A knock at the door roused Aushen from his nap. He lifted the cool cloth from his face and sat up. The medication the physician had prescribed to help manage his heat was working perfectly. Somehow, that made this transformation of his feel even more real. ‘I really am an omega, huh…’ 

Without waiting for a reply, Odessa let herself into Aushen’s room. “How are you feeling? You look much better than earlier,” she quipped. “I’ve finished the letter. Also, I told Uncle about you,” she added, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Aushen. 

The prince scowled. “Why did you do that?! I should’ve been the one to tell him,” he grumbled. 

“Why?” she asked innocently. “The physician seemed like he was about ready to burst with the news. Isn’t it better I told him, rather than him finding out by overhearing the servants’ gossip?” 

Aushen leaned back, sighing. Odessa had the tendency to act without thinking, but he had to admit, her logic was sound. “...Fine,” he ceded. “Anyways, may I see the letter?” 

She handed it to him lightly, rising from the bed to go look out the windows while he read. “Tch.” Only two paragraphs in, Aushen clicked his tongue. “Fetch me a pen, would you?” 

Odessa rolled her eyes a bit, walking over to the desk and finding the gaudiest feather pen she could before handing it to her brother. After a few moments of scribbling, Aushen was satisfied. 

“Do you need to read it again, or is it ready to be sent?” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” she waved absentmindedly, attention still on the scenery out the window. “Oh!” she suddenly remarked. “It looks like the Northern Knights are going somewhere. Even your Sir Valleus is geared up to go.” 

Aushen was in the middle of taking a sip of water while she spoke, and he coughed in surprise at the last part of her sentence. “Whose Sir Valleus?” he sputtered. Nonetheless, he approached the window himself to see what she’d described. “They must be going out to catch our assailants.”

Odessa snorted angrily. “As they should. Those nasty men need to be brought to justice. I can’t believe they thought they could get away with such a ridiculous scheme!” 

Aushen narrowed his eyes as he watched Valleus mount his horse and join the others. ‘The duke must’ve come to a favorable decision.’

“But really, Aushen…” His sister turned to face him, eyes both playful and serious. “You really like him, don’t you?” 

Aushen couldn’t control the blush so easily coloring his cheeks, and turned away quickly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered. “Anyways, we need to get this letter sent immediately. We won’t be able to continue our trip to Fiilzia without Father’s response, after all.” 

He stepped out the door to have the letter sent, leaving Odessa in the room with a sly grin. She’d never gotten the chance to speak with her brother about love and crushes– as far back as she could remember, he’d seemed entirely disinterested in things of the sort. Now, Odessa was beginning to think it was simply because the object of his affections hadn’t been nearby. A romantic at heart, she quickly decided Aushen must’ve been smitten with Valleus since their childhood. 

Aushen may be too shy to admit it presently, but Odessa was determined to drag a confession out of her brother by the end of their trip. ‘And they certainly would make a cute couple!’ the princess decided.

-

Valleus trotted his horse down the path, leading the way for the rest of his squad. Out of the eight squads of the Northern Knights, only the fifth squad was absent from the investigation, left to defend the castle. 

The first four squads fanned out to search the area in case the perpetrators had attempted to escape. The sixth squad, captained by Valleus, and the seventh and eighth squads, along with the chief knight himself, followed Valleus to the presumed cultists’ hideout. All three squads followed quite a distance behind– it seemed that the revelation of Valleus’ changes had shaken them quite a bit. The only one who followed closely was Coriund, albeit a little farther away than he’d normally be. 

Valleus tried not to let it bother him. The task at hand demanded focus, and catching these criminals would help clear the air regarding what had happened to the young knight. 

Suddenly, Valleus turned sharply. He himself was puzzled by the action he’d just taken, until he saw a rider break from the group of knights behind them and canter up to meet them. 

‘I didn’t hear anything, though,’ he noted to himself. 

Valleus slowed his horse to a walk, and Coriund followed, seeing the rider approach. “Sir Carmine!” he called out, waving.

“Sir Coriund! Vall– er, Sir Valleus!” the young man responded, slowing his horse as he drew closer. He smiled brightly. “I’m glad I caught up with you! You’d left before I had a chance to welcome you back.” 

Carmine was part of the fifth squad, who’d returned from patrol while Valleus was being presented to the duke. 

“What are you doing here?” Coriund asked him. “I thought the fifth squad was ordered to stay at the castle.” 

“We were,” Carmine replied, “But I begged to be allowed to accompany the rest of you.” He paused, then added, “I missed you, Cousin. I was so worried while you were gone…” 

Valleus smiled. He knew the younger knight saw him as an older brother figure. He seemed to practically idolize him. “Luckily, I was able to return the Crown Prince safely to the castle.” 

Carmine’s eyes shifted to the side before returning to meet Valleus’ gaze. “I heard something happened while you were gone.” 

Valleus resisted the urge to sigh. He was quickly tiring of this topic. “Yes, I ended up receiving some odd characteristics as the result of interrupting the fiends’ ritual.” He almost felt like he was talking about something mundane, like what he’d had for supper the night before. In truth, the topic was anything but. However, Valleus’ patience was running thin, and he was tired of needing to provide answers even he didn’t have to the incessant questioning, regardless of whether it was well-meaning. 

Though Carmine hadn’t been by Valleus’ side as long as Coriund had, he could easily detect the irritation mounting in Valleus’ tone. “Are you okay?” he asked gently.