Chapter 208: To Quinn City

"Your brother has been trying to find you for a decade, your grace"

"My brother… My brother is alive?"

Charlotte's confusion was reaching its peak. His brother wasn't only alive, he has been trying to find her all this time?

But…

"I do not know any Duke Erik", Charlotte shook her head in disappointment. She was confused as to why Beatrice was suddenly respectful to her all of a sudden when she clearly stated that her brother's name was Charles, not Erik.

Beatrice, as well, had a look of confusion on her face as she stared at Charlotte with her eyes squinted. But after a few seconds, her eyebrows raised as she realized the reason for Charlotte's uncertainty.

"Ah!", she said as she quietly clapped her hands, "Since you've been in the Eastern Continent all this time, you probably did not know that your brother became a Duke"

"...What?", Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows even further.

"It was his Majesty that gave him the title himself", Beatrice continued.

"But… As I said, my brother's name is Charles", Charlotte could not help but sigh.

"No", Beatrice shook her head, "When his Majesty gave him the title, he also changed his name to Erik Quinn, first of his name"

"The name given to him in birth was Charles Quinn, the same as his father", Beatrice continued. "He needed to be the first of his name as a new Duke, that's why his Majesty changed it"

"!!!", Charlotte could not help but widen her eyes in shock. Her father's name is indeed also Charles. So does that mean…

"Wait…", Charlotte gulped, "So, Charles really is alive!?"

"My… my brother is alive!?"

"Yes, your grace", Beatrice bowed respectfully, "And you were also given the title of Duchess, as requested by your brother when he rebuilt your city"

"W… what?"

Charlotte still could not believe what she just heard. All this time, she just needed to return. She just needed to show herself. But she was afraid to do so because she didn't know what awaited her here. She didn't know what painful memories would resurface if she came back.

When they first decided to go to the Western Continent, General Diao even needed to plead for her to come.

But all this time, she just needed to return.

Charlotte's breath started to stutter as the weight in her chest grew lighter, but for some reason, she felt heavier. She couldn't really explain it anymore and the only thing that her body could do was cry.

Diao Chan, who had been quietly listening on the side, could not help but hug her tight to keep her from falling to the ground.

Viel and the others, who were preparing to leave, became curious as they heard Charlotte suddenly burst into tears.

"What happened… mother?", Diao Chan asked as she approached her Diao Chan, "Are… are you okay, miss Charlotte?", she then placed her hand gently on Charlotte's trembling shoulders.

"She just found out her brother might be alive", Diao Chan let out a sigh as she whispered.

"I… see", Diao Mei hummed. She wasn't really that close to Charlotte, she didn't even know she had a brother. But finding out a family of yours that you thought was already dead was something she could relate to, she thought as she looked at Viel.

"Viel…", Diao Chan then gestured for Viel to come near them, "...Charlotte's brother might be alive", she repeated as Viel approached them.

"He… might be your father"

"No, he's not", Viel quickly answered with a slight chuckle.

"Hm?", Diao Chan could not help but blink her eyes numerous times at Viel's answer.

"I mean he's not my father…", Viel then scratched his chin, "...Not that he... might not be... alive?", he then said awkwardly as he got confused by his own words.

"...", Diao Chan squinted her eyes as she stared Viel straight in the eyes. Even now, after spending a whole month by Viel's side, she still was not used to how… odd he was.

The group then waited for Charlotte to calm down, and as soon as she did, she quickly stood up and wiped her tears. She then walked straight towards General Diao, a certain fire blazing in her eyes.

"Let's go to Quinn City", Charlotte said, her voice filled with resolution as she bowed towards General Diao.

"But--"

"Please!"

Before General Diao could even say a word, Charlotte bowed her head even closer to the ground. General Diao could not help but squint his eyes as he stared at the back of her head. They already had a concrete plan as to what city to go to next, going to Charlotte's city would ruin all of that.

But still… if what Beatrice said was all true, then this might actually be a boon for them.

"How far is Quinn city from here?", he said as he stroked his beard.

"That…", Charlotte could only bite her lips. She was still young when she left the city and was ignorant of the ways of the world. She had no idea how far Tark city was to Quinn. She doesn't even know which direction to go in.

"It's about 2,000 kilometers away from here", Beatrice suddenly approached the two of them.

"!!!", Charlotte's eyes widened as she looked at Beatrice, "T… thank you", she then muttered as she nodded her head.

"2,000 kilometers…", General Diao stroked his beard, "That would take us about half a month"

General Diao could not help but let out a deep breath. It would definitely push them back from their plans, but at the same time… if this Duke Erik really is Charlotte's brother, then they would be skipping a whole lot of process if they were to establish relations with him.

They might even go straight to the King if the chances were there.

"Okay"

After a few seconds of deliberating it, General Diao nodded his head. They had nothing to worry about in their journey, anyway. If it was only him, then he would have definitely not strayed from their original plan.

But now, they had his bab… they had Yinji.

Viel will also be joining them on the trip. Not to mention Violet, who seemed to be regarded as the new Hero. They surely will not encounter any problems with this line-up, he thought.

The only one that could possibly stop them was the Demon God himself, and he was already dead. There's also the previous Hero, Cortana. But since she had been missing for a decade now, and the fact that she was a hero… she was not a problem.

Charlotte's eyes quickly glistened as she heard General Diao agree. After so many years, her brother, who she thought had died during the war… She was going to finally see him again. Charlotte could not help but tear up once more with the thought of seeing her brother. Just half a month, and she would be able to see him.

The others could not help but let out a tiny smile as they watched Charlotte cry tears of joy.

"You're coming with us?", Diao Mei then approached Violet, who was previously talking with her party members.

"Yes", Violet nodded, "My primary goal is to save the lives of the people. I feel like I would do better if I come with you"

"Are you sure you're not just missing us?", Diao Mei lightly chuckled.

"Maybe", Violet also let out a light chuckle, "My members would be splitting up from me anyway. They have other matters to attend to. We will be meeting in Peltivierre city in 4 months"

"They also told me they won't be able to stretch their legs if they come with us", she added, "Since we have monsters in the group", Violet let out a sigh as she looked at Viel, and then towards the carriage where Yinji was already in.

Lu Xun was actually already also inside the carriage. He thought that they were leaving already so he got inside the carriage after preparing his things. But then the group suddenly started walking away from the carriage.

He could not help but feel a little bit left out as he heard the group's heartfelt conversations. But alas, it would be too awkward for him to come out now. The only thing he could do was let out a long and deep sigh.

And so, after saying their farewells to Beatrice, the group started their 2-week journey to Quinn City

***

Back in Choryu Imperial Palace, Emperor Cha was once again kneeling in the dark cavern hidden deep beneath his throne room.

"O' Glorious one", he said as he raised his palms to the air, "I have heard news from our birds that the Devil has finally awakened"

"...", the gigantic blue light in the shape of a man looked down on Emperor Cha, "Good", he then said, his voice reverberating through the vast cavern like an echo.

"And what of the young Hero?", the Glorious One asked.

"That…", Emperor Cha could not help but gulp nervously, "The situation with her is… quite complicated, O' Glorious one"

"The boy…", Emperor Cha added, "The... anomaly is with her"