Chapter 180 – The City, The Country, Eletscoep

“I should’ve requested more dough…” Lavender sighed. This was supposed to be a fun trip, a time to enjoy and relax from the trouble of normal daily life and an actual holiday after all the pain and injuries she incurred during the attack on Arisea Station.

“Same…” Max replied

She gave life-changing advice. “Perhaps you can get it now since you are a prince.”

He squinted at her. “I don’t think that is how that works…”

After the long discussion they had with Mary the same day, Mary told Max about the extra circumstances of their family history.

To his credit, Max took it well. The impact basically had already been absorbed by him, learning that he was a noble. Learning that he was a higher-tier noble didn't really faze him. He did understand that radical difference between the two statues, but it was just another level of being important to him.

What was more important was that Mary and Maca were okay. The rest could come later; he was just an ordinary kid despite whatever his family history was.

The one who took it the worst was Ethan. He asked, “Syrus… Have I done anything wrong?”

“No, silly.” Anlesa looked at the overly worried boy. The news that the boy and his mother were nobles was already shocking to him, but finding they were royalty caused his head to explode. “Everything is going to be fine, if someone wants to chop your head off, they will have to go through mine first, and that would be a very bloody affair.”

“That isn’t exactly nice sounding…” He complained

“Woo?” Cobalt nestled his little head in Ethan’s lap.

“Thanks, boy…” He massaged the pup’s ear, and Cobalt began twitching his leg in delight.

“What a silly pup.” Said Syrus.

The journey had much longer to go, so there was plenty of time for Ethan to process things. It was honestly perfect for the news to be released now. It gave Max time to ask questions and for them to plan with Mary about what was going to happen when they entered the city.

“Mother, so our family has unique attributes?” Max asked; he already knew about exotic attributes and how they related to their appearance, but the royal family had some more publicly known ones.

Mary answered his question. The secret being freed seemed to have lifted a weight off her shoulders that she never knew she had. “Yes, there are a few common ones you can expect. Incarnate, Lightning, Perception, and Crush are the main ones that appear in our family.”

Mary paused for a moment. “I only received Lightning… but that shouldn't be an indicator of what you will receive.”

[Are the attributes so ingrained that even if they don’t awaken an exotic one, they still keep the features?] (Elly)

[Possibly… but still, usually there would be one attribute that would be considered exotic. Perhaps it is something she would rather not say, or she is only referring to the ‘royal family’ attributes when she says only received Lightning.] (Luna)

Anlesa felt there was no need to question Mary about her attributes and let the parent and child lesson continue.

“The black goat is the symbol of the royal family, and our common features, our horns, black hair, and golden eyes are passed down throughout our family.”

It was a nice educational lesson for Elly, as she got to learn some history of her home that she had never learned before.

It took many more days of travelling, but finally they reached the edge of the territory.

First, they travelled through the large stretches of farmland that surrounded the circular city, with blackstone walls that were built along its edge, ready to defend against an attack from any angle.

[Eletscoep…] Eva looked upon the city’s walls with a giant bag of mixed emotions.

[You okay, Lilly?] (Luna)

[Yes… I think so…] Eva didn’t really know how she was feeling. The city was her old home; it was where she spent her previous life growing up in with her previous family, but it still had been ten years, and since then she had learned a lot about herself and her old home that she never knew.

Compared to her two sisters, who basically didn’t care for their old homes for different reasons. Eva had thought about hers a lot, especially in those early years, as time moved on, as part of the experience of life, and she purposely distanced herself; she remembered the times in the city less. However, in recent times, with their ability to move around more freely and a desire to explore more, to see if they could find their parents, but also to learn about the past of her home she never knew about, her desire to visit Eletscoep had increased.

The carriage slowly moved towards the city as everyone marvelled at the sights. Sure, it was only farmland, but the land had been so perfectly split into segments with different plants growing in each one. Streams of water were lining these segments, clearly man-built, and were used as a way to water the crops but also to move supplies with mini-boats.

[They really have over-engineered this.] (Syrus)

[It is efficient.] (Luna)

[Not saying it isn’t.] Syrus looked over the land and remembered all the various ways she had seen people work together to grow their food. [I just got a better understanding of why Eva is the way she is.]

[Huh?] (Eva)

[Don’t worry about it.] (Syrus)

The group made their way to a side gate, following Mary’s instruction every step of the process. They needed to enter the city legally but also quietly; anyone who was alive or knew the appearance of the royal family would cause an uproar if Mary and Max showed up at the entrance of their city.

“Thank you for this, everyone…” Mary softly bowed her head to everyone in the carriage.

“It’s fine; it’s a job,” Lavender replied.

“Help is what happens.” Maca was next.

“Yes! Happy to help.” Ethan and Cobalt, “Woof!”

“It is okay, Mum!” Max held Mary’s hand.

“Everyone will be okay, I promise you that.” Said Syrus, and she didn’t make such promises lightly.