After Momo crossed over, Yasuo spent the rest of the night performing some kind of ritual to make sure her soul was put to rest.

Veliona hadn't said much since, which was quite unlike her. Levi was also silent, but Aldrich gathered that he was speaking with the dragon in his head. The white in his hair had spread even more now. Aldrich wondered what would happen when it all turned white.

After Yasuo was done, the four of them set out. It was getting dark, but none of them wanted to stay in the town for longer. So they rode through the night. And just as dawn was about to break, the large walls of Yves came into view.

Veliona's somber mood lifted a bit at the sight of it. She rode faster, overtaking the other three. Soon they stood in front of the gates, where the guards saluted as soon as they recognised the princess.

"Welcome back, your highness," one said.

Welcome back? Veliona repeated to herself. That was a bit nonchalant. She had disappeared for weeks. Surely they had more to say than that.

Inside the city, life went on as usual. The crowded streets buzzed with activity. People hurried to their destinations, each lost in the rhythm of their own lives.

Once they reached the castle, Veliona immediately slid off her horse, handed the reins to the stable boy, and almost ran inside. She wanted to speak with her father as soon as possible. Maybe he had kept news of her disappearance a secret and sent someone to find her quietly.

She noticed the large halls of the castle smelled strongly of roses. But not Sir Alastair's usual smell. This smelled sweeter, and left a dark aftertaste in her mouth.

Veliona found the king in his usual position. Before him stood Sir Andrius. They seemed to be discussing something serious. It must be about her, she thought.

"Ah, Veliona," her father said after noticing her approach. "You've returned. Welcome back."

Veliona stopped in her tracks. Once again, not the welcome she had expected.

Sir Andrius turned towards her and gave a small bow as the king continued to speak. "Sir Andrius and I were just discussing your b-..."

He was interrupted by Sir Andrius clearing his throat rather loudly. The king suddenly changed the topic. "So, how was your trip to Yumekawa?"

Veliona looked back and forth between the two men. "My trip? I was kidnapped. I almost died!"

"Now, now," her father chided lightly. "There's no need to exaggerate to me. I know you and Princess Rei secretly enjoy each other's company. Even if you would never admit it."

Behind them, the large doors opened once more, and Aldrich and Levi stepped through. Yasuo had opted to stay outside, so they came without him. Aldrich gave a small bow and elbowed Levi to do the same. The king greeted Aldrich warmly but regarded Levi warily.

"Tell them I was actually kidnapped!" Veliona yelled, marching up to the two of them. "There's something up with them."

Aldrich and Levi were confused by her sudden request. Sir Andrius excused himself and left. He gave the two boys a small smile as he walked past. Then the king began to speak once again.

"You are just in time, Aldrich. Sir Alastair and your cousin are due back any minute now."

Aldrich did a double take. "I'm sorry, my what now?"

The doors flew wide open, a strong floral smell wafting in. At the entrance stood Aldrich's father, in his usual thorny armor. He had a happy look on his face, but that would probably change once he began to chastise Aldrich for disappearing without telling him.

But Aldrich was more concerned with the person beside him. A young man with pale skin and flowing red hair tied up behind his head. He was wearing armor even more flamboyant than his father's. His bright red eyes almost immediately locked onto Aldrich, and a thin smile spread across his face.

A shiver run down Aldrich's spine.

The two of them walked up elegantly and gave the king a bow. "The threat to the east has been handled, your Majesty," Sir Alastair reported. He didn't turn to Aldrich but addressed him in a smaller voice. "You've returned safely. Welcome back, son."

Aldrich replied with an unsure 'thank you'. He wasn't expecting a warm welcome, but who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? "Who's this?" he asked, referring to the man beside him.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The man didn't give his father the chance to answer. He strutted past Aldrich and gave Veliona a bow. "Larian de la Rossa," he said. "Delighted to make your acquaintance, Princess."

He proceeded to hand her a rose that had appeared out of thin air. Veliona took it from his hand, even though she was also a bit confused.

"Thank you?"

He smiled charmingly. A bit too charmingly for Aldrich's tastes. He wasn't sure he liked the look of him, and his father had never talked about any family members.

Veliona held the rose up to her nose and sniffed. It smelled lovely. "So you are Aldrich's cousin?"

"Indeed," he replied. "I arrived here a few days ago. From Lorena in the Galicia kingdom. My uncle, Sir Alastair, was kind enough to let me stay with him."

"You have a similar virtue to Sir Alastair," Levi observed.

Larian's lips parted slightly, revealing the hint of a set of perfectly white teeth. With a flourish, he produced another rose. Then with another, he made it disappear. "The power of nature is one that has been passed down in the de la Rossa family for generations now. It's the pride of our family."

Aldrich saw Larian look over to him for a second as he said that last line. As if the comment was aimed at him. He decided to ignore him for now and turned to Veliona.

"You were saying something earlier? About the king and Sir Andrius acting weird?"

But Veliona barely seemed to have heard him. She was still holding the rose up to her nose and had a vacant look in her eyes. "Was I saying something? Never mind that, I'd rather get to know Sir Larian better."

"What?"

But Veliona had already walked past him to converse with his cousin. Aldrich turned to Levi, who just shrugged in response. Having completed what they came to do, Sir Alastair excused himself. Aldrich followed him out of the throne room.

"You've never talked about any siblings before," Aldrich asked, trying to keep pace with his father.

"Haven't I?" Alastair answered.

"Uh... no, no you haven't."

"Larian is the son of my brother, Dmitry," Alastair told him. "He's here to visit."

That wasn't really an answer to all Aldrich's questions, but it didn't seem like his father was going to say anything more.

Alastair added, "Also, he's staying in your room, so you'll have to move to the guest room."

A loud 'what?!' echoed through the large hallway.

×

Later at night, Aldrich knocked at the door to Levi's room in the inn Andrius had checked him into weeks earlier. He flopped down onto Levi's unmade bed.

"You know, you could always come stay at my house," Aldrich offered, looking around the small room.

Levi sat down beside him. "I'm fine here, it's still much better than the places I used to sleep in. Besides, I wouldn't want to impose, especially when you already have a new house guest."

Aldrich groaned at the thought. He had only known of Larian's existence for a few hours, but he could tell the man disliked him for some reason. "Don't remind me." He propped himself up on his elbows. "Maybe I can come stay here instead."

"You want to avoid your cousin that much?"

"I don't know, there's just something... off about him."

Levi tilted his head back. "He seems wonderful."

"You and literally everyone else seem to think so," Aldrich replied. "We've only been back a few hours, and all I've heard is Larian this, Larian that."

"You sure you aren't just... jealous?"

Aldrich scoffed indignantly as he flipped over on the bed to face Levi. Jealous, why would he be jealous of the cousin he just met? He had only gotten way more recognition from his own father in the short time he had been here than Aldrich had his whole life.

"I'm not jealous."

"If you say so." Levi conceded.

Aldrich sighed. "Who would have thought Sir Andrius and Yasuo would know each other?" He voiced, his mind wandering.

After they had left the castle throne room, Yasuo was nowhere to be seen. One of the servants informed them that he and Sir Andrius had been seen leaving together.

Aldrich let out a loud yawn. A few minutes later, Levi looked over to see him fast asleep. Right in the middle of his bed.

"That's fine," he said aloud to himself, getting off the bed. "I always preferred the floor anyway."