, Levi noticed.

Alastair kept his eyes on Aldrich as the two boys came to a stop a few metres in front of him. "I am sending you on a quest Aldrich."

Aldrich blinked twice, thinking he had misheard his father. "Wait, what?"

"I am sending you on a quest." Alastair repeated a bit more slowly.

"R-really? You think I'm ready now?"

Alastair let out a breath. "It doesn't matter whether I think you are. Do you think you are? Because if not..."

"No no. I am!" Aldrich reassured quickly.

Alastair regarded him silently before continuing. "Either way, you will not be alone. You'll be accompanied by second class commander Aguilar."

Aldrich let out an audible groan at the sound of that person's name. "But he's crazy."

"He has his... eccentricities," Alastair corrected. "But he is highly capable, most of the time. Or would you rather I sent Larian?"

"No, no, no. This is perfectly fine."

"You'll find Aguilar somewhere around here. He'll give you the rest of the details. You leave in the morning." Alastair continued.

Aldrich gave his father a small salute before turning around to exit the room. Alistair returned to his seat and picked up his paper again.

"And Aldrich..." He called after them. Aldrich stopped and turned to face him again. "Just for the record, I do think you're ready. So try not to prove me wrong."

Aldrich nodded, a small smile spreading across his face. He waited until they were both out of the room before pumping his fist into the air.

"This is my chance." He said to Levi. "This means he's starting to take me more seriously."

Levi was happy for him. But he wondered what he'd do by himself while Aldrich was gone.

"You're coming with me ofcourse." Aldrich continued, as if reading Levi's thoughts. "I'm supposed to help you find the rest of your soul fragment things right? Maybe we'll find one wherever we're going to.

Also I'll need help if I'm going to survive working with that guy."

"Commander Aguilar?" Levi asked, recalling the name Sir Alastair had mentioned. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"Yeah, he's crazy." Aldrich replied.

From behind them two arms landed on their shoulders causing them to stumble a little. In between them was tan looking man with wide eyes and an even larger grin. He had jet black hair with a tuft of white above his forehead.

"I thought we were friends Aldrich," the man said. "You hurt my feelings sometimes, you know."

×

Aldrich extracted himself from under the man's arms and moved a few inches away.

"Pysche, always a pleasure."

Pysche's grin widened. He shifted his attention to Levi who was still under his arm. "I don't believe we've met. Pysche Aguilar, second class commander in the Order of the Rose."

He extended the arm he didn't have wrapped around Levi's neck. Levi shook it awkwardly. "Leviathan."

"The dragon host. I'd love to test my strength against you!"

[Oh, Abaddon regarded the man, bored. So many overconfident little upstarts in this era.]

Aldrich pulled Levi out from under him. "My father said you'd brief me on the mission details."

"Always straight to business, you're no fun." Pysche pouted. Aldrich's expression remained unamused. Pysche let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll fill you in, follow me."

The man began to lead them through the building. He looked back repeatedly at the two, as if to make sure they were still following him.

"You make me sad sometimes." Pysche commented. "You know that Aldrich?"

Aldrich folded his arms, unbothered. "Good. Atleast then you would be slightly less unbearable."

Psyche chuckled and continued walking.