Chapter 86: Falling into the Quagmire ( Part 1 )
Martin had arranged for two royal freight carriages.
Although the city was under martial law, once the royal carriages were out, no one dared to stop them. At most, they would chat briefly with the coachmen and then let them pass. After all, no one could have expected that the Empire’s most wanted criminal from twenty years ago, who had just stolen the Dragonheart scales, could sneak into the royal carriages.
Inside the cargo hold, Leon and Noa were squeezed together in a corner, gently swaying as the carriage sped along.
Noa curled her long legs up, leaning against Leon, and muttered, “Sometimes, I wish my father were a top-tier sorcerer who could change sizes at will. Then it wouldn’t be so cramped.”
“I don’t know if a sorcerer who can change sizes at will is top-tier, but they’d be lacking in manners.” Leon joked with his daughter, using a pun.
Noa rolled her eyes playfully, “Xiao Guang said your flirting skills are terrible, but I think you’re doing fine now. So, who opened their heart first between you and mom?”
“Of course, it was your mother. Was it me?” Leon responded.
“Hmph… wasn’t it when you first returned to the Empire? Mom hugged you and said a lot of things.”
Leon paused, “She told you all that?”
“Yeah.”
Noa continued, “Mom isn’t very good at expressing her feelings, and she’s not the proactive type in relationships. I don’t even know how brave she must’ve been to say all those things to you back then. She probably thought… she would never see you again, so she said them.”
Leon pressed his dry lips together and fell silent.
Recalling his relationship with Rosevessa, it seemed the key turning point was indeed that day when they parted for the first time.
Roseweissehad took the initiative to hug Leon and told him so much.
And after returning from the Empire, she brought up the topic of “confession” for the first time.
But Leon had never properly responded.
Noa’s words now made Leon realize something.
Roseweisse wasn’t good at love, or at least not at expressing it. Yet, each time, it had been her taking the first step.
Leon remembered that night when Roseweisse wanted him to say “I like you.”
On the surface, it seemed like she wanted Leon to be more proactive. But when you think about it carefully, wasn’t asking the other person to say “I like you” because she had already fallen for him and wanted a response?
That mother dragon… was stubborn and proud.
Of course, he was no better.
“Hey.” Noa nudged Leon’s arm.
“Huh… what?”
“Once we go back, don’t leave Mom again, okay?”
“Once we go back…” Leon hesitated for a moment, but quickly understood what Noa meant by ‘once we go back.’
It wasn’t about returning to that secret underground space, but… going back to the past.
If after escaping from dire circumstances, fate had generously given Leon a chance to save everything, then the so-called “everything” definitely didn’t include Roseweisse.
Because to Leon, she was one of a kind, and she didn’t fit into any “categories.”
In Leon’s heart, there was a little world that belonged only to Roseweisse, and she had filled it.
Leon didn’t want to include Roseweisse in his “save the future” plan. She was Leon’s present, his only present. As for the future, it didn’t belong to her, nor him—it belonged to the two of them.
“I know, Noa. Once we go back, I won’t leave Mom again.”
Noa smiled faintly, “What about us, your sisters? You won’t abandon us, right?”
“Of course, I won’t leave you guys either.”
“That’s not certain.”
Noa lowered her head and fiddled with her nails, pretending to be indifferent. “What if one day, you and your beloved wife get in the mood, leave us behind at home, and secretly go on a honeymoon?”
“Then you should be happy.”
“Why?”
“Because after the honeymoon ends, you might have a new little sister.”
“… So the life goal of the strongest dragon slayer and the Silver Dragon Queen is just to keep having babies?”
“To expand the Melkwei family’s population, it’s our unshakable duty!”
…
At dawn, the two royal carriages arrived at the Empire’s city gate.
There were now at least twice as many guards, and entry and exit were strictly prohibited. Every merchant convoy had to go through a routine check.
“Captain, those two look like the royal carriages, don’t they?” The rookie guard, who had just joined, spotted the slowly approaching carriages.
The captain looked at them, and nodded, “Yeah, it’s rare to see them, especially during the martial law period. They still sent out the royal carriages?”
The rookie hesitated, “I’ll go check.”
Just as he was about to take a step, the captain suddenly grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong, Captain?”
The captain’s face was serious. “Kid, don’t get confused. Although it’s martial law, those are the officials’ carriages. Don’t do what you did last time, checking every single carriage like it’s your job.”
The rookie guard, a few days ago, lacked experience and had been overzealous in his duty. He had a lot of military pay but was too eager to prove himself, causing unnecessary trouble.
Now, during martial law, and with such a special case, it was a good chance to teach the rookie a lesson.
The captain patted the rookie’s shoulder, “Go ahead, you know what to do.”
The rookie stood still for a moment, then stiffly nodded.
He turned and walked towards the two carriages.
“Hey, hurry up and let us pass. If we delay the cargo transport, can you afford the responsibility?” The coachman spoke rudely.
The rookie forced a smile, “It’s just a special time, sir. I’ll just take a quick look, it won’t take long. Please cooperate with our work.”
“Cooperate my ass!” The coachman was tough. “There are so many carriages ahead waiting for inspection. If we don’t get through soon, the food will spoil.”
“Sir, while you were yelling at me, I’ve already finished my check. See that special passage over there? Once I’m done here, I’ll let you pass through that.”
The coachman grunted, reluctantly agreeing, “Hurry up, hurry up, don’t waste my time.”
“Yes, sir.” The rookie sighed in relief, feeling that this was his first “successful” interaction with others in a different department.
Man that one rookie could have foiled all of Leon’s plans. Luckily his lazy superiors were there to keep that from happening lol
I really look forward when this arc will appear in the manga.
Leon is pretty bold when he brags to his daughter about expanding the family, his poor wife is in for it when he gets back from this