Finally, the morning of departure arrived. The sun glowed faint gold over the palace spires, and the mist that clung to Solaris shimmered like spun glass.
Inside the Guest room, Lady Lyra Vale stood in her traveling cloak, her expression calm but her tone carrying both motherly love and the weight of command.
"Ethan, Kael," she said, her gaze moving between her sons, "you've already faced assassins sent by our enemies. You both survived, but survival is not victory. While your father and I deal with what festers at home, you'll attend Starfall Academy. You'll learn, grow stronger… and learn to protect and make a name for yourself."
Her words were sharp, but the warmth beneath them was unmistakable.
She turned to Safrene, the loyal head maid who had been at her side since her own youth.
"I'm thinking of letting you and Temari stay here in the capital," Lyra said quietly.
"It's safer. I won't put people loyal to our family in harm's way. This is only temporary."
Safrene stiffened. "My lady, I will not abandon my duty. I've followed you since…"
Lyra raised her hand gently. "Safrene. This is not dismissal. It's protection."
Before Safrene could argue further, a small, trembling voice interrupted.
Temari stood beside Kael, her eyes already welling up. "No! I, I won't stay here! Kael needs me!"
Kael blinked, confused. "I can handle myself…"
Temari burst into tears, clinging to his sleeve. "You'll get yourself killed like last time if I'm not there!"
Ethan crossed his arms, sighing internally. What is this? The childhood sweetheart trope? What does she even see in Kael? A glutton who only likes training and sleeping? When did this guy riz up Temari?
"Kids, host. Love means standing side by side, not being each other's baggage."
"For a system, you're surprisingly wise."
"Of course, with me you won't need these distractions.."
Lyra exhaled, rubbing her temple. "Fine," she said at last. "Temari, you can come, but only until the Misty Lake."
Temari nodded vigorously, still sniffling.
By noon, the small convoy of the House of Vale assembled. A gleaming black-as-night carriage at its center, fifty armored guards surrounding it.
The Vales climbed aboard, followed by Temari, who refused to let go of Kael's hand.
At the palace steps, Empress Seraphina Solaris III stood beneath the marble arch, her white-and-gold robes shimmering in the noon light. She raised a graceful hand, her voice carrying like music over the courtyard.
"May your journey be safe and your hearts untroubled," she said.
The air held its breath.
Then the gates opened. The convoy began to move.
But before the Vale carriage rolled forward, Ethan glanced through the window and saw the other banners of Solaris rise.
At the very front of the grand procession, House Vauntir made their presence impossible to miss.
Their banners of gold and emerald blazed in the sun, and their carriages gleamed so brightly they looked forged from coins.
Duke Marcellus Vauntir, the Empire's Treasurer, stood waving grandly from his window, his smile too wide, his rings too many.
His wealth had built fleets and funded wars, though he had never lifted a blade himself.
Behind him, his guards rode in polished armor more decorative than practical. Even their spears bore gilded tips.
"Show of money," Ethan muttered under his breath.
Aimi replied softly, "It's working though. I feel poorer already."
Next came House Aurelian, the light of knowledge.
Their carriages were carved with intricate runes, and mana-powered lanterns floated above them like glowing thought orbs.
Their heir sat reading even as the convoy began to move, a girl rumored to have memorized half the Imperial Library by age twelve.
At their head rode Lady Irenia Aurelian, matriarch of the scholars. Her eyes swept the other houses with thinly veiled disdain.
Further back rolled the silent, black convoy of House Dravencourt, the Empire's hidden blade.
No banners, no sound. Even their wheels were warded against creak and clatter.
Their patriarch, Lord Valen Dravencourt, rode unseen behind tinted glass, but everyone felt the chill that followed in his wake.
It was said the Dravencourts saw what others buried, and buried what others saw.
Aimi whispered quietly, "That one's dangerous."
Ethan didn't argue.
Then came the smaller noble houses. Dozens of carriages gliding behind the ducal banners.
House Cinderval, merchants from the southern dunes, their falcon crest painted in bright crimson.
House Merinholt, airship builders whose carriages gleamed with bronze propeller motifs.
House Raelthorn, healers draped in white, their guards carrying staves instead of swords.
And others. proud, petty, ambitious. all hoping the journey to Starfall Academy would raise their standing or forge the right alliances.
The air was thick with perfume, pride, and quiet rivalry.
And there, at the very end of the formation, almost swallowed by the glare of brighter crests, rolled the Vale carriage.
Black, silent, and utterly unadorned.
No banners flapped. No trumpets sang.
They stood apart. Not out of weakness, but by choice.
Lyra Vale had insisted they keep their distance, far from the eyes of nobles who weighed worth by noise.
Let the others jostle for glory.
House Vale would rather pass unnoticed.
The convoy began its descent through the golden gates of Solaris city.
The crowd roared as banners passed, gold, white, red, blue. A river of wealth and lineage flowing through the capital's heart.
By the time they reached the crowded avenues, Empress Seraphina was gone, her figure vanished into the palace halls and her duties.
Or so everyone thought.
Half an hour later, the Vale convoy had reached the outer districts of Solaris. The grand boulevard narrowed into uneven cobblestones lined with merchant stalls, perfume carts, and the smell of roasted grain.
The crowd pressed close; guards had to push back vendors and children waving little banners.
Ethan adjusted a pressure dial under the seat, trying to ignore the noise. The electric hum of the generator was steady, comforting.
Aimi chimed softly in his head.
"External noise: 86 decibels. Probability of random noble collision: 12%. Probability of you staying calm: zero."
He scowled. "You're supposed to assist, not narrate my suffering."
"Semantics."
Tap…Tap…..Tap
A gentle rhythmic rap on the side of the carriage.
Lyra's head turned. A faint smile tugged her lips.
Before Ethan could ask, she leaned forward and whispered something to the driver through the brass intercom tube. The convoy slowed slightly, just enough to blend with the chaos of the crowd.
Ethan frowned. "What are you…."
"Adjusting for… traffic," Lyra said smoothly.
The word traffic did a lot of suspicious heavy lifting.
Through the small rear window, Ethan saw a flash of white silk dart between the carriages.
Too clean, too graceful for any commoner. A moment later, the Vale guards' shouts were drowned by the sudden crash of a toppled spice cart, sending crimson powder billowing into the air.
The world turned red and noisy.
In the confusion, Lyra quietly opened the rear door. A slender, hooded figure slipped inside, as effortlessly as mist sliding through a crack. The door shut again without a sound.
The moment the latch clicked, the chaos outside seemed to die away.
Ethan blinked. "Did…did we just smuggle someone in?"
Lyra's eyes were calm. "In a sense."
The hooded figure straightened, dusting off faint traces of saffron. Then, in a voice smooth as velvet:
"Can you increase the heat a little bit more, dear?"
Ethan froze mid-motion. "No. No way. That voice..."
The cloak fell away, revealing gold-stitched white silk, a faint crown-shaped hairpin catching the last sunlight through the window.
"Your Majesty!?"
Empress Seraphina Solaris III smiled like she'd just outplayed an army.
"Lovely weather for a secret trip," she said, settling gracefully into her seat.
Kael could not stop himself from asking, "..How?"
Lyra adjusted her glove, voice perfectly calm. "We agreed on the spice market diversion almost a week ago."
"YOU WHAT?,"all three kids look at the two adult troublemakers.
The Vale entourage fall behind the grand procession, and started moving towards a lesser known track.
By evening, the last town faded behind them.
The forests grew thick and quiet, the sky deepening to amber. The guards shifted into tighter formation as the road narrowed between tall trees.
Inside the carriage, a faint chime rang in Ethan's head.
"Foreign mana signatures detected. Distance, five hundred meters. Approaching fast."
Ethan stiffened. "We're being watched," he said aloud.
The others tensed. Lyra's eyes sharpened, Kael's hands curled into fists, and even Seraphina's smile faltered, if only for a heartbeat.
"How?" Seraphina thought. The mana trail was faint, barely perceptible even to her trained senses. Yet Ethan had sensed it first. Interesting.
Ethan's fingers flew over the control panel. The carriage hummed as hidden mechanisms awakened.
The side panels shifted slightly, revealing the twin heavy magitech crossbows.
A soft glow filled the cabin as electricity pulsed across the frame. the smoke bomb launcher and flash grenades primed in their sockets.
"If they get close," Ethan muttered, "I can hit them with shock darts. Or we blind them first."
But it seems the two powerful minxes have other plans.