“Finan. What a surprise,” Yuriko said flatly when the prince entered the Knight’s Council chamber along with his entourage.

The young man answered her with a small smile.

“Yuriko.” He looked at the rest of the Knights. “Knights of Faron’s Crossing, good afternoon”

Yuriko glanced over Finan’s entourage, finding Swordmaster Kinohara there, as well as a stocky man who she presumed to be his chief bodyguard and three other bodyguards. They were all men, were quite muscular and had the same impassive expressions.

Towards the back were Finan’s friends. The stocky Draknon, the slender and tiny Aerda. And behind them…

Yuriko blinked in disbelief, “Orrin and Braden?”

The twins were grinning at her and waving, but carefully kept behind the others, signifying that they were part of Finan’s entourage. In the meantime…

“Greetings, your Highness.” Tara Andersen rose and gave a curtsy to Finan.

Through her perceptive aura, Yuriko saw her brother’s eyes twitching, and she noted the look of surprise on Alderman Rivos’ face. Elder Ramus was nonplussed, and the other elderly Knights looked mildly surprised. As for Centurion Veran Jake and Sheamus Dorn, their jaws had fallen to their chests.

Finan returned Tara’s curtsy with a nod then waved casually. “Please, I am not this plane’s Premier. I’m merely passing through and got caught up in the circumstances.”

Tara’s eyes narrowed, and her eyes darted to Yuriko’s back. But she nodded and said, “You are welcome, of course, and we would be honoured to host you and your entourage in our humble town.” She gestured towards the long table, then, noticing that there were no empty seats, signalled to an attendant to bring a new set.

A few minutes later, Finan, Aerda, Draknon, and Swordmaster Kinohara were seated.

“What brings you here today, your Highness?” Tara asked.

Finan’s eyes darted to Yuriko. She leaned back against her chair and sighed.

“My people sheltered in the Watchtower the past weeks. There is a Wyldling Wave occurring there, but the fortifications were robust enough that there is little chance of a breach. However, I decided that this town probably needed reinforcements and from what we saw aboard the Implacable Jade, I was not mistaken. Please, tell me of what has happened so far.”

They spent the next hour discussing the situation. The map table showed them the enemy’s placements. Veran Jake brought up the unusual number of Chaos Lords and Swordmaster Kinohara piped up.

“Two hundred barons? Here? That’s…well, clearly it isn’t impossible, but incredibly unusual.”

“We’ve thought so too. Knight Davar held them off and has unique insights on them.”

“They’re not regular Chaos Barons. I’ve fought enough of them to be certain. These ones, according to my friend, Desire, are unnamed. They also do not hold as much Chaos within them as normal, and my artefact can only drain a little of that Chaos.”

“Unnamed.” Swordmaster Kinohara hummed as she tapped her lips. “Oh, I’m not a scholar, so I can’t tell you what that means. But they’re weaker, you say? But they managed to stay here inside the plane for an extended time? The fact that they’ve come from the south, possibly through the Coalition’s Chaos Channel…”

Veran coughed. “The local group is called the Federation of the City-States of Rumiga.”

“Coalition forces?”

“Unlikely. Maybe by one of their constituent nations.”

“They overreach here,” Kinohara frowned, “and they’ve allied with the Chaos Courts. About half of the Coalition members find nothing wrong with that, but which nation is behind this?”

“Does it matter?” Yuriko asked.

Kinohara looked at her and smiled. “I guess not, Yuriko.”

“We will aid in the town’s protection,” Finan declared. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you,” Yuriko answered, though she kept her voice even and her face impassive. It’s been several weeks since she last saw him, and she wondered why it took him this long to come back. What was he planning? Hmmm.

The rest of the meeting filled in more of the details, but Yuriko didn’t bother listening. Instead, she was rather aware that Finan, and the twins, had been glancing her way more often than not. Not that she minded, but the twins…were showing signs of Aspiration.

Since the others weren’t talking about anything new, or interesting, Yuriko closed her eyes and envisioned herself into the dreamscape. In the past, before she severed Heron’s chains, she needed to activate her Facet to enter the dreamscape. Now, her Mien also gave her the key to see into it. She couldn’t detach her Anima and act in the dreamscape yet which was what happened during the True Refraction. However, with her Mien, she could peek into it, and perceive within her Anima reach.

Sure enough, thick chains entangled the twins, but oddly, not Finan. There was a thread, but it wasn’t that much different from the normal thin threads that connected her with everyone else. Her threads towards her brother were the thickest, although the ones connecting her to Saki looked almost like chains.

Instead, what diverted her attention was a strange figure that surrounded the prince. It looked almost like a suit of armour, except he wasn’t wearing it so much as it was superimposed over his dreamscape projection. Even stranger, the armour seemed to act independently of the boy. There were purple orbs glowing behind the visor and they shifted to look at her gaze.

Yuriko met it and they stared at each other for a long moment before it seemed to shrug and returned its attention to the surroundings.

So. Finan wasn’t charmed by her Mien. That was good, wasn’t it? Yuriko hummed to herself and thought, ‘So he chooses to court me because he wants to and not because I’m a Mishala?’ Curious, and somewhat refreshing.

Ah, but that wasn’t what she envisioned the dreamscape for!

She pulled at the chains that bound the twins to her. Lightning, red and black, crackled along the links and gave her slight shock when she touched it. Still, it needed to be done. They were her friends and she didn’t want them to be forced to like her or cater to her.

She pulled the chains taut, and then cut them, using her Will and Anima to do so. The chains broke and shattered.

The next moment, lightning connected the three of them, and before she could blink, the chains reformed.

‘Eh? That isn’t right.’ she muttered to herself.

The chains didn’t come from her end, they came from the twins. But, they shouldn’t bind themselves to her. She broke the chains again and again until the lightning faltered and failed.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the confusion in theirs. They looked a bit dazed, actually, and the Aspiration was gone. She would have to talk to them later, clear things up. And hopefully, they wouldn't bind to her again.

The rest of the meeting passed with minutes feeling like hours. They made plans. Assault plans, logistics, defences, and all sorts that she didn’t have the patience to contribute to. Just give her the target and when the assault would take place. She could probably insist that they do it as quickly as possible, as those Chaos barons really bothered her and she’d like to get to the bottom of that mystery.

In the end, all of the pertinent intelligence was ready and the targets were all identified. Yuriko debated with herself whether she wanted to go for the bunkers or for the main camp. Zagara of the Manifold Blades was probably in the main camp and if she wanted another battle with her, she’d have to go there right?

“Knight Davar, upon which front will you engage?” Tara Andersen asked.

“Hmm, oh. I’m thinking along the main camp.”

“Alright. Which main camp?” She pointed at several sites hidden behind hills and groves down south.

“I’m not sure,” Yuriko muttered, she pointed at the bigger-looking one. “That one, I guess.”

“Very good,” Tara said. “Your Highness, we thank you for your support. With you and your Praetorians holding the fort here, we can send our elites to flush them out.”

“It’s no matter, but…” Finan turned to Swordmaster Kinohara. “Do you mind accompanying Yuriko?”

“Hmm, I will observe.” Demina Kinohara said, winking at Yuriko.

“Hmmm. Fine.” Yuriko nodded. “Tonight?” She added hopefully.

“Too dark with the rains,” Tara answered. “Tomorrow or overmorrow. I’ll let you know tonight.”

“Alright. I’ll bring Maru back home then.”

“Hey!” Marron protested.

Yuriko giggled. “Niamh will scold me otherwise.”

“Hmph!” Marron grunted as Yuriko helped him to his feet, discretely with her kinesis rather than by holding on to him. Big brother had his pride after all.

She noticed Finan’s, and the twins’, gaze on her back as she walked out of the room, but neither of them followed. She half expected them to, actually, and she wanted to know how Braden and Orrin managed to find their way here. And with Finan, too.

Once the two of them were on the street, Marron said in a low voice, “So, that’s your fiance.”

Yuriko shrugged. “I’m not going to marry him.”

“His eyes were quite sticky.”

“Yup. I know.” Yuriko sighed. “He wasn’t affected by my Mien though. I didn’t check before.”

“So why check now?”

“Twins.”

“Ah, them.” Marron snickered. “They haven’t changed.”

Yuriko nodded. They hadn’t, at all. They were still shorter than she was, though maybe they’d grown by a couple of inches. Still the same baby fat on their cheeks and the same tousled blonde hair. Pinchable cheeks. Ehehe.

As she somewhat expected, almost right after they arrived home, someone knocked on their door. She answered and perceived the twins outside.

She opened it and gave them a smile, then reached out and pulled them into a warm hug.

“Ooh! It’s so good to see the two of you! I heard you were in Cierra when it fell! That wasn’t true?”

“Ahem, er,” Braden chuckled. “No, it was. We…escaped.”

Yuriko invited them inside and they settled in the living room. She watched their eyes and noticed the Aspiration signs had disappeared. She didn’t go back to the dreamscape to check.

“Our house, our family…” Orrin began, his voice catching in his throat. “Um… my uncle. He betrayed the empire.”

“Huh? Why?” Yuriko cried out.

“We don’t really know the deeper reasons why,” Braden answered slowly, “but he said he needed to break his oaths. Otherwise, he would never be free. We would never be free.”

Yuriko’s eyes narrowed. “He removed his Heritage?”

“We believe so.” Braden said. “It’s unbelievable.”

“I see.” Yuriko tapped her chin. “It’s not that unusual. I did the same.”

Both of their eyes widened. “You did?”

“It’s not a big deal.” Yuriko sighed. “I had to do it to survive.”

“The barbarians?” Orrin asked anxiously.

“No, not them.” Yuriko regaled them of her adventures, though didn’t go into too much detail. By the end of it, both boys were sitting on the edge of the sofa.

“Wow. So exciting!” Both chuckled. “Thank the Ancestors for your Mum and the fact that you’ve returned safely.”

“Hmm. Yeah.” Yuriko leaned back on her armchair. “Um, why are you two with Finan, then?”

“Oh. After we escaped from Cierra, we stayed in the Watchtower. We brought invaluable intelligence, and the Vice-Commander debriefed us. He said we should stay there for safety.” Braden muttered. “There was a Wyldling Wave ongoing, and then they found hidden elements of the Federation Army surrounding the countryside. His Highness and his ship were staying there too, and…” He paused. “Well, he invited us to tea one afternoon and we got to talking. I guess he saw something in us so he asked if we could join his team.”

Yuriko raised a questioning eyebrow. “What is he building one for?”

The twins gave her a sidelong look.

“You don't know? Oh, I suppose that makes sense. In Aneurin, the details of the Imperial family’s protocols were taught,” Braden said. “He’s getting ready in case the Empress bestows a rulership on him. One cannot govern alone, so he’s creating a trustworthy core to build his government around.”

“He’ll rule over a plane?” Yuriko asked quietly, her heart suddenly pounding. It was what happened during her third incarnation, wasn’t it?

“That’s not yet decided. It depends on his actions,” Braden said. “This siege and the troubles between the Empire and the Federation would actually be a good place to prove himself.”

“Oh,” Yuriko mumbled. So he wasn’t here just for her. That was good.

Orrin cleared his throat and asked shyly. “How do you know him? He, uhm, he talked about you sometimes. Not to us, but we overheard him with his friends.”

“Oh. Hmm, well, technically he’s my fiance, but I ran off,” Yuriko said offhandedly. “Otherwise, I would have stayed in Realmheart.”

“He’s your…!”

Both of them gasped, then looked at each other. Braden's voice lowered to a whisper that she wouldn’t have heard if not for her perceptive aura and her Radiant Body Refinement.

“This changes things.”

“Does it? No, not really,” Orrin whispered back.

After that, they both coughed and changed the subject. Mostly, they chatted about their experiences after they got separated, but the conversation petered out after a quarter-hour.

“It was great to see you,” they said as Yuriko walked them out the door. She gave both of them another hug before they left.

All the while, she didn’t notice any recurrence of the Aspiration signs, but she still felt that her Mien had reached out and latched back onto them. She would have to check later.

A messenger crane flew into her hands before she could close the door, and when she opened it, it only contained the words:

“Tomorrow at dawn.”