“Wuhu! It’s time to set off for the Capital—”
Sylvia bounced along the country path, pulling her sky-blue suitcase with a joyful step.
“Slow down… be careful not to tip the suitcase over. The things inside will get damaged.”
Floralia, still leaning on her cane, called out helplessly from behind.
“Mm… okay—”
After Floralia’s reminder, Sylvia immediately quieted down.
“Who would’ve thought… who would’ve thought that one day, we’d leave this little home and return to the Capital…”
Floralia murmured softly as she shuffled along with her cane.
Compared to Sylvia’s lively steps, hers were slow, and she kept glancing back over her shoulder, lingering on the small wooden cabin nestled in the woods behind them.
Though they hadn’t lived here long, this place was where Sylvia had been hatched and raised.
Once a dwelling becomes tied to a specific person, it naturally leaves behind more sentimental memories to cling to.
“Sylvia, did you close all the windows tight? Did you lock the door? Did you clean up all the vegetables and mushrooms in the kitchen?”
Floralia couldn’t help but ask repeatedly:
“I don’t want us to come back one day and find the kitchen crawling with mold or something…”
“Of course! Don’t worry, Miss Floralia. I’ve remembered everything you told me to do~”
Sylvia proudly turned and patted her chest.
“Good, that’s a relief.”
Floralia exhaled, but then grew tense again.
Sofia was standing not far away on the main road, arms crossed at ease, her gaze never leaving their side.
The aura she exuded, the inscrutable intent behind her eyes, and the oppressive weight of her stare made Floralia instinctively slow her pace, her breath trembling with a subtle disorder.
“Wow, what a huge carriage! Such a beautiful carriage! Such tall horses—!”
In stark contrast to Floralia’s tension, Sylvia’s eyes lit up as she spotted the carriage behind Sofia.
She hurried forward excitedly and stood right beside it.
“Huhu… So, how do you like it? This is an all-automatic Magic Carriage I specially rented from a very powerful friend~”
Facing Sylvia’s starry-eyed admiration, Sofia bent down proudly to pat her little head before launching into a boastful introduction:
“Besides its beautiful exterior, it’s embedded with Space Folding Magic, and its spacious interior can hold more than twenty people~
“Besides that, it comes with automatic navigation and driving, enhanced shock absorption, temperature control, food heating, a space warehouse, chilled beverages, and so much more.
“And the Magic Shield installed on it is very strong—if hit directly by a Sixth-Tier Fireball, it’ll still remain perfectly safe~”
“Wow…”
Sylvia’s mouth slightly dropped in surprise at that last statement.
For an elementary student studying at the Magic Academy, no one understood the value of a Sixth-Tier Fireball better than she did.
In the magical power rating system, First-Tier to Ninth-Tier represented the levels from beginner to God-Tier Magic—rumor had it that in ancient times there even existed more powerful Tenth-Tier Magic, though no one had ever seen it firsthand.
Among them, crossing from Third-Tier to Fourth-Tier was a talent barrier of notable difficulty, while going from Fifth-Tier to Sixth-Tier was a major watershed.
Basically, ordinary students graduating from the Magic Academy barely reached Fourth-Tier magic at best.
Reaching that level already meant they were considered fairly outstanding graduates, able to find decent jobs at the Guild of Adventurers or similar places to support themselves.
As for those who could perform Sixth-Tier magic, they could call themselves mature magicians of considerable skill, even able to serve as Tutors at smaller Magic Academies.
Sylvia’s previous Tutors at the Academy were mostly of middle Sixth-Tier level.
Therefore, standing before such a luxurious Magic Carriage, Sylvia couldn’t help but exclaim sincerely:
“A-amazing…”
“Hmph… It’s just a carriage. Don’t think such a small trick will make me let my guard down—”
Floralia, catching up from behind, snorted coldly, dismissing Sofia’s enthusiastic sales pitch entirely.
“Sofia, Sofia, it’s been years since we last met, and I never imagined you’d turn into someone so shallow, bullying children who’ve never seen the world just to show off.”
Floralia sneered without holding back, then turned to Sylvia:
“Sylvia, stop making that pathetic face. It’s just an ordinary carriage. Once we’re inside the Capital, especially in the Noble District, the streets are full of carriages like this. There’s nothing special about it.”
As she spoke, she pulled Sylvia behind her, eyes wary as she stared at Sofia.
“Oh? Big sister’s words are as sharp as ever.”
Sofia straightened up, her smile unchanged, but her aura clearly different than before.
“…But it’s okay, I’ll find a way to turn big sister into a gentle, virtuous, lovely woman. Little Sylvia can look forward to that too~”
She said with a playful wink at Sylvia.
“Hmph… Dream on!”
Floralia stubbornly retorted.
For the sake of her grand plan to reclaim her dignity, from now on she had to establish authority in every word and deed—never backing down!
But little Sylvia, poking her head out from behind Floralia, drifted off into a brief daydream at those words.
What would a gentler, more virtuous Miss Floralia be like…?
“Huhu…”
Sofia no longer said anything, instead turning to the carriage and politely gesturing an invitation.
“Please, big sister, get on board~”
“…”
Floralia fell silent as she came to the carriage, peering inside at the spacious interior.
Hmm… everything looked normal, and there was no sign of anything strange inside… good.
Sofia probably wasn’t clever enough yet to set traps on the carriage.
No matter how crafty she tried to be, she was no match for this outstanding Retired Villain.
Floralia felt a swell of pride silently within.
“Come on, Sylvia, find a comfortable spot to sit. Our journey from home to the Capital will be long.”
Floralia instructed.
But when she turned, she found Sofia had followed closely and stepped into the carriage as well.
“Sofia… why are you…!”
“Hm? Does big sister have a problem?”
“Why did you come into the carriage too…”
Floralia clenched her teeth and asked in a low voice:
“Shouldn’t you… be supervising the horses from the driver’s seat?”
Sofia chuckled lightly, glancing at Sylvia from the corner of her eye, then leaned close to Floralia’s ear, almost nibbling on her earlobe as she whispered with a teasing breath:
“This is a rare chance to ride in the same carriage with big sister again… do you think I’d just give up so easily?”
“You…!”
Floralia’s cheeks and neck flushed pink instantly.
“Little Sylvia is still here, I warn you…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let her find out—just like back then, when big sister and I traveled together in the carriage. Very subtle, very subtle.”
Saying this, she lightly licked her heated lips, her gaze shamelessly scanning Floralia’s delicate form and supple waist, back and forth.
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