War Zone

Capital of Schemes (1)

"Greetings and welcome to the Capital. I am the Lord of the Gofraidh territory, Alger Gofraidh."

"Thank you for receiving us..." Imaya responded. I just curtsied along from behind. The journey wasn't long because we were able to use teleportation scrolls, however, I felt exhausted by my anxiousness over meeting the prince, by chance.

As it happened, I wasn't allowed to go directly over to the Princess' mansion due to various reasons. Per the Duke's instructions, we should at least stay at the Duchy for a while, taking the identity of a sponsored physicker, and a magician discovered by the Princess during her recent inspection in Tradam. Later, I could transfer to the Princess' mansion, but the process was not yet discussed.

"You must be Miss Imaya, the seer?" I glanced at the Duke and took note of the fine lines on his face marked by the passage of time. He has white stubbles sprinkled across his jaw, and his hair flowed down to his waist in a simple braid. Nevertheless, it didn't soften his figure as he stood straight like a young knight would. His posture carried wisdom and dignity, and he commanded attention and obedience with the subtlest gestures.

"Yes, your grace." Imaya replied.

"Then the other lady must be the one named Sierra Alvior." His eyes finally met mine. I tried to act as graceful as Imaya, but my uncultured nod and my lack of voice to articulate his title at the end made me feel embarrassed as I stuttered.

"Sorry, I'm not quite well... Teleporting using the scroll makes me light headed.. Your grace."

"Maybe it is better if the guests rest first, father." Leon suggested and I mentally nodded tearfully.

"Thank you for your hospitality..." Was all I could utter with an awkward smile.

We were later on led by the butler to our respective rooms, while Sir Klein and Vice Captain Alfred headed to the dorms. There was still a slight tension between the two, so I followed them with a worried look, until Imaya nudged me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes... What about the Princess? Is she not coming with us?" I asked after noticing her silhouette was missing from our group.

"The heir offered to guide her." Imaya answered.

"Oh. Are we going to use separate rooms?"

"Yes, miss. The Duke instructed us to prepare three rooms. If there's anything lacking, please tell us and we'll immediately assist you."

"Oh.. Uh. Thank you."

Once we were able to settle in, Imaya and I were quickly assigned with maids to help with our luggage and bath, and after cleaning up, we were immediately called to dinner.

The onset of dinner was a repeat of the conversation we had when we arrived. It was only after we finished eating that the Duke's face turned serious.

"You must be wondering why I've called you here."

"Well..." I uttered, glancing at Imaya who sucked in a lungful of air.

"I don't have any bad intentions. As you may have already know, it's only a matter of time before the war starts. And coincidentally, a seer and a woman with unbelievable healing magicks appeared."

"But... I don't see how we could have any effects on the war..." I couldn't help but comment.

The Duke sighed as he downed his glass of wine. "I'm sorry to say, but your existence will create a difference in the prospect of the coming war. And with the appearance of a seer from the East continent who have always stayed far away from the West..."