The investigators left Elarion three days later.

The storm had weakened enough for travel, though the northern roads still looked miserable by southern standards. Snow covered most of the mountain paths while cold winds rolled endlessly across the valleys beneath gray skies.

Prisoners were moved first.

The captured infiltrators traveled in chains surrounded by armed escorts while the recovered intelligence tokens remained locked inside reinforced cases under Seraphin’s personal watch.

Nobody trusted this situation anymore.

Not after discovering the Bureau’s involvement.

The departure itself felt strangely quiet.

Workers continued moving through the settlement as usual while furnace smoke rose endlessly from the western district. Guards rotated shifts. Merchants argued near supply carts. Somewhere near the lower roads, a dwarf was loudly threatening someone over ruined steel measurements.

Life simply continued.

Seraphin noticed that before leaving.

Elarion did not stop moving just because politics arrived.

Lucien stood near the fortress gate alongside Lucas, Malen, Gandalf, and several knights while the escorts prepared the convoy.

The younger investigator adjusted his cloak against the cold before muttering:

"I’m going to feel warm for the rest of my life after leaving this place."

One northern guard nearby laughed.

"That means the north improved you."

"It means the north traumatized me."

"Same thing sometimes."

Seraphin shook Lucien’s hand before departure.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then the investigator finally said:

"You should prepare."

Lucien’s expression remained calm.

"For attention?"

"For pressure."

A quiet pause followed.

Seraphin looked once toward the furnaces rising smoke beyond the walls.

"The south won’t ignore this territory anymore."

Lucien nodded slowly.

"I assumed eventually."

"That doesn’t make it safer."

"No," Lucien admitted. "It doesn’t."

The investigator studied him one last time.

The exile records from the capital no longer matched the man standing before him.

Not even slightly.

Then Seraphin mounted his horse.

The convoy departed soon after, disappearing slowly into the snow-covered mountain roads while Elarion’s gates closed behind them once more.

Lucien watched silently until the last of the escort banners vanished into the storm.

Beside him, Lucas exhaled quietly.

"Well."

Lucien glanced sideways.

"Well what?"

"We survived royal investigators."

Malen crossed his arms nearby.

"For now."

"That part was implied," Lucas answered dryly.

Above the fortress walls, Aurethar stretched lazily across the stone battlements while watching the distant convoy disappear.

"Humans travel too much," the dragon declared.

"You sleep eighteen hours a day," Gandalf muttered.

"Because I perfected life."

Nobody argued with him.

Far to the south meanwhile, the royal convoy continued through the mountain passes toward the capital.

And by the fourth night—

One rider quietly separated from the main group beneath darkness.

The youngest investigator.

He rode hard through the night without stopping, changing horses twice before finally reaching the royal capital shortly before dawn.

The capital looked almost unreal after the north.

Warm streets.

Crowded markets.

Golden towers rising above stone districts untouched by snowstorms or starving winters.

People complained here about rain.

The young investigator nearly envied them.

Royal guards recognized him immediately at the inner palace gates and quickly allowed passage after seeing the sealed investigation insignia attached to his cloak.

"Her Highness is awake already?" he asked one servant while moving through the palace halls.

The servant nodded.

"She has been waiting for northern reports."

That answer made him pause slightly.

Interesting.

He eventually reached the private royal garden chambers where Princess Elena sat beside an open window overlooking the eastern courtyards.

Morning sunlight spilled softly across the room.

A tea set rested untouched beside her while several books remained open across the table nearby, though it was obvious she hadn’t actually been reading them.

The princess looked up immediately when the investigator entered.

"You returned early."

The young man bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness."

Elena studied his expression carefully.

Then slowly sat straighter.

"...It’s serious."

Not a question.

The investigator hesitated briefly.

He suddenly understood why Seraphin preferred speaking carefully around royalty.

Because Princess Elena’s eyes were far sharper than expected.

"Yes."

She lowered the cup in her hands slowly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Tell me everything."

The young investigator took a breath before answering.

"The northern territory is not collapsing."

A faint flicker crossed her expression.

Relief.

Very small.

But there.

He continued carefully afterward.

"Elarion is rebuilding rapidly. Roads, furnaces, defenses... the entire territory is changing."

The princess listened silently.

Then asked the question immediately.

"And Lucien?"

Not Lord Lucien.

Just Lucien.

Interesting again.

The investigator chose his words more carefully now.

"He’s... different from the reports."

Elena’s fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the teacup.

"How?"

He thought quietly for a moment.

Trying to explain Elarion suddenly felt strangely difficult.

"The people trust him," he answered honestly.

"That alone isn’t unusual."

"No," he admitted softly. "But this felt different."

The princess remained silent.

So he continued.

"The north should hate exile nobles. Most frontier territories barely survive winter. But there..."

He shook his head faintly.

"They follow him willingly."

Elena looked down toward the untouched tea for several seconds after hearing that.

Then finally asked:

"Was he injured?"

The investigator blinked.

"...What?"

"During the poisoning."

The young man hesitated.

"We believe so."

A quiet silence settled inside the room afterward.

Not political silence.

Personal silence.

The kind filled with things people avoided saying directly.

Then the investigator remembered something else.

Something Seraphin would probably scold him for reporting casually.

"...There’s also a dragon."

The princess slowly looked back up.

"...I’m sorry?"

And for the first time since arriving from the north—

The young investigator finally looked completely certain about one thing.

Nobody in the capital was prepared for what Elarion was becoming.