Arthur and the others exited the party and began making their way to the training room.

"So Arthur," Feyrith started, sounding concerned. "How much time do I have left with my little brother?"

"That depends on him," Arthur replied casually.

"Ellie said they were friends. She's allowed to have boys for friends," Tess stated in an attempt to protect Tellynnan.

"Tess, we used to be just friends," Arthur replied matter of factly.

"Why do you have a problem with this?" Claire asked. "Is it because he's an elf?"

"You do remember I'm dating Tess right?" Arthur replied rhetorically. "Elf, human, dwarf, it doesn't matter, I treat all these little boys that show any interest in my sister the same."

"I'll warn my little brother then," Theo commented.

Arthur stopped in his tracks. "What did you say?" His voice was dark and intimidating.

Theo realized he had made a mistake instantly. "I just want to keep my little brother safe. So if I tell him you're opposed to your sister dating, maybe it'll deter him," Theo replied, knowing good and well how stubborn his brother could be and that this wouldn't stop him in the slightest.

"Best he doesn't waste his time anyway. Clearly this generation of Leywins is attracted to elves," Feyrith commented to Theo.

Arthur glared back at both of them. "My sister isn't old enough to date," Arthur said in a threatening tone.

"So when will she be old enough?" Kathyln asked calmly.

Arthur took a deep breath. No one understood it, but Kathyln's calm tone always seemed to make anyone want to calm down, no matter how enraged they were.

"I don't know, maybe thirty," Arthur replied, and began walking again.

Reaching the training room, Arthur pushed the double doors open to reveal the dirt field. Lunaris removed his mantle, and was about to place it on the ground, but Kathyln took it to hold onto first, then also his coat. Arthur started to take off his robes, but before his arms were out he felt it pulled away. He turned back to see Tess holding it in her arms. Arthur was left wearing a well fitted white sleeveless shirt with black gloves

"I'll just hold this for you," Tess stated sweetly as Arthur smiled back.

"So weapons or no?" Lunaris asked as he walked out onto the dirt while rolling up his sleeves.

"No weapons, but spells are ok," Arthur replied.

Ultimately it didn't matter to him if they used their swords, but the condition of his Asuran forged blade might not be a good sight for the image they wanted to portray.

They both took a battle stance, although Arthur's was a bit more relaxed. Lunaris made the first move and rocketed towards him, using a wind spell to increase his speed. The ground parted in a wave behind him as a trail was left leading to Arthur. Lunaris opened up with a series of rapid fire jabs, but Arthur held his ground and blocked every one of them. Lunaris then changed things up with a kick to his head, but Arthur just stopped it with two fingers. Using Arthur's fingers to push off, Lunaris jumped back as he prepared for his next assault.

"How much of your strength are you actually using?" Lunaris asked.

"About half," Arthur replied casually.

"Shit," Lunaris breathed out in frustration at the difference in their strength.

Lunaris took a deep breath, and prepared a spell in each hand as Arthur waited patiently. Wind mana swirled around one hand as fire mana swirled around the other. Lunaris then punched the ground with both fists. The spells travelled across the ground, until it reached Arthur and erupted beneath his feet in the form of a fiery tornado.

Lunaris heard some noise coming from the others, and looked to see a rather large audience had formed. A lance and both princesses leaving the party early caught the attention of several guests, especially the younger nobles who had interest in any of the three. Even Varay and Bairon were there watching, although Bairon was looking rather unimpressed.

Suddenly a powerful wind spell burst out from the fiery tornado and hit Lunaris, sending him flying into the wall.

"You need to pay attention," Arthur stated as he stepped out of the tornado unscathed. "Never ignore your opponent in the middle of a battle."

Some cheers were heard from the side as Arthur emerged, all from several young noble teen girls. Tess however wasn't one of them, she and the others already knew there wasn't really going to be a winner or loser, as this was really only a chance for Lunaris to test his strength. She looked down at the girls, annoyed that they even came. If not for how Arthur handled most of the girls earlier they might have made her feel a bit nervous. The current women's fashion trend in Sapin was dresses with a low bustline, and there were quite a few of the girls with plenty to show. She didn't by any means have a small bust, but there were several girls with larger busts than hers. What annoyed her the most was that it was clear what these girls were trying to do, seduce Arthur with shallow tactics.

Lunaris recovered quickly from Arthur's spell, as it was primarily just to get his attention and not really hurt much. Seeing as Arthur was only using about half of his strength, Lunaris decided to step it up a notch, and activated his beast will. Black wisps of smoke poured from his body, completely engulfing him. The smoke almost appeared to soak into Lunaris's body almost like a second skin over his clothes, with only a mantle flowing behind him still looking like smoke. Lunaris's body now looked like the night sky with golden specks looking like stars. His fingers now looked like sharpened claws, his head had what looked like slicked back cat ears, with his eyes completely white.

Lunaris took a runner's stance, before rocketing towards Arthur, the ground breaking beneath him as he took off. His speed was blindingly fast, so much so that several of the mages watching couldn't even follow him. He threw a right hook, but Arthur caught it with his left hand. The shear force caused a bit of a shockwave, and blew dirt away in every direction. Lunaris then began unleashing a relentless assault of punches and kicks. Even though his beast will did increase his strength, it was his speed that truly increased, making him twice as fast as before. His movements had become so fast that to nearly everyone watching his arms and legs had become little more than blurs, and it was the same for Arthur. Arthur was able to block or dodge every strike, only increasing his strength so he could keep up with Lunaris's movements.

A dust cloud was beginning to form around them from the shock waves created by the attacks. Everyone that was once cheering became silent, as they couldn't even tell what was going on anymore. Tess, Varay, and Bairon were the only ones whose eyes were actually able to even keep up with what was going on. Barion who was once looking unimpressed by Arthur was now watching intently, as he realized that even now he was holding back considerably.

The duel raged on for a few more minutes, and more people were starting to be able to follow their movements, as Lunaris was starting to slow down. Eventually Lunaris backed off and released his beast will. He was breathing heavily as sweat poured down his face, while Arthur didn't even appear to have broken a sweat.

"I'm done, I've reached my limit," Lunaris announced as he bent over, resting his hands on his knees.

"Good match, you've definitely gotten a whole lot stronger," Arthur replied in praise.

"Thanks," Lunaris then pushed himself back up and locked eyes with Arthur. "So how much of your strength did I make you use?"

"Hmm, about sixty to seventy percent."

"Then it's back to training. I won't be satisfied till I can force you to go all out against me," Lunaris replied with a smirk.

"I look forward to that day then," Arthur replied with a smile as he extended his hand.

The two shook hands, then walked back towards the exit. Lunaris walked over to Kathyln, his steps heavy. With a concerned expression she asked if he was ok, which he assured he was with a smile. Lunaris only took one hit, and it was only to get his attention. He was simply exhausted from using his beast will for so long, something every beast tamer was very familiar with.

Arthur approached Tess and she held out his robe to help him put it back on. As he slid his arms in, one of the noble girls approached.

"Your duel was quite impressive, General Leywin," the girl stated flirtatiously.

Arthur glanced over to see who was talking, then refocused on getting dressed. He remembered being introduced to her before, she was the daughter of a Count, but he couldn't really remember her name.

"If you say so," Arthur replied casually as Tess started to help him by retying his belt.

The girl and her friends couldn't believe how cold Arthur was being, but that wasn't going to stop her.

"Perhaps we could share a drink together later. I personally have access to several bottles of wine that only the most elite of nobles could hope to taste," she suggested, very much so wanting some private time with him.

"No thank you. Besides, expensive wine doesn't necessarily mean it tastes good," Arthur replied then looked to Tess. "Shall we return to the party?" He asked with his arm out.

"Yes, let's," Tess replied happily as she hooked her arm with his.

"How dare you!" The girl spat. "Do you have any idea how many boys our age would jump at the opportunity to have a drink with me?!"

"Then have a drink with one of them. I don't like to spend my time with spoiled brats," Arthur replied dismissively and continued walking with Tess.

The girl was furious. She took one step to chase down Arthur to give him a piece of her mind, but stopped instantly as she felt someone grab her arm. She spun around to yell at whoever it was, only to see Kathyln shaking her head. The girl immediately shrunk down and stepped aside, not wishing to go against her.

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The party continued for a few more hours, Arthur was introduced to a few more nobles, he and Tess danced a few more times, as did Lunaris and Kathyln. Feyrith ended up leaving early as he saw his brother was appearing to be fighting to stay awake, so he brought him home. Ellie was in the same condition, but Arthur just had to bring her to her room.

As the number of people dwindled down, many who didn't reside in the castle started to leave as well.

"Are you all sure you don't just want to spend the night up here? I'm sure we could find some more rooms, or ones that could be shared," Tess offered, not wanting the fun to end.

"No, I don't want to put you through the trouble. Besides," Claire yawned. "We should get back to the beast glades as soon as possible. If we stay here too long it might be too hard to leave."

"Alright," Tess replied, sounding disappointed. She was going to be staying in the castle for a few more days before returning. She did want to enjoy some more time with Arthur, but it was also so rare for the group of friends to feel this close to complete since the war started.

"I should be leaving too," Lunaris stated. He wasn't at all tired, but social gatherings were never someplace that Orson felt comfortable, and wouldn't leave until Lunaris did.

"Do you have to? Your team could stay in Curtis' room," Kathyln's began to turn a bright red. "While you stayed with me in mine."

Every one of them heard this, and were shocked by her bold suggestion. Lunaris's eyes were wider than any as his mind ran through every possible implication of the suggestion. He then saw both of her parents talking with some nobles, and became nervous.

"I'm sorry but I can't. Not only do I need to return to my unit, but I don't think your parents would be particularly fond of the idea of us sharing a room," Lunaris replied.

"I see," Kathyln replied, as she learned spending more time with Lunaris would be more difficult than she thought. "I'll walk you to the teleportation gate then." She and Lunaris then left to gather the remainder of his team.

Claire and Theo said their goodbyes and did the same. Since Darvus' family stayed at the castle he had a room as well, and offered Caria a couch and Stannard the floor. Tess had heard this offer, and offered to share her room with Caria so Stannard wouldn't have to sleep on a floor, to which they both accepted.

Tess sighed. "I guess the fun is over for tonight."

"Not necessarily," Arthur replied with a smirk as he looked around the ballroom.

"What do you have planned?" Tess questioned as she hid her excitement.

"I see an unguarded tray of desserts, as well as a bottle of champagne and glasses, and us enjoying them under the stars in the courtyard in, let's say five minutes?" Arthur suggested.

Tess smiled. "I'll grab the deserts." She then got up on her tiptoes and gave Arthur a peck on the lips. "You're too tall, and I'll see you there."

With that the two split up and moved to their targets. Tess knew all she had to do was ask and the deserts would be hers, but trying to sneak them away sounded like more fun. She watched the desert table as she slowly approached. There was only one servant standing behind the table clearing the empty trays, so soon as he left she picked up her pace. With one fluid movement she walked by, and without stopping picked up a tray of various pastries, and made her way towards the courtyard before he came back.

During the teen years of his past life, Arthur was too focused on his studies and training to worry about or even want to drink alcohol. However this was a new life, and he wanted to at least sometimes act his age. Even though he was underage, he was a Lance, so he was confident that the servants wouldn't try to stop him from consuming alcohol if he wanted it, but that wasn't Arthur acting his age. No, acting his age would involve him getting alcohol how any underage teen would, by stealing it and sneaking away.

Using sound magic to silence his movements, and carefully controlling his mana flow to avoid being sensed by anyone, Arthur became as close to invisible as he could hope to get. He came up behind the server and tapped her shoulder as he walked behind her, and as she turned in the direction Arthur tapped, his hand passed over a champagne bottle and glasses as he activated his dimensional ring and stored them inside. By the time the server looked back Arthur was already casually walking away to the courtyard.

Arthur and Tess met up in the courtyard as planned, and sat on a bench as they shared desserts and drank champagne. They started looking up at the beautiful night sky as Arthur suggested, but soon that became a bit boring. They began reminiscing about the past, smiling and laughing as they remembered their times together before the war. Eventually the alcohol got to Tess' head and made her feel more bold with Arthur. She got him to look at her, then passionately kissed him. Whether it was the alcohol or teenage hormones getting the better of him, Arthur returned the kiss, and soon the two were making out. After a minute or so they both stopped to catch their breath. Tess regained a degree of her senses, and couldn't believe what she did, but was even more surprised that Arthur went along with it. She then snuggled up against him as he wrapped an arm around her, and the two quietly watched the stars again.

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Despite what the two thought, they weren't alone. A good distance away someone was watching from a doorway.

"Hmm, I suppose them getting married sooner rather than later may be more of a possibility than I thought," Virion thought out loud as he watched them. "Even though I would prefer they have children later, if Tess got pregnant I could at least keep her here and safe without any argument."

"But would that be what she would want?" Bairon commented as he walked up.

"Well it's not like she could blame me now could she," Virion replied with a smirk. "That would become Arthur's problem."

Bairon shook his head at the old man's scheming.

"It seems King Glayder was only half correct. You are trying to push them together, but not because Arthur is a powerful mage," Bairon stated.

"Arthur could be weaker than her and it wouldn't matter, my granddaughter fell in love with that boy. I'm just trying to help her get what she wants," he chuckled a bit. "And it doesn't hurt that I like him too."

"Tell me commander," Bairon said, changing the topic. "What was the real reason for tonight? You could have simply made some mass announcement to the people, even showed them the body. So why all this effort?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you just yet," Virion replied.

"But you can tell him?" Bairon said, gesturing to Arthur.

Virion sighed. "Bairon, put you on the battlefield and your skills are exceptional. Give you troops, and you can command them with precision and develop appropriate strategies to counter the enemy. But there is more to a war than all that, and those are areas where you fall short."

"And he doesn't?" Bairon asked, sounding annoyed.

"You were trained to serve in the military from a young age, Arthur on the other hand wasn't." Virion shook his head bewildered. "I don't know where he learned it, but he understands all aspects of war, and knows how to operate in them."

"Is that why you seem to cater to him?" Bairon stated in an accusatory tone.

"What are you getting at?"

"There are several knights from the Wykes house serving in the trailblazer unit. One told me that you ordered the Captain to allow the Heads to come if they wanted, as well as your granddaughter's team if they asked," Bairon explained.

"I see, so you think I'm abusing my power, right?" Virion concluded.

Bairon didn't reply as he stated at the commander of Dicathen's entire military.

"Tell me, what drives you?"

"What?" Bairon asked, not understanding where this was going.

"What drives you? What's your motivation to give all you have in this war?"

"Duty, honor," Bairon stated confidently.

"Spoken like a true soldier," Virion replied with an amused tone. "For me it was always to protect my homeland, my people. But Arthur isn't like us, his drive is much more simple."

Bairon looked at him curiously, so he continued.

"Arthur holds no loyalty to Elenoir or Sapin, his loyalty is to people, individuals. That's why he agreed to be a Lance of Elenoir, he trusts me. That's also why he never would have agreed to become a Lance of Sapin, King Glayder often schemed to control him and kept Arthur on the defensive. I was simply his master and trained him, only wanting to make him stronger. The only scheming I've ever done was after he became Elenoir's Lance, before that I just teased to put the idea of him and Tessia being together in his head." Virion stopped and cleared his throat as he realized he got off track. "Anyway, those individuals he's loyal to are also his motivation. He fights with little care for his own survival to protect those he loves, his parents, sister, Tess."

"And ordering her Captain to allow her and others?"

"They got into a fight before the announcement of the war, and weren't able to talk things out."

"But she was already here before the event was announced."

"I know. Her Captain wanted her back, so this was me using my authority as commander to keep her here, but she not suspect anything." Virion looked out at Arthur and Tess and smiled. "He might not worry about his own survival, but many others do. I want them to have time together so he can think of the future. I want him to want to survive, to also fight for his own future, his own happiness with his loved ones."