The carriage door burst open, and Lar leaped out of Mier’s embrace, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at the doorway only to see Lord Raphael, appearing utterly exhausted as if the battle outside had drained all her energy.
Mier, looking worriedly at the dispirited Raphael, couldn’t help but speak out.
“Lord Raphael, where is Fisher?”
Lar glanced out at the lavender field, but she didn’t see the familiar figure of the human male, and just seconds before, their slave seals had all disappeared; naturally, Mier and the others knew what had happened, so they all looked at Raphael with complex expressions.
As she faced Lar’s somewhat anxious gaze, Raphael gently closed the door behind her, closed her eyes for a second or two, and then reopened her blue eyes, saying to Kexier and Fasher,
“You drive the carriage, we’ll turn around and head toward the tribe…
head south first, and after I look at Fisher’s map, I’ll take over the driving.
Mier, keep an eye on Lar.”
Mier bowed her head in acknowledgement and held the petite Lar in her arms.
Raphael glanced at her partner and surroundings, and only when Fasher and the others went outside to drive the carriage south did she move to the first door on the left-side, which was Fisher’s room.
The décor and items inside had barely been touched, many human books lay there, quietly gazing at Raphael as she entered the room.
She was about to turn around and look at the map of the South Continent hanging on the wall, but in the corner of her eye, she spotted a light yellow envelope on his desk, with an antique leather scroll lying beneath it.
Raphael picked up the envelope, written on it in Fisher’s signature Nali cursive,
Raphael opened the envelope, inside was a folded piece of letter paper with Fisher’s handwriting.
“If you are reading this, it means you have won in our game, first congratulations to you and your partners on gaining freedom.
Also, it means our paths will diverge here, heading in different directions until they eventually converge or reach different ends.”
“Your strength and greatness made me consider eliminating you multiple times, but an independent perspective allowed me to see the Dragon-man Species’ simple kindness and warmth, and it also made me grow fond of you, who possess such a fiery soul.
Hence, after much hesitation, I decided to let you go.
Your stage is not in the dark prisons of humans nor in my not-so-spacious Nali house, but the vast wilderness of the South Continent is your future.”
“At the same time, I hope you will always maintain your independent thinking, pondering deeply before doing anything; this will be beneficial for your decisions and path.
The leather scroll below the envelope is a clue to the relics of the Fermat Baha Dragon Court, given as our parting gift.
If you have a return gift, you can give it to me the next time we meet.”
“May your future path be filled with bright blessings.”
“P.S.: You still owe me a punishment.
Remember to repay it when we meet again.”
Raphael clutched the thin envelope, her attention lingering long on Fisher’s last signature.
She silently lowered her head, pressing the envelope to her forehead, where the red, illusory Dragon Horns passed through the envelope.
Strangely enough, although the human had no horns and physical objects couldn’t touch the horns of a Dragon-man, at that moment, Raphael felt waves billow within her soul, as though her intentions were in sync with his.
For a long while, when she reopened her eyes, those blue eyes were as deep as a pool, yet hidden in the depths of that blue, there seemed to be countless fiercely burning flames, radiating blinding light like the sun.
It was time for her to embark, to complete what she had long wished to do.
The midday sun was blazing in the South Continent, a carriage departed from the north of the South Continent, just as it had arrived.
And now, the hands holding the reins were no longer those of the Nali Gentleman but those of a Dragon-man Species girl, dazzling like the early morning sun.
The Red Dragon Queen was rising.
(End of Volume One – The Red Dragon Queen)