If ‘Vivat Nox’ was used to summon the bed, ‘Mane Advenit’ was used to pull it back inside the marble in the morning.
After proper… rest, and no issues during the night besides the sounds leaving the tent, all woke up and got to eating breakfast.
An hour later, after eating, disassembling the tents, refilling their water skins with freshly boiled water from the creek, and getting everything else ready, they started walking again.
As they walked north towards the Silver Gardens, they passed by a few villages and a small city in the distance, but did not stop for one reason only.
Half of them were ash with no signs of life around them, and the other half were heavily defended by the elite soldiers of Noble Blood Certa, treating their passing as a possible attack.
Seeing that they were unwelcome, they kept going during the day and only rested twice in shaded places, away from any judging eyes.
Still, they ignored the situation and walked through the rubble of past battlefields as if it weren’t their own fight.
The reason why these Metamorphs attacked, or their ultimate goal, was unknown, and Blanc did not want to find out.
This warmongering of theirs presented an opportunity that could not be ignored, one that Blanc and Celine wanted to take full advantage of.
The Domain was in chaos, and that meant that Noble Blood Certa’s eyes were temporarily turned towards the Metamorphs and not towards protecting the Silver Gardens and ensuring none entered.
The opening, Celine agreed, was the only attempt they had at hunting illegally with close to no repercussions.
Which they all agreed was not to be ignored.
With that in agreement, even though they did not rush, they quickened the pace as much as Miyanna was able to follow to get to the first entrance to the Silver Gardens as fast as they could.
All the planning, talking, and walking they did brought this new day to a close faster than they thought it would.
After finding a place to sleep for the night, preparing everything, and eating dinner, they went to sleep or, in the case of the married couple, deepened their marriage before sleeping.
Blanc agreed that he would sleep this night as well, just to make sure that he would have the energy to stay awake for the first few nights inside the Silver Gardens, where danger surely awaited.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelHub for the genuine story.
And with the sun rising above the horizon, on the third day since leaving Isai, they woke up and in less than an hour were back on the road again, having less than half a day until they arrived near the first entrance to the Silver Gardens.
“Wait a moment,” Celine said a few minutes after they began walking.
At her request, all stopped and turned to face her just as she was turning sideways to puke.
“My love,” Blanc rushed towards her the next moment after he saw her.
He grabbed her hair so that it would not get in the way as she puked and patted her gently on the back until she stopped.
“I’m fine now,” she said, gasping for air.
Blanc let go of her hair and reached inside his bag to retrieve the waterskin, and handed it over to her.
The rest stood silent as they watched.
Miyanna was worried, but she knew nothing bad was happening and that Celine would be fine in a minute or two. However, as for Kael and Lune, they barely understood the concept.
They were still eight and had not yet received a proper education on what the changes to a woman’s body are during pregnancy.
And even though they understood that it was happening because she was pregnant, they could not help themselves but get worried seeing her.
“All good?” Blanc asked, offering her a warm smile.
Celine nodded, after gulping down a few more mouthfuls of water, “All good.”
At that, Blanc rose and helped Celine get on her feet, “If you need us to slow down, just say the word.”
“Thank you, my love,” she smiled at him, “Let’s go, we are not that far now.”
Not long before noon, the capital city of this Domain came into view.
The city was not surrounded by any battlements or moats, yet it was just as hard to get into it as if there were.
It was well known that the surrounding of the city was filled with traps, fake paths, and besides the safe paths that led to town were barracks filled with men.
And inside it, lived over one hundred and twenty thousand, with the easternmost part of the city leading to miles and miles of farmlands.
The northwest part of the city led to a mile-long path that guided those allowed to the first entrance to the Silver Gardens.
And even though Blanc and the group will not take the path through the city and actually just keep walking north, unseen, until they arrive at the entrance, he and Celine still knew the approximate layout of the city.
“There it is,” said Blanc, “The city of silver, house of our former enemy, house of Noble Blood Certa, the city of Kanat.”
Kanat looked untouched by whatever the Metamorphs were doing in this Domain, but the usual patrolled areas of this southernmost part of the outer city would have been filled with passing guards.
But now this area was devoid of life.
No guards were around, no common folk walking through the streets, only the occasional bark of a starving dog still chained or the quiet sounds of life inside the city.
A clear and safe path for Blanc and the rest to walk unnoticed into the Silver Gardens.
“And what’s that next to the city?” Miyanna asked.
None could judge her, even if she laid eyes upon them before, since the Gardens were ever-changing.
“That, my love, is one of the three entrances inside the Silver Gardens. From what I can see, this entrance would be the one called The Jaguar Path,” Blanc explained. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the n0velfire.net
“Sounds cool,” Kael and Lune said in unison.
“I heard it’s cooler inside,” Celine giggled.
“Let’s not wait for too long, I’ll tell you all I know about the Silver Gardens as we walk,” Blanc instructed.