CHAPTER 48: 45: ROWAN LE VANE [3]

"Are you done yet?"

"I said stay put" Aria said flatly.

"But-"

"No buts, stay put." She said, her voice final.

Rowan stared at her, trying his best to not squirm or let his eyes tear up.

"It still hurts a lot when you do it."

"Its better than drying up into a raisin."

Knowing that he wasn’t going to win this exchange, he just let out a quiet sigh and waited for Aria to finish.

It took her a long while , which in the meantime, Calen and Selene were tending to Edward.

Rowan studied them, mostly interested in Edward more than anything else.

Calen was helping him take off the unnecessary layers of clothes now that they were not at the party anymore. It must have been irritating Edward a lot, and considering who the boy was, he dressed up way more flamboyantly than any man ever would. So it must have been quite the relief for him to be out of it. Selene, meanwhile, was holding his hand, and Rowan could see a string of mana extending out of her hand, prying into Edward, steadying his mana.

Edward probably couldn’t sense it, Rowan decided.

Edward had a flustered expression as he was forced to stay put by the both of them, flinching slightly whenever Calen touched him too hard while removing the extra layers.

Rowan found himself smiling for some reason.

Huh?

Snapping back into his sense, he shook his head as he thought about what that boy had done.

Rowan was a little surprised, really.

He had never know that the Myrvale had another mage.

In his opinion, Elias Rowan Aldric, that monster was already enough of a powerhouse.

A shudder ran down his spine when he remembered the last time they had met.

And now that he thought about it, the Myrvale also had one of the strongest armies in the entire kingdom, having two sword masters.

And now they had groomed another mage into existence.

They’re growing too powerful...

He shook his head again, which elicited a remark from Aria to stay put.

What am I even thinking.

"I think I’m starting to sound like father."

"What?" Aria shot him a look, her expression puzzled.

"Oh nothing."

He decided to not be concerned about it, at least for now. More power was always welcome. In-fact, the more the better now since the order had decided to move again.

He had bigger things to worry about.

For instance,

"We’re too close to the forbidden grove." He spoke quietly, making sure that only Aria heard him.

She didn’t look up at him, and replied in a rather unconcerned tone.

"We’ll move once you and Edward recover."

He stayed silent for a moment, letting Aria work on the seal as he seemed to be deep in thought.

"You know how dangerous this place is right?"

He recalled the hoard of gravemites that had just chased them through the length of the forest. Which they only survived because Rowan had decided to gamble with his life.

Aria finally looked up at him, meeting him eye to eye. Rowan found himself leaning a little back, slightly scared at the eery, but beautiful look in Aria’s bright blue eyes.

"That guard over there is a capable man, you saw it yourself. Selene Verdigris is hailed as a genius mage, even among court standards. And most importantly of all, I’m here." She paused, taking a deep breath.

"Just focus on resting for now, we’ll think about this mess later."

Rowan knew that Aria was right, and what she said made sense.

Still, he couldn’t shake off the foreboding that he had felt ever since he started fighting the gravemites.

"Those gravemites..."

Aria finally let go of his hand, and the pain in Rowan’s chest finally faded out as she stopped tampering with the seal.

She scooted a little back, and looked at him.

"What about it?"

Rowan gulped...

"You saw it yourself didn’t you? They never act like that, even if its from the forbidden grove, for them to act like that..." He stopped mid-sentence when Aria brought up a finger to her lips, indicating to stay silent.

She turned around, looking at Calen who was approaching.

"Is Edward doing okay?"

Calen nodded.

"Lady Selene is tending to the young master now, he has no injuries, just a little exhausted of mana."

Aria nodded along, then looked back at Rowan.

"We’ll discuss that later." Rowan gave her an understanding nod.

Unfortunately, Calen interrupted their super secret attempt at trying to not make everyone panic.

"Is this about the gravemites?"

Aria sighed.

"What is a Knight Captain from the central region supposed to know about gravemites."

Calen raised his eyebrows.

"That they’re not supposed to attack in packs."

Rowan just looked at him.

He had known it sense earlier, but the man was capable.

It was something to be expected from a Myrvale knight, yes. But even his swordsmanship, Rowan was sure that with just a little more refinement, he’d reach the realm of a sword master in no time.

Which was a terrifying thought really, because the man in-front, even though his harsh appearance, didn’t look any older than twenty.

Sword masters have to train decades to reach such a realm, so most of them, apart from a few geniuses that appeared once in a generation, was old enough to have grandchildren.

"All right, sit down, we’ll discuss on what we will do from here on out."

Calen hesitated, but then just bowed to him.

"Whatever the situation may be, I’m still in the presence of Royalty and the most meritorious subject. I will hope to provide whatever guidance I can to your highnesses while remaining respectful."

None of them spoke for a moment, then, Aria dropped the bomb. Making sure to speak quietly enough so that no one else heard them.

"Drop the act or I will tell him about the little crush you have."

Calen flinched.

"I don’t know what you are implying, Your highness."

Rowan, meanwhile, just stared at Calen, understanding the meaning behind her word.

He burst out into laughter.

"Would you look at that..." He barely managed to burst out between heaving breaths.

Aria chuckled with him too, finishing his sentence.

"...We have competition."