CHAPTER 49: 46: ROWAN LE VANE. [4]

Calen had reluctantly, totally by not being forced into it, had agreed to drop the rigid formality in front of the both of them.

Honestly, both Aria and Rowan were sick of being treated like untouchable deities at all times, so whenever they got a chance like this, they made absolutely sure to act on it. There was something strangely refreshing about just being... people. Not heirs. Not symbols. Just three exhausted idiots sitting in the aftermath of chaos, picking on each other to cope.

And It was just too fun not to team up on someone.

Rowan wiped away the tears forming in his eyes as his chuckles subdued, looking at Calen who was now seated next to them.

"Are we being real?"

He discreetly pointed at Edward, making sure only Calen could see him.

"Him?"

All he had to do was mouth the words to make Calen shrink into his own body, who let out a sigh and rubbed his face.

"I apologise for any misunderstanding you have, Your highness."

The reddish tint in his ears suggested otherwise.

Shaking his head, Rowan decided to spare the poor man from his misery—for now, at least. Calen was far too easy to tease; Rowan honestly had a bad habit of not knowing how to restrain himself when it comes to teasing people.

"Anyways..." He took in a breath. "What do you think about those gravemites?"

Aria turned serious as well, the air around the three of them shifting as the matter of discussion turned into something far heavier. The playful haze they’d all been clinging to evaporated almost instantly. The forest around them felt too quiet now—too hollow—like the trees themselves were listening.

Calen shrugged.

"I’ve come across those things before, when I was still working in the border patrol. From the information I have, they are never supposed to look that dead, nor are they supposed to attack in groups."

Rowan nodded, confirming everything he knew about them already. He’d seen gravemites before—ugly, shambling pests of decay—but nothing like the horde they’d fought. This... this was different. Something had stirred them. Something deliberate.

He then paused a moment, and opened his mouth.

"You were in the border patrol?"

"Yes, your highness."

Rowan raised his eyebrows.

"Interesting, how long ago?"

Calen gave him a weird look.

"Two years ago, your highness."

"You know that you don’t have to keep calling us that right?-"

Rowan raised a hand, interrupting Aria.

"Wait, which battalion were you in?"

"The second one, you-"

"Stop that already." Aria stopped him before he could finish saying the title.

Rowan meanwhile, just gave him a pitying smile.

"Must’ve been tough with that monster as your captain huh..."

Calen nodded, but midway through, paused and gave him a stare.

"How do you know about that?"

Rowan didn’t fail to notice the lack of ’Your highness’.

Ignoring that he just flashed him a smirk.

"I used to be active in the third battalion."

"You did?"

Rowan nodded.

Calen seemed to ponder something for a moment, finally speaking with a little hesitation.

"I’m quite envious, I heard the third battalion had it really easy."

"That we did!" He said, a mischievous smile stretched on his lips.

Aria let out a disbelieving sigh and interrupted him.

"Can we get back to topic now."

"Alright alright," He raised his hands. "Back to the important stuff."

"Right." Aria gave him a stare, her eyes saying ’stop that already’.

He just gave her a knowing look.

Calen was too fun.

He decided to play with him later.

Then they got back into discussing the issue at hand.

"So do we actually have no idea on why those things were moving as a hoard?"

All of them stayed silent, considering something for a long moment.

"Maybe it was a tyrant?" Aria offered.

Calen just shook his head.

"Tyrants don’t bother with fodders, if anything, all of them would’ve been eaten by now."

"What about a bewitching spell?" Rowan asked, more to himself than anything.

This time, it was Aria who responded.

"What kind of spell can bewitch mindless gravemites."

Calen hummed, deep in thought.

There was warm wind blowing in from where Rowan had unleashed his destructive fury, comfortable against their skin in the cool night. The glow of the magma and fire giving them enough light to see.

"Do we really have no way of knowing?" Aria asked.

Calen shrugged.

"Even if we could have, all the evidence is literally burning in front of our eyes."

They both looked at Rowan, who was scratching the back of his head while avoiding eye contact.

Aria gave him a long deadpan stare before finally letting out a sigh.

"The best course of action would be to get as far away from here as we can."

She took a quick glance at where Edward and Selene was.

"We currently have four combatants excluding Edward. Two mages, one sword master, and one sword expert."

Calen and Rowan nodded along.

"We have almost the same strength as a regular adventuring party. So if we play our cards right, we’d be able to move relatively safely. The only thing we have to worry about is..."

She looked at Edward, her expression a little worried.

He understood what she was implying.

It was going for Edward to keep up with them, and even if they were to slow down to his pace while travelling, it wasn’t a given that they would always be able to keep him safe.

The boy was their weakest link right now.

But still, Rowan still felt a strong urge to protect him and keep him safe no matter what, and he was sure that everyone here felt the same one way or the other.

He had saved their lives after all.

Rowan looked at Calen.

"How long has he been able to use magic?"

Calen stayed silent for a moment, considering his answer carefully before speaking.

"That was the first time, I’ve been his personal escort for the past two weeks, I’ve never seen mana respond in any way to his presence."