A clash between a sword and a pair of shields blared throughout the clean cut grass and trimmed bushes of the royal garden, which is part of the larger structure that is called the Royal Palace of Lugunica. A battle, or a spar to be more accurate, is currently being held by two people, with three more acting as an audience. It was a spar between a quarter-blooded boy who had called himself the Gorgeous Tiger, Garfiel Tinsel. And the old swordsman who passed his prime long ago, who many know as Wilhelm van Astrea.

It was a spar of strength versus experience. Garfiel had increased his speed well enough to the point where even a blur can barely be noticed by the untrained eye. While the old man had been keeping up against him with great vigilance and in a graceful fashion that of a veteran swordsman, however, his age had overtaken some of his old strength he had once possessed, making him vulnerable to an unexpected attack that he is cautiously keeping his eye on.

But nonetheless, it was overall an equal match. The quarter-blooded boy had grown far stronger since his fight against The Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert in the old Mathers Mansion, far more experienced since his fight against the infamous eight armed giant simply known as Kurgan in Priestella, and wiser since the series of restless battles he had fought alongside his captain and others within Vollachia. Wilhelm himself can see how far the boy has come, and is internally happy and proud of his growth over the past year. But right now, he must focus on defending against the boy's increasing rate of attacks, putting the satisfaction of seeing his opponent's growing set of achievements and milestones aside.

As they fought, the three people at the sidelines, or rather at a nearby gazebo, watched as an audience. It consists of Ram, the now maid of the royal palace, who is currently drinking tea and ignoring the fight altogether except for a few brief glances. Otto, a now retired minister of internal affairs turned into one of the advisors for the current queen that is Felt Lugunica. And Meili, retired assassin turned adoptive daughter of Natsuki Subaru, who is currently playing with her pet scorpion Shaula on her shoulders.

"Is it just me or is Garfiel-san even faster than ever before now?" Asked Otto, turning his attention from the fight to Ram, who didn't even bother looking him in the eyes.

The quiet atmosphere of the gazebo broke down just like that, as Ram does her signature huff before replying to him.

"It is just you. Garf is the same as ever before, just more motivated now that he had been told for the dozenth time that he had made great strides on becoming a royal knight. Are you perhaps that blind or are you too ignorant at observing a fellow member of the now two dunces?" She commented, still hinting at her sadness as she mentioned the changed joke title she gave to the three boys of the now disbanded Emilia Camp.

"I think your insults are weakening against me now with how you executed it, Ram-san," Otto replied.

"Hah, ridiculous as ever, don't make me laugh even more over your pathetic excuse of a life," She replied, her mood lightening up immediately after she made her reply towards him.

Subaru, who Ram had seen as an annoying little brother and a no good knight of his liege had disappeared from their lives for around a year now. The royal selection had ended just a few months ago, with the winner being the combined forces of the Felt and Emilia camp. It was formed just after the death of Roswaal L Mathers, who had sacrificed himself in stopping the assault conducted by Capella Emerada Lugunica, the last of the sin archbishops of the witch cult, during the Astrea Domain Crisis just about a year ago.

By then, Felt has been revealed to be the last heir to the original lugunican royal bloodline with the unlocking of her Lion King's blessing. And with that, it paved the way to her victory, now with the added bonus of Emilia Camp's subsequent streak of achievements they had gathered for around two years of their existence before being absorbed. Thanks to her rule and her taking in the former candidates to her cabinet, the kingdom had experienced an emerging golden age just in these past few months.

"I really can't believe it has been a year since Papa Nii-chan disappeared…" uttered Meili, playing with her pet scorpion. Her nickname refers to her adoptive father Natsuki Subaru.

"Yeah...true, life has been really different since Natsuki-san and Beatrice-sama went missing," Otto responded, nodding to her statement. "Speaking of Natsuki-san, Meili, do you consider him as a good father with the six months you've been with him as his daughter? Honestly, I never knew your relationship with him since Priestella now that I think about it…." He asked her, pondering off and wondering why he didn't consider peeking into their lives a little.

"Ottonii-san must've been really busy to never know about our new bond, huh?" She replied, still not paying attention to him before she started to hum and think, "Though I do consider him as a good guardian to replace Elsa. I never really considered Papa Nii-chan as a father figure, at least not yet. But he had been a really fun guardian nonetheless, he even taught me some of his famous subaruisms and how to make dolls!"

Ram scoffed, "Barusu has been a bad influence on you, why don't you consider someone else as a parental figure, Meili?"

Meili shook her head. "No way! Not in another 400 years!"

Otto laughed at her childish act, it was rare to even see her child-like mind in action due to her tragic past regarding her time being an assassin, and being one of Capella's attack dogs.

Even with Subaru gone, the entire camp had somewhat managed to live on, even if a bit saddened that he is in fact not in their lives anymore. Thanks to Otto's several attempts in trying to lift the mood of the entire camp several months ago, taking what he learned of Subaru's strategies in doing so, Otto had managed to somewhat become the second Subaru to them alongside Garfiel. Even though he knows that he cannot replace him fully, the grey haired merchant tries to come up with ways of living up to him anyways.

Truly, he had to thank his friend for giving him strength and tactics in holding up the camp's entire morale department. Though it comes at the cost of even more burdens than he can carry at a time. Making him less efficient as an internal affairs minister until he retired from that position a few months ago.

"Gahk!"

In the end of their spar, Wilhelm had managed to land a final decisive blow to Garfiel. Landing a solid hit to his knees then abdomen with his wooden sword, forcing the boy to be knocked down to the ground tired. Wilhelm is also panting, sweating even.

"You are progressing fast, Garfiel-dono. That was a close victory by only a small margin, if you paid attention to that final blow you would have defeated me." The old man said, putting his practice sword on his hip before lending a hand to help Garfiel stand up.

"Yer crazy strong old man, mine's amazin' self's been beat," Said Garfiel, laughing a little at his own defeat.

The boy took his hand, standing up before doing some of the radio callisthenics he had learned from his captain to flex and ease his exhausted muscles. Certainly, his captain had made a massive influence on his strict training regime and daily life. The boy Garfiel aims to become not just a normal knight like his idol, but a royal one to make him proud. That is why he is currently training under one of the veteran and retired legendary knights of old.

"You too are a tough opponent, I have not experienced this much struggle in a spar since more than 40 years ago with my wife." Wilhelm smiled, offering a towel to the boy, which he took to wipe off his sweat.

Soon the three people at the gazebo got off their seats before approaching the two men. Otto waved at his brother, happy to see that the fight had concluded. Ram was indifferent as always, but was almost impressed, which made her disgusted at herself. Meili however, ignored the whole fight as she was busy playing with Shaula, but turned her attention to the fight prior to its end. She bore her usual neutral expression consisting of a small child-like smile before following the duo of Ram and Otto.

"So Ram, how well did my amazin' self do in yer eyes?" Garfiel said to her.

"Regretfully almost impressed. You did an adequate job, Garf." She replied in a robotic tone, as if she is desperately trying to hide her true emotions.

Garfiel's heart jumped a little that he almost succeeded at capturing her heart. Up until now, his love and admiration of her had only increased since Subaru's disappearance. He was not sure why his youthful crush on her turned into actual love, but he shrugged it off. When Subaru does indeed return, he might want to get his sage-like advice on romantic relationships and the weird phase called puberty.

Garfiel then proceed to look towards Otto, who seems to be unsure of what to do

"Are you really going to aim for becoming a royal knight, Garfiel-san? It has been a long while since we really talked about this, but I've heard that the actual exam of becoming one is really harsh" Otto asked, unsure of his brother's decision.

"That is true, I've made myself train my whole life to become one of them in my youthful days. But I'm unsure if the ceremony and tests conducted have changed since then, though I believe with Reinhard now in charge of leading the knights, the future will be for the better for the royal knights" Wilhelm added, now wondering to himself about his current pupil's decision in becoming a royal knight.

For all he knows, with his grandson in charge and knowing how harsh he can be when training his own pupils thanks to his divine protection, the exam of becoming a royal knight will be harder compared to his time in service. He hoped that it would be true, as it would harden Garfiel further into a real knight in the near future.

Garfiel only laughed at both of them, "Even if they're harder than usual, my amazin' self will laugh at 'em like how the Cap'n laughed at the face of the three great mabeasts before he beat 'em all down!"

"Tiger onii-san is really determined to exceed Papa Nii-chan, huh?" Meili said with an awkward smile, laughing a little.

"You said it right, Meili," Otto replied, smiling awkwardly too.

Suddenly, the group of five can feel that someone is coming. They all turned around to see the queen herself, Felt Lugunica, entering the garden. Though she is currently not in her royal dress. In fact, she had just recently jumped over the gazebo's roof wearing her old outfit consisting of a black cloth covering her chest that was then covered by a small sleeveless leather jacket, with torn black leggings to cover her legs and a red scarf that is tied to her neck. She approached the group like the carefree and freedom loving girl she is, her face indicating something had happened.

"Felt-sama, may I ask what are you doing here? Judging by your clothes, you've recently arrived back from visiting the slums" Otto asked. A bit flustered seeing her outfit, especially since now Felt had grown a bit in terms of her body. Her clothes became more revealing and tight than usual because of that.

She looked at him and nodded, "Yup! I did return from the slums! But to be quick.." she turned to Meili, "I'm requesting Natsuki Meili's audience. There's a problem about a potential mabeast attack on a village near the Mathers' domain."

"Who told you that? I thought all of the barrier stones were erected and secure!" Said Meili. Her role as the mabeast expert in Felt's court was a vital one in preventing more and more of these problems for the lower class populations. But when that kind of news showed up, it only made her frustrated at how those problems were created in the first place.

"Well it turns out someone sabotaged it! The knights conclude that it may be the witch cult's doing in trying to cause some more trouble in that area as petty revenge. We don't have much time to prepare, let's go!" Felt replied in a stressful tone.

Even if her rule had been peaceful thanks to Subaru intervening in the major events that had transpired since a few years ago, the witch cult is still trying to get revenge through these mabeast incursions as a last ditch effort. Truly, it is annoying her to the core trying to play this unwanted cat and mouse game with the kingdom's most hated enemy.

"Those bastards…" Garfiel commented.

Otto nodded, "Truly despicable, even without their leaders they still cause problems."

Ram nodded as well, "Which reminds me of you two. Even without your captain the two dunces are still causing enough problems that even the royal staff is busy dealing with all the things you two have caused. Just imagine if Barusu is here, what an utterly disgusting and stressful life we'd all be living."

Both of the brothers laughed. Ram's insults are still sharp as ever, even if now a bit weak due to her mourning Roswaal's death.

As the three banter while the old man Wilhelm is enjoying himself seeing them converse with one another, Meili nodded and left the garden with Felt. She carries Shaula on her head as they head towards the inside of the palace for briefing. She left the rest of the group to do her job, waving at them as she went. Really, with all that is going on for the past year, her life has been a stressful but joyful one.

The current atmosphere of one of the Royal Palace's many hallways can be described in one word: Peaceful. Petra, a young 15 year old maid, the youngest member of the entire place with Meili herself being a close second, is currently cleaning a vase of flowers alongside the newly revitalized Rem.

She had grown enough to the point where her feminine beauty had started to show. Her short brown hair is now getting longer, but it is currently being tied into a ponytail to help her move better without her hair causing much trouble. As she cleans, she begins to hum a tune of a song that was taught by the one she still loves after all this time, Natsuki Subaru, as a way to remember all the things he had done for her since the first time she met him at her village. She was told that this was the tune that was played during his fight with the white whale. He had said to her that it came from his favorite childhood story about a pair of kids and a dog named patrasche. The story is also where he also got the name for his ground dragon too.

Rem heard the junior maid's hum as she was sweeping the floor. But currently ignoring it instead of asking what song she is humming about. She had grown to be more independent of Subaru, and was not that all saddened when he had disappeared. In fact, his disappearance had allowed her to grow more as a person. Now, she is a fully independent woman who has to take care of her own adoptive child, Louis Arneb, the former sin archbishop of gluttony.

The two continue to clean the surroundings of the hallway, before being interrupted by an incoming pair of voices approaching. Judging by the sound of their voice, the two can conclude who they are.

"You are really having fun as Big Bro's daughter huh….I wish I had time to hang out with him before you know..." Felt said.

Meili nodded smugly, though a bit sad after hearing the last statement made by her, "Though after I'm done with this mission and you're done with today's 'Queenly Tasks' we can play with some of my dolls if you want! I can even teach you some of Papa Nii-chan's subaruisms, is that O-kay?"

Felt perked up as she heard her offer. "Really!? Thank you! My life has been so boring and stressful, that is just what I need as a break! Not some quiet dinner with Reinhard!" Felt exclaimed, hugging Meili in the process.

The former assassin laughed as they walked down the hallway, Petra and Rem soon noticed them arriving. Petra quickly went for a bow as they passed by, followed by Rem also, almost forgetting to do so in front of the free roaming queen. Though Meili stopped and proceeded to ask her friend about something, making Felt stop as well, gesturing to her to be quick.

"What is it, Meili-chan?" Petra asked.

Meili hummed happily. "Just want to know if you have time to play with me and Felt once we're done with our job. Do you want to?"

Petra widened her eyes and nodded, "Sure! I would love to if I have time!" she then turned to Rem, "Rem-neesama, can Louis-chan join as well?"

Rem tilted her head before nodding with a small smile, "I will inform her once our daily chores are done"

"That makes four of us then! I should think of a plan on what to do with this event!" Meili said.

Petra giggled at that statement, excited for the event that is to come. Now she is thinking about what to bring for the party. Perhaps the 'Special Edition Vollachian Adventurer Natsuki Subaru' doll he made for her? But the special tea set given to her by Frederica would be nice to bring for the party too. Perhaps both? Her pondering just never ends before the carefree queen interrupted.

"Well we should get going now if we want this event to come quicker now shouldn't we?" Felt interrupted.

Meili nods in agreement, "Yeah, we should really get going. Well then, bye Petra-chan! See you at the doll party!" she said.

Shortly after, Meili continued onwards with Felt as she waved at her friend, who replied with the same gesture as well. Rem can only stare at the three young teenagers, thinking of what to do with her sister after her daily tasks are done while the kids play. Soon enough though, she goes back to sweeping the floor, along with the now more enthusiastic young maid Petra Leyte.

Emilia is currently waiting by the gates of the palace, sitting on a nearby seat as she watches from the staff walking by and doing their chores in the background. She's a little less bright this morning, as she does in every other morning since Subaru's disappearance. Though in spite of that, her love for him grew, and so does her longing for him.

She remembered the time she actually confessed to him, just a few minutes after they reunited in Vollachia. The first time they had their second kiss, but a first one where it was mutual, where both sides realized their feelings for one another. That very day was the happiest moment of her life, nothing could compete with that, and even the second and third place was taken by Subaru's first and second confession to her.

She also remembered the sorrowful first days of his subsequent disappearance with Beatrice. She remembered herself crying to sleep, not even bothering to eat for a few days just because of her heart being broken in two with him gone. It was a feeling that she hated to a high degree, but she is obligated to feel that sort of thing. The feeling of longing and despair, she felt absolute loath for them.

But, she quickly reminded herself of the memory of her beloved, cheering her on to overcome her challenges. She smiled at that. And she reminded herself of time and time again where he saved her, and in turn her saving him too, both physically and emotionally. She smiled at that too. She reminded herself of his words, his declarations of love towards her. She used it as her source of strength, and from then on she matured overtime, and learned to somewhat live without him, little by little she used her memories with him to grow stronger as a person. And after the battle with Capella, she had grown far enough that she had considered it a success, and returned from the despair of sadness and into the light of a hopeful future.

She hoped that he would return to her once more. Because from then on, she would not want to live alone anymore, even if she grew stronger because of that. She would stay by his side eternally as lovers, as future husband and wife, and just like he had said it, she would stick by his side 24/7! She can feel her love growing by the second everytime she thinks about him, and just like that, she grows more hopeful for what is to come in the near future.

She smiled brightly, hoping that her saviour and beloved would come to her when the time comes.

She turned towards Reinhard who began to approach her in his knightly uniform. He had recently finished evaluating the reports of the knights as their new commander, and is now heading for the palace to report it to the queen. But after he saw Emilia waiting by the gates, he decided to walk up to her and spoke.

"Emilia-sama," Greeted Reinhard, "It is a pleasure to see you here beside the gates. What are you perhaps waiting for?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, still a bit surprised even if she had expected him, "I'm just looking at people passing by due to boredom, that's all. I'm on a break after dealing with the amount of paperwork I've been given today, what's up?"

Reinhard blinked, "Did Emilia-sama perhaps just used a subaruism? If not then I would say what is up is the clear blue sky today, the weather is clear and pleasant and there is no chance for rain. As for the break, why don't you head to the royal garden? I've heard that Garfiel is currently training under Honored Grandfather Wilhelm before he initiate his test to become a royal knight by the end of the month. It must've been a spectacle to watch." he said gracefully in his usual knightly tone.

Emilia hummed and nodded, "Yes, I did use a subarusism, Reinhard. You don't need to be so literal!" She gave off a small laugh before resuming, "Though the thing is, I like the nice and peaceful atmosphere of the gates here, and I would've been in the royal garden if not for that spar as well. Garfiel has just been a reeallly bad boy for fighting in that place, but I understand that he wants to because it's easier to set up that way."

"I see," Reinhard proceeded to bow before speaking "I would like to apologize for my mista-"

"Reinhard?" She interrupted, "I should've told you that earlier if not for me being sooo busy today. But with that in mind, I will say this just once!"

"What is it that you want to tell me, Emilia-sama?" Reinhard tilted her head.

"A single thank you is better than a million sorrys! It's not that hard to think and process now is it? I've told this to Subaru multiple times when he arrived at the mansion for the first time, so you should reeaally remind yourself of this when it is this important!"

Reinhard straightened his stance and nodded, "Understood Emilia-sama. I thank you for this message you've given me."

"There, that was not hard now was it? And please drop the formalities, we're friends remember? I am on a break too, so no need to keep it outside of the job!"

"It certainly wasn't. But this time I would like to apologize that I cannot do your latter request, as even though Emilia-sama is on a break, I am not. For I'm here to report the current findings of the knights and guards of the capital, as well as the reporting an important finding that had been conducted by the locals of the Mathers Domain"

Emilia nodded, understanding what he had said, "Understandable, understandable. Say…what kind of important report that had transpired over there?"

"Around a quarter of the barrier crystals in the small demi-human settlement of Leglonis had disappeared recently, and we're worried that this may be an attempt made by one of the split sects of the witch cult who call themselves The Black Hand. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find Queen Felt anywhere in the slums she several times had visited this past week, so I am heading here to report to her about this urgent matter." He explained to her.

"That's really dangerous and urgent, I hope you can find Felt-chan soon!" She exclaimed.

As she said that, two people had suddenly walked up to them, and both turned to see who had come to greet them. It turns out, Felt and Meili herself had arrived to the scene, and Reinhard proceeded to kneel down and greeted his queen.

"Queen Felt, it seems I have finally found you at last. There is an-"

"Yeah yeah, no need to he so formal, stand up please! Plus, is this about the potential mabeast attack at a demi-human village?"

Reinhard proceeded to do what was told before replying, "Yes Queen Felt, have you perhaps heard of it already?"

"Of course I did! The blessing had told me to visit the slums this afternoon, and guess what? I heard it from the fellow slum dwellers there about that very problem! You shouldn't really panic over such matters except if you really can't find me anywhere in the capital. Really, you're such an idiot!" Felt turned her head away from him, clearly upset over his sloth.

"If that is the case, then I would like to thank you for always being up ahead on the urgent news in these passing months, Queen Felt." Reinhard said to her, surprising the blonde loli a little.

"Heh? Reinhard, did you just thank me instead of apologizing!? Just who are you!? You must be a fake!" Felt exclaimed, panicking over his simple gesture of gratitude. Emilia laughed at her antics.

"There is certainly no fake Reinhard that had been detected nearby, Queen Felt. And I am certain that I'm the real one. What I did was simply something that was reminded to me by Emilia-sama recently"

"Your interactions are really so funny to see, I can't stop laughing!" Said Emilia between her giggles, before stopping shortly after, "Though to talk about the urgent matter we're facing, shouldn't I come instead of Meili? I'm more than capable on facing the mabeasts and repairing the barrier at the same time."

"Well, I can't see why not...but Big Sis have her own matters to attend to, right?" Felt said to her

"What was it again?" She asked, humming to a tune before answering it herself, "Was it the meeting with the lords up north!? Oh fudgenuckles! I'm going to be late!"

"Emilia-sama, the meeting won't happen until next week, you do have time to prepare. But I would not recommend on going to the Mathers Domain either, even with that longer deadline." Reinhard told her.

"Really!? I must've read the dates wrong then huh?" Emilia facepalmed, ending her panic.

Felt followed with her own as well, "Big Sis can really be forgetful sometimes" She said, giggling a little.

"Who even says fudgenuckles in this day and age too? Hehe…" Uttered Meili from behind.

Reinhard turned towards the two young girls shortly after. Emilia turned towards them as well, "So it seems that Queen Felt had brought you with her for the mission, correct?" he said.

Meili nodded, playfully saluting towards the sword saint as well, "Yes sir! I am here for that mission!"

Reinhard nodded with a smile before bringing up a piece of parchment he had brought from the barracks, "Then let us begin the briefing…"

Meili walked alone towards the path leading to the royal stables, where the ground dragons are kept and taken care of. As she walked, she can see some of the maids passing by and bowing at her. It seems to her that they had completed their task in cleaning the place. So she should expect a cleaner Patrasche as her mount for the mission she is about commence.

Recently, she had been thinking to herself about her life from before and after the her adoptive father had disapppeared from her life. At first, it was pretty weird to be pampered on by someone in the first place, especially now as a daughter of someone she used to hate but came to respect after the crisis at the watchtower.

For all her life, she had been trained to become an assassin, working with the now defunct assassin organization ran by her mama, Capella the sin archbishop of lust. For all her life, she came to fear her, and only obey her words as to not get punished, before she met Elsa who she sees as a sister figure. She was taught by her how to understand words and write them, how to braid her hair, and how to avoid her mama whenever possible.

She came to respect and love her as a sister by that point, and cried when she died in the battle at the old mathers mansion. And after that, she was imprisoned in the basement after the place had been rebuilt. Honestly for her, she prefers that place over escaping and potentially face her mama's wrath. That is when her life was turned upside down.

First thing she was given was an overly luxurious room fitting for a girl of her age as her jail room. The door can only locked on the outside, and there are little to no way she could tell time except for the crystal clock she received as well. And little by little, the room is filled with dolls and gifts made by both Subaru and Emilia and the others. Meili had never been given so much things as a child before, even during her time with Elsa. Little by little the childish side of her came and grow on her, making her forget her training. And even after her attempt at murdering Subaru at the watchtower, the one who captured her, she was forgiven, and had been taught the gift of love.

Familial love, it was something so rare to her that it feels foreign. But it was something she longed for so long that after she was officially adopted, his influence and antics grew on her and she began to imitate him too. But unfortunately, it was only for six months she started to feel like the average girl and grow up normally, because now she had been left alone once more. Even the members of the Emilia Camp can't fill her emptiness she suddenly got after his disappearance.

But she was yet again wrong like always. Because after the death of her mama and Roswaal's sacrifice at the end of it, she felt love from all around her. Starting from Emilia then Petra, all throughout the combined forces of the Felt and Emilia Camp. She felt as if she was a normal girl again after that. But really, there's just one thing she really needed in all her life after Elsa's death. A parental figure is what she needed, and most if not all can't fill that role except for the nasty-eyed boy she came to love and respect.

"Living as an orphan again is really hard huh….." Meili uttered to herself. "I really miss Papa Nii-chan. Do you miss him too, Shaula? Wait….Shaula, where are you!?"

Meili began to panic as she cannot feel the little scorpion beside her. Did she forget to bring her pet scorpion with her? Or did Shaula decided to jump off of her and ran off to nowhere?

"This couldn't be! Shaula! Where are you!?" She yelled, looking in all directions for that tiny crimson scorpion she had played and lived with for what seems to be all her life, "Papa Nii-chan will be soooo mad when he gets back!"

"Ankle biter?"

Meili turned towards the source of the voice. It sounds so familiar to her that it feels almost nostalgic to hear. Before her was a half naked woman, wearing the colour scheme of orange and black the same as her father, looking at her confused.

"Shaula? Is that you?"

"It is me, Shaula! Master's personal sex slave! Nice to meet you again, ankle biter!" She said, doing the signature pose of pointing up to the sky, reminiscent to her master.

"You should really start calling me by my name you know!? I'm Natsuki Meili now!" Meili exclaimed

"Hmm? That last name feels familiar….wait! Is my master here!? Where is he!? I can smell him just fine even from here! Let me see my master!" Shaula said as she dropped to her knees, grabbing the blue haired girl by the collar, shaking her.

"Wait a minute! He is currently not…..here? Wait wait wait! You can smell him!? That means…Shaula! Scan our surroundings! This couldn't be!" Said Meili, a bit dazed.

"Hmm?" Shaula stood up and began to scan surroundings as told, "I see...trees! And more trees! And grass! And the bright sun!"

Meili facepalmed, but internally panicked, "That's the point! This is not the royal stables anymore! It should be surrounded by walls and well trimmed bushes! No trees of any kind!" Meili said, recovering from the sudden shake and beginning to look at her surroundings.

It is clearly different from what she can see with her eyes. Certainly no ground dragons and the area is certainly surrounded by a forest of some kind. Both of them can conclude one thing from what they had just observed, "Do you know what I'm thinking?" Meili said.

Shaula nodded, looking at her after scanning the whole clearing out. And both of them began to utter the same thing.

"Just where are we now?"