The next morning after the festival, Rod helped Reine out in the kitchen to prepare breakfast. "You should've been there, Reine!" Rod said as he sliced the bread. "It was super fun!"

Reine poured the warm milk into the pitcher. "Maybe next festival," she replied.

Suddenly, Gwen burst into the kitchen and grabbed Rod by his sleeves, "Whoa, whoa… what is it, Gwen?"

"How do you… express your gratitude when words alone are not enough?"

Rod raised his eyebrow, "What brings this about?"

Reine then remembered the icy arrangement of flowers that Gwen brought after she went to the festival with Allen. The only thing that prevented her from melting it away (because it dropped the temperature of the room, especially near the bed) was the fact that Gwen was really fond of that… icy stuff.

"Must be because of the bucket Allen gave her last night."

"Bucket?" Rod asked in disbelief, "You must've mean bouquet."

As far as Rod's knowledge of Allen, Allen was a bouquet guy instead of a... bucket guy.

"Oh, yeah, whatever."

Rod put his hand on his cheeks as if he was deep in thought, although actually he knew what he would suggest to the bluenette. He then brightened up and said, "A hug!"

"Hug?" Gwen echoed.

"Yes! A hug!" He then grabbed Reine and put his arms casually around her shoulders and pulled her close, "Like this!"

"Hey!" Reine cried out in shock.

Suddenly Neil emerged and reached for a glass before pouring himself some warm milk. "Be done with it and go to work, Rod," he said without staring at them.

Reine didn't really mind when Rod suddenly pulled her for the thing called a 'hug', but when she saw Neil… her stomach suddenly turned into knots in a way she would describe as akin to…

Guilt.

She saw him turning his back and now all she could see was his broad back that was covered in his usual maroon overcoat.

Why should I feel… guilty? She asked herself, dumbfounded.

Despite all that, the breakfast was as amiable as usual—and today was even more cheerful because finally Elli agreed to let Neil go back to his work. For Neil, whose love for animals was immense, that 'okay' meant the world to him.

After breakfast, the three men headed to their respective workplace. Initially, they walked in silence until Allen decided to start a conversation.

"You must be thankful to Gwen's sister, Neil,"

"Reine?" Neil asked, "Why?"

"Don't you know? She was the one taking care of you for three nights straight until you broke your fever!"

"She didn't catch any sleep that time," Rod added in.

"How about Rach?"

Allen stopped walking for a moment and put his hand on his hip in his usual manner, "Are you saying that this whole time you're thinking that Rach was your healer? I know you aren't as intelligent as me, Neil, but… seriously?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Neil interjected, "I woke up and Rach was the first thing I saw! What do you think I would think?"

Allen shrugged, "Okay, that's justified." He continued, "anyway, now you know that's not the case. Be thankful to me, cousin, for I am the one who had opened your eyes to the truth."

"Yeah, whatever, Allen."

Allen laughed. Despite Neil's seemingly nonchalant attitude, the redhead knew that Neil was actually thinking about it very seriously.

Allen was on his lunch break, when he decided to take a quick stroll on a park nearby and that was when he saw it. Gwen embraced Gill. Although it seemed to him that it was merely a friendly embrace (because it was, since—unbeknownst to him—Gwen was thanking the platinum blond young man for teaching her how to play harmonica), Allen couldn't put out the fire of jealousy he felt rising in his heart.

The smoke from that fire clouded his eyes so badly that he didn't notice it when Gwen walked up to him with a package that was supposed to be his lunch and greeted him with a smile that he would otherwise love.

"…Allen?"

Her voice finally snapped him back. "Yes?"

Gwen suddenly threw her arms around him, giving him an embrace, too. "Thank you for the bouquet!" she said. "Rod told me that if I want to thank someone that words alone can't do, I should hug them!"

What the…? Allen thought inwardly.

Just like any other day after a long day at work, Rod waved his hand excitedly when he spotted his redheaded cousin. What Rod didn't know was that Allen had something different for him.

"What did you teach Gwen to do?" Allen asked as soon as they were within each other's earshot. He didn't even bother to greet Neil—and this time Allen was thankful for Neil being the way he was because Neil wouldn't mind the fact that he didn't greet him just now, being Neil.

Besides, Neil had something else in his mind; so, even if Allen had greeted him, chances were he wouldn't reply him.

"Huh? What?" Rod asked back innocently.

Allen clenched his fists and trapped the ginger head between them, rolling his fists against his head, prompting him to send out a cry for help that was ignored by his older brother. "Whhhhyyyy~?" he cried out.

"This is for making Gwen hugging Gill. In front of me." Allen said coldly.

"But I thought she wanted to thank you for the bouquet!"

"Was that why you're hugging Reine the first thing in the morning, Rod?" Neil asked, not bothering to veil his curiosity.

Somehow Rod knew, whatever his answer would be, his fate wouldn't be too much different. He held his peace, only for Allen to torture him a little bit longer (and Neil ignoring his further cry for help) until Allen had had his share of revenge. "Next time, teach properly, will you?"

Rod rubbed his temples, pouting. "Okaaay…"

After the dinner, Neil asked Reine for some of her time just before the latter was immersed in the housework.

"What is it?" Reine asked curiosly. "I have to clean the dishes, you know."

Neil took out a brown packet and gave it to Reine. "I heard from Rod… you have a pet now." He said, "This is bird feed."

"Why are you giving me this?"

Neil scratched his head, "Well… I thought you might be confused what to feed your bird with, so…"

Reine shrugged. "I usually feed him with leftover corns or whatever grains I can get."

Neil cleared his throat and gathered his courage. "This is a thanks for taking care of me last time." He finally said, "I heard it from Allen."

This time, the pinkette beamed into a sincere smile. "Thank you, then."

Neil found out maybe sometimes being honest with his feelings wasn't so bad… if her smile would be his reward.

They were interrupted by Gwen's sudden call for Reine. "I found this in the room!" she said, holding out a stack of parchment. Reine turned around and took the item from Gwen, and she froze.

It was a document written in both human language and Draconian. What's more, the Draconian part of the document was ended with a peculiar mark.

Reine turned towards Neil, "What is this?"

Neil took the document from her hand and similarly, he froze. He then turned around and called for both Allen and Rod, and before they knew it, all five of them were gathered around the dining table.

"I found it in my room," Gwen said.

"Well, this document must have come from the archive that I manage to secure from my old house." Allen replied, "I've never seen this before, but this is the signature of my father."

The mark on the Draconian part made Reine couldn't stop thinking about it. If what was written in Draconian was true… this might change the course of dragons' history for the age to come.

Yet, she couldn't fully understand the part of the document that was written in human language. She couldn't make a judgement before she knew what exactly was going on. Even the fact that there was a document that was fairly new, written in modern Draconian in a Dragon Hunters' house was already… something.

What should I do? She asked herself. She then touched the back of her neck, as if trying to find some kind of guidance from the mark that had been etched on it.

Her father had been rather different from his ancestors—that much, she knew for sure.

But to agree on a peace settlement with humans?

Yet, after she stayed with these humans for a while, she had to admit that they weren't as awful as what was described to her by her governess back in her home. They could be threatening, yes, but not so monster-like or as brutal as they were depicted in the stories passed down to her.

"I wonder what is written in this language, though," Rod said, scratching his head. "I have no idea what language is this."

Reine took in a deep breath. The seal on the paper on the Draconian part was clearly the mark that was etched on the back of her neck. The slight moment she touched the document, she could even feel a hint of her father's aura that was sealed alongside it as per custom.

It was clearly The Royal Seal—the seal that marked the monarch of the Draconian kingdom; the mark that now served as a proof of Reine's standing as the undisputed Queen of Dragons.

"It's written in Draconian," Reine finally announced. "We can read that part to you."

The three Dragon Hunters stared at her with disbelief, "You speak Draconian?" Rod asked.

"Well, if I'm not wrong, there is a clan who can speak Draconian," Allen mused, "It's a very ancient clan, though… just like Leicestria clan. According to the legends, before the separation between humans and dragons, this clan acted as their bridge since they are the only group of humans who can speak Draconian."

"Wow! That's cool!" Rod exclaimed.

"What is written in your language?" Gwen asked, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

Gwen was surprised that Reine would reveal that they could speak Draconian, but knowing her sister, Gwen believed that she had thought through it so she decided to play along.

Allen cleared his throat. "It's an agreement for a peace with the dragons." He said.

Both Gwen and Reine were shocked.

"Why?" Rod asked.

"Because… that was what is written in Draconian, too."

Many thoughts bombarded the five people around that table, especially the two dragons:

If there already is a signed peace agreement… why His Majesty and Mother were killed by a human that night? And why His Majesty had had the time to pass the Seal to Reine… as if he knew that it would be his last night?

Why Lord and Lady Leicestria were killed by a dragon? The Royal Seal should have ensured that this shall be carried out as an order… and no dragon could rebel against it… Would the Royal Seal not have the power of subjugation if it were marked on the paper instead of a direct oral order from the Monarch?

Even as the night grew darker, none of the question could be answered.

But there was one thing that they were sure of:

Both of their parents, both the late King of Dragon and the late Lord Leicestria had agreed to stop these millennia of war between humans and dragons.

And this was leaked to some humans and dragons, which decided to take action against it.

While Allen is meant to be the head of his clan, the legendary Leicestria, Reine turns out to be to Queen of Dragons.

With the peace agreement revealed... how will the Gwen and Reine, as well as the Leicestrias go about it?

Are they facing different enemies? Or are they, after all, facing one common enemies?

Will Reine and Allen let go of their respective quest for revenge, or will this fuel it to an even greater heights?

Stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for reading! Please rate and review! ^^

A/N: you know, in the game if you are hitting on Neil and Allen respectively, Neil will give you animal treats no matter who you are (friend, girlfriend, and even wife) while Allen will lavish you with a bouquet. I thought I could make a chapter on that fact, albeit some adjustment hahahaha.

Everytime my in-game MC gets her birthday present (she is married to Neil) which is an animal treat, I can't help but say: Neil, after that romantic dinner you give her... animal treat? Seriously?!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^