stimulate

When the last ray of the sun fell, the convoy of the diplomatic mission stopped moving forward.

As the vice-jarl, Locke was ready to order the soldiers to set up tents, barricades, and traps in an orderly manner. Before that, he needed to report the situation to the jarl.

"Viscount Cage, can we set up camp now?" Locke rode to the front of the convoy and asked a man who was riding a brown horse. He looked like an upright and strict man.

"Yes, Herr Locke!" Cage nodded.

Locke got the order and began to order all the soldiers and servants.

Speaking of the leader of the convoy, Locke had a good impression of Cage. He wasn't as hypocritical as the other nobles, and was very methodical in his actions and speech. If it weren't for the fact that Cage had personally admitted that he hadn't joined the army, Locke would have suspected that he was from the army.

Cage also treated Locke quite well. He didn't use his identity as the person in charge of the envoy to suppress Locke.

That was what other people thought. Cage didn't think that way himself.

Cage wouldn't dare to do anything to him. Putting aside the fact that there was an even more powerful figure in the delegation, just the fact that Angelina and Locke were close to each other was enough for Cage to not lay a finger on him.

Cage was sent by his family to make himself look good. Plus, he had a good reputation among the nobles, so the king gave him such a good job. He didn't want to cause trouble.

If necessary, he, as the jarl, would even listen to Locke. This was the bottom line he set for himself.

It couldn't be helped. To be frank, Angelina looked at Locke like she was looking at her lover. After spending half a month with him, everyone in the convoy could tell. When Cage first found out, he was shocked, but in the end, he pretended not to know anything.

Not only him, but everyone in the convoy, especially the nobles who had sneaked in, were extremely envious of Locke's good luck. Why couldn't they get the princess's attention?

The reason why everyone was temporarily blinded was that the big figure in the convoy didn't express his opinion. Not expressing his opinion meant that he acquiesced. That was what everyone thought.

Who was it? In the middle of the convoy, in the carriage closest to Angelina's, Romm was meditating with his eyes closed.

At his level, lifespan was temporarily no longer a shackle, but he still diligently trained every day. Knight Romm's aptitude was not as good as others thought. It could be said that the only reason he could achieve what he had today and stand out from millions of people was because of his hard work.

Sensing that there was someone outside the carriage, Knight Romm stopped his training and said gently, "Come in!"

Outside the carriage, Angelina lifted her skirt and entered. The carriage didn't look as big as Angelina's and seemed to be just an ordinary carriage, but there was something hidden inside. The three-dimensional space was almost the size of a house. This was Romm's own equipment.

"Hello, Grandpa Romm," greeted Angelina.

The Faustian king could call Romm 'Herr Romm' because Romm had sworn to be loyal to the Faustian royal family for the rest of his life. That was why the king could stand at the top.

However, Angelina couldn't. Perhaps her brother, Kenzir, as the heir to the kingdom, could barely call Romm by his name.

Romm, who was 198 years old, was old enough to be Angelina's grandfather. Although it was strange to call a middle-aged man 'grandpa', both of them behaved calmly.

"Okay." Romm agreed. He was very friendly to Angelina since he was liked by Garcia and was a member of the royal family.

"I'll be leaving the convoy in two days at most. Nolan will be escorting you when the time comes," said Romm.

Nolan was a high-rank Lehrling that the Faustian king had assigned to the diplomatic mission. In addition, there were two shadow guard jarls and a commandant of the royal guards, all of whom were high-rank Knechts. The king had transferred almost all the spare powerhouses to the diplomatic mission.

Among them, Nolan was naturally the strongest person in the convoy after Romm.

"Of course, I can rest assured with Master Nolan around," said Angelina sincerely.

"Alright, I'll give you the purple scales of the scorpiondrake before I leave. You can place them around the scorpiondrake egg. It'll help with its incubation," said Romm.

"Okay." Angelina was delighted. Ever since she brought the scorpiondrake egg back, her mentor had helped her sign a master-servant contract with the unformed scorpiondrake. However, there hadn't been any changes until now.

If it weren't for the fact that the scorpiondrake egg still had some signs of life, she would've suspected that it was a dead egg.

Before becoming a Magister, it was best for a person to only sign a contract with one major monster pet. Frequent changes would cause irreparable damage to the caster's mental strength, which was what worried Angelina.

If the scorpiondrake egg turned into a dead egg, she would be at least 30% weaker than a caster of the same rank. That was caused by insufficient mental strength. If the other party had a pet, the gap would be even greater.

After receiving Romm's promise, Angelina bade her farewell and got out of Romm's carriage in a relaxed mood.

Romm looked at Angelina, who was full of smiles. His calm heart suddenly felt a little envious of the youthful vigor. He didn't care about Angelina and Locke mainly because he didn't have the responsibility and couldn't be bothered. Secondly, as an elder, he should let the younger generation take care of themselves.

Everyone had a process of growing up and had their own lives. Romm didn't want to interfere with others' lives.

Perhaps he was thinking too much. Romm chuckled. What's wrong with me? I'm not even two hundred years old. Compared to an Erdritter who had a lifespan of nearly a thousand years, I'm still young. Why do I always have the mindset of an old man?

Did Angelina call him 'Grandpa' make him old? Romm guessed.

When they set up camp at night, Locke deliberately chose a shady spot. The continuous drizzle these days had annoyed him.

The convoy was connected at the front and back, forming a circle. The royal guards guarded the outermost part of the convoy, while the shadow guards set up outposts in the inner part. The accompanying servants started a fire to cook under the instructions of their supervisors.

Locke was currently sitting next to a bonfire in the middle of the convoy, roasting something. Due to passing through Melmos Forest, the soldiers had hunted a lot of game recently. There weren't any large animals, but there were countless small ones such as rabbits, bobcats, and lynxes.

There were also a few generals scattered around him. They were all captains of the royal guards and shadow guards.

Because of Locke's status as the vice-jarl of the envoy, these people were nominally his subordinates. With the strength of a low-rank Knecht, he could only say that it was a great feeling to lead a group of mid-rank and high-rank Knechts.

The royal guards strictly followed orders, while the shadow guards were loyal to the royal family. In the entire envoy team, only the twenty to thirty nobles disobeyed Locke. He didn't care about them as long as they didn't cause him trouble.

After eating, Locke wiped his mouth with his sleeve, called out to his adjutant, and went to the convoy to look for Glace and the others, leaving behind a group of envious people.

There were less than three hundred people in the envoy team, yet Locke had smuggled five women in alone. Everyone gossiped about it. All the nobles gritted their teeth and secretly complained about how Princess Angelina fell for this lecher.

When they arrived at Glace's carriage, Glace and the others had already finished eating. Locke would usually send soldiers to deliver their three meals.

Glace, Laffey and Suzanne were all there, except for Kristin. She was probably playing with her sister Lia.

Locke didn't say anything and pulled Glace into the carriage. He even squeezed a smile at Suzanne. The carriage was too small, otherwise, Suzanne wouldn't have been able to escape.

Glace knew that Locke was impatient, so she just let him be.

The carriage gradually shook and the melodious sounds drifted further and further away. Suzanne and Laffey blushed and snorted, then returned to their carriages.

Half an hour later, just as Locke was about to charge, the curtains of the carriage were suddenly lifted, scaring the two people in the carriage. Locke shuddered and almost disarmed.

"Auntie, are you there?" Kristin's voice came from the darkness.

Glace didn't say anything, just panting slightly.

Thinking that her aunt was asleep, Kristin climbed straight into the carriage. She was tired after playing all day and wanted to sleep with her aunt tonight.

After getting into the carriage and lying down next to Glace, Kristin realised that something was wrong. Why was her aunt's blanket so high? She seemed to have thought of something and blushed instantly.

At this time, Locke was too embarrassed to continue pretending to be invisible. He lifted the blanket and revealed an awkward smile. He used his finger to point at his lips, gesturing for Kristin to go back to sleep.

Kristin nodded, still in a daze.

Seeing that everything was fine, Locke continued to move, ignoring the increasing strength Glace was exerting on his waist.

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