Leon walked to the front yard and suddenly stopped, turning back.
“Have pursuers been sent after the half-orcs who escaped last night?”
Airigo nodded. “This morning I dispatched twenty soldiers on horseback out of the city, heading south in pursuit.”
Leon felt surprised.
The direction Airigo had chosen to chase actually matched the direction he had given the half-orcs.
He asked curiously, “Why are you so certain they went south?”
Airigo explained, “If they want to escape the Northern Territory as quickly as possible, both east and west are too far. Only south remains. Of course, the half-orcs are not foolish enough to flee north, where ice demons appear.”
Leon re-examined the knight before him.
He had visited North City before and knew Airigo’s reputation, but now it ran deeper.
“Airigo Knight, I order you to protect my safety at every step from now on.”
Tana knew that impersonating Leon would certainly be noticed by some people, so she had to create safety for herself.
With Leon’s identity, this was simple.
Having Airigo, a knight, guarding by her side meant she could sleep soundly at night as well.
Airigo bowed in salute. “It is my duty, my lord.”
“Hmm.” Leon smiled and helped Airigo to his feet, patting the snow from Airigo’s body with his hand.
“Send another thirty soldiers to pursue the half-orcs, and capture them alive.”
Airigo answered affirmatively, immediately rushed to the doorway to issue the order, then ran back to Leon’s side once more.
“My lord, the half-orcs will not escape tonight. Tomorrow you will see them in the castle.”
Leon was quite satisfied with Airigo’s efficiency. He took out a gold coin from his bag.
This was something he had saved while planning to flee.
After all, since he needed the other party’s protection, why not be generous and make Airigo more loyal?
Airigo declined repeatedly, but ultimately accepted the gold coin under Leon’s firm insistence.
Watching Leon’s back as he walked into the castle, Airigo grew even more certain that the person before him was not Leon, but someone else.
Yet he did not expose it.
Compared to the idle Leon who only cared about women, this Leon was clearly more likable and more suited to lead the Northern Territory.
He did not need to know what had happened to the other party. He only needed to ensure the other party did not die before his eyes.
Leon ascended to the second floor.
The royal guards from the kingdom were stationed here.
It was obvious the princess was staying in the rooms.
Just as he was about to step onto the second floor, Griet appeared in time and blocked his path.
“Lord Leon, please stop. The princess is resting.”
“Resting?”
Leon looked up at the window. The sky was bright. It was already noon.
“I am merely worried the princess might encounter some mishap in the Northern Territory. I only wished to see her once, that is all.”
Griet did not yield an inch.
“The princess is well. She is sound asleep now. Come back after the princess awakens.”
Leon took a forceful step forward, testing the royal guards’ reaction.
To his surprise, Griet immediately drew his sword and aimed it at his heart.
If he advanced another step, the other party would truly thrust the sword into his heart without the slightest hesitation, showing no fear of the King of the North’s eldest son’s identity.
Although Airigo promptly positioned himself in front of him, facing so many royal guards, even if he survived he would be lucky to escape with his skin intact.
“Worthy of the kingdom’s princess. Even her guards are this overbearing.”
Griet explained, “Even in the royal capital, the king would not disturb Princess Osha’s sleep. Moreover, you are not yet the King of the North.”
Leon signaled Airigo to sheathe his sword and voluntarily took a step back, indicating he would not rashly force his way in.
“Then I shall trouble the knight. Once the princess awakens, inform her that I will prepare a lavish dinner as compensation.”
“I will.” Griet held the longsword in his hand, his eyes occasionally meeting Airigo’s.
Seeing this, Leon said nothing more and walked straight upstairs.
On the third floor, he stood at the doorway and knocked twice. Thump, thump.
No voice answered from within the room. When he intended to enter directly, he discovered the door was locked.
“I am Gareth Leon, here to offer prayers for my father.”
The voice reached inside the room.
Ailia suddenly opened her eyes.
She could confirm this was Leon’s voice.
But last night, Leon had clearly died at Zhe Zilin’s hands. She had seen the corpse with her own eyes.
Ailia turned her head and gazed directly toward the door.
She chanted a segment of a spell, her eyes glowing as she penetrated the door, clearly seeing Leon standing outside.
No. Impossible.
No, impossible.
She chanted a second segment of the spell once more, wanting to see the true appearance of the Leon at the door, yet she found she could not see through it in the slightest.
Could Leon have been resurrected?
Ailia quickly dismissed this notion. If Leon had revived, he would not be standing at the door speaking of praying for the King of the North.
The other party would certainly be madly seeking revenge, hunting down Zhe Zilin to kill him without delay.
Therefore, this Leon was fake, but she could not see through the other party’s true appearance.
Leon stood at the door, continuing to call out, “I am the eldest son of the King of the North. According to tradition, I may enter the room to pray.”
“Witch, will you not open the door?”
After waiting a while longer, there was still no response from inside the room.
Leon took a step back, intending to have Airigo force an entry.
Just as Airigo had yet to draw his longsword, the door opened a crack.
Ailia opened the door, then paid the two no further attention.
She returned to sit beside the King of the North’s coffin, closed her eyes, and began reciting the requiem incantation.
Leon’s gaze remained fixed upon Ailia as he questioned, “Why did you only open the door now?”
Ailia remained silent.
Leon entered the room and asked again, “I recall Lady Snow was also offering prayers. Where is she?”
Ailia maintained her composure and calm, her face expressionless.
“Lady Snow returned to her room to rest last night.”
Leon stood opposite Ailia, scrutinizing whether the other party was lying. After a long moment, he smiled and said, “She claims to be praying for the King of the North, yet she could not persist for even a single day before returning to her room to sleep. Hmph, it is merely that her mouth is skilled at words. On ordinary days, she has cultivated the image of an iron lady who follows through on her word. Quite the schemer.”
From the fake Leon’s mouth, Ailia could detect that the other party harbored immense resentment toward Snow, even hatred.
She did not know the reason, but she committed it to memory.
Leon paced a circle around the room before returning to the front of the coffin. He feigned concern and said, “Witch, you must be hungry. I will have someone prepare some food.”
He strode out of the room, taking Airigo downstairs with him. Shortly after, he returned alone to the third floor.
At the doorway, Leon produced a small vial of blood.
It was the heart’s blood the ice demon had given him. Even one of the Four Great Witches would be poisoned upon drinking it.
Although it would not cause death, she would be unable to use any magic for a month.
Ailia, deprived of her magic, would be nothing more than a delicate little girl and could no longer pose any threat.
Leon mixed the blood into the food, smiled, and opened the door to enter.
“Witch, I have specially prepared this food for you.”
Ailia did not turn her head. “I am not hungry.”
Leon walked up to her and said with an awkward smile, “I will watch you finish eating it.”
Seeing that Ailia remained unmoved, she had long since planned for this.
“By the way, your servant is still here in North City, correct?”