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Chapter 8: The hero’s role

Chapter 8: The hero’s role

Leviana’s family territory lay nearly four days’ journey from the capital.

The land was surrounded by rocky mountains and vast forests, with only three main roads that could bring outsiders in. Thanks to its natural position and a powerful private army, the family had endured through many generations without relying too heavily on the royal court.

That night, a man in a brown cloak appeared before the southern gate.

He carried no family crest and did not request an audience with the head of the family. After presenting a silver coin engraved with an eagle with folded wings, he was led through three layers of inspection and brought to a secret room beneath the castle.

Leviana’s father was sitting there.

Beside him were his wife and two trusted guards.

When the woman saw the seal on the letter, her hands immediately began to tremble.

"That’s her personal seal."

The man didn’t respond, directly breaking the seal and opening the letter. The first line held only a few words.

I’ve woken up.

The room went silent.

Leviana’s mother raised a hand to cover her mouth as tears quickly spilled over. Over the past five years, she had wanted many times to bring her daughter back to the territory, but every herbalist had said that traveling such a long distance could worsen Leviana’s condition. Aldric’s family had also continuously assured them they would use the finest medicines to care for her.

All they could do was leave a guard behind in secret to keep watch.

No one had expected Leviana to truly wake.

Her father continued reading.

The joy on his face quickly vanished.

Do not leave the territory after receiving the official letter.

Aldric may delay or swap the letter, then lure Father along the northern route. He will arrange an ambush at Grail Pass and then appear as the rescuer.

Investigate everyone who has had contact with Aldric over the past five years. Trust no one outside the silver eagle network.

Below was a string of highly complex magic symbols.

Leviana’s father placed his fingertip on them and channeled a thread of mana. The symbols shifted instantly, revealing a phrase that only he and Leviana had used when she was a child.

It could not be forged.

This was truly his daughter’s letter.

The woman beside him wiped her tears and asked hoarsely: "Why is Leviana already wary of Aldric the moment she wakes? What has she discovered?"

"I don’t know." Her father looked at the letter, his expression turning cold. "But she has never used the highest-level cipher without a reason."

One of the guards asked the messenger: "Who gave you the letter?"

"Gareth."

"Gareth is still alive?"

"Still alive. But he’s been under surveillance. A Sound-Harvesting Bug was found in the stables immediately after the young lady’s person delivered the letter."

Leviana’s father narrowed his eyes. "The young lady’s person?"

The messenger produced another small slip of paper. "Gareth asked me to relay this verbatim. The person who carried the letter from the young lady to him was Lathel, the adopted son of Aldric’s family, and also the young lady’s current betrothed on paper."

Leviana’s mother recalled at once. "The one they pushed forward to replace Aldric?"

"Correct."

"Leviana just woke up and she’s already entrusting secret letters to him?"

The messenger nodded, then presented the final part of the letter.

The person carrying this letter is my most important ally. In an emergency, his orders may be treated as my own.

Leviana’s father read this line twice.

He knew very little about Lathel.

Previous reports had only stated that he was mute, had no notable talent, and had been caring for Leviana over the last three years. Aldric’s family treated him as a servant, and other nobles barely knew he existed.

Yet the moment his daughter woke, she had placed her entire covert network in this man’s hands.

"Gather all information on Lathel." He folded the letter, his voice low. "From the day he was adopted to the present. Pay special attention to the three years he spent caring for Leviana."

The guard bowed his head at once. "Yes, sir."

Right at that moment, a knock sounded from outside.

A servant entered, holding a sealed letter bearing the crest of Aldric’s family in both hands.

"My lord, an urgent letter from the capital."

Everyone in the room exchanged glances.

Leviana’s father took the letter, examined the seal, and opened it.

The contents were almost the complete opposite of the secret letter.

Leviana had woken, but her soul had suddenly become unstable, and her condition could be life-threatening. She kept calling for her parents and wished to see them. To avoid detection by whoever had harmed her five years ago, they were to depart in secret, bring no more than a small escort, and take the northern route through Grail Pass.

Leviana’s mother finished reading, her face ashen.

Not from worry.

From fury.

"If not for the secret letter, we would have set out immediately."

Her father looked at the date written at the bottom. "This letter should have arrived two days earlier."

The head guard spoke up at once: "Someone held it back."

"Not just held it back." The man placed both letters side by side, his voice cold. "This letter is forged. The seal from Aldric’s family is real, but the wording isn’t Leviana’s. She has never summoned me without mentioning her mother."

The woman looked at the line directing them to use the northern route, her hand slowly clenching.

"Aldric truly intends to arrange an ambush?"

"We’ll find out."

Leviana’s father turned to his head guard. "Prepare a convoy that looks identical to mine. Use concealment magic on whoever’s inside. Depart tomorrow along the northern route with no more than twenty escorts."

The head guard asked: "Who will ride in the carriage?"

"No one."

"And if the ambushers check?"

"Use a puppet carrying my aura." He looked at the map on the table. "The men who go must be elite guards. Do not eliminate the enemy immediately, and do not reveal that we already know the plan."

The woman understood her husband’s intention at once. "You want to let Aldric show up as the rescuer?"

"Exactly."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of the man’s mouth.

"Every play needs an audience. Otherwise, our hero will be disappointed."

...

The following morning, a convoy bearing Leviana’s family crest departed through the northern gate of the territory.

Word spread quickly.

By afternoon, a messenger beast landed on the windowsill of Aldric’s room.

He opened the small slip of paper, saw the line confirming the convoy had set out, and the corner of his mouth curled upward at once.

"Everything is proceeding exactly as planned."

The subordinate standing beside him asked: "Do we begin?"

Aldric rose and took the sword and staff from their rack.

"Notify the team at Grail Pass. Wait until the convoy is deep inside the gorge before striking. Kill half the escorts. Keep the person in the carriage alive."

"When will you make your appearance?"

"After they’ve lost all hope."

Aldric walked to the mirror, adjusted his collar, then looked at his own handsome reflection.

"If you want someone to remember a life-saving debt, you must appear at the moment they believe they’re certain to die."

The subordinate said with a smile: "After this, Leviana’s family head will surely support the betrothal between you and the young lady."

"That’s only the first step." Aldric gripped his staff, his face brimming with confidence. "Once her family opens its doors to me, every resource inside will belong to me sooner or later. This was always the protagonist’s reward."

Two hours later, the convoy entered Grail Pass.

Sheer cliffs rose on both sides, and massive boulders blocked the path ahead and behind. More than thirty figures dressed in black appeared along the ridgeline, and a barrage of magic and arrows rained down at once.

The escorts with the convoy quickly erected a barrier.

Explosions rang out one after another.

The leader of the ambush team looked at the carriage in the center and gave his order coldly: "Do not destroy the carriage. The person inside must live."

He failed to notice that the escorts holding the line showed no trace of panic.

They fought while deliberately falling back to pre-arranged positions, intentionally letting a few cracks appear in the barrier.

The ambush team, believing the plan was going smoothly, pressed in closer.

The moment the first man stepped within ten meters of the carriage, the ground suddenly lit up.

A massive magic array appeared beneath their feet.

The leader’s expression changed.

"It’s a trap!"

Hundreds of luminous chains shot up from the ground, binding the limbs of every figure in black. At the same time, the escorts who had been feigning weakness threw off their cloaks in unison, revealing silver armor and the eagle crest on their chests.

The carriage door swung open.

Inside, there was no sign of Leviana’s father.

Only a wooden puppet dressed in his clothes.

The captain of the guard walked up to the bound group, drew his sword, and laid the blade against the leader’s throat.

"The head of the family would like to know who sent you."

The man in black clenched his jaw and said nothing.

The captain didn’t get angry. He looked toward the far mountainside, where a powerful aura was rapidly approaching.

The corner of his mouth slowly curved.

"No rush."

"Your hero is almost here."