The Flower of Separation

He has not known Lillian for very long. Even though he spent so many years by her side, there were many things he needed to learn. But from what he did know of her, he knew what she did there was uncommon. Three whole weeks was the longest she spent out of the city. Normally she would not spend that long away unless it is for war, so he knew something was off.

'But I decided to wait for her, even when I heard those rumors. I waited.'

"I understand." Orion looked away and shame-filled his features. "When she sent that letter, I thought this was my chance to make amends."

"So that is why you accepted?"

"There is the reasons I gave her too.. The current Empire's corruption is very dangerous. At this stage, a world where there is nothing but bloodshed on the treats will come about. A world where it is not safe to walk outside. I cannot allow that to happen."

"What Lillian wants, you realize it isn't exactly peace?"

Orion nodded. "I am aware, but even then, I will take the risk of following her; it is all or nothing. This is the best possible path to walk on."

Lucas paused for a moment when he heard that last line. Now that he thought about it, that ginger-haired woman who clings to Lillian. What was her name Jorah? That one said something similar before.

At the memory of the woman, he turned to look at Orion. He thought there was something familiar about this man, but he resembles that woman a lot.

"Do you have a sister?" Lucas was not the type of person to dwell on his thoughts. If he had a question, the best solution was just to say it outright.

"I did."

Past tense?

"No," Orion shook his head. "I have, but right now, we are living apart from each other. Not just right now, but I want that to be the case in the future too."

"Huh, you dislike her?"

"Not at all; she is very dear to me."

Then what is all that about? Lucas was about to ask that question when they heard the sound of a large roar in the eastern side of the forest.

Lucas closed his eyes for a moment and focused on the sound. He blinked once he saw the images that flashed through his head.

"Sir Lucas?"

"No need to worry; it's just wanderer."

"Do you mean-"

Lucas nodded. "Quite some time has passed since I last saw one. Somebody brave enough to cross from another dimension."

Although there are mere rumors about the world outside the Empire, he held more knowledge like a magician who has lived for a long time. Other dimensions exist; a world away from all of this lies beyond. But to break that wall, one must have a considerable amount of magic. Or no longer have a human form.

It seems this case is the latter. Lucas saw in his vision just now Lillian approaching the figure.

"Lillian is here too?"

Orion nodded. "She went to the Empress."

Of course, she would; in this situation, it would make sense. Then he supposes he ought to leave that mysterious guest in her hands. If he handled it, then that poor creature would not last a second.

'I would just take whatever mana they have and leave them to die. But Lillian will make use of it, I am sure.'

"By the way, sir Lucas, I apologize if this is direct of me but are miss Lillian and you truly lovers like the rumors say?"

If he is going to apologize for being too direct, do not say it at all! Lucas only sighed when he saw the curious look on Orion's face. It resembled the one the Empress had when she asked about it. Why do people get so worked up when it comes to these topics? Maybe he should ask Lillian to stop that rumor, but then her father would get on her case about marriage.

Lucas isn't all too worried about Lillian marrying. After all, if her plans succeed, then the Empire will undergo a strong reform. A marriage alliance with another family will be the last thing on her mind. She won't have her father around to decide anymore since she envisions that man will be the first to die in the future.

'Even if she did get married, nothing will change between them. I will remain by her side.'

At the very least, that is what Lillian said to him. People change when they marry, and while Lillian is not the typical woman, Lucas wondered. Would it be the same for her? Would she fall for her partner and become a mindless puppet?

Lucas sighed deeply. There is no use thinking such things now; besides, he should give a satisfying response to this clueless fool.

__

After she made sure that the Empress had gone to sleep, Lillian found herself wandering around the forest. She left Ramon behind to watch over the Empress. It is careless to sleep during these games.

One could easily attack the other person in their sleep. They would never see the light of day again and be dead by sunrise. So most people did not sleep; they would use their magic for this purpose. But doing that uses a lot of mana. If a person is not skilled in that field, there is a chance of them using up all their mana.

Still, even if Ramon was not there, she would be fine. Lillian saw it, the Empress familiar. 'Blue butterflies, huh? How ironic. I have deadly red flowers as my familiar, and she has butterflies.'

Both familiars normally would be used to signify peace, but Lillian sensed something ominous about the butterflies.

The reason for this walk? It was difficult for her to fall asleep after she saw the Empress's reaction to her questions. That woman still has no memories of what happened. It was a gamble asking her, but perhaps she expected too much.

'Brother, where are you? I do not believe you are dead; nobody has found your body.'

But there was always the high chance that his body turned into ashes from overusing his magic. That is a side effect for those with the flame ability. According to Lucas, while she is not immune to it, she has far too much mana, so it would not kill her even if she used her flames a lot,.

'There are more chances for you to die with those crazy experiments.'

Lillian chuckled when she recalled Lucas' expression. That person is truly amusing; no matter what she does, he remains by her side. He may reprimand her, but he would still treat her with kind- her thoughts broke off hearing a large roar and a shadow that loomed over her.

She turned around and saw a large dragon flying, no she saw lightning sparks on it's right-wing. It came crashing down a few feet away from where she was.

A dragon in this forest? With the ageha family barrier, it should be impossible for anything that large to get in without alerting her father and brother.

Unless-- an idea came to mind, and Lillian walked towards the direction of the crash. The damage caused by a single dragon falling down normally would be large, but she only saw minor destruction when Lillian got closer.

Perhaps it truly is what she thinks. She got closer and closer until she saw it, in the center of the broken ground. There was a man huddled up in rags. Lillian could not miss how the scales gradually vanished from the man's body.

Her lips curve to a smile. To meet a wanderer here of all places, is this a blessing or a fortune?