Emily woke me up early in the morning as promised. I tried my best to drive away the sleepiness but with no success, I grabbed a shawl to take over my night gown as I didn't feel like changing and walked down stairs to meet up with my father. I wasn't surprised to see the first unit of knights helping up the huge boxes of goods into caravans. I joined my brothers and leaned my head over Orion as we watched, father speak to Kaven and explain to him all the last minute details related to the duchy and anything important.

"What kind of person is our grandfather?" I asked Orion. Orion stared at him from the corner of his eye and sighed into a smile.

"He is very old fashioned." He laughed. "But you were his favourite."

"This is the first time I heard something like that in six months." I grumbled.

"Not my fault that you enjoyed ruining your image everywhere you went." Orion said. "Fortunately for you, that face of yours also did damage control."

"Jealous because your face doesn't do the same?" I smirked as he glared and pulled on my check.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I yelped. "Orion let go, you beautiful orge!"

"An ogre!?" He complained.

"I said a beautiful orge! There is a difference!" I said as I rubbed my check.

"Whatever." He hissed. "Believe me or not, that old man loved your company."

"Did we visit him a lot?" I asked.

"Not really, once a year, every summer." He replied.

"Did I go last year?" I asked.

"No, you were sick but you sent a letter to grandfather." he replied to which I gave him an educated nod.

"Amnesia is a bitch isn't it?" he asked as I just stared at him.

"Wanna try it?" I asked.

"No thanks." He replied and turned away, very sure, hoping that I wouldn't throw him from the sky.

"Ahem!" Father said as both me and Orion turned to him.

"Father." I smiled at him.

"I expect both of you to be in your best behaviour." Father said as I sighed. Something about this tells me, he tells us this every time he goes away for work.

"You should tell that to Orion." I said as Orion glared at him.

"I don't think I will be away for long, but with your grandfather nothing can be sure." Father sighed. "I expect Kaven to handle everything smoothly without having someone hanging from the dukedom gates."

"I can't make promises father." Kaven replied to Orion scrowled.

"I am living with psychopaths." He said to which I laughed.

"Veri." I called as my maid stepped forward with a small box in her hands. I opened the box and took out a compass and a brooch.

"The compass has a tracking spell." I said as I placed the compass on fathers hands. "I can use the spell on any map to see where you are if needed and know where you are."

"The brooch has a protection spell. It will stay activated for 30 minutes after the attack, so you need to flee within that time span." I said as I placed the brooch next to my father. "I don't care if you can still stay a dragon, you are fleeing if you are under attack."

The duke gave me a defeated look but I could care less about it. Safely comes first then beating up people.

"And lastly," I said as I pulled out a parchment from the box. It only had a spell circle drawn on it. I rolled the parchment and tied it with a ribbon. "This is a teleportation scroll, just tear the parchment whenever you need and it will teleport you to the dukedom."

"Wow Evanora." Father smiled. "When did you do all this?"

"Last night, it wasn't much." I smiled back.

"Don't worry father, Eva is a skilled magician now, making teleportation scrolls is child's play to her." Orion said in a mocking tone as I picked up the box lid and threw it at him which he easily dodged.

"These indeed are childs play to her now, but I am touched by the effort you put into it." Father said. "Thank you, Eva."

"Your welcome, father." I replied. "I just wish for you to return home safe."

"I will." He smiled and with that he got into his carriage and with that all the knights, the caravan and the carriage of Esmeray left the dukedom. My two brothers and I, alongside with all the maid servants of the estate stood in silence soaking in the fact that the master of the dukedom had just left.

Another minute of silence went by.

"You never made any of these for me when I went away from the dukedom." My ever so silent brother Kaven said an unexpected statement.

"I- well- you are a captain! You- you can just beat all of them up!" I replied, well more like running away with an excuse to get some more sleep.

***

After breakfast, I spend the majority of the time playing chess with Kaven. Playing chess with Kaven was never easy. It was mostly losing and frustration, but I was trying my best here to make up for what happened earlier this morning. After Kaven got busy with the work and stuff father left him behind with, I mostly rolled around his office with different pastries to keep company regardless of how unladylike it was off me.

I would have bothered Orion, but he was busy now training with the knights and I doubt he would spare me a second when he is sparring with the knights or in between training, and would probably yell at me for distracting his knights, which again isn't my fault.

I sighed as I walked out of the brothers office to not bother him and his awkward aid anymore. As I walked down the hallways to make my way to the garden, where I was planning to read a book and spend some time, I saw my maid Emily run towards me.

"Slow down Emily! You will fall and break a leg or an arm!" I panicked when my maid approached me.

"You have a letter, milady." She bowed and handed me the letter. It was a beautiful purple envelope, which I turned around to see had me addressed as the matriarch. I turned the letter back around and traced the black wax seal. The symbol of an arrow cutting through the black sun told me who this was from.

The famous magic store called the Black Sun is a store which pops up in different areas of this empire in different places once a month for only one day each time. And only the customers with membership receive a letter when this shop shows up.

Other than all that, this shop is mostly exclusive to magicians.

"Emily." I called.

"Yes milady." She replied.

"Get me ready, I will be going out." I said with a smile.

***

While getting ready I read the content of the letter. Unlike last time, this time the shop showed up near the duke's estate. I usually get limited edition magical items and other ingredients which I usually don't find in the nearby magical shops of Gusan. Other than that, I also get Asterin's favourite book series. Recently the authors put out a new book and as a foreigner author, it's hard to get his book here that quickly, which is why the Black Sun is the perfect way to get a limited edition book quickly.

Today Emily, Veri and the other maids dressed me in a sleeveless light blue dress with a heart neckline and white illusion chiffon neckline. The edges of the blue dress skirt had white embroidery on them which matched the neckline. Emily pulled my hair up into a bun to save me from the summer heat which was catching up to Eyrith. Lastly with simple make up, Emily finished the look with small chiffon gloves which reached my wrist, white heels and pearl jewellery.

I thanked them as I grabbed the fan and letter and followed Emily out to the carriage. On my way I walked into Orion who was returning from training.

"Eva." He called. "Where are you going?"

"Shopping." I said as I held up the letter for Orion to see, to which he nodded. "It showed up in Eyrith so I will just be taking the carriage."

Orion hummed to that as asked to be back before lunch to which I smiled and departed to make my journey to the Black sun shop. After explaining to the coach man where he needed to take me to, I just had to sit back in the carriage and wait for the journey to end so I could meet my destination. My coach man was quite skilled to understand where the shop was from the context of the letter, even after six months I lost my way around the dukedom I won't survive a day on my own.

But all of the sudden, the carriage stopped abruptly.

Surprised, I called my coach man.

"Is everything alright out there?" I asked.

"Milady." My coach man answered. "A group of bandits are attacking a carriage in front of ours."

I sighed as I opened the carriage door and stepped out.

"Milady..." My coach man clearly did not want me to get into this matter of bandits.

"Not a single peaceful day in this world." I hissed as I pulled my glove off and created a glowing spell circle. These bandits don't understand they are making me run late, which is really annoying.