Chương 92: The Princess's Skill

After Isabella said that, Richard immediately understood.

They all went to the Empire, but the impact was different depending on who they went with.

However, this did not change his attitude at all.

He decided to help out of conscience, seeking a clear conscience; compared to that, other external factors were insignificant.

However, now that I've been caught in this vortex, there are some things I really need to understand.

Richard then said to Isabella, "I understand. When you have time, tell me about the situation within the Empire."

Isabella agreed, then said, "I've said everything I needed to say. Now, let's focus on preparing for our trip to the Empire—is there anything you need to pack?"

Richard touched the dimensional pouch at his waist and shook his head: "We have all our things with us, but I don't know about Elsa and Mary."

"Then please go and ask them. Unless it's something particularly important, you shouldn't leave the temple tonight."

With that, Isabella looked up at the moon and said, "I'll take care of everything outside. Tomorrow morning, when the moon sets and the sun rises, we'll set off for the Empire!"

Richard agreed and left the courtyard with Grace.

After the two left, Isabella turned around, tilted her head, and smiled at the silent Amelie: "When I said he would be considered one of my people, he didn't object at all~" Amélie felt an urge to grab her boss's ear, but she barely managed to restrain herself and replied, "Your Highness, shouldn't we have more important things to think about?"

Isabella smiled.

"You're right, but I think the more tense the situation, the more we need to find opportunities to relax, don't we?"

After saying that, she sighed softly, took out a more presentable robe from her dimensional bag, and said as she put it on, "Let's go. If we want to leave on time tomorrow morning, we'll be very busy tonight."

Time flies.

Early the next morning.

Richard woke up in the room arranged by the Church of Radiance. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw through the window that more than thirty people had gathered in the courtyard behind the temple.

After quickly washing up, he hurried down to the courtyard with Grace.

Looking around, he noticed that among the thirty-odd people, besides Isabella, Amelie, and Cinderella, there were several mid-level priests from the Church of Radiance, as well as a group of mercenaries who were clearly seasoned veterans.

Seeing that Richard had also arrived, Isabella, who had slightly dark circles under her eyes, introduced him, saying, "These people are from the Pegasus Mercenary Group. I hired them through my connections with the Church of Radiance."

Richard asked, "So, they are our guards for this trip?"

Isabella outwardly nodded in agreement, but secretly winked mischievously at Richard before leading Richard, Grace, Cinderella and her daughter, and a man carrying two swords who appeared to be the leader of the Pegasus Mercenary Group, into a room next door.

Here, Richard saw three more unfamiliar faces, two tall and one short, all wearing shackles.

"Who are they?"

"It's me, along with Elsa and Mary, who will be escorted away by the Pegasus Mercenary Group."

"ha?"

Isabella pulled out several scrolls from her bosom, tore them open one by one, and in the next second, the three unfamiliar faces transformed into the likenesses of Elsa, Mary, and herself.

Meanwhile, the real mother and daughter beside them transformed into a completely different appearance amidst gasps of surprise.

At this point, Richard fully understood.

"You want to fish with lures!"

"That's right!"

Isabella explained, "These three are all life prisoners from Phoenix City. I promised them their freedom in exchange for them impersonating me and Cinderella, and then hiring the Pegasus Mercenary Group to escort them to the Empire for three times the usual fee, in order to attract the vampires' attention—" She nodded to the man carrying two swords, who gave her a thumbs-up and replied, "Don't worry, Your Highness, we will definitely complete the mission."

Clearly, this person was fully aware of the purpose and dangers of this trip.

Richard witnessed all of this and couldn't help but feel admiration for Isabella.

What I admire is not that they came up with such a method.

Rather, it means they managed to gather enough manpower in just one night, paying those who were owed money and ensuring those who needed to be honest were honest. They were using living people as bait, yet they minimized the moral burden.

Your Highness, you are virtuous.

A few minutes later.

After giving her final instructions, Isabella had the Pegasus Mercenary Group take the three imposters away from the temple, concealing their identities while deliberately leaving some clues, and set off for the Empire.

Meanwhile, she, along with Amelie, Richard, Grace, and Cinderella and her daughter, a group of six, quietly slipped out of the temple's back door, mounted a few inconspicuous old horses, and made their way to the south gate of Phoenix City.

As they were leaving the city, Richard couldn't help but ask, "So, are the six of us just going to sneak off like this from now on?"

Isabella shook her head: "Of course not, that would be too risky, even though it would be more discreet."

"I still found some other guards."

"I didn't let them into Phoenix City, but instead arranged to meet them in a town a little further away."

I see, that makes sense.

Richard felt relieved, put on his hood, and slowly walked out of the city gate.

After about twenty paces, he slightly tightened the reins and turned back to gaze at his hometown where he had grown up.

In the morning sunlight, the walls and towers of Phoenix are bathed in a pale gold, and the colorful flags planted on top flutter in the wind, as if there really are phoenixes standing there, flapping their wings, seeing off travelers leaving the city day after day for decades.

Richard couldn't help but sigh softly.

Once they leave, it will be difficult for them to return in the short term.

Unfortunately, time was short, and there wasn't time to say goodbye to the sleeping tree spirit Old Andy and the dwarves of the Forest Arrow Squad. He could only ask the Church of Radiance to help deliver the message later.

After a moment of reflection, he turned his head, patted the horse's neck, and followed Isabella and the others, gradually disappearing down the cobblestone path.

That night, just as the sun was setting.

Inside Phoenix, three hooded men sneaked into Cinderella's house.

"The bloodstains and signs of a struggle are still there, and none of their clothes were taken. Tsk, they really left decisively—"

"The Imperials reacted faster than we expected."

"They've most likely followed that mercenary group from earlier in the day; Damian and the others need to keep a close eye on them—"

"I told you we shouldn't have acted so early! If we had waited two more days until more people arrived, wouldn't it have been foolproof?"

"Stop complaining, quickly search this house and see if you can find anything useful—wait, someone's watching us!"

"Oh no, it must be an ambush by the Imperials!"

at this time.

Oliver Phoenix was in a nearby alley.

During the day, he was put in a very bad position by the Desot family and the Church of Radiance, and his prestige and power were greatly reduced. He was so uncomfortable that he couldn't fall asleep after going to bed at night. He got up because he couldn't lie down anymore and wanted to consult with his advisors, but he found that they had run away!

He could no longer contain his emotions and decided to take revenge on Richard, the culprit, no matter what, to vent his anger.

However, he wasn't foolish enough to send people to attack directly, and he knew the situation was sensitive, and that if he wasn't careful, the Church of Radiance and the Desot family could easily find more leverage against him.

So he came secretly tonight, without any guards, only with two tight-lipped servants. His purpose was simply to check out the target first, and then discuss how to carry out his plan.

Sigh, he didn't need to personally supervise this kind of thing, but the chief steward Jason died, and a large number of his subordinates were implicated. Most of the rest were like that advisor—leaving him without anyone he could trust.

Ultimately, as a nobleman in a small city-state, he lacked sufficient political and cultural foundation.

Thinking of this, he sighed and asked the servant who was holding up binoculars, "Have you seen that bastard poet? I heard there's a mother and daughter inside. You could try to find something through them."

But the servant shook his head: "I didn't see them, I only saw three strange hooded creatures—wait, how did they turn into bats?"

Oliver: "?"