Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The sheets of the bed are extra soft today as I will myself out of bed.

I make my bed even though the maids usually take care of it. It's a sad feeling today as I realize it's my last day staying in the Imperial Palace. Once I finish making my bed and puffing up the pillows, I head to the bathroom. My wrinkled nightclothes become more straight as I fix them in the mirror. My hair is a mess as usual.

After brushing my teeth and fixing my hair, I pack my comb and toothbrush into my travel bag. I wash my hands one final time and fold the towel on the counter. Cold water shocks my face as I splash it onto myself to wake up more.

Once I make sure everything in the bathroom is packed, I leave it for the last time.

Then I head to the huge imperial closet. Forgetting about how huge it is, is easy when you use it daily. Now that I am seeing it for the last time, it makes me laugh, thinking about how many clothes I could fit in here. Probably enough for a decade, it feels like.

My travel clothes fit well as I properly fit them on me in the mirror. Then I double-check that everything in the closet is packed. The feeling of forgetting something while you are many miles away from the thing itself is a terrible feeling.

After I finish fitting my travel clothes, I head to my nightstand and place my wands in my pockets. The doorknob feels cold as I turn it to walk out of my room. One last brief look at the room is all I need before I walk outside with my travel bags.

My friends already have their travel bags outside their doors for the staff to pick up while we eat breakfast. They all must be at the dining hall already, I think to myself as I start walking there.

The smell of tasty food fills the air as I get closer to the dining hall.

"Good morning, Nico!"

Ivy shouts to me as my friends wave. The food is hot as I grab a plate and sit down with my friends. I say good morning to Ivy and then to my friends. Leena and Matteo aren't here yet, but Neve, Estes, and Quillen are here. After a few minutes, Leena and Matteo arrive for breakfast.

"I wonder what it is going to be like in the Grand Duchy of Pedgas,"

Matteo says as he starts stuffing his face with food.

"It's supposed to be a fairly large territory with pretty good morale. From what I know, the people of Pedgas support the Grand Duke fairly heavily. They don't have much military might, but their economy is pretty stable. Though, who knows if there might be some shady business going on there? Any enemy of the Grand Duke usually ends up dead or gone."

Quillen says as he continues reading his book. Zephyr speaks up now.

"We better be careful. Do our best to suck up to the Grand Duke. I will have a better bearing of their military power once we are there. Also, we must be extra careful since the Grand Duchy of Pedgas borders the Ryndoria Republic. Who knows how the civil war there will end up?"

"That's true. Just enjoy Pedgas as much as we all can while keeping our eyes and ears open."

I say before I take a bite of food. Everyone else nods in agreement. The Grand Duke is smart but not smart enough if we manage to hold a certain amount of truth in our lies to him. Let's see how many lies he is keeping from us.

All of us then just talk small talk for the rest of breakfast. Grand Duke Pedgas comes over to stop by our table to let us know the carriages are ready and that everything is packed. We thank him. Breakfast finishes, and before you know it, we are outside the Imperial Palace's main entrance, about to get into the carriages.

Grand Duke Pedgas gets into the main carriage up front and waits for us as we say our goodbyes to the Emperor. He tells us that he already alerted his intelligence agents that we are on our way and that he is mobilizing more now to increase the chance of success with the operation. I wave goodbye as the carriage takes off.

Eventually, the looming Imperial Palace becomes nothing but a speck against the landscape.

The journey to the Grand Duchy of Pedgas is long but mostly peaceful as the carriages rock back and forth through vast plains. We pass through a narrow valley where a goblin encampment tries to ambush us and our supplies. Thankfully, we manage to ward them off.

We eventually arrive in the Grand Duchy of Pedgas. It isn't as huge as the Grand Duchy of Lancaster, now known as Lotus, though it is still fairly large. The citizens seem fairly active as they walk around talking to each other, shopping, etc. It is getting fairly dark now, so the soft glow of the lanterns lights up the streets.

People begin to notice our large party as we travel down the cobblestone roads. Once they see the Grand Duke's seal on the side of his carriage, they begin to smile and wave at him. He waves back elegantly outside the window of his carriage.

We roll up a hill until we come upon some stone-enchanted walls with bushes so high you couldn't climb them. The aesthetic seems more subtle and fancy than that of the late Grand Duke Lancaster.

These walls have a gate in the middle of them with the seal of the Grand Duke. We have arrived at the entrance of Pedgas Castle.

The Grand Duke's castle guards see our envoy incoming and immediately open the gates upon seeing the Grand Duke. We enter the property, and the gates slowly close behind us. My back feels so stiff as I climb out of the carriage.

"Welcome to Pedgas Castle! It is late, so I will show you all to your rooms. Please make yourself at home, and tomorrow I will show you around town."

Here we go again.