They Have Come

Lucian suddenly realized something.

His eyes widened slightly, gazing at Aurora who sat beside him with such composure.

"You… are Princess Victoria?"

His voice was low, laced with unmistakable surprise.

Aurora only glanced at him briefly, neither denying nor confirming—as if her status was insignificant in her eyes.

Lucian shifted his gaze to the garden in front of him. He stood slowly, stretching his body, still feeling stiff and heavy.

But as he shifted, a folded piece of paper fell from under his clothes, fluttering softly before resting on the grass. Aurora immediately saw it.

"Hey… something fell from you."

Lucian turned. His eyes followed the direction of Aurora's finger pointing at the letter.

He knelt and picked it up.

His fingers touched the slightly crumpled piece of paper, then he opened and read its contents.

Lucian read slowly. His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered something.

Then he simply nodded slowly. He said nothing.

Aurora watched him for a moment—trying to read the expression on his face.

But Lucian stayed calm.

Eyes narrowed, lost in thought—slowly fitting together the puzzle pieces that pointed him toward a truth just beyond reach.

Lucian fell silent for a moment, but then he was jolted by a fleeting memory—the torn piece of paper he had folded and hidden in the secret pocket of his robe.

Slowly, he turned to Aurora, who sat quietly, bathed in soft light that made her seem almost ethereal.

Lucian smiled faintly.

"I need your help, may I?"

The voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"Something's in my robe… but I don't know where it was taken. Would you be willing to help me find it?"

Aurora sighed softly, then nodded without saying much. She stood, and together with Lucian, they left the quiet garden.

They walked through the palace corridors until they reached the main gate where a soldier stood guard. Lucian recognized his face—he was one of those who had captured him.

Seeing Aurora, the soldier immediately saluted.

"May I help you, Miss Aurora?" he said, his hand touching his chest in a gesture of respect.

Aurora immediately pointed to Lucian.

"You're the one who captured Naseki, aren't you? Do you know where his robe is stored?"

The soldier seemed to think for a moment, then nodded and invited them to follow him. He led them to a storage room next to the royal hall—a large room filled with tall shelves and long cloth hangers, where various objects were neatly stored.

There, among the worn robes and strange objects adorning the room, Lucian's robe hung silently.

Upon seeing it, Lucian immediately strode forward and grabbed it. Without hesitation, he turned it inside out, feeling around the folds of fabric near the buttons. There—hidden in a small pocket that only he and Nathan knew about—he found a thin fold of paper.

Unbeknownst to Aurora, Lucian secretly checked the contents of his robe.

Walking behind her, he carefully opened the inside of the fabric, his fingers tracing the folds near the buttons—towards the secret pocket that only he and Nathan knew existed.

His heart beat a little faster as he felt something there.

A folded piece of paper.

He pulled it out slowly, making sure Aurora didn't see. At a glance, he was checking the writing to make sure.

Lucian didn't utter a word.

He put it back into the robe pocket—his expression beginning to change.

He seemed to be starting to formulate a plan.

Without saying a word, he turned and left the room with quick steps.

Aurora, still standing behind him, stared at Lucian's back in confusion.

"...Hey… wait. What did you find?" she asked softly.

But Lucian only smiled.

Something within him had been stirred.

Something that led him… to the next step.

Aurora sighed, then quickened her pace until she was level with Lucian.

With narrowed eyes and a flat tone, she asked,

"So… this worn-out robe is what you were actually looking for?"

Her hand pointed to the small crystal hanging beneath the robe's collar.

Lucian looked slightly sideways, then replied softly,

"Yes… this is what I was looking for."

But his words held a lie.

Aurora just stared at him without saying anything, but the glint in her eyes spoke volumes.

She wasn't the type to be easily fooled—and Lucian knew it.

Although their steps didn't stop, the atmosphere between them tightened.

Aurora drew closer, her voice sharper this time,

"You're lying to me, aren't you?"

Lucian suppressed a small smile.

Aurora's gaze—full of curiosity, thirsty for honesty—made it difficult for him to maintain the lie.

Finally, he relented.

Slowly, he slipped his right hand into the hidden pocket inside his robe.

He pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper.

His breath hitched, as if there was weight in every movement.

Without a word, he handed the paper to Aurora.

Aurora received it without hesitation. Her eyes immediately scanned the lines of writing on it.

But when she realized who the writer was… her eyes widened.

Her face changed.

She turned quickly, staring sharply at Lucian.

Lucian chuckled nervously.

"Hehe… so, yeah. That's what I was actually looking for."

Aurora still stared at him in disbelief. "This… is this really what you were looking for?"

Lucian nodded quickly. "Yes, yes. This is it."

But unbeknownst to Aurora, Lucian had prepared a plan.

As he walked towards the room where his robe was stored, he silently chanted a spell—a soundless wind magic, almost undetectable. The wind moved quickly, slipping into his secret pocket and taking out a piece of paper.

Lucian whispered softly:

"Nerro Arnaca nama Scarty."

The spell activated the automatic writing magic—an ancient magic that allowed the user to write with incredible speed and almost perfect accuracy. The writing that appeared could be manipulated at the user's will, making the created letter feel real, urgent, or even emotional.

The wind slipped back, inserting the paper into Lucian's robe pocket as if it had never left.

Lucian sighed, bracing himself for the next question.

But Aurora's sharp voice startled him.

"Hey! Why didn't you answer my question earlier?"

Her annoyed tone was clear. She looked at Lucian with an impatient expression.

Lucian scratched his head, then looked around confused.

"Which question, now?"

Aurora snorted in annoyance.

"This scrap… you took it from one of the books in Narami, didn't you?"

Lucian's gaze fell to his feet.

Slowly he nodded.

"Yes… But when I was there, I wasn't alone."

Aurora fell silent.

Lucian began to explain. That he came to Narami with a mysterious woman—someone he trusted. They made a deal to search for something together.

However, in the midst of the search…

The woman betrayed him.

She attacked him from behind using wind magic. The attack was quick, silent, and unexpected.

Lucian's head hit hard. He fell.

And before he could escape or fight back… the soldiers came. Finding him unconscious.

That was the beginning of it all.

He was imprisoned. Accused of infiltration and theft.

Aurora listened to all this in silence.

There was a strange feeling in her heart—a mixture of sympathy and annoyance.

Annoyance, because Lucian hadn't told her earlier.

But also… she was touched.

She took a deep breath.

"Why didn't you say so from the beginning?"

Lucian looked at her.

"Because I didn't know… that you were a princess."

The answer was simple. But it was enough to silence Aurora.

She understood. Lucian's world was not the same as the world she lived in.

Their conversation slowly subsided.

The sky above began to show a bright glow. The clouds moved slowly, framing the warm sunlight.

A cool breeze swept through the garden.

Touching their faces…

And making Lucian's worn robe flutter gently, dancing in the wind.

They walked slowly towards the exit gate of the kingdom.

The sky began to fade, the orange hues of twilight creeping between the palace walls. The atmosphere felt quiet, as if holding back something unfinished between them.

Upon reaching the gate, Lucian stopped. He turned, looking at Aurora silently for a moment.

Then he said softly, but sincerely:

"Thank you… for everything."

Aurora was silent.

Her expression was slightly surprised, as if she didn't expect to hear those words.

Then she tried to cover her surprise with a slight smile and light words:

"Don't look so serious… It was just a coincidence that I helped, that's all."

Lucian smiled faintly, saying nothing more.

He walked away, leaving Aurora behind the gate that was slowly closing.

Aurora looked at his back for a moment… then turned and walked towards her own secret place, deep within the palace grounds.

The two figures, now walking away, turned their backs on each other.

Two paths, two destinations… but something was not quite finished between them.

But just a few steps…

BOOM..

The earth shook violently.

A tremor rippled through the ground as the air let out a piercing shriek.

The sound shattered the silence as if shaking the entire kingdom.

Lucian and Aurora stopped abruptly.

Their eyes were directed to the sky—where thick black smoke began to billow, forming a large cloud that slowly rotated in the air.

Faint red and purple hues enveloped the smoke, as if something unusual was rising from within.

Their gazes met—though from a distance.

Their hearts beat rapidly.

Danger…

And a new mystery…

Had arrived.