We were now a few dozens of kilometers away from the barrier, meaning that we were far away from civilization, and not the place one would expect to see anyone here.

They must have already noticed me since, by the time I arrived, the girl was already looking in my way, making no move whatsoever to my appearance. So I went their way, and the closer I got, the more I regretted this decision.

The boy was holding in his hand what seemed to be a burned stuffed toy, when he finally turned around to face me.

A glance at their facial features and their height told me that they were about the same age--no, they were slightly older than I was. If I were to guess, they would be of the same age as Ramia and Mael when they left Beaufort for the Holy Capital, but there was something else about them that was tickling me off with them...

In a sense, I'd even say that the two of them were making me feel like I was the one being the suspicious one, which, with my current clothes, was true, while it was obviously also the case for them.

"Good morning, Sir. La... dy?" Trying to greet them, I realized that with how they looked, I couldn’t even put up a proper greeting.

Between their appearances and what they were wearing, there was something that didn’t match up.

They had features that I was certain belonged to a noble, but they were dressed like any other commoner.This was true for both, but was especially true for the boy, with those red eyes of his. I've met many people at the castle who have those same eyes, especially since the calamities. Most of them belonged to royalty or were members of the ducal family, so in other worlds they were no small people, and those red eyes were what they were recognized with.

Instead, the girl raised her hand toward me, allowing me to finally notice the strange colorful pattern on both her arms and the boy’s, but stopped upon casting an exchange glance at the boy.

I did not know exactly what the girl was about to do, but I could roughly guess why she reacted that way; it truly was what I thought it to be. I, despite being the one who came to them, was ready to defend myself if something were to happen. I was not naive enough to trust someone I had never seen before, especially in this era where I often hear news of those people who call themselves

"aristocrats".

I obviously didn’t mean to come off as threatening in any way, but by their reaction, my doubt concerning whether these two were nobles became a certainty, for only nobles would be able to tell that I was ready to use magic to fight back if needed to be, and I was certain that even the most common commoner wouldn’t.

Clearly, these two weren’t from the duchy. If they were, I definitely would’ve seen them at least on time during the many events and summons that occurred in the castle these past 2 years.

I knew it was a bad move, especially when my doubts concerning their potential threat just rose to a new level, but I did it. I sheathed my mana back.

"I am truly sorry for that. I didn’t mean to come off as that hostile, "I apologized.

Putting the stuffed toy back amidst the ruins where he most likely had picked it up, he and the girl made their way toward me, only to simply pass me by.

"It’s nothing," I heard from the boy.

With no further words, they walked with no intent to further continue the small discussion we barely engaged in earlier.

"Wait-"

Unexpectedly, even for me, both of them stopped and turned to face me. When I called on them, I just kind of did it, not really having anything to say.

"Euh,... I know that this might sound inappropriate to ask, especially after my earlier behaviour, but may I ask, What were you two doing here?" I ventured.

There is no one living soul in hundreds of miles. If one were to describe their presence here, without a single carriage or anything around, it would be suspect.

I finally noticed that beneath his white, obviously oversized shirt, his entire arms were just like the girl in a strange mix of two colors, red and black.

Seeing that he noticed my scrutinizing gaze, I immediately stopped acting creepily, only to notice that after doing so, the boy and the girl simply stared at me for more than one minute straight without saying a word. This makes the whole thing more than simply awkward.

After a while, glancing around, the boy said, "I would like to say we were just passing by, but the truth is that we got lost."

"Lost?"

"Yes."

This one was clearly an obvious lie.

"The truth is that we don’t come from these parts of the continent. Though I did once visit these lands, those were only distant memories, and I’ve so far, along this road, yet to encounter anything that makes my memories justice. So right now, we are about to head northward. Maybe we’ll eventually find something there that isn’t rumbles and ashes. "

From the melancholic sound of it, and his expression on this one, at least, I was certain it was the truth.

Glancing at what was left of this city, I, despite the oddness of character and his words, more or less understood what he meant.

"How long was it? That you visited this land for the last time? "

"Years ago." He responded dryly.

"As I said earlier, there is nothing around these parts of the duchy. There are towns, small or big, but most of them are in states similar to this one. I don’t know what you know about the duchy, but most of the towns' inhabitants from these parts have moved northward with the "Night Ecarlate."

"Night Ecarlate? What's that?" he asked, genuine confusion on his face.

"You don't... It’s the event that happened eight years ago that caused the barrier to shatter for the first time. You’ve never heard of that?" I asked, getting more and more confused about these two.

"Night Ecarlate, I..." Of course, I’ve heard of it. I just didn’t know that it was like that that people were referring to it. "

What he said definitely left me confused.

Were there any other words to refer to the Night Ecarlate? Well, maybe there is, but I simply never heard of it even in all those years.

"I see."

"By the way, may I ask one thing, what something—what were you doing here in the middle of nowhere all alone?" he asked.

Well, that was a very good question.

I was most likely the weirdest one. I was all alone, wearing tattered clothes and asking strange questions.

"I was with someone, but since they left before me, I chose to wander around."

"To wander... around... is it?"

The girl went to the boy's side and spoke wordlessly. No words were exchanged, yet I knew they were talking about something, the main topic of which was concerning me.

Ultimately, the boy, to whatever the girl said, shook his head negatively, before looking back at me and announcing once again wordlessly, with merely a nod of the head, that they were about to take their leave, which they did immediately.

"Since it's it then, I think we should take our leave."

"Wait!" I once again called, and just like earlier, they stopped to listen to what I had to say,"... I’m once again sorry earlier, I didn’t mean to come that weirdly hostile and ask questions when you two obviously didn’t do anything wrong."

"As I said, this is nothing."

"But still,..." You don’t seem to have a carriage or anything to wander around in. Can I offer you two a ride? I have a carriage a few... kilometers away from here. What about riding together? I might not look like it, but I can show you around, if you’d like, of course.

"If it’s for earlier--"

"No, it’s not. I insist. "

They looked at each other, finally answering, "Well, why not?"

"Perfect," I said, extending my hand to him and introducing myself; at first, I was unsure how to do it, but I eventually settled for a simple, "Elliel." You can call me Eliel. "

I, personally, didn't know what to think of the lack of reaction on their part. I wasn’t sure how well I was known by nobles outside the duchy, but to the neighbors I was certain to be known, especially with those red eyes of mine.

Did they know who I was or not? I couldn’t tell at all.

"... Ro..."

"An?"

Was that a name?

"Yes, An, and this is..."

"Rena." the girl answered. It was the first time I heard her voice.

"An and Rena?"

"Yes," they both said, nodding.

Those were quite unique names, regardless of whether or not it was their true name. It was one that I had never heard of before.

"I know this is a little bit embarrassing given that I just invited you two, but my carriage is a few kilometers away from here, so..." We’ll have to walk a little bit before reaching it. "

***

The said carriage I was talking about was situated a few dozen kilometers north, in a small estate situated in the middle of nowhere, so by simply walking, it took us some time to reach that place.

It was a very long and silent walk. Maybe, no-most likely because of my presence, but none of them spoke a word. It was very awkward at first, but I ultimately got used to it.

During the small trip, I got time to speculate concerning possible reasons behind their presence here, besides visiting a once-visited scenery for the sake of nostalgia. Many of which crossed my mind,

including an "eloping couple theory" which struck me particularly funny given my current predicament, yet somehow this one struck me as quite likely. I mean two, obviously, nobles, who clearly don't strike as siblings, on their own, without anything that would suggest their identity. That’s not something you see every day. I must admit that this theory was particularly ridiculous, but with the current state, which I even realized the world was in, it could be as true as it could be wrong.

Either way, I was more comfortable with the idea that I was sharing a carriage with an eloping couple rather than some infiltrated agent of the "Aristocracy".

We were now in the middle of the night, inside the carriage driven by my guards, on our way northward toward Beaumont.

During these few kilometers, we stumbled upon several deserted towns like the one I met them in.

They, especially An, would often stare for a moment before continuing without a single comment.

Rena, too, had been earlier, just like him, from the carriage starring at the changing scenery. I was afraid that they would voice a complaint about the carriage. For that carriage was the one Grandfather and I took to avoid raising people's suspicion here in the middle of nowhere, but they seemed to enjoy the ride, and yet it didn’t take tje long after the sunset to fall asleep. Her head was on top of An's lap.

"So, An, is there any particular place that you two want to visit?" I asked, curious.

"I don’t know, is there any place in this duchy that isn’t like this?" He asked, pointing at the town’s ruin bathed in the full moon's moonlight.

There was no territory further south than Beaumont, so it was obvious that these two came from somewhere north, however far norther than here.

"I..."At least for now.the most part, after the Night Ecarlate, eight years ago, most of the towns in the Duchy, especially those which were located in these parts of the duchy and those northward, were abandoned by their denizens. At least for the most part, with the Seven Great Calamities, two years ago, it was the entire population of the rural or at least those who survived the calamities that relocalized themselves to the remaining three main cities of Beaucourt, Belleville, and Beaufort, leaving a huge part of the duchy in the state, as we can see now, barren and inhabited.

"I see..." leaning toward me, he asked, "These Seven Great Calamities. Can you tell me more about them?"

"Tell you about it?"

"I want to know more about how it happened for you all."

We all? Was he talking about the duchy? I wasn't sure, but I still answered, "Well, why not, after all?"

Though their question perplexed me for a moment, I began to break down to him everything I knew about the calamities, the extent of the destruction they brought with them, and the consequences of their passage across the duchy, with these words.

If I were to cite something their passages had brought upon the duchy, it would be the destuction of one of the duchy's formerly four main cities, causing a massive wave of mass exodus from the rural area to the three remaining three cities, which in turn caused several other problems, one of which was overpopulation. Other than that, the ecological scar left was nothing less than catastrophic. Invasive species and foreign species of monsters invaded the duchy in an attempt to flee away from the dragons. This included mammals such as rats and mice, as well as moose and birds such as ravens.

It was disastrous, but on a greater scale compared to the fate of other territories which were unlucky enough to have had their territory traversed by the seven calamities, the duchy of Beaumont, all things considered, was quite lucky.

"I see..." In order to determine whether Rena, who was sleeping with her head on his lap, was truly asleep, he asked quietly, "-may I ask what about the casualties?"

"I’m not sure of the exact number, but I believe the duchy lost one eighth of its population directly to the calamities. Another eighth died, whether inderectly of the dragon passage or by the aftermath of their passages. "

"Two eighths then. And what about the casualties of the entire continent? "

"I... personally don’t know much. I only know that it went way above the mere millions. "

"Millions, huh? That's... a lot more than I would’ve imagined. "

"Sir An... Can I just call you An? How did the seven calamities go in the territory you two came from? " I asked, genuinely curious.

"The calamities didn’t reach where she and I come from."

Was there a place like this?

Well, considering how big the continent is, I guess there are places lucky like that.

"Is that why you know so little about the calamities?"

He nodded.

"I know at this point, I’m just being annoying with this, but you two are noble, right?"

He just stared at me, not confirming nor denying.

"May I ask where e-"

Before I could say anything further, I was stopped by him, hushing me with a finger in front of his mouth, with which he made clear that he didn’t want to disclose their family name nor did he want to disclose where they came from.

It was only now that I took notice of it, but the strange pattern on his hand disappeared, leaving a perfectly normal one behind.

"I know that it must not be reassuring to share a coach with two strangers who refuse to even disclose their... I can understand your concern. So far, I can only be grateful for the generosity you’ve displayed to us, despite our current status. But where we came from is not something worth asking for. "

With these words, the theory that these two could be an eloping couple fell to second place, with the theory that they were members of the "aristocracy" taking over first place.

I didn’t like that thought, but it could be true, so taking advantage of it being just mere speculation on my part, I chose to let it be on its own somewhere in the corner of my mind.

***

From where we joined paths with the mentioned carriage, Beaufort was a day’s coach ride away, a small journey on its own.

It was evening when we arrived at a plateau from which the City of Beaufort was finally within sight.

"An, Rena, this is the capital of Beaumont, and now the megalopolis city of Beaufort." I said to both of them.

On the other hand, Rena displayed a look of wonder at my words.

"It is so different."

"Different?"

It’s bigger than I remember it being. Those castles, the last time I was here, I remembered them being on each cardinal point. Now they are..."

"Oh, you mean that. Well, with the Night Ecarlate, 8 years ago, the duchy was left with no other choice but to expend itself, and with Calamities, the same thing happened but at a faster, if not rushed pace. "

Years ago, the four castles of the four great families of Beaumont were situated on the four corners of the city, but now they are in the center of it.

I never really left the duchy capital before my 8 years with Ramia’s and Mael’s training, so as far as I can remember, the city has always been in constant expansion, so I never got the impression that it had changed much, for it has always been changing for me.

"This is Beaufort for you, the capital of Beaumont, the duchy of flowers. Flowers bloom and eventually die out. Change is an essential part of the cycle."

With that, we boarded the carriage again.

Immediately upon it, the carriage driver asked us where we were to head. It struck the subject that has been haunting me since our discussion concerning their identities yesterday.

I know, I’m once again being very annoying with this, especially given our discussion yesterday. It really makes me feel like I just kidnapped you two, but we are about to enter Beaufort, my home city.

If you were just commoners, maybe I could’ve let you in, but you two are nobles, so I can’t really simply allow you two into the city without a fight.

"Introducing us to the competent authorities? "

"Yes, it’s not that I don’t trust you or anything, but I, as one of its denizens, can’t risk the city’s safety just like that."

"I understand," he simply said.

"Really?"

"Yes, you’ve been really generous to us so far. This is the least I can do to repay you."

Delighted by his quite unexpected answer, I informed the coachmen of our next destination, "To the Ducal Palace," only to be interrupted.

"But before I can accede to this demand, there is a place I would like to visit within the city."

"Within the city? I guess we can do that. Where is it? "

Upon hearing his answer, I knew that I would have some hard news to break.

***

It was 3 years ago that I saw it for the first time with my own eyes. I was 10 when I first did this. I remember, while being small, going to the Palace and often seeing its green trees towering from the common district.

Currently holding nothing of its formerly green color, it is now nothing but a leafless trunk slowly rotting with the passing of time.

Looking at the Hazo, or at least what was left of it, he was having a strange yet familiar moment that I believe I have seen somewhere.

"When did it happen?" An asked, while also approaching the Hazo’s remnants.

He only stopped at the fence that was installed where it was once used to be, where the trees left twilight by the middle of the day.

"Three years ago, it was neither a winter nor an autumn; it happened suddenly out of nowhere. I myself never got the opportunity to see this trio from this close distance when it was still what it was reputed for. "

"Three years ago, huh?" His voice sounded strange, uttering those words.

"Do you have any memor-"

Upon turning back to face me, I immediately received the answer to the question he was about to ask.

"Ro-An, you’re okay?" Rena, who was at his side, asked.

"Yes, don’t worry, I’m fine."

Clearly, he was not.

I was about to venture a word, only to be the one addressed first, "I’m done with what I came here to do. You wanted to take me to the Ducal castle. I’m ready. Let’s get this done. "

He was heading back to the carriage, but was stopped by Rena, who was not moving an inch while holding hands with him.

They both stared at each other, then after a short while, he let go of her, she let go of him, and came to me and took me with both hands.

I was really badly-placed to think and behave this way, but from this distance and given how really cute she was, I couldn’t help but have my heart beat faster than it normally would.

"Elliel, can I ask a favour of you?" I was not given the time to answer, so she came up with the said favor, "We will go to the Ducal Palace as he had promised, but later on." "Not now?"

It was only now that I took notice of it, but she had a really strange way of speaking. With one or two words, it went unnoticeable, but when many words were put together, it became really obvious.

One thing I couldn’t help but notice was that she was obviously not someone who usually asked for a favor from anyone, given how much more of a threat it was than a demand.

"I’m sorry, I can’t just-"

"Please! We won’t do anything bad. We will just stay around for some time. We just need time."

Glancing at An, he too seemed surprised by her reaction.

Glancing back at her, I was greeted by yet another pleading "Please!" with a pleading face.

"I guess,... I guess I can make this concessi-. "

"Thank you." She came at me with a hug before coming back to An.

"Are you sure about this?" An asked.

"Absolutely not. But I guess I can only pry to be able to afford this one. "

"I see. Thank you. "

" … So what are you two going to do in the meantime? Where will you two stay?"

Both looked at me as though I had asked a very stupid question.

"Just to be sure? You two do have money to afford a proper living, right?"

No answer, just an awkward stare.

Heaving out a sigh, I proposed, "Let’s make another carriage tour. I think I have a proposition for the two of you. "