After days of walking, Ciel and Kou finally make it to an open field with multiple white tents in the field. As they continue walking towards the tents, they are ambushed.
Two men attack Ciel from behind while another one runs towards Kou.
Ciel, quickly grabs one of the men by the wrist and strikes his neck, targeting the specific mana flow in the anatomy to knock him out instantly. The other men grapples with Ciel but Ciel slams his elbow onto his face multiple times and throws him away.
At the same time, Kou is put in a awkward and tight position under the man's armpit.
"Wait! Wait! Don't attack!"
"State your business!"
"I'm the heir, dumbass! And that's the heir of Ogawagi!"
The man that Ciel threw away speaks. "So you're telling that you are the heir of Voldrald?"
"Yes, and I could behead you for attacking me."
"You think of your authority so highly. We were just doing our jobs, you can't punish us for it." The man lets go of Kou.
"But now that you do know who I am, you can be punished for further assault. And I promise you, I don't need my authority to kick your asses."
"What is your business here, Prince?" Another man approaches from the tents. The man is dressed unappropriately for such a hot weather, but he is dressed classy. White gloves, sunglasses, a red jacket and black shirt as well as black pants.
"...I bring the heir of Ogawagi with myself, I'm headed back to the center. I have to speak with my father."
"The Ogawagi heir? Do you have him under custody? We should be taking him instead."
"I'll bring him to my father myself, thank you. My request is that you would be so kind to give us a ride so I can get this kid to my father?"
They had no choice but to give the heir a ride. They wouldn't know that he had abandoned the clan ten years ago. After all, the people in the outposts were practically cut off from the world, they had no connection with either the clan or the outside the borders.
"Guess we'll give you a ride, huh."
As the man said, they took in Ciel and Kou. In the middle of the tents, there was a wooden one-story large building. They took them there, gave them a horse carriage and one man was in charge of giving Ciel and Kou the ride back to home. Now it was much easier to sleep on the wooden floors of the carriage, which was covered in grey carpets and had two pillows and one big blanket. The road to Voldrald was much more comfortable now...
A week, maybe a day or two shorter later, they had made it. The sudden stop after a week woke up both Ciel and Kou. As they hadn't stopped longer than ten minutes before, magically, the horses were able to carry the weight and run their fastest without needing to take breaks other than for water and food.
The carriage was confronted by two guards with rifles strapped to their chest and pistols resting on their hips.
The man riding the carriage spoke to one of the guards.
"I come from the twelfth outpost. I'm under strict orders to bring the heir back to the center, here."
"The heir? He was gone for ten years. Why would they suddenly want him back here?"
The other guard interrupted. "Maybe the old man knows his days are soon over and wants his son back so there's a secured heir for the throne. After all, people don't want his daughter as the head of the clan."
"That's bullshit. The Princess is much more capable and loyal to this clan than the boy ever was."
"Does it matter? People still don't want a female lead, bunch of old-heads, really."
The whip was growing bored and tired from the political talk. "Am I allowed to pass or not?"
"Sure, right after we do the security checks."
The guards quickly checked the carriage. One checked the horses and all around the vehicle, while the other checked the wagon. The vehicle was finally allowed to pass through, and they started riding into the center. After just likely half an hour, the horses stopped again and the man yelled to the back.
"We're here, Prince."
So they got out of the wagon. Kou yawned and stretched, freshly woken up. The sun was hitting both of them right in the face, quick reminder of the weather. Ciel, covered his eyes by placing his hand open into his forehead.
"Ah, nostalgia. How have I not missed this place, actually. It's changed a bit though..."
"Really? How was it when you were still here?"
"I've only faint memories. We wouldn't really leave the mansion, except for, with mom. She'd take us shopping every once in a while, show us around the clan. The yards were good enough for us though, so it's not all that tragic."
Mom, the word lingered on Kou's ears. Reminder that Ciel lost his mother as well. Now, Kou had lost his mother as well. She wasn't dead, sure. But he couldn't even speak to her even if he got back home... Regret settled in. But it was too late for that, they were here with a duty. They needed to let the clan head know of the alliance offer between the two large clans.
"Alright, off to the mansion now. You've said it's like one of the old Japanese mansions, right?"
"Nah, we gotta roam around even for just a little bit! Frostfins are great, probably the greatest back in Ogawagi. But now; I owe you the pleasure of giving you the taste of one of the best meals in here!"
"Ciel, do we really have time for that?"
"We've time for everything, baby!" Ciel grabs Kou by the wrist and starts running around the clan. First, they bought two sticks of meat. The lamb was grilled lightly then chopped and put on a stick.
"It sucks, because they don't give me the heir discount anymore."
"But the food is great, so it's worth the money? Also, what's this called anyway?"
"It's called lamb sticks."
They went around, tasting the Voldrald clan's best dishes, according to Ciel, for hours. When Kou was finally full and Ciel was tired of running around the clan, mindlessly, he led Kou to the mansion he was talking about. The mansion was massive, it had walls of stone separating it from the rest of the clan. It was guarded by two large men, who had spears in their hands and swords attached to their hips, obviously enchanted from the way they had glowing runes.
"We cannot let you pass through here, get lost."
"You should be the one getting lost, pal. I am the heir of the clan and I have brought the Ogawagi Heir along with myself."
"Yeah, and I'm the head of the clan. Get lost, kid."
The two guards mocked Ciel and Kou, chuckling to themselves. Ciel was ready to punch a hole in the man, but as soon as he moved, all of them heard a voice. It was a deep voice, yet it was obvious it came from a woman.
"Let them in." The voice said, it was familiar to Ciel. The guards were unwilling, they groaned in frustration but let them in anyway. After they were let in, they were met with the sight of a woman among the flowers and tall grass. Her hair was as green as the grass, eyes yellow as the sun. Ciel sighed, as he approached her.
"What a pleasant surprise, this is! My brother is back, after TEN YEARS." Her voice was filled to the brink with sarcasm.
"I know, right? You must be so happy to see me!"
"Stop playing around. Why are you back here? Came to get your rightful place in the throne?"
"We don't have a throne, sister."
"You know what I mean. And who's this kid you brought along, your boyfriend?"
"No, and he's nineteen. As far as I'm aware, it's not legal. And even if it was, it doesn't matter. He's the Ogawagi Heir."
Kou stepped forward, approached Ciel's sister, Aria, and took her hand in his.
"It is my pleasure to meet you... well..."
Aria quickly took her hand out of Kou's and replied. "Name's Aria."
"Aria! That's a beautiful name... My name is Kou."
"You still haven't answered my question, Ciel. Why are you back here?"
"I'm here to inform father about something very important. You should hear about this too, so tag along, would ya?"
"Ugh..." Aria sighed and rubbed her temples. She then started following them into the mansion. They stepped inside, the red carpet on the wooden floor greeting them. Ciel had a sense of familiarity in the house, commented. "This place hasn't changed a bit since I was gone, huh?" As they continued to move, Kou and Ciel sensed a presence. The presence was towering over the whole house. Ciel knew what it was, however, Kou was creeped out already.
As they continued to move deeper into the house, the presence disappeared. Then, it was back again. In the form of Ciel and Aria's father, Everard.
Everard, had a katana in his hand. The katana was sheathed and he held the hilt of his sword towards Ciel. He lifted Ciel's chin with it, his grey eyes cold but his expression unreadable.
"Welcome back, I must say, but why back here? I thought you hated me."
"Ah, anger fades. But mine hasn't faded yet, father. It's just waiting to be burned up."
"Is that a threat?"
Ciel smacked the hilt of the sword away from his face. "I come here with a visitor."
"I know. Taro's son. You're bold, bringing the enemy offspring here."
"Well, good news, father. They're not enemies anymore. They haven't been, for a long time anyway."
"That is your and their delusion. We were never allies."
"We are going to be now. Mr. Taro sent his son, Kou, here to symbolise an official alliance. He is serious about this."
"Why on earth...?"
"There's a war approaching, father. We need to be ready. And by 'we', I don't just mean our clan."
"So this is an opportunity to prepare for a war that no other clan is aware of, except for Kou's clan, to rise even higher above every other clan. Well done...-"
"No, father. The map is missing."
The final words sent shivers over the room, including Aria. Everard was doubtful, but deep down, knew his son wasn't lying.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?! You should be out looking for it!"
"Seriously? Are you blaming me, right now?"
His father sighed and walked past him. Aria, stared at Ciel.
"When you say that, you mean it, right? You're certain?" Aria asked Ciel, which Ciel quietly just nodded, confirming. Kou was still confused and pretty annoyed that everyone in the room knew, except for him.
"Then you two need to move. And move fast."
"You're just kicking us out?"
"Ciel, this is not a joke. Stop playing around."
"I know, sis. But I'm not leaving today. There's still a lot to do in here before getting back to it out there."
"Like what?"
"Firstly, claim the rightful place on my throne. Secondly, I'll make it official that Ogawagi and Voldrald are in alliance."
"You've got to be kidding me. You think I'll let them make you the future head of the clan?"
"Well, it's obvious what the clan wants."
Ciel, slightly mocked his older sister as he began to walk out of the mansion as well. Kou followed behind, his eyes catching glimpses of Aria's fury in her eyes, so he got quicker in his steps.