Cain, who was following Lance, closely observed the changes in the expressions of the people present.
The people dressed in elegant suits in front of Parfum Palace showed expressions of relief, while the individuals dressed in black on the other side had somewhat grim faces, though they maintained a carefree attitude.
"Sir Lance, with your arrival we can be a little more at ease," said an elderly man dressed like a butler, stepping out from the group of elegant people to greet Lance.
It was evident that the group was led by a young woman standing at the center.
That young woman had to be the current heir of Parfum Palace.
"Mr. Sebastian, isn't the one leading this time the same as last time?" Lance asked as he dismounted his Dragonite and approached.
The butler sighed with resignation.
"This time, the one leading is their true boss. He had been isolated, training to reach the elite level, and now that he's done it—plus with help from an unknown force—he's come again to steal the ancestral relics of the Palace."
Upon hearing this, Lance looked toward the center of the plaza, where two people were battling.
The man in a black formal suit from the opposing side looked imposing. He was facing the head of the Palace guards, a trainer of quasi-elite level.
But the head guard stood no chance against the attacks of the rival's Pokémon.
If the enemy weren't limiting himself to just two Pokémon, the battle would've been over already.
His six quasi-elite Pokémon were completely outclassed by the opponent's.
Parfum Palace had some defensive strength, but it wasn't particularly strong.
The Kalos League hadn't given them much support; the head of the guards was their main line of defense.
Normally, nothing ever happened, since no one dared to attack the Palace.
If they were attacked by outside forces, the League would step in. But this time, it was an internal conflict among royalty, so the League couldn't get involved openly.
"Hand over what I want, and I promise not to touch anything else inside Parfum Palace—or any of you!"
"But don't test my patience! If this ends in deaths, it won't be pretty," shouted the man in the black suit with an imposing voice.
It was clear his goal was a specific item from the Palace, not a massacre.
No one responded. Lance slowly approached the sweaty head of the guards and, giving a few pats on his heavy armor, said: "Leave this to me, head guard."
Seeing that it was Lance who spoke, the guard sighed in relief, though with a shameful expression.
"I'm useless... Once again I have to trouble you, Sir Lance."
It was clear Lance had a good relationship with Parfum Palace.
"You're the one who interrupted us last time? I heard you're not from Kalos! Stay out of Kalosan affairs!" shouted the man in the black suit with anger—and a hint of fear—upon seeing Lance, cape fluttering, in his "I'm cool and invincible" pose.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, sir," Lance replied with a calm smile.
Since the opponent was also a royal heir, Lance could intervene, but he couldn't use lethal force.
"Oh, really? What a shame... Then I have no choice but to take you out first."
"You'll have to step in, Miss Aliana," said the man as he turned to a woman beside him, wearing a red skirt and jacket, with sand-colored hair and huge visor-style dark sunglasses.
"Ha ha ha! Mr. Bas, you're too kind. This is exactly why I came!" Aliana laughed, stepping forward and throwing a Pokéball.
A Druddigon appeared in the plaza.
"ROOOOAR!" it roared fiercely, unleashing its full pressure.
Upon seeing the Druddigon, Lance frowned.
"An elite-level Pokémon?"
Bas, the man in the black suit, smiled.
"That's right. Miss Aliana is a reinforcement I requested personally. If you leave now, there's still time. Unlike the Palace members, I have no qualms about eliminating you."
Upon learning there was another elite-level Pokémon, those behind Lance wore bitter expressions.
The head of the guards, who had just retreated, clenched his teeth and stepped forward.
"Sir Lance, I'll do my best to help you hold them off..."
But Lance stopped him with a hand.
Then he smiled and said, "Hey, Cain! Enough of watching the show, don't you think? The enemy's already here."
Lance was somewhat relieved too. Thankfully Cain had come with him on this mission—otherwise, defending the Parfum Palace relics would've been extremely difficult.
Although he was confident that Bas was no match for him, if Aliana attacked the Palace's people, he wouldn't be able to cover everything.
That was when everyone remembered there was someone else with Lance.
The crowd parted a little, revealing Cain in the back, watching everything like it was a theater play.
Truthfully, Cain was more interested in Team Flare at that moment.
That Aliana... wasn't she one of Team Flare's scientists?
One of their high-ranking members.
Among that group of people with extravagant hairstyles, she was the only one whose hair color looked halfway normal.
And now Lance had called on him, so Cain had no choice but to slowly walk toward the front.
Lance held out his fist. Cain, with a look of "you're dragging me into this," raised his own fist and bumped it.
"One for each of us, sound good?" Lance asked with a grin.
"Yeah, it sounds... bad. Really bad. Can I say no? You know I'm not like you!" Cain said, shrugging.
"Ha ha! I'm afraid not!"
Pushed in by force.
Lance threw another Pokéball, summoning his Gyarados, who joined Dragonite in launching directly at Bas's two Pokémon.
Cain remained in place, facing Aliana. She stared at him, waiting for him to summon a Pokémon, but Cain seemed lost in thought.
While Lance and Bas were already locked in intense battle, silence reigned between Cain and Aliana.
Aliana watched him seriously. If Lance respected him this much, then he must have the strength to match.
But what she didn't know was that Cain was completely distracted.
The people from Parfum Palace also stared at him. Although they didn't know what he was doing, they trusted Lance—and thus believed Cain might be their only hope.
"Aliana's here... That means Lysandre is involved too," thought Cain, frowning.
"I don't know what item is hidden in Parfum Palace, or if Bas has something he needs... but does this mean Lysandre is already investigating the history?"
At the same time, Cain was analyzing the current condition of his Pokémon.
(End of chapter)