"Hello boys!" exclaimed Katia, joyfully.

"Hi, Katia. Is Aran at home?" Cora asked, taking a look inside.

She invited them in. "Are you guys planning another adventure?" she asked in a tone of complicity.

"No way," chuckled Cora, "the holidays have just started."

As they climbed the stairs, they moved past walls filled with antique paintings and polished collection items, family portraits, and large tapestries depicting war scenes from the country's unification.

One thing Cora was sure of: the Allets were the richest family in Lud. Generations of merchants and politicians who funded entire caravans throughout the continent and Aran was the latest heir to a glorious past. There was a story that was often told in town about how, after a winter that was longer than usual, Mr. Allet supplied Lud with flour for an entire month and without asking for any compensation.

Cora knocked on the door of the room and waited for several minutes before Aran opened it.

"Come in and don't make any noise, I have a headache," he murmured. He was still in his pajamas and his hair was disheveled.

As always, Cora was amazed by the amount of clothes that filled the open wardrobe. Objects and equipment directly from the capital were neatly arranged on the shelves. On the desk, next to the school books, there was a replica of a vaasp signed by Rumat Sandàl, an old champion of the Edel Grand Prix. The most prestigious object, however, was the Hozman sword brought back by Mr. Allet at the end of a trip to the Imperial city of Aletar.

Fez approached it and grabbed it: the Seorite set in the hilt was drained of its fluid and the porous surface scratched the skin. The blade's edge, now worn, made it a useless weapon. But in Cora's eyes it was something unique: the weapon symbol of the only nation on the continent that opposed the kharzanian force.

"Fez, damn it! Stay still and don't touch it!" roared Aran. "I've told you a thousand times that if you break it, I'll hang you upside down from the clock tower." He snatched it from his hands and carefully put it back in its place.

"What manners!" he snapped, stepping aside.

Aran gave him a disdainful look and then turned to Cora. "I have to confess that you gave me a shock, but when I was sure that you would recover, I went ahead with the exchange."

Cora nodded. "You did the right thing." He absentmindedly fiddled with the brass sextant hanging on the wall.

Aran pulled a rough-stitched cloth sack from under the bed, tied with frayed rope. He opened it by pulling on a flap and emptied it on the blanket: a real cascade of gold coins filled the sheets.

"Oh-oh my!" Fez stammered with his hands in his hair.

Cora held his breath, he had never seen such amount in his entire life. He almost backed up against the desk.

Aran sat next to the shimmering little treasure, crossed his legs, and joined his hands in a calm attitude. "Since Cora has already recovered, we will leave tomorrow. Tonight I will go talk to the merchants who are organizing the caravan. It will take three, four days at most to get to Clodia. The contact will await our arrival directly at the station." He sighed with satisfaction. "The story is simple: we buy tickets for the competition, pay what is due, and finally board the train for Edel." Aran snapped his fingers in front of Fez's still stunned face.

"Is it safe to transport all this gold?" Cora asked, puzzled. Fez meanwhile started feeling the coins one by one.

"The Order of the Knights of Lamia is protecting the caravan. Besides, who would ever think that we have all these coins?" Aran explained. "Remember well, tomorrow morning at dawn, at the west gate. Don't be late," he said dryly.

"Now, get out of here, I still have many things to sort out." Finally, he looked at both of them.

"What about Elidana? Do you realize she could tell someone at any moment?" Cora said.

"I'm sure she'll keep her mouth shut. She's not stupid and not a traitor. I promised her that when we return I'll talk to my father about the Great Jalme," replied Aran. Then he made a gesture for them to leave again.

Cora and Fez crossed the threshold of the house, happy and satisfied.

"I still can't believe it," whispered Fez as they walked past the guardhouse, "we'll see a real vaasp competition!"

"Hmm... it seems like your fear of the Kharzanians has vanished into nothing," said Cora. "Or maybe the gold coins woke you up?"

For the first time since being included in the planning of the trip, Fez smiled and Cora gave him a affectionate pat on the shoulder. Cora was conflicted, torn between anxiety and happiness. Once again, he wanted to tell Fez the truth, explain things to him properly and show him the metal plate, but something held him back. And while his friend told him about how the Cec systems of the competing vaasp worked, he, even though he was looking at him, wasn't even listening: he was thinking about how strange it was to be afraid of the Kharzanian nation and at the same time to be excited about something like the Grand Prix hosted by them.

In the evening, after a silent dinner between the worried looks of Mrs. Flint, someone knocked on Cora's room door.

"Come in," he said, still busy organizing his travel bag. Elidana came in and the first thing she did was help him with a shirt that just wouldn't fold. "You were quiet all night. You could have told us that you're leaving tomorrow at dawn. I only found out thanks to Marmorel." She moved her hands on her hips.

"And spend the evening before the departure listening to Mrs. Flint's thousand recommendations?" he grumbled, not looking up from his socks.

"She worries about you! Don't you understand? It's as clear as day. I know you're stupid, but she always looks beyond your misbehavior. She treats you like a son and you're just a braggart. She won't be your mother, but she's the closest thing to a parent you'll have in your life!" Her sincere voice hit him in the heart.

He turned around with a frown. "Maybe I exaggerate a bit," he admitted.

"I see that this little head of yours isn't so empty after all!" she exclaimed. She went back to the clothes and helped him prepare the rest of the clothes. "Okay," she said after a long pause, "let's assume your intentions are good, let's even assume that you stole Aran's mother's necklace and sold it. We're not telling anyone about the Great Jalme, at least not until your return, but at least you've thought that Kharzan is not a peaceful place? Or is it just because you're going to see four silly pilots running in circles that you forgot what's written in the newspapers?"

"We just want to have fun. Nothing else."

"I'm coming with you," Elidana said suddenly. "I spoke with Mrs. Flint and she seems to agree."

Cora remained impassive. He smothered a smile: he would never admit it, but he was glad how the situation had evolved. "Where did all your morals go? Your 'I don't participate in your illegal activities and blah blah blah...'"

"First of all," she began, "someone needs to keep an eye on you. You're dangerous," she continued seriously. "And I want to remind you that we have a deal and three months are a long time."

Cora slid both hands over his face. "We're not nine years old anymore!"

"I don't care, goodnight or the pebble!"

Cora stiffened. He felt his pants and looked up as if he had forgotten something. Wide-eyed.

"You don't have any on you," Elidana added, approaching.

He tightened his lips and shook his head slowly, while the young woman rose up on her toes to kiss him on the forehead. "Goodnight, Cora," she said immediately afterwards with a note of satisfaction. But she remained there, waiting with raised eyebrow.

The boy sighed uneasily. It had been months since he had been forced to repeat "that thing." After a long pause, he forced a slight bow. "Goodnight to you, Elidana, may joyful dreams accompany you until dawn," he recited with embarrassment.

Elidana nodded happily and grabbed the door handle.

"Anyway... for the trip, there are some rules-" Cora couldn't finish the sentence before the door was slammed in his face by Elidana.

He finished packing everything he needed and lay down on the bed. The polished metal of the military plate reflected the light of the candles. Cora thought about how the Kharzanians lived in their land, what had driven a man he knew nothing about to enlist in the most powerful army on the continent. He was curious to know if Ethan was like him, who he was or if they had common interests. He was sure it would be difficult to find out about him from the few pieces of information he had. But he also thought that trying wouldn't cost him anything

Just before dawn, Cora was sitting on the fence with a backpack on his shoulder and avoiding Mrs. Flint's gaze on the doorstep.

"I hope this journey brings him some wisdom," the woman said loudly when Elidana arrived with her patched suitcase in hand. The woman hugged her affectionately and straightened her hair. "My kids, have a good trip and, above all, be responsible."

"I promise," said Elidana. She hugged her with enthusiasm and immediately walked away to join Cora.

"Work with dedication and write to me as soon as possible," the elderly guardian shouted before they disappeared from sight.

Along the way, Cora and Elidana talked about the trip that awaited them. She seemed to have taken the idea of having fun into consideration and that was enough for Cora to be happy.

At the west entrance of Lud, they noticed the caravan and about ten knights ready to depart. Fez and Marmorel were already there and as soon as the latter saw Elidana, she ran over to her, leaving Fez alone to hold up her suitcase, twice as big as everyone else's.

"Uh, Marmorel, did you bring the whole house with you?" Cora asked.

"Don't be stupid, just the minimum necessary for a comfortable trip," she replied, "and also I want to draw in my free time." She took her friend's hands. "I'm so happy you're here too!" she exclaimed.

Fez was already loading the suitcases onto the wagon among some dried meat sacks and two large piles of fabrics.

Marmorel showed Elidana the means of transportation. "Do we have to travel in these conditions? How disappointing! There's a nauseating smell, like a shepherd's stable," she said with a grimace.

"Can we departure? The knights have warned us that we're already late," the merchant explained in front of the draft horses. Cora and Fez approached. "A friend of ours isn't here jet, he's the one who has the money."

"The Allet's son has already paid me more than he owed to ensure that you travel comfortably, I'll see if I can lose a little time."

Marmorel flared her nostrils and curled her lip. "If this is traveling comfortably!" she grumbled.

Aran appeared from the main road with a sack full of coins on his shoulder and a much smaller bag in the other hand. Without his school uniform, he looked a few years older, which Marmorel seemed to appreciate, judging from the smile on her face.

Once they were ready, Aran knocked on the wood and showed himself to the merchant. "We can leave," he yelled. He smiled at Elidana and winked at her. "I knew you wouldn't abandon us!"

"Finally we're leaving," said Cora, swaying from the first jolts of the journey.

The rising sun revealed Lud's clock from the morning shadows. Cora saw the city receding and breathed in the air of his homeland. Slowly, the ring of the walls became smaller and as the daylight hit him, he already felt a bit of sadness. The boy had never left his home for so long.

"I'm coming," he muttered. He turned to observe the happy expressions of the young traveling companions, chatting among themselves.

The sky had shades of red, yellow, and blue; a harmony of colors where herds of clouds grazed disordered. The caravan set out stumbling on the path, while a blood-colored oak leaf, pushed by the wind, settled at the sides of the road.