Chapter 9: The secret Mission

Several months went by. The Sword Saint continued to teach Lucia's troop. Word spread that they were destined to be an elite troop. They progressed faster than other troops under the guidance of the Sword Saint. They worked on building their strength and control over their mana. Once they had passed the threshold of training, they were assigned to active duty. For students, this meant patrolling the city.

Lucia, meanwhile, had been making progress in her own investigation. She first became suspicious about the movement of troops to the southern provinces. In her past life, Ramelle had made the entry on the southern border. She hadn't had much time to read the reports before her arrest. From what she remembered, the conflict took place in an area called Veldeer. That happened to be the same place where the troops were being called. They were told that an excavation was taking place in Veldeer. But it didn't add up. Why send troops from the capital to a historical site. More than that, many of the troops did not return. Talk of ambushes and bandits was all she could get out of the senior knights. She needed an excuse to see the site herself.

The opportunity finally came when the Sword Saint had mandated a trip to the Fraxinus Great Wood. Initially, Lucia hadn't paid much attention to group training trips. They were an inconvenience if anything. She had to keep her guard up as it was already. A trip away would make that even more difficult. However, on this particular occasion, the site of the Fraxinus Great Wood ran parallel to the Veldeer site.

It was close enough to the Veldeer that a few night trips would go unnoticed. The problem was the logistics of the trip itself. In the knight's barracks, she could schedule quiet times to come and go to the baths. It had been hard at first but she had adapted.

Lucia wore a chest guard under her uniform. She had gone to great lengths to conceal her gender. It would be a lot more difficult to hide surrounded by knights for several days. Regardless of her trepidation, she knew this was her one opportunity. No one would suspect her because it was a school-assigned trip.

As Lucia, Michael and DB made their rounds the topic of the trip came up.

"Looks like this next trip isn't optional" Michael sighed, "I think the Sword Saint is going to kill me before the enemy even has the chance"

"We're lucky to be trained by him at all", DB dismissed.

"Yeah, real lucky. I haven't had a rest in months. Now another trip. Apparently, this one is going to be even more intensive", Michael grimaced, "What do you think, Luca?"

"It will be a good learning opportunity", Lucia answered flatly.

"Glad to hear you're taking it seriously", a voice came from behind.

Lucia turned to meet Keitel's ocean, blue eyes. She hadn't laid sight on him for some weeks. He had his own duties as Prince that excused him from patrol. Today, he was out of uniform. He wore royal attire. The fine white silks fluttered against his porcelain skin. As the light caught his eyes, Lucia realized she had been staring. She cleared her throat and gave her answer.

"Will you be attending, your Majesty?",

"I will. It will be interesting to work with you all again", he wore his usual impenetrable expression. He nodded to the others before taking his leave.

Lucia watched him go. It would be even more difficult with the Prince present. He clearly didn't trust her. He would keep a sharp eye for anything unusual.

As Keitel made his way to the palace, a sinking feeling came over him. He approached the throne room. The court was presiding. His father had instructed him to come. What's more, Laurence would be present.

When they were children Keitel and Laurence had gotten on well. Keitel had treasured his little brother, Laurence. It was only in recent years that the relationship had soured. The court was already beginning to take sides. Although Keitel still held the title of Crown Prince, there was talk.

The Emperor's criticism of Keitel had only worsened in recent years. It looked as though he would name a new successor. Half the court was already behind Laurence. The other half still believed Keitel was the best candidate.

Keitel proceeded down the throne room. The court of lords set their eyes on him. His father sat upon the throne. His eyes narrowed as Keitel approached. Keitel nodded as he passed his brother. Laurence made a lukewarm smile. His smile never quite reached his distant green eyes.

Keitel bowed before the Emperor. He noticed Valentus, the Sword Saint was also present. Keitel could guess the topic of the discussion. Ever since the demon door had been discovered, it had been all the talk of the court. The Royal mages had determined that the seal was still holding. The door wasn't likely to open anytime soon. The problem was the dark energy that seeped out of it. That was how it had first been discovered.

The dark energy attracted all kinds of monsters to Veldeer. Orge, goblin, and beast attacks had been on the rise. Monster attacks had been rare before. However, when the first door had opened, it released an army of beasts across the continent.

It had been thanks to the Sword Saint and Golden March the first door was sealed again. Unfortunately, a number of creatures had still escaped. A number had been culled over the years but they merely breed more. They had been exceedingly hard to drive out. No all that remained were circling the Demon door.

No one knew how the doors got there. Besides, the Empire had its focus elsewhere. The even greater problem for the Empire was protecting the door against other nations. The Empire dominated most of the continent. But their enemies were always waiting for an opportunity to bring their ruin. Having the chaos of the beasts running wild over the land would give other nations the opportunity to strike.

"We were discussing the upcoming trip", the Sword Saint explained to Keitel, " The knights need to know what we're up against".

"We need to maintain a presence at the site to protect our interests", the finance minister began, "We need those monsters culled. Otherwise, we'll be at a disadvantage"

"You have been overseeing the training, Valentus. Are your knights ready for this?" The Emperor enquired.

"Your Majesty, the knights need more time. They're still too inexperienced. I believe we need to send in our senior troops first", Valentus stepped forward.

"The whole point of you overseeing this troop was to shape them into another Golden March", the finance minister interjected.

"These things can't be rushed", Valentus argued.

"You said it yourself, Valentus, that this troop had potential", the Emperor added.

"My Father is right. My honorable brother will be present. What could go wrong?" Laurence concurred.

"I still don't think the Crown Prince should be out on the battlefield. We can't risk losing this country's heir apparent!" The Minister of foreign affairs interrupted. He detested the idea of sending the Prince away. No doubt it was a ploy for Laurence's side to make a move.

"What do you say, brother?" Laurence smiled provocatively.

Keitel was reluctant to give his opinion. He knew the Foreign minister was on his side. However, if he refused to go it would only make him look weak in the eyes of the court.

"If we expect our men to fight and die for this cause, we need to lead by example", Keitel stated, "however, Master is correct. The troops have only been preparing for a few months. It's too soon to send them".

The Emperor's fist clenched.

"YOU are their leader. Whatever fault there is lies with you. There's only so long we can keep this hidden! We can't trust this to just anyone", The Emperor growled.

The court erupted into a debate. The Emperor waved his hand angrily.

"Enough", He declared, "I have made my decision. My son will lead the troops to Veldeer and wipe out the infestation".

"Yes. Your Majesty", The court answered in unison.

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The day of the trip arrived. The troops were gathered on the outskirts of the city. The Sword Saint summoned the troop before dawn for a briefing. To the surprise of the knights, young women from the order of sisters were also present. Everyone looked to the Sword Saint to find out what was going on.

Although he looked as gruff as usual, The Sword Saint seemed especially wound up as they arrived. He stared them down.

"I wanted to talk to you all before we set off. Although this was announced as a training event, the truth is this troop is under instruction from the Emperor. We've been assigned a mission," he declared.

A dark shadow fell across the sword saint's face. The feeling amongst the knights became serious.

"We were ordered to keep this a secret till we left the capital to avoid suspicion. There has been a surge in monster activity in Veldeer. We've been assigned to wipe them out".

It was as Lucia had suspected. Something was seriously wrong in Veldeer. What could they be hiding? Another thing bothered her. If the true mission was to wipe out the monsters, why was the Prince accompanying? Whatever was in Veldeer must be important.

She glanced unconsciously toward the Prince. It was hard to tell with his characteristic blank expression but she sensed a foreboding in his manner. He was stiffer than usual. In the black Empire armor, he looked like a god of war. Whatever was awaiting them, His blue eyes were focused on the Sword Saint.

"This mission will test everything you have learned. The sisters are here as support and to heal the wounded. We cannot fail in our mission here", Keitel asserted.

"Now Move out!", the Sword Saint commanded.

The troops began to move out. They were carted off in carriages toward Veldeer. The trip was rainy. The skies were bleak and starless. The troops could feel every contour of the earth as the carriage lumbered across the trail. By the time, they finally stopped for rest, most were worn out. Once the tents were set up, they sat down for dinner.

Lucia huddled around the fire for warmth. The comfort of the capital had almost made her forget the realities of being a knight.

Keitel caught sight of Luca bundled up beside the fire. Despite all that was going on in the palace, for some reason he had found himself thinking about Luca. the closer he got, the smaller Luca seemed. Keitel examined Luca's slender fingers and blemishless skin. He had always thought he seemed small for a young man their age. He knew he ought to look away, yet he couldn't help but stare.

Luca's emerald eyes panned up to meet Keitel's gaze. He immediately averted his gaze. What was he doing? Ever since they first met, his curiosity had only grown. Maybe it was just a distraction from the reality of his situation. He couldn't say. Whatever the case, he couldn't be swayed now. They were about to enter a dangerous situation.

By dawn, the troops had risen. They set off on the remainder of the trip. The sun hid behind the clouds that morning. A pale mist rolled across the land as their journey brought them to the outskirts of Fraxinus Great Wood.