Chapter 139 - Leaving Greymoor

Chapter 139: 139 - Leaving Greymoor

The day had finally arrived.

Adrien would leave Greymoor first and travel to Elyndor, where Amelia and Lucien were waiting for him, and from there the three of them would start the journey toward Sylvamir.

He still had no idea how long he would be gone.

Only a few months ago, leaving Greymoor for any length of time would have been impossible.

Clairmont territory had been unstable, undermanned and barely beginning to recover from everything that happened. Now the roads were safer, the Bloodfang Wolves had been folded into Clairmont’s forces, new administrators were helping Evelyne, and the territory was slowly turning into something recognisable again.

Even so, Adrien could not help wondering how much might shift while he was away, since these were not quiet times. Great Houses were falling, Aurelian was moving pieces inside Valleroy, and the Clairmont name had gone from something people mocked to something people were starting to watch again. Anything could happen.

At least his own reasons for going were straightforward. There would be a celebration tied to what happened with Princess Elowen, and he had been promised a reward from Sylvamir’s treasury, though that interested him far less than the other thing: Vael had promised to tell him where to go to improve Umbral Root.

That alone made the trip worthwhile.

Adrien had used the staff constantly since obtaining it, and its faster casting, reduced mana loss and sharper control had worked their way into how he fought and trained.

If somebody in Sylvamir could lift it out of B rank into something considerably better, the effect on his magic would be enormous, and imagining the extra effects it might gain was enough to make him impatient.

He pushed the thought aside and looked at the luggage beside him. One suitcase, which was all he needed. Most of what he carried lived inside his Inventory anyway, weapons and Items included, and the case held clothes, money and the few ordinary things easier to carry by hand.

Adrien was already dressed for the road. His clothes were noble enough that he would not embarrass House Clairmont if he ended up standing in front of Sylvamir’s royal family, though considerably less formal than what he had worn during Oathday.

There was no chance he was meeting foreign royalty in the clothes he used for blowing targets apart on the training grounds.

Ariane was the first person he found, already training. Adrien watched from the edge of the courtyard as his sister worked through another spell. Since learning the truth about Absolute Magus she had turned strangely determined to find something she could beat him at. She had not discovered what yet, though she was clearly treating the search seriously.

Adrien waited until she finished before walking over. "I’m leaving."

Ariane dismissed the mana gathering around her hand and turned toward him. "Today?"

"Yeah. Today is the day."

Her eyes dropped to the suitcase, then came back to his face. "How long?"

"I don’t know yet. It depends on what happens in Sylvamir."

Ariane nodded slowly. "Then don’t come back after learning another ten spells."

Adrien almost smiled, though her expression was serious enough that he answered the same way. "I’ll try not to make your job harder."

"You will anyway."

Adrien rested one hand briefly on top of her head before stepping back. "I expect you to have found something you’re better at by the time I return."

"I will."

There was enough conviction in the answer that Adrien believed she would at least try. He left her to it and worked through the last things waiting for him.

Garrick, Vikir and Kael stood near the main entrance. Adrien had given them their instructions earlier, so little remained to say.

"Keep the patrols running normally. Don’t reduce them just because things have been quiet."

Garrick nodded. "We won’t."

Adrien looked toward Kael. "The former Bloodfang squads are still adapting. If anything happens, use them where they’re strongest instead of forcing them into roles they haven’t trained for yet."

"Understood."

Finally he turned to Vikir. "If anything unusual happens involving the Crown, the other Great Houses or anything connected to Montferrand, send word immediately."

"I will, my lord."

Adrien hesitated before adding the part that mattered most to him. "More than anything else, protect my mother and Ariane."

All three understood this was not just another order, and Garrick answered first. "You don’t need to worry about them."

Adrien trusted him, and the other two as well. Greymoor stood far stronger than when he first arrived, and there was little reason to expect trouble while he was gone, though experience had taught him that assuming nothing could go wrong was the fastest way to be proven wrong.

Evelyne came outside last, carrying herself differently from the way she did when discussing territory or soldiers. There was no Head of House in her expression now. Only his mother.

"Do you have everything?"

"I think so."

"Enough clothes?"

"Yes."

"Money?"

"Yes."

"Your documents?"

Adrien paused. "Yes."

Evelyne looked unconvinced. "And you’ll contact us when you arrive?"

"I will."

Adrien watched her for a few seconds while something old turned over quietly in his chest, because his mother from his previous life had done exactly this.

Checking whether he had packed properly, asking questions she already knew the answers to, finding reasons to keep talking before he walked out the door.

He had spent years brushing that concern away, and by the time he understood how much of it had simply been love, it was too late. He had died without ever apologising properly for the choices he made.

Yet if he had somehow been given one last chance to call her, Adrien knew exactly how it would have gone. She would have answered, and she probably would have forgiven him before he finished admitting he had been wrong.

That thought hurt less than it used to, maybe because this life had handed him another family before he understood how badly he needed one. Greymoor, Evelyne and Ariane had turned into things he wanted to protect whatever came next.

Evelyne stepped closer and hugged him. Adrien froze for a moment before returning it.

"Be careful," she said quietly.

"I will."