Many horses were approaching the campsite on the dawn of the second day.
Quite early, even, as Blanc and his family had not even finished breakfast by the time two riders approached them, walking past the campsite, not even batting an eye in its direction.
"Lord Certa, Daughter," Blanc nodded, not getting up to greet them, "Are you here to join us for breakfast?"
"Why are you outside the campsite, Lord Blanc?" asked Alvin atop his horse, "I remember instructing you to remain inside."
"Better this way," Blanc nodded, "They are under my protection, but that does not mean we are always getting along."
"Interesting choice on who it is you wish to protect," Alvin shrugged before jumping down from his horse, walking towards the one the Daughter rode upon, and helping her down to the ground.
"So, breakfast?" Blanc asked again.
"Tea will suffice," Alvin replied.
"Good to see you again, Daughter," Celine nodded.
"And you, Celine and Miyanna Denegis," the Daughter returned the nod, "You too, Kael and Lune Denegis."
"Greetings to you, Daughter," they said in unison as Alvin and the Daughter took a seat in the grass before Blanc gave them two wooden cups filled with pine needle tea.
"Speciality of the Moose Path," he grinned as they took the cups into their hands, "Quite good for cold days."
Alvin stared at the drink in his hand for a bit before looking at Blanc, who watched expectantly.
"Come, come, drink," Blanc said, looking at the two, "I want to know your opinion."
But they refrained, which made Celine giggle.
"My love, they fear poison if you look at them like that," she said.
"Oh," Blanc muttered, "Do you really?"
"Mhm," Alvin nodded, "You first."
"For Vita's sake," Blanc sighed, pouring fresh tea from the pot into his cup before chugging it down, "Can't even offer tea these days."
"Not with that look in your eyes," Alvin muttered as he placed the cup to his lips, sipping lightly.
A frown was painted on his forehead. "It tastes like…"
"A forest?" Blanc grinned.
"Exactly," Alvin nodded.
"Okay, now add a bit of sugar," Blanc said to the two, offering them a leather pouch half-filled with sugar.
With a bit added to their tea, it became quite pleasant to drink.
"That's a surprise," Alvin muttered.
"Why offer this to us, Lord Denegis?" the Daughter asked formally, "It doesn't seem like you offered it out of goodwill."
"The Daughter is right, of course," Blanc nodded, "I wanted to propose to Lord Certa to sell this to the outside world as another source of income for his Domain."
"What is it made out of?" Alvin asked, his interest and suspicion piqued by the sudden proposal.
"Now, what do you offer in exchange for that information?" Blanc asked, still grinning.
Alvin sighed, looking at Blanc's face, "There it is."
"It's all about give and take, Lord Certa," Blanc shrugged, "I offer you an additional source of income that might keep your Blood afloat until the turtles are ready for harvest, but I must also take something for my troubles."
"Oh, how considerate of you," Alvin replied, already exhausted this early in the morning. "What do you want?"
"How about leaving the ladies to their own while we talk business quietly?" Blanc wondered, looking at the two.
"I agree, Patriarch," the Daughter nodded, "The Order also requested I handle something in the meantime, so feel free to take your time."
"Very well," Alvin nodded, getting to his feet, "We will have our talk while walking through the campsite."
Blanc, for a moment, thought about whether Alvin's choice was wise, but, looking over his shoulder, many heavily armored soldiers stood waiting at the entrance.
Though Alvin was about to enter the enemy territory for a casual walk, even while ignoring his strength, he was the safest person there.
"Then let's not delay," Blanc agreed, joining Alvin by his side as they started walking.
"First, tell me what you want," Alvin said, looking forward.
"Information about the past would be pointless to ask, as I do not want to hear it," Blanc began, "What I want is information about the future."
"Oh? I thought you would want to hear how the battle on the Plains of Duldera fared," Alvin said, surprised.
"It would be foolish to grieve something that I already grieved about, Lord Certa," Blanc sighed, as they approached the entrance of the campsite. "What I want is for you to send letters in the Maroux Domain if you have any new information on the Iron Line and that Yalan king."
"The Archivum Civitas is handling that," Alvin replied, "We get constant reports about their advancement."
"I meant the information you receive from the Daughter, since I know her Order is kind to you," Blanc said.
"You tread on dangerous ground, Lord Blanc," Alvin muttered, stopping mid-step, "The Sanguinarch Order does not take kindly to such things."
"I know," Blanc nodded, "I'm not asking you to report everything, only what you can share in good conscience without getting your Blood in trouble, and only about the Iron Line and the Ulveth King, nothing else."
Alvin remained silent, thinking for a while, as they entered the campsite and walked in silence, past staring Metamorphs.
"Fine," Alvin sighed, "Only what I can, which I tell you now, might not amount to much or anything at all."
"I'm well aware," Blanc agreed, "Now for what is inside the tea, it's pi-"
"Wait," Alvin interrupted.
"What is it?" Blanc wondered, surprised.
"I cannot, in good conscience, only give you that. It would tarnish my reputation," Alvin muttered. "With that said, you also mentioned you did not want to know the past, though from what I see by the manner in which you speak, you might not be aware of a piece of information."
Blanc sighed, preparing himself for the worst, "What piece of information?"
"Are you aware that Noble Blood Seraph, the Blood your sister married into before the battle, betrayed your alliance by not showing up during the battle?" Alvin asked.
Silence grew around Blanc as each word left Alvin's lips.
Then he remembered that when he walked through the sea of bodies, not one of them wore the sigil of Blood Seraph.
It made sense now as to why.
"It cannot be…" Blanc muttered.
"But it can," Alvin replied, taking out a letter from one of his pockets.
It was a letter from High Bezel Domini that described the battle, the use of Morois as weapons, their defeat, and the Noble Blood Seraph's betrayal, as well as shunning them as Bloods under Imperial Law, which will come into effect once the Sedes Sanguinis is filled.
He read it once.
Twice.
Ten times, even.
Yet the text on the parchment did not change, no matter how much he wished for it to do so.
He felt tears building in his eyes as another worry came into existence inside his brain. His older sister.
"You can keep that, Lord Blanc," said Alvin, giving Blanc time to recollect himself.
"Thank you, Lord Certa," Blanc nodded, trying to suppress both tears and rage from building in his chest, "With this, the trade is more than fair. I will now give you the recipe, as well as the list for the beasts we discussed."
"Very well," Alvin nodded, as they kept on walking through the campsite.
"Then let's not delay," Blanc nodded, getting to his feet and joining Alvin's side as they started walking towards the Metamorph campsite.
"Well then, Daughter," Celine began as the two men walked off, "Has the message been sent off?"
"It has," the Daughter nodded, "And the Order is ready to provide an answer from Lord Maroux."
"You say it as if you have a demand of your own, Daughter," Celine muttered, her eyes narrowing.
Miyanna, Kael, and Lune remained silent, watching the two start their conversation as Blanc and Alvin entered the Metamorph's campsite.
"Of course, we do, Celine Denegis," the Daughter nodded, her face emotionless, "The Order wishes to employ your husband's… services once you arrive in the Maroux Domain."
"Services, you say?" Celine asked, "Is the Sanguinarch Order really that short-staffed?"
"He will not know if you do so request," the Daughter bowed lightly, "But the Order has come to believe that your husband might be a valuable asset to the Order."
"My husband or his body?" Celine wondered out loud.
Which drew the attention of Miyanna, "What the fuck do you mean, Daughter?"
"Both, actually," the Daughter nodded, ignoring Miyanna, "You do not have to agree yet, consideration of our proposal is all we ask."
"And what if we, my sister and I, do not agree with this?" Celine asked.
"As long as you consider it, we take it as an honored word," the Daughter replied, "And of course, the information we have will be given to you now, regardless of you agreeing with this."
Celine turned to Miyanna, and after staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, Miyanna spoke.
"Fine," she said, "As long as it's only thinking about it."
"There you have it, Daughter," Celine smiled, "Now, tell me, what did my father say?"