After losing his country, he thought he had lost touch with the feeling of being inseparable. But when the decision was made to go to war, it felt so painful, his heart broke.

He wanted so much to take her with him to the battlefield that he hated to leave her even for a moment. He didn’t want to leave her, even more so because Alana was crying.

He asked her why she was crying, but she just shook her head and said, “I’m sorry.”

He sucked her tears with his lips, but couldn’t catch some of them, so he licked with his tongue.

The farewell was on the bed. She had caught a cold.

When he forbade Alana to get up to see him off, she obeyed him obediently.

He tried to stop her tears, to be kind, to praise her, but the words were stuck in the back of his throat, and he could not speak.

Luciano kissed Alana on the mouth until just before he left. When he saw her waving her little hand and crying, “See you later,” the image burned into his eyes.

He pulled away but couldn’t bear to go back and hug her again.

He saw a bewildered knight out of the corner of his eye but ignored him.

“It’s time to go, Emilio.”

“I know!… Alana, I’ll be right back. I won’t make you feel so lonely. Eat well and sleep well while I’m gone. Promise. Do you understand?”

No, Luciano was the lonely one.

As soon as he left the room and closed the door and Alana was out of sight, he was overwhelmed with loneliness and sadness.

The old him would have mocked him for being ridiculous. He would have mocked me for being crazy about a woman. But now, he could not bring himself to mock himself.

There was a hole in his heart at the thought of her being gone.

A large ship floated on the lake. It was a golden ship, made for royalty only, in the Armenian style, with a pattern of eagles and snakes.

Just before they boarded, Callisto took off his hat and stepped forward.

“My father is on his way to the country of Föge, so I will inform him in your stead,” he said. To Luciano, it did not matter if he was seen off, but Callisto’s presence was unnerving.

Callisto raised his nose and looked at him. “Sir Emilio, the land of the former Serrat territory of Rivas, is now governed by Marquis Munis, and the rest of the region is governed by Count Alevaro. In addition, 2,000 of our knights are stationed there. At a recent meeting, it was decided to send two thousand knights to the neighbouring country of Allesus. They will be waiting at the border. With the thousand knights who will be with you, you will have a total of 5,000 men until the meeting with Teges. After that, 100,000 knights can be deployed immediately if the situation demands it. And then there are 20,000 from Allesus, 10,000 from Nogueira, and 10,000 from Narvais. The meeting with… Teges will be held, and you are invited to attend. It can come to a treaty, or it can break down. Armenia has never been afraid since ancient times. There is no retreat in the face of the enemy. There is only progress. In other words, a breakdown in the talks would mean an all-out war with Teges.”

For Luciano, this was a fortuitous development. At last, he would be able to avenge his family. But he could not hide his surprise. It was a sudden decision, but Armenia was moving too fast.

“I know that Armenia is full of enemies,” he said. “It’s a long way from home; won’t the castle be overrun?” With their soldiers gone, Armenia would be weak at him. That was his concern, but Callisto snorted.

“You don’t need to worry at all. Our defences are ironclad, thanks to our strong knights. All the terrain in Armenia has been calculated so that even if the enemy were to invade, they would not be able to take this castle or even one of our fortresses. Also, this is my own personal opinion,” Callisto said, prefacing his statement. “I don’t see you as a force to be reckoned with. Don’t misunderstand me when I say that. My country cannot afford to lose you in a conflict with Teges. In fact, my father was very reluctant to send you to war. Even if we win against the Teges, we will lose if we lose you. Please take it easy and come back alive. If there is a war after the meeting, I would like you to return without taking part in it. You are not a knight; you are Alana’s king, the Queen of the Thousand-Year Empire.”