The Flower of Separation

"Let's fight."

She hears the sound of him drawing a blade and blinked. It is rare for him to fight with a sword. As a powerful magician there is no need for him to use a weapon after all.

"Roger." Even without looking at him she knew he wore a smirk on his face.

Lucas is just as bad as her, he craves chaos everyday. Though their methods of chaos differ from one another, he still craves to fight everyday like her.

He glanced at her briefly before he darted in the opposite direction. For a moment she looked at him. If he makes that sort of face when he is fighting he will frighten people away. Certainly there were a few shrinking back just from Lucas gaze.

"Aghh!"

His blows were hard and swift causing the enemy to fall quickly. Lillian blinked surprised. 'He is a far better swordsman than I thought.' Now that she thought about it she never properly paid attention to how he fought before.

'I just trusted him to have my back.' It would be all over when she finally looked around.

Lillian shook her head. She needs to focus on her own fight.

--

It was over rather quickly.

'I could have handled it myself but Lucas had to intervene.'

No that is wrong, whenever he got the chance Lucas would fight alongside her. How many people have they taken down fighting back to back like that?

Maybe he is pent up because he has not had a proper fight for awhile. The so-called test from her father in the forest would hardly count, it didn't even phase him. Lucas had rounded up the last of the attackers and tied them up with a rope. But..

"I'm still suspended from my general duties." Lillian pointed out. Otherwise she would bring them to the palace herself.

"Then let's find a poor unfortunate soul from the royal guard-" Lucas trailed off. "Look, there is one heading right this way."

Lillian looked up to see a woman with pale blonde coloured hair and emerald green coloured eyes wearing a blue knight commander uniform. The girl seemed frantic judging from the looks on her face. She casually pointed to the soldiers.

"They attacked me."

Mo wore a look of disbelief, either way she couldn't deny what was right in front of her. Lillian watched her instruct a few people she came with.

"Your suspension is over." Mo trailed off. "It was one of the first orders the Empress issued this morning. You shall receive word later "

Despite all that has happened in the forest. Lillian blinked startled. She wasn't expecting that. She expected further suspension for her little misconduct. That woman is truly naïve.

The Empress clearly disagreed with her methods in the forest, so why would she lift her suspension? Although the suspension itself was immature. At the end of the day she is still the Empress, if she disagrees with somebody's actions she ought to keep them away.

Then again Empress Zushi appears to be the type one can win over with a sob story. Did her talking about her brother lead to some type of sympathy?

It wouldn't surprise her if that is the case.

"General Lillian."

"Hm?"

"I do not know what you are planning. But do not mess with my sister too much, she has already lost so much."

Lost so much?

Lillian didn't get a chance to reply since Mo was already walking away with the soldiers, dragging the attackers along. A strong gust of wind blew and she brushed a strand of hair away from her face, as she looked back at the retreating group.

It seems there are still things she doesn't know about the Empress. Or maybe General Mo is referring to the monastery incident? That seems to be the most-likely scenario. After all Lucas was the one who investigated the Empress, he will not miss out on any important information.

They both lost somebody important, but the impact of that loss differs per person. The loss of her brother by her side made her stronger. She hadn't realized how much her brother was shielding her. She still went through a lot as a child but she did have more freedom. It was thanks to him.

But what use is there reminiscing about the past now? Times have changed vastly since then.

"Lilian?"

"Its nothing, let's get back."

.........

A few hours later at the Ageha family manor.

Since earlier she has been watching Natalia run around with more enthusiasm than normal. The next few hours after heading back were nothing short of hell. Lillian sighed deeply.

Why did she have to spend four hours getting ready? Why did she need a full-on body care treatment? This is one of the things she dislikes about nobility. It is not like spending so much time caring for their skin will help them.

How does Natalia handle it? Lillian has watched her little sister for the last few hours and noticed that the girl didn't cause problems even once. She even appears enthusiastic about the entire thing.

'I recall disliking it a lot as a child and frequently sneaking out to escape the hell treatment. The head maid was far too scared of me to force me into it.

These days the servants around her have more guts, no they are the annoyingly devoted type. Their devotion to her father gets rid of their fear.

There was that servant trembling like a little fawn- her thoughts broke off when she heard approaching footsteps.

Lillian turned around. "Lucas your-" She paused in mid-sentence when she realized something. "You didn't have to dress up."

Normally he doesn't? This must be the first time she has seen him wearing such formal gear.

"Finished?" Lucas didn't reply to her question causing her to raise her eyebrow.

He keeps acting strangely these days. Then again perhaps there are still some things she doesn't know about him. It would not be surprising if that is the case. Although Lucas is the closest person beside her, she has not attempted to get to know him on a personal level.

There are some things she just naturally learned after spending time with him. But in the long run she wondered if that is enough, especially these days when he is acting strange.

'I can't help but think if I did get to know him properly over the years then I would know how to deal with this situation.'

Lillian nodded and pointed to the window. "Some guests are arriving way too early. I guess they want to curry favour with my father. But they should know by now what type of man he is."

He is not the type of man who would care about punctuality. Actually the earlier you arrive the more demerit it would be. The grounds of the Ageha family are very dangerous. If a person gets lost, they will never be seen again.

It is impossible for a normal person to find their way around. Guests normally like to wander or look around if they arrive too early but doing that here could get them killed instead.

"I heard screams on my way here, somebody fell in the pit in the garden."

"Sister Bridget is keeping her pet foxes down there."

*Unedited*