The three of them got off the train and brought out their stuff to the platform.
"What do we do about the cart?" Lisa softly asked Ning.
"Don't worry, I've already dealt with that," Ning said. "Anyway, now that you are here, do you still need me to go along with you? Will you be in danger at your own home?"
"Please stay with us, if you can. The danger isn't gone yet. My brother won't stop targetting me just because I'm home. It didn't stop him before," Lisa said. "But the worse problem is the Shadow Pavillion. They won't let go of this humiliation so easily."
Ning nodded. "Alright, let's go then."
Lisa had her hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a hat on top of it. Unless someone really looked for it, they would likely not see her hair.
Ning took all the suitcases into his storage and they all walked out.
"Woah!" Reever exclaimed when he saw the city. "It's so crowded, and the buildings are so tall. Also, why are they all so colorful? Do the people in the capital have that much money?"
"Have you never been to the Xandria city before?" Lisa asked. "I thought you came here to take your Aether Tower test."
"No, I took those in Sterling city. I would have come here for the 2nd test if I passed that. Unfortunately, I didn't," Reever said.
Ning looked and found the capital to be much better than the city of beginnings. The place had many people, but the roads were also much bigger so it didn't look as crowded.
Colors flashed everywhere, be it buildings or people. Even the carriages were very colorful.
"Where do we go now?" Reever asked.
"The Noble square," Lisa said.
"The… noble square?" Reever asked. "What's that place?"
"As the name suggests, it's a place where only nobles are allowed to live in. Unless you have a noble title, you cannot purchase land in that area," Lisa said.
"Ah, right. I've heard of those. So your house is there too?" Reever asked.
"It's close enough," she said.
Reever walked out and stopped a carriage. It was a human-run carriage with the driver outside the carriage, controlling it with his Aether.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"Uh… the-The Noble square, please," Reever said. He wasn't used to riding human-drawn carriages at all and became a little awkward.
They all got in and the carriage started moving.
"Dammit, I didn't realize it was the expensive kind. I wouldn't have stopped him if I knew beforehand," Reever said.
"Then why didn't you just send him away?" Ning asked.
"It makes me look like a cheapskate if I do that though. Also, don't all nobles ride these sorts of carriages? I want my wife to return like a noble too," he said.
Lisa giggled a little when she heard that. "Thank you for your kind thoughts, but unfortunately, what you said will not come true," she said.
"Eh? Why not?" Reever asked.
Lisa just smiled and looked out of the window. Her face showed an expression of nostalgia as well as unfamiliarity as she looked outside.
"This place has changed a lot," she said.
The place transitioned from a commercial place to one with fewer people but bigger buildings with signs hung around them.
"Building of Agriculture. Office of Electricity and Telecommunication. Are we in some sort of government zone or what?" he asked.
"Ah yes, this is the area with a lot of government buildings. In fact, every single government building is right here, in this very block" Lisa said.
The carriage went past the governmental area and reached a much nicer neighborhood. The houses were much cleaner looking and had a lot more color. There were also significantly fewer people here.
"Is this the Noble square?" Reever asked.
"No, this is just a simple area for richer families to live in,' Lisa said.
"Eh? Such nice location and it's not for nobles?" Reever was surprised.
"You will be shocked when you see how well the nobles' houses are," Lisa said.
Ning looked out and saw significantly more colors that just made the area look aesthetically pleasing.
It didn't look as depressing as the city of Beginnings did.
"I don't see many kids around here," Ning said.
"What's the day today? 2nd of the week right? They must all be in school right now," Lisa said.
"Oh, so they don't work like in City of Beginnings?" Ning asked.
"No, people here can afford enough without sending their children to work as well. Still, you will see them in the commercial area from time to time," Lisa said.
The neighborhood changed once more and Reever was finally sure that this was the noble square.
Each of the houses was massive manors with its own garden and lawn. They were all far apart from each other, and he could see many servants tending to them past the walls.
"Where should I stop?" the driver asked from outside.
"The furthest you can go," Lisa said from inside.
"The furthest?" the driver looked at them in shock. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Lisa said.
The driver didn't speak anymore and brought them to the furthest he was allowed to around here and stopped.
The three of them got down on the side of the road at the end of the noble square. Reever felt his heart bleed when he paid 30 Sils for just that one ride.
"Let's go," Lisa said and walked forward away from any of the houses in the area.
Reever was confused, but he kept on following. Finally, they came upon a massive mansion, far bigger than any of the ones that Reever had seen previously.
"No way! So big," he said softly as he looked at the wide mansion. He couldn't even tell how long it was, but just from the length, he could tell that the person living here must've been one of the richest men in not just Xandria, but in the entire world.
There was a long line of people at the gate, waiting to enter the building. Reever also walked up to the line and got in the queue.
But then a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
"You don't have to line up," Lisa explained.
Ning followed the two as they strayed away from the long queue of people and went directly towards the main gate that wasn't even open.
"Open the gate," she ordered the guards standing guard.
The guards were a little surprised. They looked at her face but couldn't recognize her at all. Still, the way she was giving orders, they couldn't immediately ignore her.
"Miss, please queue up in the line. We will let you enter once we've confirmed your identity," the guards said.
Lisa sighed and took down her hat. "Then bring someone with more authority," she said.
The guards immediately went pale in their faces when they saw the golden hair flow down from her head.
They immediately ran away and got an older gentleman who was wearing a blue suit and tie and had a monocle on his left eye.
The moment he arrived and saw Lisa, his eyes went wide.
"Open the gate," he ordered.
The guards opened the gate and the old man walked out. He immediately got onto his knees and spoke.
"It's an honor to welcome you back, Your highness, Princess Elizabeth."
