"My lord, do you want to sleep for a while?" Diane's voice surfaced amidst the loud rattling of the carriage wheels.
"I'm not sleepy yet," Lionel answered, but his eyes barely looked up at Diane. Instead, it was on the object in his hand: a small golden stopwatch.
Lionel has been staring at it for quite some time now. It looked like any ordinary stopwatch. It was the reward he received from his system after accomplishing his recent mission.
He had been trying to find out what it does. However, when he pressed the button on the side, all it did was count up to 15 seconds.
Lionel had no idea what it was truly for. However, he was sure of one thing. It must be important if it were a reward from the system.
"You've been looking at that thing for the past hour, my lord. Aren't you tired?" Diane sighed softly beside him.
"I'm fine," he replied. After a few more seconds, he decided to stop staring at it. He slipped it into his pocket, deciding that he wanted to keep this closely with him all the time.
The carriage jolted slightly as it rolled over a small bump on the dirt road. Outside the window, the sun had fully risen, surrounding their path in warm light.
They had been traveling in the carriage for hours already. Lionel was sitting inside with Diane by his side. Other than Diane, two other maids followed them closely behing on a a smaller carriage that contained Lionel's things.
In front of them, Rylan and Eiden were riding on their own horses. They were on each side, keeping a steady pace that wasn't too fast or too slow.
It wasn't only them who were travelling the path.
Behind them was Cassian's own carriage.
It was the same size as what Lionel was currently using. However, the difference was the line of royal knights and soldiers in full armor behind him.
Cassian brought a whole group of people with him. There were knights, attendants, and even a few servants who rode separate carriages filled with supplies.
When Lionel asked about it earlier, Cassian had only smiled and said, "It's for our safety, of course. I can't risk anything happening to me and to you, Lionel."
If it were the past, Lionel would've appreciated that. He would've even felt thankful that Cassian cared so much about his well-being.
But now… as Lionel looked out the window in silence, his expression stayed unreadable.
He knew better.
Cassian wasn't doing it for his safety. He was doing it to show off. To remind everyone who was in charge of the retreat. On who held the power and influence.
The grand display of knights, their shining armor, and the banners bearing the royal crest was all just Cassian's way of flaunting his position as the son of the current Crown Prince.
Lionel's fingers tapped lightly against his knee as he continued to stare out the window.
The retreat they were heading to wasn't some casual trip. It was a gathering organized by the Imperial Academy. It was a retreat meant for young nobles who were close to reaching the age of formal knighthood or academy enrollment.
Most of the participants were around their age, around 14-20. They were sons of noble families from all over the Empire. It was supposed to be a place for them to learn and form connections that could benefit their future.
For Lionel, however, this retreat meant more than that.
After staring out the window for so long, Lionel finally felt his eyelids growing heavy. The lack of sleep from earlier was now catching up to him. His vision blurred slightly, and without thinking, he let out a big yawn.
"It seems you're sleepy now, my lord," Diane, who noticed it, couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Lionel rubbed his eyes and gave a small nod. "Yeah. I am."
Without another word, Diane carefully adjusted the seat cushion and folded a small blanket, making sure Lionel could sleep comfortably on his seat.
"Thank you…" Lionel muttered in a low voice. He rested his head on the backrest of his seat, and within minutes, he was fast asleep.
- - -
When Lionel's eyes opened again, the loud sound from their carriage was not there anymore. Blinking slowly, his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. He sat up and glanced out the window.
The carriage wasn't moving anymore.
"Did I sleep too long?" he asked out loud, his voice still drowsy.
Diane, who was fixing her hair in the corner, turned to him with a soft laugh.
"Yes, my lord. You slept for almost five hours."
"Five hours?" Lionel repeated, almost surprised. He hadn't meant to sleep that much at all.
"Yes," Diane replied, smiling. "But it's just in time. We've just arrived at the forest of the western region."
"We've arrived?"
"Yes."
Lionel parted the curtain on his side. Outside, he could already see servants moving around. They were unloading the luggage on the other carriage and arranging it in neat piles.
In the far distance, he could see soldiers setting up tents.
We have really arrived…
"If you want to continue sleeping, my lord, we can go straight to your tent," Diane offered kindly.
However, Lionel shook his head and straightened his clothes.
"No. I want to see the place first."
"Do you want to go now?"
"Yes."
"As you wish," Diane said, standing up. She opened the carriage door and stepped down first, then reached out her hand toward him.
Lionel took it and carefully got off the carriage. The cool breeze brushed against his face. The surroundings smelled like soil and trees. He took a slow breath, his eyes scanning the forested surroundings where the retreat would take place.
The scene before him felt very familiar.
"Lionel!"
Just as he was taking the view, a loud and cheerful voice sounded from his left.
Lionel turned his head just in time to see Cassian walking toward him. The young prince looked completely at ease.
"Come!" Cassian called out, waving a hand. "Leave everything to the servants and soldiers. They already know what to do."
Lionel glanced back at Diane and the servants who were still busy unloading his belongings. Cassian, however, didn't seem to care at all.
"Let's greet the other nobles instead, Lionel," Cassian continued enthusiastically, "I heard some of them have already arrived!"
Lionel stood there for a moment. Then, after a short pause, he gave a small nod and began walking toward Cassian.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Lead the way."