Chapter 86: Falling into the Quagmire

Martin arranged for two royal cargo carriages.
Although the city was under martial law, when royal carriages appeared, no one dared to say much. At most, they would exchange a few words with the carriage driver before letting them through.
After all, no one could imagine that the Empire’s highest-level fugitive from twenty years ago, after stealing the heart dragon scales, could slip into a royal carriage.
In the cargo hold, Leon and Noia were squeezed together in a corner, swaying gently with the carriage’s rapid movement.
Noia curled up her long legs, leaning against Leon while muttering, “Sometimes I really wish my father was a top-tier mage who could change size at will, then it wouldn’t be so cramped.”
“I don’t know if a mage who relieves himself wherever he wants is top-tier, but he’s definitely lacking manners,” Leon played with the homophone joke.
Noia gave him a playful glare and smiled, “Little Light says your flirting skills are terrible, but I see you’re quite good with words? So, between you and mom, who opened up their heart first back then?”
“Of course it was your mom, how could it be me?”
“Hmph… it was during your first return to the Empire, right? Mom hugged you and told you so many things.”
Leon was startled, “She even told you about that?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Noia said, “Mom isn’t someone who’s good at expressing emotions, nor is she someone who takes initiative in relationships. I really don’t know how much courage it must have taken for her to say those things to you back then. She probably thought… she’d never see you again, that’s why she said it.”
Leon pursed his dry lips and fell silent.
Thinking back on his relationship development with Rosvitha, it seemed the most crucial turning point was indeed the day of their first parting.
Rosvitha had taken the initiative to hug Leon and said so many things to him.
And after returning from the Empire, she was the first to bring up the topic of “confession.”
But Leon had never directly responded to any of it.
Noia’s words just now had enlightened Leon.
Rosvitha wasn’t very good with emotions, or rather, love, and wasn’t skilled at expressing herself, yet every time she was the one taking initiative.
Leon still remembered that night when Rosvitha wanted him to say “I like you.”
On the surface, it seemed like she wanted Leon to be more proactive;
But thinking carefully, wanting someone to say “I like you” – wasn’t that because she had already fallen in love, and therefore hoped for a response from the other person?
That dragon mother… was really awkward and tsundere.
Of course, he was the same way.
“Hey.” Noia nudged Leon’s arm.
“Ah… huh?”
“After we go back, you must never leave Mom again, okay?”
“After we go back…”
Leon paused, but quickly understood what Noia meant by ‘after we go back.’
It wasn’t about returning to that hidden underground space, but rather… going back to the past.
If fate had generously given Leon a chance to save everything after reaching rock bottom, then that “everything” definitely wouldn’t include Rosvitha.
Because to Leon, she was unique, beyond any classification.
In Leon’s heart, there was a small world that belonged solely to Rosvitha, and she filled that small world completely.
Leon didn’t want to include Rosvitha in his grand plans of “saving the future”—
She was Leon’s present, his only present;
As for the future, it didn’t belong to her, nor to Leon, but to both of them together.
“I understand, Noia. After we go back, I won’t leave Mom again.”
Noia smiled faintly, “What about us sisters? You won’t care about us?”
“Of course I won’t leave you all either.”
“That’s hard to say.”
Noia lowered her head, fiddling with her nails, pretending to be indifferent, “What if one day you and your beloved wife get in the mood, leave us young ones at home, and secretly run off for a honeymoon?”
“Then you should be happy.”
“Why?”
“Because after the honeymoon, you might have a new sister.”
“…Is the life goal of the strongest dragon slayer and the Silver Dragon Queen just to keep having babies after getting together?”
“It’s our undeniable duty to expand the Melkvi family population!”
…
At dawn, two royal carriages arrived at the empire’s city gates.
The security had been doubled here, prohibiting all civilians from entering or leaving, and all merchant caravans had to undergo routine inspections.
“Captain, those two carriages look like they’re from the royal family, right?” The rookie who had just started working recently immediately noticed the carriages slowly approaching.
The security captain glanced in that direction and nodded, “Yeah, quite unusual, especially during the empire’s martial law period, to send official carriages out…”
The rookie hesitated before saying, “I’ll go check them.”
Just as he was about to step forward, the captain suddenly grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong, Captain?”
The captain’s face was serious, “Kid, don’t be stupid. Even though we’re under martial law, those are officials’ carriages. Don’t be like before, checking every carriage thoroughly.”
Thinking back to a few days ago, this inexperienced rookie, earning twenty gold coins but working with the conscience worth two hundred, was purely asking for trouble.
Now with the whole city under martial law and encountering such a special situation, it was a good opportunity to teach this rookie a lesson.
After giving his instructions, the captain released the rookie’s shoulder, “Go on, you know what to do.”
The rookie stood frozen for two seconds before stiffly nodding.
He turned and walked toward the two carriages.
“Hey, let us through quickly. If you delay the master’s goods, can you bear the responsibility?” the coachman said unpleasantly.
The rookie tried to maintain his composure, forcing a smile, “Well, these are special times, uncle. I’ll just take a quick look, won’t waste much time, just cooperate with our work a bit.”
“Cooperate my ass!”
The coachman remained firm, “There are so many carriages waiting to be checked up ahead. By the time we get through, it’ll be too late.”
“Uncle, in the time you’ve spent yelling at me, I could have already finished the inspection. See that special lane over there? Once we’re done checking, I’ll let you go through there.”
The coachman snorted coldly before reluctantly agreeing, “Hurry up, don’t waste my time.”
“Yes, uncle.”
The rookie secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This was probably his first time “negotiating” with people from other departments.
It was… successful, more or less.
The rookie approached the carriage’s cargo hold and opened the door to look inside.
There were various bottles, jars, and several large wooden crates. From the doorway, nothing seemed suspicious.
The rookie hesitated before bending down to enter the cargo hold.
He tapped the large wooden crates with his sword, producing dull sounds.
Meanwhile, Leon and Noia, hiding at the back of the cargo hold, were ready to attack.
If that guy discovered them, they would have to force their way through the city gates.
As the footsteps drew closer, Noia kept her eyes fixed on the cargo hold’s floor, slowly raising her right hand with sparks of electricity flickering in her palm.
However, Leon pressed down on her wrist.
Noia looked up.
“Shh~”
Leon put his finger to his lips, signaling Noia not to act rashly.
Noia could see that Leon was also sweating profusely.
Forcing their way through the city gates meant facing countless enemies and unknown situations.
She knew her father wasn’t afraid of any powerful opponent, but this wasn’t a straightforward battlefield.
Dangerous undercurrents would continue to surge in places they couldn’t detect.
Creak— Creak—
The sound of boots on the wooden floor of the cargo hold grew clearer.
Father and daughter huddled tightly in the corner, holding their breath.
This time, Noia was really going to act.
Just one more step forward from that guy, just one step, and Noia would strike without hesitation—Leon releasing her wrist meant he approved of this action.
However—
The person suddenly stopped.
“The captain… was right. Why am I putting in two hundred gold coins worth of effort for twenty gold coins of pay?”
The young imperial guard muttered, then chuckled and turned to leave the cargo hold.
Bang—
The cargo door closed, and the young rookie’s voice came from outside, “All clear, uncle, go ahead through the special lane! Oh, and don’t forget to put in a good word for us gate guards to the masters.”
“Yeah, yeah, just open the gate already.” The coachman responded impatiently.
The carriage began to move slowly, then picked up speed.
The father and daughter in the cargo hold finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Do you remember that person from before?” Leon asked.
“Mm… A few days ago, he insisted on thoroughly searching every merchant caravan’s carriages. He was a very conscientious rookie,” Noia said.
“But in just a few short days, he’s already learned the empire’s way of survival.”
Noia shrugged, “That was quick.”
The speed of falling into the mire of corruption is always faster than one can react.
The two royal carriages, carrying the empire’s top wanted criminal and his three daughters, sped away.