Chapter 33

𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: 𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝕴𝖓 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕽𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖇𝖞 𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖜𝖎𝖋𝖙

***

I heard someone hitting a wood or was they cutting a wood? I don't know but when I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but widen them as I opened my mouth to speak, and yet no words came.

I looked around, and I was in a forest. Or so that was what I thought when I looked at the pretty bright sky and shifted my eyes from above to where I was.

I was lying on the grass with a coat on my body, it seemed that I was in an unfamiliar place I'd never been before. As the gust of wind swayed my hair a surprising chuckle came from the other side.

I looked where it was, only to find Crane cutting some wood, while I saw the smoke he created from the other side as he had already caught fish and pierced them on a sharp stick.

I looked around once again but this time, I could see how I was covered by this large tree behind me, and as I leaned I could see the rocks everywhere after the grasses, I could see a small lake not far from where we were.

I could even see an unfinished tent that Crane must have been working on earlier. I didn't expect to be in here. It's already morning which meant that I must have slept in here that night and Crane was protecting me all alone.

I don't know why but I felt my chest heavy.

"It seemed that you already woke up," he said stopping what he was doing and setting the axe on the other side as he tossed the woods he had cut from the fire he created.

I see that he has done a lot of cutting which must mean he woke up earlier.

If I could think of anything, his appearance and everything about him seemed to be common, but I never thought that he was a rich commoner unless he was a merchant or something.

I chuckled at the idea and when I looked at him he seemed to be amazed for a moment before blinking them away, coming to where I was. He lumped his back leaning beside me on the large tree and crossed his legs as he hugged them.

I could see his eyes were looking on the farthest horizon and the shine it gave made me feel as if he had dreams he also wanted to do.

Perhaps, one of those was to be free, but free from what? He was already doing what he could to live, right?

"It seemed that you're mostly happy that we're in this kind of situation, Lady Festin," he said while sighing. I could see his lingering gazes but I stood firm from my sight right now.

I looked at how the birds ran away in front of us, I focused my ears on the way they sang as well as listening to the current and rippling sounds of the water from the small lake.

Everything reminded me of the past before I met Caliere.

But right now, I can't say I'm not confused because even though my mind is resting, my hands couldn't stop shaking.

"I see, just be rest assured, Lady Festin... we were not in danger. I will never let that happen"

"Then where are we?" I looked at him

"We're in the Crevon place, you know that right?" My eyes widened, and though he kept looking at me, I knew this wasn't how he was expecting me to react.

The Crevon place is situated from the boundary of the Mezor empire. It's a forest where the ancient magic tower resides and other earthly beings that were just legends from the empire.

Though, I never thought that this place indeed existed in the past, and up until now from what I've learned from Sir Feldin's teachings, hunter people even the knights that the previous emperors ordered to find this land, never got back.

A knight who happened to witness everything, came to the capital city within the imperial household to report what he had seen, according to him, the place outside of the Crevon, would be engulfed with fog at first and whoever got to lost in the fog was never sighted once again.

He had lost his colleagues at one point and after that, he disappeared on the next day.

This is the Crevon they were talking and the last thing I remember was we were inside this restaurant within the market but there were unusual-looking people.

Then a man with a black hat and long hair approached us he led us the way to their boss and the next thing I knew after Crane talked to the boss, darkness enveloped our whole being until u fell unconscious.

"We were brought here by Gludius. You must have heard the name and that is the name of the from that place..."

"Why are we here then? Why would they bring us here?" Before responding to my queries, he sighed and looked at me. I felt his warm hands caressed mine and I looked at it before looking back at him.

I could see how his eyes shone as if they weren't out of glitter.

I narrowed my eyes before finally setting them to his soul and took a deep breath before hearing his words.

"I needed to take the Vesron from me here, that's why I asked the guild master, I just didn't think he would resort to that tactic"

"Wait, did you say the guild master?" I widened my eyes

"I guess you're surprised and I do apologize if I've attracted your attention because of my book, I never intended to---"

"Don't feel sorry I'm also responsible for my own actions, Crane," I say and I could see his eyes stopped wavering.

"Right now, I needed to know why you needed that Vesron and what exactly is the Vesron?"

I waited for a second before finding out what he meant by that.

"I needed it because I am experimenting. Do you know alchemy, Lady Festin?" He said and I nodded though I had never tried it before.

"I only know it. What I am currently doing is my research about medicines and because I wasn't a doctor of medicine from passing an exam through it, I still have little knowledge when it comes to grave sickness..."

"I see, so you're also fond of creating medicines"

"Yes, and I had admired that job from someone I knew well"

I saw him nod before finally chuckling

"Then you can be a great doctor in the future, but what about your hands? Why do they seem to have blisters and callouses? I know you're a noble lady so why?" He asked

"It's a long story but to make it short, I am learning swordsmanship and I wanted to become a female knight while being a doctor at the same time, doesn't that sound weird?" I asked, but when I looked at him, his eyes widened.

"That's amazing, you're the very first person that I have admired for a lady. Just like before but I guess, I would keep my promise until then, not right now"

"Promise?"

"Don't tell me you have forgotten it, Lady Festin?" He asked me but then he immediately knelt and kissed the back of my hands.

"By the time that we met again, I swore to you to let you know my name, but I guess because this job is dangerous, I am buying us time together for the real introduction, don't you think?" I chuckled.

"Then by the, don't disappoint me, okay?" I smiled as I saw him chuckle

"I won't I promise that..."

So we talked about the Vesron and why he needed it. He said that it was because of a certain someone, the Vesron couldn't be a medicine since it was an ingredient necessary for alchemy.

Alchemy was only performed by scholars so I was thinking that he was a scholar if he's a genius like what we were talking about. However, it didn't mean that he might be if I'm just guessing everything.

The Vesron that he mentioned earlier was used for truth serum and since he wanted to create it, I thought he wanted to use it for someone to obtain some truth from their words.

I couldn't help but imagine who that person could be.

Right after we talked, he ushered for me to be quiet, and I nodded since we heard an unusual sound by the bushes. We walked towards it, but he made sure I was behind him holding the hem of his clothes.

When he slashed the bushes with his sword, he only chuckled finding a cute white bunny in front of him he even picked it up enough to smile and chuckle as if he was jumping and rounding with the bunny in his hands.

It's as if he and Verfeil almost had the same moves and traits. Were all of it just a coincidence?

Shaking my head, I sighed.

"I apologize that I frightened you but this place isn't even as dangerous as what was rumored to be or even written in any books. This place was a once paradise place and do you know about the people who lived in the empire before the Mezor generations came?"

"The Asserians?"

"Yes, they were the people who had lived in this place before, and the fog was part of their protective barrier to people within the Mezor empire"

I sighed and only listened to his explanation but I asked...

"Then how do we know the Vesron and where was it in this place?"