Somnus let out a cough, holding his head in one hand.

His whole body is sore, as he didn't expect to be bulldozed over with such momentum.

Slowly looking up, he saw his brother up in the air without anything that would support him, and emitting such murderous aura.

He chuckled in pain, realizing that he could never catch up to his brother's talent.

"Hey, Let…" He called out weakly as he stood up, brushing the dust off his sleeves and pants. "Stop scaring the people we were supposed to save."

He looked around for his sword, extended a hand and made it disappear into thin wisps of ether before turning back to his brother.

He was surprised when he heard the mercenaries scream in pain as Letum precisely stabbed them in areas that wouldn't easily kill them.

Somnus hurried over, ignoring his own pain. "Let! Letum!"

A large winged heron flew past above him and Somnus finally slowed down to catch his breath.

"Your Highness!" A female draco knight said worriedly as she reached the prince to help him up. "Are you alright?"

"Probably bruised all over, nothing serious." Somnus grunted as he watched Urien grab Letum's wrist and knocked him unconscious.

Somnus was oblivious to the fact that the knights who had finally caught up to them were staring at the dead, skewered boars in amazement. They all scattered when the fire and lightning spears dissipated a few seconds after Letum lost consciousness, and the big boars fell over with a loud, heavy thud.

Urien then gently went down, carrying Letum in his arms. A few knights went over to him to help him, checking on the unconscious prince for any injuries that needed immediate attention.

Somnus flinched hard when the cold sensation of the healing seifon started permeating into his body, closing up the small cuts and reducing the swelling of various bruises.

Ilhan looked around calmly as he approached the field, amused and amazed at the same time of how fast the princes could escape them, let alone their combat prowess.

From what he had gathered, the only time they had been in a real battle was in that insignificant town on the way to the coronation.

If the Princes could be honed further in actual battles, there's no doubt that they'd surpass him in a few years' time.

Ilhan turned to the knights surrounding and supporting the princes.

"After giving first aid, escort the princes back to the carriage."

"Yes sir!"

Ilhan turned away from them, walking over to the mercenaries and eyeing the injuries they sustained. He lazily smiled as he eyed the roundness of their ears and the now exposed secret of their mixed heritage; some have the scales of the dracos hidden underneath their scarf, others have the mixed pupils and eye colors prevalent in half breed elves.

"Imperial subjects working in the kingdom as mercenaries, deemed to be worth helping by your own princes at first then one turned against you. What a chilling omen for the Empire indeed. Perhaps it'd be better for them to stay with us..."

The red head mercenary's eyes widened in surprise, as they heard tales of the twin princes sent away to the kingdom, though most doubted that the princes continued to live after their arrival.

Ilhan noticed the mercenary's expression, his sinister looking smile becoming bigger as he reached for a small pouch hanging around his hip and tossing it gently towards the red head.

"You can have these high grade potions, treat your injuries on your own. I'm sure His Highness Somnus would insist that we heal you since you're working hard to protect our citizens for a few coins."

The red head mercenary glared at Ilhan who sneered at them before gracefully turning away to follow the knights escorting the princes back.

×××

They reached Fort Vilovala, a large fortress city that sits between the Kingdom and the Empire after two more days of travel, with dusk blanketing the sky upon their arrival. And in those two days, Urien only sat in the carriage silently, his arms crossed and staring out of the window and completely ignoring the fidgeting of the guilty princes who knew they had done something wrong.

The city was bustling, though not as busy compared to the Capital, with knights roaming by the parapets and the streets. A few trees dotted the city, serving as decorative plants instead of providing actual shade to the people.

The majority of the roads inside the city were made of smooth cobblestones, though at one part they were forced to make a detour around the workers who were changing the cobblestones with granite setts. The nearby streetlamps aided them in their overtime, making Ilhan frown as to why they had to continue working when the sun had already gone down.

The buildings were uniformed in shape and when viewed from above, one would notice the defensive spiral the roads formed. In each district, steeples were erected, their bright runestones twinkling like a star.

They stopped by a luxuriously large inn favored by rich merchants and well reputed mercenaries. Ilhan disembarked first to talk to the innkeeper regarding their accommodations, with the innkeeper slightly freaking out upon seeing the King's crest on their armors.

Somnus and Letum looked around the inn curiously, with Urien standing behind them and the knights surrounding them.

A lutist and a flutist were playing on a raised platform, filling the common room with sweet music.

The other patrons were stealing glances at the newly arrived guests, as it was rare for them to see many high ranking knights to escort nobles to this side of the kingdom.