Eury's frown was so severe when Urien came back to the inn, gingerly supporting a pale faced Letum over one shoulder while an unconscious Somnus was slung over his back.

Following behind him is the youngest princess of the Kingdom, escorted by two dracos, beings thought to be descended from long lost dragons of their lands due to their physical appearance: the pureblooded dracos have paler skins than most herons or humans despite almost sharing the same facial structure and have fine, beautiful patterned scales, curved or stubbed horns, light blue-ish limbal rings in their eyes and long tails of various thickness.

Those two dracos have the grimmest expression anyone in that inn had ever seen, most likely due to the fact of what had happened on their way to this town and what they had seen upon their arrival.

"If you couldn't keep them safe, you shouldn't have let them—" Eury started to berate Urien until she noticed their condition up close as the knight gently propped them up into a sitting position on a nearby bench by the wall.

"Ether poison." Urien muttered under his breath as he leaned forward to her ear, placing a hand on Eury's shoulder. "It seems you have forgotten to teach Letum about how ordinary people cannot purify those dusts? I expect you to heal them up properly, sister. You've kept a lot of secrets from me and I will hear the truth later."

Eury only glanced at him with an uneasy expression before nodding and taking a deep breath.

The princess of the kingdom, Nyna, only watched their quiet exchange with great interest before gesturing to the knights to stand guard and approaching Eury.

"It must be too much to heal them both at once. Let me help, as I was once a candidate to be the next Hierophant. You should know what that means, yes?"

Eury only glanced at her with a stoic expression, trying her best to keep her irritation in check.

"Yes, I do. However, I am a Governess and a priest of the Central Church appointed to care for the welfare of the princes." She replied rather tartly. "I can handle this, princess. I'm glad that you weren't poisoned upon your arrival so I'd like to ask you to help us to heal the others scattered around the inn, as there's only a few of us priests here. I'm sure the citizens would be touched that their sweet princess personally came to heal them."

Nyna only glared at Eury, offended by the fact that a mere Governess and a lowly priest would dare use her image as part of the royal family to make her work on people she barely have any affections for.

She glanced at Letum who was still weakly coughing before turning her heels and storming off.

Eury only sighed as she activated her seifon, a light green circle appearing beneath them and enveloping them with a rather cool and gentle sensation as if they were standing outside during the cool early mornings after a light rain.

She held out her hand to the princes and slowly but surely started their healing process.

×××

"I daresay, it's unfortunate that this happened while you were here." Peiren said as Urien stood next to him, watching the cleanup after checking on the townspeople. "Yet, at the same time, the town is lucky to have you here."

"It was by chance." Urien replied, eyeing the prince carefully. "Your Highness, may I ask…since when did these creatures have been plaguing the kingdom? The Empire made a countermeasure more than a hundred years ago."

Peiren chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Anything that old is bound to wear down eventually. Nothing lasts forever. The Empire has been generous and gave us the technology they have used to protect themselves."

Urien's eyes went to the spire not far from them and Peiren's eyes slightly narrowed at it.

"I am sure Somnus has discussed the issue about the Central church and the Royal family with you, good sir?" The prince asked quietly, making Urien turn his head to look at him. "You are the only Imperial citizen they trust, as you are their instructor."

Urien was quiet for a moment before looking towards the spire again. "The prince didn't confide every detail with me but I have my own ways to get information."

Peiren smirked at that. "Be careful with what you say, good sir. You are supposed to be from a fallen noble family."

"Your Highness sounds like you know something about me."

"I've seen some portraits…" The heron prince trailed off with a smile. "Thank you for protecting our territory, even if it's by chance."

Urien shook his head as he turned away. "A prince shouldn't bury their head in nonsense legends and myths, and instead focus on the kingdom's prosperity and safety."

Peiren then chuckled at that, placing his hands on his hip. "I'd like to apologize to you, good sir, for not arriving sooner."

The dark winged knight stopped in his tracks to look back at the prince. "I did wonder why you appeared suddenly…"

"His Majesty was worried that there has been no news of your group leaving for the Capital so I volunteered to pick you up and escort you to our home."

Urien's expression turned stoic at that. "Ah, I see…"

Peiren then slightly lowered his head politely at him. "I'll leave you to your work, sir."

Urien kept his expression neutral as he walked a few steps away from the prince before opening his wings and took flight.

As the prince said, he still has some work to do and that involves a lot of cleaning.