Chapter 32: Treatment That Not Even the Legendary Sage-Kings Ever Had
Although Li Kainan was eager to make for the Southern Frontier as quickly as possible to secure a proper territory, and Prince Adam was equally impatient to depart for the Kingdom of Corona to seek reinforcements—
They still ended up staying at Adam's castle for 10 days before they could finally set out.
The reason was simple: without magical items like spatial rings, transporting the wealth stored within the castle was no easy feat.
Even requisitioning every single cart in town wasn't enough—they were forced to purchase additional ones from other villages and townships.
As for Li Kainan's 800,000 gold coins and considerable quantity of treasures, he had the system's reward of 60 Retainer Knights to thank—without them, he alone would never have been able to carry it all away……
Once every last piece of wealth had been removed from the castle, Prince Adam disguised himself as a merchant with the castle servants and set off toward the Kingdom of Corona to seek aid.
The Kingdom of Corona lay to the northeast of the Kingdom of Cape, while the Southern Frontier territory Li Kainan intended to claim was situated to the southeast of the kingdom.
Their destinations lay in opposite directions, and so the 2 parties could only part ways.
The unlucky prince was no fool—the evil witch might not be able to best Li Kainan, but dealing with him would be effortless for her, so concealing his identity was only natural……
Li Kainan, on the other hand, marched openly under Prince Adam's banner, swaggering toward the kingdom's Southern Frontier without a care.
The Cape Royal Family had not yet lost the hearts of its people in those early days. Rallying under the name of a direct Royal Prince of the Blood with the banner of Restoring the Royal House served Li Kainan quite well during his Early Development Phase.
Having accepted the man's goodwill, it was only fitting to help draw some of the heat away from Prince Adam in return.
And frankly speaking, keeping a low profile wasn't even an option for Li Kainan even if he'd wanted to!
The wheels of the dozens of carts in the convoy ground deep ruts into the road as they rolled forward.
Any bandit with half a brain could see that this convoy was carrying staggering wealth.
But by the same token, not even the most foolish of bandits would entertain any crooked ideas.
60 Retainer Knights clad in magnificent Gilded Heavy Armor formed a guard around the convoy on all sides.
Their Gilded Heavy Armor caught the sunlight and blazed with rolling waves of golden light; the plumes atop their helmets and the capes at their backs snapped sharply in the wind.
Even the warhorses beneath them moved in perfect unison, the rhythmic thunder of their hooves setting the pebbles along the roadside trembling.
Without releasing even the faintest edge of Killing Intent, no one could doubt the valor and fighting prowess of this cavalry.
And beyond all that, Li Kainan's convoy even had a colossal white dragon in its ranks!
That was right—Aurora was a white dragon.
The gray that had covered her before was mostly just grime and filth.
And likely because the food Li Kainan provided suited her palate, Aurora had accepted the reality of being kept with total ease, and had even come to enjoy it.
Li Kainan hadn't placed any restrictions on her whatsoever, yet she simply had no desire to leave—her Loyalty Rate displayed overhead had even climbed to 50%!
The massive, snow-white dragon was temporarily grounded due to her injured wings, effectively transferring from aerial cavalry to infantry.
Both of her great wings were folded at her sides as she led the way at the very front of the convoy, appearing docile and well-behaved.
But the sheer draconic majesty she naturally emanated was already enough to command awe without a hint of aggression—her overwhelming Dragon's Might pressing down on the surroundings, causing all passersby, birds, and beasts alike to scramble out of the way!
Even the legendary Sage-Kings of myth never had a dragon leading their grand procession……
……
As the convoy passed through the town, Belle—who had been sitting inside one of the carts fully absorbed in her book—instinctively raised her head and pushed open the window to look back toward it.
Leaving behind the town she had lived in for over a decade stirred a faint, wistful melancholy in the heart of a girl who was, in no small part, a romantic at soul.
It was a relief that her father Maurice had chosen to leave the town alongside his daughter—that alone kept Belle from feeling too reluctant to go.
Branny, who was also sitting in the same cart, leaned over at this moment and craned her neck to peer out the window.
Then Branny caught the vague outline of what appeared to be a figure still dangling and swaying from one of the lampposts on the town's street.
This immediately brought to mind the image of Gaston and his lackeys, who had been strung up on those same lampposts for offending her some time ago.
"Sister Belle, has the person on the lamppost still not been taken down?" the little girl couldn't help but ask.
Belle turned to look at Branny—that fair, round face of hers, still carrying the softness of childhood, was the picture of pure innocence.
She paused for just a moment, then shut the window and said with a slightly unnatural air:
"Mm, he still needs to serve out his punishment……"
Branny, who had never had a good impression of Gaston to begin with, gave a nod, then chimed in with a touch of childlike conviction:
"Right, he has to be punished—hopefully it'll make him realize what he did wrong!"
Belle simply smiled and patted her on the head, saying nothing more.
The punishment Gaston had received was far worse than anything Branny had imagined.
If the goal was for him to truly reflect on his mistakes—well, that would have to wait until his next life……
Come to think of it, the order to execute Gaston had nothing to do with Li Kainan whatsoever.
Just a few days prior, when Li Kainan had brought people back into town to purchase enough transport carts, the townspeople had descended into sheer panic.
Gaston and his lackeys, coveting the property and maids left behind by a great noble, had plotted to seize them for themselves—and had already begun to act on it.
It just so happened that Li Kainan's Retainer Knights arrived in time, and Li Kainan himself had returned unharmed from that cursed castle……
In this world, akin to the medieval West, a commoner was worth nothing in the eyes of a noble!
For Gaston—a mere commoner of this small town—to be so brazen was an offense punishable enough to wipe out 9 generations of kin.
By the average moral standards of nobles in this world, the fate awaiting this town would have been nothing short of a great noble's wrathful retribution laid upon every soul within it.
Not a single person, not a single dog, not even an earthworm would be spared—everything would be split clean in two!
……
To avoid such a fate, the townspeople had no choice but to borrow Gaston's head and use it to appease the fury of Li Kainan, their noble overlord.
By the time Li Kainan learned of what Branny had endured in the town, Gaston had already been put to death by the townspeople themselves.
Swift and decisive—as if a single moment's hesitation would have sent the Retainer Knights charging in to raze the whole town to the ground……
……
Mm—Belle decided that this ugly truth was best kept from someone as innocent and naive as Branny.
Branny, for her part, didn't question Belle's words at all, and instead turned to ask with curious eyes:
"Sister Belle, do you know what kind of place the Southern Frontier is—the place we're heading to?"
Belle closed her book, a gleam of anticipation flickering in her eyes.
"According to the books, the kingdom's Southern Frontier has 4 distinct seasons and is full of sunlight. There are lavender estates, and it's rich in grapes and roses—you can even see snow-capped mountains and the sea……"
"In short, it's a place of breathtaking beauty!"