With an elegant leap, Fengari hopped from Cale's shoulder onto Williams, spun around once, and looked back at the black-haired mage. It was time to say goodbye to her beloved human and comply with his request.

"You can always contact me if you need anything", Cale lifted with a sad smile on his face and then hugged Ben warmly. The escort from Sylve had arrived half a day late, so the soldiers spent a night in the Magistrat and did not start their journey home until today. There were five swordmasters in all, Fengari noticed that much now without the apostle's help.

"You too. Anytime, even if you just want to talk", the young prince, on whose shoulder she was perched, gave off. The dragon could well see that all three people found it hard to say goodbye and had to remember how she had to say goodbye to Lofons back then, since their paths had completely parted after the disputes on Holy Island. Even if she was now able to get in touch with her family again, it would probably never be like before.

"Be careful", Apostle Aaron Thopas spoke up, who, along with the usual suspects, also said goodbye to the two nobles. The others also hugged and said goodbye, while the 3rd seat's gaze fell on Fengari.

, the dragon replied happily, raising its tail in delight.

The High-Magicians also wished the soldiers a safe journey, so they merely bowed their thanks. They had accompanied the group of 7 to the outskirts of the city and watched them go as they finally parted ways.

Ben and William, together with the soldiers from Sylve, left the capital, while the rest of the group, as well as the High-Magicians and the chiefs, looked after them, waving. Chiefs Merensen would also make his way home tomorrow, without his daughter and son-in-law.

Fengari cast one last glance at her apostle, Caleb Leuen, before turning away and looking at the path ahead. Spring had sprung, and thanks to the brief rain showers that had occurred off and on over the past few days, the landscape was turning green and beginning to bloom. It was strange for Fengari to embark on such a long journey for the first time and not fly. If she were to travel to the capital of Exarion in her true form, she would be there within a few hours at best. The fact that she was now forced to be on the road for a good week and, to make matters worse, travel as a cat on a ship, did not please her much. But for the apostle's sake, she would endure it.

"I miss them already", William announced about 10 minutes after they left the city. They were on their way to the trading city of Persiven, where they would stay one night and take the ferry to Sylve the next morning. With any luck, the travelers would also be able to see the work being done on the new footpath, if it was already clearly visible from a distance.

"Me too. Would have been nice to have met the three of them earlier, wouldn't it?", Ben replied with a broad grin on his face.

"Yes, absolutely. I almost have a feeling that Theorik and Miguel will take our place."

"I doubt that very much. The five of us have been through a lot for that."

"I hope so", the prince expressed with regret. For this reason, Fengari rose and rubbed himself against William's head, who raised his hand and gently stroked the cat on his shoulder. "You'll miss your master too, won't you, Fengari?"

She responded to this statement with a meow, earning a brief, impressed look from the soldiers. Fengari, however, ignored their looks around and focused on the prince. Maybe that was one of the reasons why the apostle had sent her to Sylve. She was to keep an eye on the city, but most of all she was to keep an eye on the two young men.

"A lovely cat, how old is she?", the king's advisor, who was walking in front of them, raised.

"High-Magician Leuen actually never told me that", William expressed himself. The swordmaster in front of them turned backwards at the statement and glanced at the cat with his cool eyes. For a brief moment, Fengari had the feeling she was meeting a second Aaron. His posture, the way he spoke, and his gaze were full of doubt, just as had been the case with the 3rd seat.

"Judging by her size, she should be barely a year old."

Immediately, Fengari hissed and glared menacingly at the strange man. He himself showed no reaction, only his 4 soldiers and Ben flinched in surprise at her snarl.

"I believe you have insulted Fengari, Sir Venlan", William announced with amusement. Somewhat irritated that the Prince understood her thoughts, she looked at him. "Don't be angry with him, Fengari."

Reluctantly, she stared at the prince for a while, but gave up, sat back down as usual, and began cleaning her paw. If there was anything she didn't like, it was being dubbed too young or too weak, but since people couldn't know she was a dragon, she decided not to be angry with her any further.

"It's fascinating how well she listens to you. She's really smart", the soldier with the red hair right next to them spoke up. Fired up by the statement, she looked to the woman and gracefully raised her head.

"Do you want to take her to the palace?", Sir Venlan interjected, who had spent the night with Caleb and Aaron. Unobtrusively, Fengari continued to preen herself as she watched the stern-looking human in front of her. He had short, light brown hair, which he wore neatly combed back. His green-brown eyes reminded Fengari a bit of the color of the trees at the end of the year, and his heart-shaped face is highlighted by his pointed chin. If Fengari couldn't sense his mana and see his equipment, she would have thought him to be one of the educated men rather than one who would fight.

"I intend to, yes."

Sir Venlan did not comment more on the statement. He did not seem pleased that William would bring a cat to the palace, but did not voice his thoughts.

"Do you not think this is a good idea?", William matter-of-factly brought up after the swordmaster turned his attention to the street in front of them.

"I do not question your decisions, your royal majesty Prince William of Sylve."

"Tell me what you think about it, Sir Venlan", William countered calmly, but the swordmaster did not answer immediately. He seemed to be seriously considering whether it was a good idea to go against his superior.

"Prince William, I will follow your decision..."

"Julius", the young prince interrupted him before he could talk his way out. "How long have we known each other now?"

"I've known you since you were born."

"And how long have you worked for my father?"

"Twenty-five years, Prince William", the swordmaster huffed. Even the soldiers began to distance themselves from them a little, as if they were worried that a big fight was about to happen. They all knew that Sir Venlan was one of the advisors who had opposed William's decision to leave the palace. Even Duke of Freigoud was not too pleased with this idea, but he was not nearly as stubborn as Sir Venlan. Until the end, Julius Venlan, who was unofficially referred to as the king's left hand, had spoken out against it.

"Then what are you afraid of? Just because you speak your own mind does not mean you would lose your position at my father's side. You are far too valuable to him for that, you should be aware of that. Only, why did you reveal your opinion two years ago, but not now?"

"Prince Wi..."

"Please just call me William."

"I would never dare, Prince William", Sir Venlan threw back bluntly. Visibly irritated as to what was currently the problem, Fengari switched her gaze back and forth between Sir Venlan and William. The prince sighed, noticing the cat's reaction, which made him smile, lift her off his shoulder and hold her in his arms.

"Do you want to know why Sir Venlan is acting this way towards me, Fengari?", he muttered to himself, but loud enough for everyone present to hear him. Fengari replied with a meow before wondering if the prince had gone mad. Just because the apostle had told him that she would understand him didn't mean he had to talk to her in front of everyone.

"Because I didn't listen to him, not as a child and not even when I was 19, when I wanted to leave the palace. He was my teacher back then, before he became the king's second advisor, you must know. Sir Venlan always had trouble getting me to study all these years. At that time I had no interest in it and really just wanted to have my peace, so I treated him pretty badly, yelled at him a lot, and took advantage of my position as prince", William explained calmly. For a brief moment, Fengari could perceive a reaction in the form of a shocked shrug from Sir Venlan, but the people around them didn't seem to have realized it. "And the day it came up for debate that I could only leave the palace if accompanied, it was Sir Venlan who was supposed to travel with me. However, I was very insistent that I preferred any other person to Sir Venlan. If I remember correctly, my own words were that I hated Sir Venlan and did not want to spend another minute in his presence."

The four soldiers and even Ben were now obviously distancing themselves from the two men. Everyone knew how the prince felt about Julius Venlan. Hatred toward the king's left hand had been unknown to anyone in the palace, and everyone knew their history. The fact that Sir Venlan was a rather dry and neutral thinking personality had not helped him much, because people started not to see him, as a suitable teacher for Prince William, although he already taught the 1st and 2nd Prince.

"I was pretty stupid, you know, Fengari. I've known this man before us all my life and never realized I was the problem in our relationship", William formulated in an incredibly calm voice and stopped, which is why the rest of the group did the same. "All these years I didn't like him and it was only because he was trying to do his job right. I lied to him, yelled at him when I didn't like something, and threw him to the dogs, and all that even though I knew that this man didn't deserve such treatment from me. You know, Fengari, I often watched Sir Venlan desperately trying to stay calm and always coming up with new methods to keep me interested. Even when he had stayed behind alone in the library, spending hours reading books just to keep me quiet for a few minutes, I watched him. But he doesn't know that."

Sir Venlan had now also come to a halt and turned backwards. His expression was unchanged, but Fengari guessed that inwardly he was thinking his own part on the subject.

"It was not his fault. Sir Venlan didn't know how hard it was for me to be locked up in this palace. While all the people around me were allowed to leave the walls at any time, I was trapped for years. When Marion came to me at that time with the suggestion that I could live as an Anuxer for a few years, it was like a ray of hope for me. But when Sir Venlan suddenly said that he would accompany me, it was as if the gods wanted to punish me. In the heat of the moment, I threw things at him that I never meant. I did bad things to a man who only wanted the best for me that he never deserved."

William paused for a moment and wordlessly returned the gaze of the man before him. The two years away from the palace made him realize what he had never realized in 19 years of his life. One of the things was his relationship with his brothers Edward and Marion, the other was his behavior toward Julius. If he hadn't had that conversation with Aaron at the time, who knows if William would have ever understood how his old teacher had felt.

"I'm really sorry, Julius", William finally lifted and bowed to the swordmaster, who took a step backward in surprise. "I know that my words cannot make the last years unseen. Still, I wish that one day you can forgive me for my foolishness and unreasonableness. I realize by now how lucky I had actually been to have you in my life, Julius Venlan. I can't help but admire you guys. I really am terribly sorry."