Keyla turned to leave.
Eric immediately followed her.
Behind them, Damis and Lahan exchanged glances.
Neither of them spoke, but both seemed to come to the same conclusion.
They stepped forward and followed as well, with Aldera and Fredda walking beside them.
The group moved through the palace corridors and toward the main gates.
But just as they stepped outside—
They stopped.
Carriages.
Rows and rows of them.
More than ten elegant royal carriages lined the courtyard.
Each carriage was decorated with gold engravings and the crest of the House of Aragon.
Before the princes could even ask what was happening, the palace doors opened again.
The Emperor, accompanied by his wives, concubines, and princesses, stepped outside.
General Don and his wife followed closely behind.
Everyone arranged themselves neatly in the courtyard according to birth order and rank.
Keyla quietly stepped beside her father.
Fredda and Aldera stood slightly behind her.
Soon the carriage doors began opening one after another.
Noblemen and women stepped out.
Their clothing was extravagant.
Their bearing dignified.
They carried themselves with the same natural authority as the imperial family.
Clearly—
These were royalty.
The last carriage door opened.
Two men stepped out.
They were both tall and powerfully built.
Their presence alone carried the unmistakable aura of seasoned warriors.
The moment they saw the Emperor and Don—
They burst into loud laughter.
"AIOOOO, BROTHERS!"
They strode forward.
The Emperor and Don stepped forward as well.
The four men embraced each other in loud, joyful greetings.
The courtyard quickly filled with laughter and warm reunions.
After exchanging hugs and cheerful insults, the entire group moved inside the palace for proper introductions.
---
Inside the grand hall, the visiting royals stood with their families.
Each man stood proudly beside his wives and children.
General Don stepped forward to begin the introductions.
"Hehe… my lovely little brothers," he said with a grin.
"These are my newly wedded wife and my daughter."
He gestured toward them.
"Keyla. Dhalia. My dear wife."
"Only the two of you do not know them."
He then turned toward the three young women beside Keyla.
"And of course… my future nieces."
He laughed happily.
"So listen carefully."
He pointed toward the first man.
"This here is your third uncle. We are the same age."
"His name is Lan Aragon."
"These are his wives, Lady Luna and Lady Miya Aragon."
He gestured toward the young people standing nearby.
"And these are his sons: Livy, Luther, and Lawy."
"And his beautiful daughter, Amila."
Everyone bowed politely.
Don continued.
"Next is your fourth uncle."
"He is two years younger than me."
"His name is Conrey Aragon."
"These are his wives, Lady Elena and Lady Aren Aragon."
He gestured toward the boys standing beside them.
"And his sons: Omi, Ultur, Froddo, Hobbey, and Kingston."
Smiles spread across the hall as the introductions ended.
Then Keyla stepped forward.
Fredda and Aldera stepped forward beside her.
The three women placed their hands over their left chests and bowed respectfully.
"I am Keyla Don Aragon," she said calmly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Fredda bowed as well.
"This humble one is Fredda Conrad."
"It is an honor to meet you all."
Aldera followed.
"This humble one is Aldera Eluna."
"It is an honor to meet you."
When they straightened, the visiting royals bowed in return.
Then another young woman stepped forward.
It was Lindsay.
She performed a graceful noble greeting.
"This lowly one is Lindsay Keen Ahim."
"It is an honor to make your acquaintance."
The visiting nobles smiled kindly and returned her greeting.
Just then—
The booming voice of the Emperor filled the hall.
"Alright, alright!"
"This old man became busy and forgot something important."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"You all stop standing around."
"Go to your palace wings and rest."
"You must be exhausted from the journey."
One of the visiting men laughed.
It was General Lan.
"We are indeed tired," he said.
"But before that…"
He glanced toward the princes and the three women.
"Congratulations, brother."
"It seems your sons will be getting married sooner than expected."
He chuckled.
"These three ladies puzzle me."
"Did you choose them for your sons… or did they choose each other?"
The Emperor laughed loudly.
"Of course they chose each other!"
"I would never force wives on my sons."
He waved them away.
"Go, go. Rest now."
"Later we will celebrate properly."
The visiting royals finally dispersed toward their assigned palace wings.
---
Once the courtyard quieted again, Eric turned toward Keyla.
"I remember someone mentioning a walk earlier."
Keyla nodded casually.
"Mm."
"Let's go."
Eric raised an eyebrow.
"Where?"
She thought for a moment.
"Let's go to the forest."
"The forest?" he asked.
Keyla smirked slightly.
"I was thinking we could compete in archery."
"Besides…"
"My father built a training formation for me there."
"Though I modified it a bit."
She smiled mischievously.
"I made it more dangerous."
Eric laughed.
"A training formation?"
"I have one too."
"In my private training field."
Keyla turned to him.
"Really?"
"Made by my father's smithy?"
"Of course."
She immediately brightened.
"Can I see it?"
"Sure."
They walked together toward the Crown Prince's wing of the palace.
Soon they arrived at his private training courtyard.
The moment Keyla saw the formation—
Her eyes lit up.
Fifty spear puppets stood arranged across the field.
Hidden mechanisms glimmered in the ground.
And above them—
An enormous arrow formation waited silently.
Keyla smiled widely.
Just by looking at it she could tell something.
This formation was even more complex than her sword training field.
It looked like it had been built with one purpose.
To torture its user.
She laughed quietly to herself.
Father must have been very cruel while designing this for him.
Without saying anything, she walked toward the weapon rack.
She grabbed a spear.
Then—
She jumped straight into the formation.
Immediately—
CLANG!
A spear puppet struck toward her.
Another attacked from the side.
Arrows launched overhead.
She was forced out within seconds.
Eric chuckled.
"Tough, isn't it?"
She glared at him.
Then jumped in again.
And again.
And again.
Whenever she asked a question, Eric entered the formation himself.
He moved through it smoothly.
Almost casually.
He defeated puppet after puppet while deflecting arrows effortlessly.
Watching him, Keyla slowly understood something.
Her father's training formations were not kind.
To move this smoothly…
Eric must have suffered greatly while mastering it.
Broken bones.
Endless bruises.
Blood.
Only someone who endured that could move through the formation like it was a simple walk.
In her heart—
Her opinion of him rose.
---
The afternoon passed quickly.
Keyla entered the formation again and again.
Eventually—
She mastered it.
Eric tossed her another spear.
"Now let's duel."
They stepped into the formation together.
Now they had to fight each other—
While also defending against spear puppets and arrows.
The battle became chaotic.
Spears clashed.
Puppets attacked.
Arrows rained down.
But neither of them seemed bothered.
Keyla had hardly stopped smiling since arriving in the courtyard.
They were enjoying themselves.
At one point they even began chasing each other through the arrow formation, laughing as arrows whistled past them.
For warriors of their level—
Deflecting arrows had already become second nature.
So they allowed themselves to simply have fun.
And for the first time in a long while—
Keyla laughed freely.