A cloaked figure of a man leaning on top of a tree gazed at the three ladies frolicking around the field. His purple eyes were particularly nailed to one person, the woman who possessed the whitest hair he had ever seen.

Lukas was intrigued by the woman who possessed strange powers. It doesn't look like she was aware of it at all. He was a few feet away from them now, hidden in the shadows. And from that proximity, his anima began to stir, purring at him.

His head tilted to the side and opened his right palm. A dark fire danced atop it, and Lukas could feel its yearning.

Then, he got surprised when she suddenly turned. He watched as her red eyes narrowed suspiciously on the trees. She was glancing in the direction not far from where he was standing and got fascinated.

.

'Not bad...'

Lukas had not met someone as perceiving as her, to the point that she could feel him staring. Usually, the person wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to feel him. But this woman has sharp senses, unlike others.

His two guards were both adept killers, but they had never felt him appearing, not once. This woman did what the two had not, which is very impressive.

"Really interesting..." Lukas muttered and watched them get smaller in the distance.

He had meant to find answers about the strange thing that happened a day ago and went to see her himself. He had no trouble getting in at all, which is already expected. No one can stop him even if they did anyway.

Lukas had first watched her from her open window and saw her still deep in sleep. Even at that distance, he felt a faint magnetic force pulling him in. His anima stirred as if it had felt her.

Lukas was again puzzled. Indeed, it is truly strange.

He remained on top of one tree and continued watching the sleeping woman. It was almost afternoon, but she was still not awake, and Lukas got bored. He wanted to storm in and get closer to her, to know if the reaction of his anima would be greater.

He then saw two carriages that stopped in front of the mansion, and two ladies got out on each of them.

He only glanced at them for a second, not interested at all. Just then, one of her maids woke her up, upon the arrival of the two. She disappeared for a while, then saw her walking out of the mansion with those two in tow. He followed them, still hiding within the shadows.

They were in the garden, talking. Lukas had no interest in hearing their topic, so he zoned out, and kept observing her instead.

Even in the distance, his eyes could see her clearly. He has the sharpest senses, unlike the others. He could hear sounds and voices and see things, three times more than a normal individual. Thus, even without getting closer to a target, he could spy on them just fine.

This is why he noted that the picture didn't give justice to the real thing at all. She looks better.

The three of them then started leaving their table. Lukas had lost track of what they were talking about, thus, he tuned in again and heard that they were going to the stables.

He followed them again, sneering at the secret guards he had passed by. They had no idea that he was there and spying on them, which is laughable. That red-haired guy though, probably their captain, had seemed vigilant. He was sure that he didn't feel him, but his guts might be telling him something, which is why he was alert.

Lukas continued observing her, even after they started doing what they call a race.

'They are all slow.' he commented.

He never used a horse, because it weighs him down. He's much faster than those stallions anyway, so he doesn't need one.

Lukas then felt someone else's presence, but he did not act and just waited for them to come to him instead. Yvan appeared out of nowhere, landing beside the tree he was on.

"Master, there is a missive from the palace," he notified, bowing at the dark figure of the man.

Yvan then stole a look at his master who was still gazing at the woman, even after they were long gone now.

He had not seen her that visibly because he doesn't want to get in the way of his master's plans. Hence, why he remained on standby just outside the estate while Lukas ventured in. More so, the lady was already far away when he appeared, so even if he was curious, he couldn't get to see her. But he already knows what she looked like anyway, he had seen the drawing, so he knew that the woman was pretty.

'Is that the reason why he's interested in her?'

That was a dumb reason. His master doesn't care about appearances, nor has he ever gotten invested in any woman. Did he have one before? Of course, but they were all fleeting.

"Ah... They are inviting me again," Lukas uttered.

That old man has been pestering him ever since to come to the palace. Always snooping around, albeit the fact that he wants to be left alone.

He had ignored all of their summons these past few years, but it got more frequent that he had grown tired of it. The last time he heeded their request was just last week, it was for formalities as the new duke of Agera. It was troublesome, but he had no choice. If he didn't show up, it would be seen as disrespect to the crown.

Lukas glanced at the figures overhead one last time before he disappeared within the black flames. Yvan sighed and started sprinting away from the place. There was no way that he would catch up to him.

-------------

"You're gripping it wrong," Nathan remarked, narrowing his eyes to the man opposite him.

*clang*

"Aww"

The sound of the sword flying echoed around the training ground, accompanied by the voices of the youngsters.

"You need to practice your grip and stance more," he declared, looking down at the sprawled figure on the ground.

"Are you still terrorizing the recruits?" Ezekiel suddenly comes in, smiling as usual.

The people there all straightened their backs and saluted, greeting the prince. Nathan turned to them.

"Go on with your training," he loudly announced before leaving with Ezekiel-- "When did you get here?" he then asked.

"A while ago," Ezekiel

"But there was no entourage?" Nathan

"It's not needed. I prefer it that way so they won't know that I am back." Ezekiel

Nathan shakes his head. Ezekiel had been trying to avoid one particular family. The Vineas. Due to the Queenly Lessons that the prospective Regina's are having, they have been constantly trying to win Ezekiel's favor, buttering up to him.

"Why don't you just turn them down?" Nathan pointed out.

"You know it already," was his response.

The Vineas has always been an influential family. Their ancestry dates back to the time when the kingdom was just formed, thus, why they were respected. Because of that too, the probability of Rosamunde being the future Crown Princess is high. All the royalists expected her to get selected, and the Windsors could only delay it for a little more time.

"If you were in my shoes, you'll understand me." Ezekiel

"I don't want to." Nathan

He doesn't ever want to get pestered by those people.

They were now making their way to the east hall, which made Nathaniel curious.

"Why are we going this way?" Nathan asked.

"Lukas is here." Ezekiel

Nathan's brow creased for a second, "The duke?"

He had seen him before, and he was just as young as the rumors said. Maybe around 26. That was why the other dukes who met him that day, got a little skeptical if he truly is fit to bear the role. Then they were all reminded by the skirmish on the North, three years ago.

As soon as he got the seat, he had driven back the terrorists that have been a long problem to those living in the borders. The Agera dukedom prevented the terrorists from invading the north, but the late patriarchs were only holding them back.

As for the new duke, Lukas, he was brazen enough to immediately launch the attack on the opposite side and ended up winning. So far, there were no attempts of invasion these past few years from the North.

Nathan had seen him last week, and he felt how overwhelming his presence was. It was the first time that he got intimidated by someone, aside from the Emperor and his father himself.

'Does Ezekiel know him personally?'

He had called him with his first name, and there was a hint of familiarity in it, so it must be true.

They got inside the hall, not as big as the main one, but big enough to host the senate. There were two men inside. One was sitting comfortably on the head of the table, looking regal and kingly. The other one was sitting on the left side with his legs up on the table, unruly and disrespectful.

Despite that, the Emperor did not look offended at all, nor he seemed angry. But as the captain of the royal guards, he couldn't stand such open rudeness for the father of this nation.

His body moved like lightning and aimed his sword right before the man's throat. Nathan had seen him glanced at him as soon as he stepped forward, and thought that he would evade him, or at least, defend himself. He didn't. He just sat there, still looking unruffled, even with the blade of the sword just mere centimeters away from slitting him.

Lukas's purple eyes went to him, "Oh? So this is the captain of the knights? Not bad."