Emery noticed the clashing outside and had an inkling it was time to go. The marauders were distracted by the new marauder arrivee bringing news about a knight who was just outside. If this was the case, it wouldn't be long that the royal troops would come crashing into the ragged house and arrest everyone they would see, except perhaps for Lanzo.
He quickly kneeled to Lanzo and said, "You're going to be safe now. I have to go."
"But—"
Emery barely heard what Lanzo had said afterward because he had just jumped out of the window when a thud of something dropping on the wooden floor sounded.
He heard a person inside the ragged house say, 'Drop your weapons and surrender now!'
What soon came after were more clashing metals and a deafening roar of a beast. Emery heard how much panic was contained in the voice of the leader as he yelled, 'Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'. Emery moved a bit further toward the trees but the sight of the inside was still visible.
In his heart, Emery was a bit relieved that he had been able to slip away just before Yvain arrived. He was sure that Yvain would recognize him, despite half of his face being covered with a fur cloak. And that would spell a terrible future for him, if ever someone else within the nobility found out he was still alive.
Emery was about to run deeper into the dark wood when a familiar voice caught his attention, making him stop his tracks. He sneakily hid behind the trees and there he saw a young woman, wearing beautiful red battle armor with a lion emblem embroidered on her shoulder, standing behind a couple of knights.
His heart skipped a beat seeing Gwen in her war suit, and for a moment he felt the urge to tell her all the things he had experienced, all the highs and the lows. It felt like forever since he had talked to her.
Once more, he used the shadows of the trees as cover and moved closer to try and eavesdrop why there were here. He was surprised by the words that came out of Gwen's mouth.
"You're part of the Crimson Fang, aren't you? If so, then you should be behind the attack of the Ambrose estate! Tell me now! Was there a boy named Emery? Did you guys kill him?" Gwen said.
Emery's heart trembled when he heard her say those. He unconsciously reached out his hand when a buried memory of her ran a scene in his mind 'We can't be friends anymore, Emery'. That single sentence froze his whole being, unable to move. He clenched his fist, thinking to himself he should hold back. It wasn't the time yet.
He took back and accidentally stepped on a dead branch. A knight turned his head on toward Emery's location and drew a sword while walking slowly. Emery knew he had messed up. He shouldn't be caught or seen here. Not now, especially with Gwen being nearby!
Emery turned around and ran as fast as he could; his mind filled with Gwen's words both the painful memory along with questions why she was looking for him.
He couldn't tell how far he had run away but at very least, he was sure that the knight who had caught notice of him should've stopped chasing by now. As he pondered her words and based on how she sounded, he tried to think of every reason he could logically come up with but not a single one of them managed to convince him. Still, deep down, a hint of joy sprang inside him at the knowledge of Gwen looking for him, despite about two seasons having passed, and no matter was the reason. Not wanting to think any deeper, he placed the matter in the back of his head once more and continued on with his escape.
The night was coming to an end with layers of light lifting the curtains of darkness, welcoming the kingdom's people with a new day. Lanzo arrived at the inn, escorted by the knights, to where Jacob was. The Princess's knights even gave him a bag of coins as compensation for his trouble.
When Jacob came out of the inn in his sleeping clothes, the shock on his face couldn't be more as plain as day when he saw Lanzo's covered in bandages from the waist down. Lanzo smiled sheepishly and simply explained he had quite an adventure that night. After getting rid of Jacob's talk, Lanzo quickly used the coin to celebrate his near death experience with his newfound love for ale.
Emery went down and gave Lanzo a brotherly hug. He was somewhat glad that Lanzo didn't hold a grudge against him but he still had to reject Lanzo's offer since he wasn't in a celebratory mood to drink. His mind was still filled with thoughts of Gwen, and after seeing her once more, her new image as well as seeing Sir Yvain's swift swordsmanship, his desire to become stronger burned even more violently. Last night's experience was proof that he was still far from being able to hold his own life, let alone take revenge for his family.
Ever since his childhood, he had always dreamed of being a knight just like Yvain and his late father, Geoffrey, fighting valiantly for his kingdom. Unfortunately, his physical condition didn't allow him to do that before but now, after receiving benefits from the Magus Academy and future possible benefits, he was confident he'd eventually surpass all his enemies.
They spent another day in Lionarch to give Lanzo more time to heal up. And as soon as the next day arrived, only Emery and Jacob were standing in front of the horse carts. They had decided it was time to go back home in Mistshire but when they woke up earlier, Lanzo was once more missing.
After half an hour of waiting, in the distance they saw a person carrying a large package strapped on his back heading their way. That was Lanzo.
Old man Jacob had a great, huge frown as he shouted, "Damn kid! Aren't you injured? Where have you been?"
"Bought some things for the villagers with the leftover coins from yesterday," answered Lanzo with a wide smile, placing the package on the horse cart.
"What kind of things?" Jacob asked, examining the packages.
"You know… Things that the villagers don't have," Lanzo answered with a cheeky smile.
"What things, you rascal! Let me kick you for making me wait for so long!"
"No! Don't! Ahh, my legs, my legs!" said Lanzo, acting as if he was hurting all over again. Emery laughed so hard that he could his ribs hurting before asking them to stop.
As soon as things settled down, the three of them traveled back to Mistshire.
On the way, Lanzo talked incessantly about the stuff he had bought for the villagers, particularly how he had bought a special hand-knitted coat for Granny. Emery listened attentively to Lanzo while grinding the sword with a whetstone and checked his bag filled with plants with a smile on his face.
Due to their late departure because of someone's fault, the group of two youngsters and old man arrived at Mistshire when the sky was already dark.
"Brother, look! The moon in the sky!" exclaimed Lanzo, pointing up.
Emery raised his head and witnessed a sight that he had only seen once in his life. The dark heaven was devoid of stars, only the crimson moon, known as the blood moon, decorated the empty sky. For some reason, Emery's heart began pounding against his chest as he realized only now that the surrounding was also lacking of life. He then turned his head to Jacob who also appeared as confused as he.
"What happened?" Emery asked.
"This isn't right… I know we're late, but why isn't there anyone, not even hunters guarding by the gate? They still should be expecting us even if we're a day behind!" Jacob explained.
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