Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 262 Aedrider's Capital [Part 1]

Jade and Desmond took watch over the next leg of their trip. Lucius was finally sleeping regularly again, satisfying their desire for him to maintain his physical and mental health.

Though, now he had the energy to stop holding back so much. In the last small village, Lucius secretly singled out people who held loyalty to Ayalla and her Isolationist Faction. When night fell, he secreted away a number of them to 'question' privately about Kalliope. If he found anything out from his escapades, he did not share that information with the twins.

Jade was starting to worry about Lucius through all of this. She was wondering why this was affecting him so badly. Desmond informed her of some of the contents of the private discussion that occurred while he basically dragged Lucius back to the carriage the other day.

After years of watching her brother torment himself on her behalf, she had come to understand the impact of guilt and blaming yourself. Both she and her brother had become experts on this concept by this point in their lives. So if there was anyone to coach Lucius through this difficult time, it would have been them.

Jade listened to his quiet sleep breaths as he snoozed away in the carriage despite the bumpy ride. She had taken it upon herself to act as his lap pillow on this occasion. Though it frequently resulted in her legs falling asleep, she figured it was worth it to provide a little extra comfort where she could.

Because of this arrangement, she had a lot of time to study his handsome features. Though he was a human and beastman, one could almost mistake his lineage for elven at some point. When ignoring his scars, his skin and features were flawless, and he would not lose to any of the elves they had seen so far.

Unlike many people, though, the scars marking Lucius's otherwise perfect complexion only served to accentuate his good looks. On top of that, his hair was extremely soft. She found herself petting it lightly on occasion without realizing it.

Thankfully, her brother chose not to say anything and refused to tease her about it. This was already almost too much for Jade to handle emotionally, and the teasing would have put her over the edge.

"Lord and Lady Adler," Therentil called out from the coach box of the carriage. "We are a few hours away from Aedrider's capital. There is a single village between here and there. It is but a simple farming village. Shall we stop and investigate it as well?"

"No, continue to the capital. I am done interrogating farmers. Get me in touch with your contact." Lucius responded with his eyes still closed.

Jade felt her cheeks beginning to flush and heat up. Her hand was mid-stroke through his hair. She had thought he was asleep, but apparently, that was not the case. It was embarrassing to imagine that he was awake and stroking his head. How many times had she done this by this point, and was he aware this whole time?

"Lord Kane… I-I…" She stuttered.

"If it bothered me, I would have told you to stop. If anything, it helped me relax. It reminded me of my mother. So, thank you."

"O-of course!"

Lucius kept his eyes closed the entire time, but Jade figured he could hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest as though it threatened to escape. Her brother smirked at her, indicating he was aware of the man being awake the entire time. Jade responded by throwing a spare shoe at her twin, which he dodged with ease.

"Stupid." She mumbled.

As Therentil stated, it took only a few more short hours of the bumpy ride to make it to the elven capital. They indeed passed through a small farming village, but the sun was still not up, so they did not see any of the citizens out and about. Jade was concerned that if they arrived at a bad time, then the gates would not open to let them inside.

Therentil assured her, though, that this would not be the case. It was yet another perk of traveling in a carriage belonging to the royal family. True to the man's word, as they approached the gates the guards on the exterior side of the gates shouted to their cohorts to open the gates to allow entry.

Gazes of jealous merchants and travelers fell on them after the commotion awoke a few from their slumber. Since cities closed their gates at a certain time, the line camping outside waiting for the opening in the morning had grown very long overnight, and they just skipped ahead of all of them.

One look at the symbol on the side of the carriage, made most of them shrug and lose any hostility they had. After all, what could they do when it came to a royal carriage? It was likely carrying someone important to the crown.

Once they passed through the gates, the black-haired man in Jade's lap sat up to take in the surroundings. A pang of sadness struck her for a moment, but it was quickly dashed by the impressive sights.

The elven capital was simply a marvel. Every street light was powered by a magical crystal and supplied consistent and uninterrupted light. Unlike the normal fire-based lights many human cities still used in most areas. Not only that, similar shades of light illuminated the windows of many of the buildings.

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The only thing this meant was that these light crystals were also being used inside homes. Jade imagined the wonder of being able to read by the light of one of those crystals instead of the flickering and uneven light of a candle. Also, falling asleep while reading would no longer present such a danger to her…

Jade made a mental note to acquire as many of these crystals as she could before they left. She was sure that they would have time to be able to gather a few. Maybe they could even barter for them to be part of their repayment from assisting in the country's problems.

"Jade." Her brother's voice snapped her out of her daze. The look in his eyes was one of judgment and she averted her eyes out of guilt.

"We will be unable to ascend the city to the palace until after dawn. Even traveling at the request of one of the royal family, we cannot ascend the mountain at this hour. When day fully breaks, we will begin our ascent." Therentil shouted back to them.