There were about 3000 city guards in Nirvana. This means that even if Timothy took 2000 with him, there would still be enough soldiers to defend the city in case of sudden 'incidents'.

Nevertheless Timothy insisted on putting up a recruitment notice. He preferred volunteers rather than people who were forced to follow him. That way, he can be sure of their courage and loyalty.

By afternoon, more than 5000 men answered his call. Since Nirvana could, at the moment, only support the logistics of 2000 people, Timothy was forced to screen the volunteers. More than half of the 2000 chosen volunteers were veteran soldiers.

Old men, Timothy though. But he knew that most of these old men had experienced battle before. So even though they're old, they would not break even with the charge of Tulosan Knights.

Furthermore, Timothy requested the assistance of Leons. The Leons were Castonia's answer to the Tulosan Knights. This heavy cavalry unit put emphasis on shock. All of them were loyal and would never break. At first the King was reluctant to send the Leons. But in the end he compromised and lent Timothy some of them.

By the end of the day, Timothy was done with his preparations. His army's composition was rather strange though, at least in the eyes of most people. Instead of relying on heavy infantry, he equipped a huge chunk of his army with crossbows. He also recruited a lot of cavalry.

Castonian tradition and culture put heavy emphasis on the use of heavy infantry. Since Castonia was blessed with rich mines, it could afford to equip its armies with armor. But Timothy knew that this reliance on heavy infantry was dangerous. The enemies have mobility on their side and mobile enemies will be difficult to deal with. The more mobile an army was, the more it could react to sudden changes. Castonian heavy infantry, although undefeated when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, were slow. Even if Timothy wins, we could not fully rout the enemies. A man on foot with heavy armor could never catch a man on horseback.

This was the reason why Timothy warned his father a long time ago of the vulnerability of Castonian heavy infantry. The victory against Tulosa 15 years ago was an exception. The Tulosans back then attacked Knightsend so their cavalry had no choice but to dismount. This time, the Castonians were on the offensive. Cavalry were dangerous. They were not invincible, but were difficult to deal with.

Furthermore, the involvement of the Tulosan Knights further complicated things. Timothy doesn't know how many of Tulosan Knights were there. 15 years ago, there were only a few hundred true Tulosan Knights out of their 5000 cavalry but that was because of the internal struggle Tulosa suffered that time. Now, the Tulosans seem to have solved their issues and united as one.

The Tulosan Knights were feared throughout the continent. Their charge alone could tip the balance of every battle. Their horses were all muscular and fast. The riders were all skilled. Like Leons, the Tulosan Knights carry heavy lances. Their charge must not be ignored.

The next morning was the schedule of Timothy's departure. Since they were in a hurry to defend the villages around Solon, they had no time to hold a ceremony. Timothy's close friends waited outside his door and bid him goodbye. It was just like what happened a year ago, but instead of him going to Knightsend, he was now going to an actual battle. Each one of his friends hugged him knowing that he was going to a dangerous place. But the person he wanted to see the most wasn't there. Where is Lucia?

He wanted to see Lucia one last time so he went to her room. To his surprise and disappointment, Lucia was not there. Defeated, he decided that he should just go.

But while walking towards the gate, Timothy saw Lucia standing on the hallway.

"Why are you here?" Timothy asked.

"I've been waiting for you." She forced a smile but Timothy can see the sadness in her eyes.

"Is that why you were not in your room earlier?"

"You went to my room?" Lucia asked. She went closer to him

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because you didn't say goodbye to me" Timothy admitted. He looked away and pouted.

What Lucia did next truly surprised him. She hugged him. Her hug was warm and good. He can feel her body so close to him. It felt so good that all his disappointments earlier vanished. It felt like seeing the first sunlight after a rainy day, like the first drop of rain after a drought. Timothy did not hold back. He doesn't want to be away from her. If it was a normal trip, he would have brought Lucia with him. He wrapped his arms around Lucia.

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"I also went to your room earlier to say goodbye but your friends were there so I decided to wait for you here." Lucia said.

"You don't want to say your goodbye to me in front of my friends?" Timothy caressed her smooth hair.

"If I did that then I would be treated as one of your friends." She tiptoed and whispered into his ear "I don't want to just be your friend"

Those words sparked something in Timothy's heart. He likes her. He really likes her. He's happy that his father arranged this marriage between them. He's so lucky to have met her. Lucia looked at him. Timothy cannot express how he felt with words so he used his actions instead. He lowered his head to kiss her. But before he could, Lucia pressed a finger to his lips and stopped him.

"I'll let you after you come back to me" she said "I want to give you a reason to protect yourself" she grinned.

"So you want to be my reason for living?" he chuckled. Lucia really knew how to motivate him.

"Yes" she said "So win. And even if you don't, at least return to me. I'll wait for you" she then tiptoed and put a kiss on his cheeks. "This is a sample of what's to come"

Timothy's face flushed red. It was his first time being kissed on the cheek. "After I return, I'll marry you" he declared. "I will come back for you"

Lucia buried her face into Timothy's chest. They remained that way for a long time. Timothy wanted this moment to last forever. He didn't want to leave. But Lucia finally said the words both of them didn't want to hear the most.

"Goodbye Prince Timothy"

"I will come back for you as soon as possible" said Timothy

"Please do" Lucia put another kiss on his cheek.

"Are you trying to stop me from going with that?" he chuckled

"I would, if I could stop you. But I can't. So longing for me would be your punishment Prince Timothy" she grinned

Timothy hugged her again. After a while, the two went on separate ways.

Timothy went out of the castle and saw that everything was ready. The troops were already lined up. As expected, most of them were old men in their fifties. Timothy went to the front of the line.

"Let's go" Timothy said to Erik. After a while, the sound of a horn can be heard. It was the signal to advance.

********************************************************************************

Lucia went back to her room. After a few hours, Bisham reported to her that Escanor found some interesting rumors. She immediately went to find the merchant.

"You have news for me?" Lucia asked

"Yes your highness, two rumors in fact. I have asked multiple merchants about the rumors so I think they are true" the merchant confirmed.

"What are the rumors?"

"Several Wismarine merchants said that they had spotted their first prince inside Nirvana. They said that he was dressed in emissary attire and went to see the King two days ago."

Lucia frowned. The Wismarine Prince. Wismar and Vanadis have long been at odds with each other. For the Wismarine Prince himself to come, Wismar must have wanted an alliance with Castonia.

"And the other rumor?"

"This is the most troubling one your highness." The merchant frowned "The Wismarines also confirmed that the Prince went to them to hire some assassins. Being a merchant is sometimes not a clean profession. Many merchants deal with shady people like assassins and saboteurs. But the merchants failed to find assassins that time."

Lucia tried to put some sense into this. It was already bad that the Wismarine Prince was here, the involvement of the assassins made it worse. Lucia laid out the facts.

The Wismarine prince was here

The Wismarine prince tried to hire assassins

The first information. The Wismarine prince was here. Lucia knew a lot about Wismar. Her father had warned her many times to stay away from them. For the Wismarine prince himself to come as an emissary, they must have wanted an alliance.

An alliance.

Lucia knew that the Wismarines won't agree to an alliance with Castonia if the latter continues its alliance with Vanadis. This brought Lucia to her second conclusion, Wismar wanted to prevent the alliance of Castonia and Vanadis. For this to happen, they must prevent the wedding.

Lucia looked into the second fact. The Wismarine prince tried to hire assassins but failed. No, even if he failed to hire professional assassins, he could just order a couple of his guards to act as one.

Prevent the wedding

Assassins

They could prevent the wedding by killing either Lucia or Timothy! If she was their target, then all she could do was to increase her guards. But if Timothy was their target…

No. Since the Wismarine prince had already talked with the King, then the King must have already seen the danger his son faces. Timothy won't be easily assassinated with the King's protection. Unless..the King agreed to this assassination.

Lucia's face paled. It made sense. Changing his mind after meeting with the Wismarine emissary and suddenly sending Timothy into the front lines, the King must have wanted Timothy to die! What Freya told her earlier further confirmed this. But the King can't afford to have an assassinated prince. So the only way to kill Timothy was to let the Tulosans kill him.

The reinforcements! The reinforcements won't come for Timothy.

The King won't send a messenger? No, people will find out

The message was blank? No, the castle will know

The only way to do it silently and safely was to kill the messengers and report the incident as the Tulosans' doing. Everything made sense now.

Lucia must do something. He must protect Timothy. Her Kingdom would suffer if Timothy dies. Plus she had grown fond of him. She likes him and she will protect him at all cost.

One messenger was headed to Castle Thespelae, the other to Castle Munico. Lucia can't protect both the messengers so she must choose one. There was only one road that leads to Thespelae from Nirvana so the messenger heading there should be easier to find.

"Captain Bisham!" Lucia shouted

"What is it your highness?"

"Get half of the royal guards. Scour the path between Nirvana and Thespelae and find the messenger sent by the King. Protect him at all cost and ensure that the message reaches Thespelae."

Lucia might be jumping to conclusions but she can never be too safe.