Everyone was shocked at the words of the leader of the Grand Master's order. Arthur came back to his senses as he glared at her suspiciously.
"You really think I'm going to believe what you're saying? You? One of the leaders of our enemy's order, wants to join our side? You are so stupid to think that we're going to believe such a thing," he asked sarcastically.
"I have my own reasons for wanting to change sides, Your Majesty. I took a huge risk in betraying the Grand Master because I could end up just like Marquis Kalmiv at any moment," she replied looking at him straight in the eyes before getting up from the ground.
"Marquis Kalmiv? What happened to him?" wondered Angus.
"The Grand Master learned of his daughter's betrayal and believed that it was him who ordered her to send you information about their plans. He got rid of him in front of our eyes in an abominable way."
"But who informed him of Cecilia's betrayal?" Arthur asked with doubts.
"It's me," she replied in an indifferent tone.
This line made the eyes of those who were present in the room widen in shock.
"What did you say?! Why did you do that?! Didn't you just say you wanted to switch sides?! You just contradicted yourself right now, damn it!" exclaimed Edgar in astonishment.
"It was a plan I came up with a few days ago. I told Captain Arminel about it and I know he told you about it too. I wanted Dale Kalmiv to be got rid of without having to do it ourselves. And the plan worked perfectly," she explained coldly.
"I can't believe it! His daughter and her bodyguard who are completely innocent almost perished in the attack that your master ordered on their mansion! How could you not think of the consequences of your actions?!" Angus exclaimed angrily.
"Don't worry. I'm not that stupid. I calculated everything in the most detailed way. I had asked Captain Arminel to send a letter to Cecilia to inform her of the attack and ask her to come and take refuge here in the palace. That's why she came straight here with her bodyguard," she answered indifferently.
Everyone remained silent after hearing what the old lady told them. The situation was very weird.
"If this is not enough to prove my loyalty to you, Your Majesty, there's also something else. The headquarters of Jonaral and Dogadar's army are in the city of Veritas. This way, you can buy time and deal with them before they attack you first," she added.
With these words, the emperor heaved a long sigh before advancing towards her and looking her straight in the eyes with a menacing gaze.
"I will trust you and believe in your loyalty, for now... But if, at any moment, you think of betraying us, I swear to you that I will kill you with my own hands," he threatened with a glare.
"Believe me, Your Majesty, you won't regret trusting me."
"I hope so for you..." he added dryly.
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The next morning, Luana woke up early to get prepared for her long trip to Ingbert with Lucas. She got dressed in a black outfit with boots and a long cape of the same color.
She took the dagger that her father had given her earlier and hung it around her waist before taking out a small bag that contained her personal things and some supplies of medicine that she would need during the trip. Doctor Ondynol was the one who gave them to her.
She took her breakfast that Agnes had served her quickly before leaving her room to go to the courtyard of the palace to find the others.
Once there, she saw Lucas waiting for her with Leo and Lea and also saw her father accompanied by Angus, Edgar and Hastia.
The young girl advanced towards the emperor before embracing him very tightly in her arms, smiling at him affectionately.
"Be very careful and take care of yourself, My Dear... Don't expose yourself to any danger... I know that I can count on you..." he demanded with concern.
"Don't worry, Dad. We'll get the sword and come back safe and sound. That way we can finish this scumbag of Grandmaster once and for all, and get things back to how they were before," she promised with determination in her eyes.
"I have complete faith in your powers and I know you will succeed, My Dear. You are a Leryta after all. A very strong Leryta. Just like your mom was," he complimented with a loving smile.
"Thank you, Dad," she whispered before hugging him tightly again.
After that, the emperor turned to the young captain, an expression of gratitude on his face before patting him on the shoulder affectionately.
"I'm counting on you to protect her, Lucas," he said.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty... I will make sure no harm arrives to her... I will protect her even if it costs my life..." he replied reassuringly.
"Thank you, My Son... Take care of yourself too..."
The young knight nodded affirmatively. On those, the old lady walked slowly towards them.
"Take very good care of yourself. You are our hope," she advised with a small smile.
"Thank you..." whispered the young princess, returning her smile.
With these words, the two young people climbed on their respective animals' backs before taking the path leading to Ingbert.
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Arthur gathered the leaders of the Imperial Knights, Matthew and Eric, in the great hall with Angus, Edgar and Hastia to discuss their new plan of attack which was going to take place in two days.
"Matthew and Eric," he called out authoritatively.
"Yes, Your Majesty ?" they asked in sync.
"Since you are the leaders of the groups of Imperial Knights and since Captain Koraxos and Sir Andvari are absent at the moment, you will take on the mission of eliminating the army of the twin brothers Jonaral and Dogadar yourself," he declared.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
"If we eliminate them, we will be left with only one leader and the Grand Master Borsilav to get rid of," Angus stated.
"Borislav? The Grand Master's name is Borislav?" Hastia wondered.
"You weren't aware of his identity?" Arthur asked, confused.
"No... None of us knew it anyway... How did you find out?" she asked again, very confused.
"The Grand Master revealed himself to Captain Arminel... He's the one who informed us," Angus replied.
"I see... But who is he really? I never heard that name before."
"He's the only son of the Demon King Vuglonith," Eric explained.
"I can't believe it... Everything is explained now... His hatred towards the royal family and his will to eliminate the Imperial Knights... He wants to accomplish what his father couldn't do... But... How did he escape from His Majesty? You got rid of Vuglonith's army completely. So how come he's still alive?" she asked, not understanding anything anymore.
"We still don't know how it happened," Edgar replied.
"For now, let's focus on what's most urgent and important. The Imperial Knights are going to Veritas in two days. We have to prepare a very good plan of attack to make sure we eliminate them once and for all," said Arthur.
"The twin brothers must have a weak point somewhere," Matthew added.
"You're really lucky because I know what that weak point you're talking about is," Hastia said with a confident smile.
"And what is it?" Arthur asked.
"What I'm about to tell you will seem completely absurd and may even shock you, but it's only the truth. Actually, the two brothers are not really twins. Dogadar is just Jonaral's clone."
"What?" wondered Angus.
"What do you mean by clone? Isn't he a real person?" Edgar asked, completely confused.
"No, not at all. Dogadar is a clone created by Jonaral. Just like his whole army."
"Don't tell me..." Matthew hesitated.
"Yeah... The so-called huge army of Jonaral and Dogadar is nothing but several clones of Jonaral... And you can only eliminate this army by eliminating Jonaral," she answered.
"So the difficulty of our mission is to find the real Jonaral," concluded Eric.
"Exactly. And it's not going to be easy to differentiate him from thousands of clones. But I'll tell you a secret. The one and only difference between him and his clones is that the real Jonaral has a dragon tattoo on his right pec."
"A tattoo?" Matthew wondered.
"Yeah... It's a kind of magic mark. It's what allows him to create an endless number of clones. Thanks to this clue, you will be able to differentiate him from the others," she explained.
"So to get rid of them, we have to pierce him where his tattoo is," Eric concluded.
"Exactly."
"This is going to help us a lot," Matthew said.
"Thank you for your precious help, Hastia," Arthur thanked gratefully.
“I pledged my loyalty to you, Your Majesty. Before, I was blinded by my thirst for revenge and my will to take back the place that was snatched from me in my family. I wanted to become stronger and have great power. But now, I know it's all worthless and I know the difference between what's right and what's wrong. I will fight by your side even if it will cost my life."
"Know, Hastia, that you are always welcomed in our ranks from now on," the emperor added with a small smile.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty."
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Luana and Lucas continued on their way while sitting on the backs of their animals. It had been two days since they left the capital and there was still a very long way ahead of them.
A few hours later, sunset approached as they continued to advance through a beautiful forest with dense trees.
"I think we should camp here, Luana. What do you think?" asked the young knight.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I was just starting to get tired and a little bit hungry," the girl replied with a giggle.
"Could this be a request to cook for you, Your Highness?" he laughed mischievously.
"Maybe, yeah... After all, my personal bodyguard's cooking is so good that I got used to it and can't live without it now," she added with, laughing back with him.
"It flatters me a lot... And it also encourages me to cook for you until the end of my life," he said, looking at her lovingly.
"Then, I would be the luckiest woman in the world."
With these words, the two young people chose a place to camp before descending from the backs of their animals.
Lucas started setting up the small tent while Luana gathered some wood with the help of Leo and Lea to make a fire.
She stood up near the gathered wood and joined her forefinger and thumb together, as the young knight did when they were at Neldor Forest, to try to create fire.
The young knight looked at her from a distance with an amused smile at her multiple attempts to create a small flame. She eventually produced one that was medium in size before throwing it at the wood which caught fire instantly.
"Well done," he congratulated with a proud smile as he got behind her.
"Thank you. It took me several tries to finally succeed, but I did it," she replied, blushing.
"Learning to wield your powers takes a long time, Luana. You succeeded in record time. I'm very proud of you, My Love."
"Thank you..."
On those, they took their supplies bags to start cooking their dinner together after giving Leo and Lea their portions.
The latter took his one to share with the female wolf while she rubbed her muzzle against his affectionately. This scene took place under the curious eyes of Luana and Lucas who had a very big smile on their lips.
"They seem to be very much in love with each other," the girl remarked dreamily.
"We might have baby wolves soon. Who knows?" laughed Lucas in response.
"That would be so cute! We would be grandfather and grandmother, then!" exclaimed the girl, giggling.
The captain of the Imperial Army burst out laughing upon hearing the words of his beloved.
"I don't know why but I feel so old all of a sudden," he remarked.
They laughed together at this remark that the young knight had just made.
"You know, Luana... Wolves and Imperial Knights have one thing in common..." he began.
"One thing in common? Which is?" she wondered.
"They are faithful to one and only woman for their entire life," he replied, looking at her fondly.
"That's very romantic... But there must be a reason behind it, right?"
"Yeah... There is... As you already know, Imperial Knights have strong powers. A small part of these powers is torn from the knight to be absorbed by the one he falls in love with... That's what makes the two souls bond together... This is called a sacred bond and it's impossible to break it..." he explained.
"I understand better now... So, that means that you and I are bonded for life, right?" she asked curiously.
"Forever..." he whispered, giving her an affectionate smile.
After that, they had their dinner together while chatting and laughing before the young princess went to sleep in the tent while Lucas stood guard outside.