"You never told you had a girlfriend, Mom."
We made a good distance from the walls by the end of the first night of our escape.
Lovelace backtracked to get a good view of the city and then ca back before daylight. There was no sign of pursuers, so we were finally able to relax.
"I’m sorry, Aurea. That was a mory too painful to talk about. But actually she is my wife, not my girlfriend. I’m so happy to see her alive and well."
"Sadly, you two didn’t have ti to catch up. But now maybe you can reunite?"
"Well, she doesn’t have a way to find , but I know where to find her. That inn is hers, right?"
"Yeah, she was being called the ’Boss’ Levinna there."
"Then, it’s just a matter of visiting her."
"And for you to be able to do that, let take care of that thing on your neck."
That’s Lovelace butting in, but she’s right. Mom’s magic abilities would help us a good deal.
I learned the basics of collar security, but I wouldn’t be able to break a collar like the anti-magic ones.
So I get myself to break the one on Mimby, which is one of the simpler ones.
It takes more than an hour to do it. Everyone else besides Lovelace is fast asleep when I finish.
Even Mimby herself might have fallen asleep while I was still working on the collar. That thing is hard.
When I finish, I am also too tired to do anything else. Only Lovelace stays up, taking up guard duty.
:::
When I wake up, everyone’s still sleeping. Their bodies are really not used to so much effort.
We are camped in a small depression between two hills. There wouldn’t be enough burrows to host this many people at once, like I did when I fled, and there’s no need.
After all, we have people who can keep everyone safe through the night now.
Lovelace is up on the top of the small hill nearby, looking at the distance. Even though she’s not looking at , I know that she noticed that I woke up.
I head to our bags and start preparing stuff for everyone’s breakfast.
"Good morning, Aurea."
"Mom, you’re awake. Good morning!"
She simply hugs , without saying a word. I don’t see her face, but I can sense she’s crying.
"It’s all allright, Mom. The nightmare is over."
"Yes... And it’s all thanks to you."
I hug her even stronger. This is the happiest I’ve been in all my life.
"I’m so glad... I was so afraid to arrive there and not finding you..."
"I was also so afraid. I feared you could have died here in the Barrens, or worse..."
"And in the end, here we are."
"Yes, yes."
She leans back again, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
"Here we are, indeed. And you grew up so much! You sound almost like an adult."
Oopsie. I might have gotten too used to talking freely, as both Yaci and Lovelace know of my secret.
I should tell Mom as well, soday. Just... this isn’t the ti and place for that talk.
"Now we’re free to do anything we want. I’ve been living with the fox tribe all this ti, and I think that if we want to keep living there, they will welco us."
"I... There are things I need to tell you first."
"I know. I already learned about so."
"Huh? Have you?"
"Yes... There’s a title about a certain royal bloodline on my stats."
"So, you managed to register as an adventurer? No, that’s not the main point right now. It’s true, we are royals in the Kingdom of Wesgoth. I am the second princess."
"And... Why were you a slave? How did it happen?"
Other won were already waking up, and Lovelace ca down to help them with the breakfast, so we walked a bit further away to continue talking.
"In one word, betrayal. The Duke tried to do a Coup and, while he failed on his main goal, the maid and the bodyguards who worked at my ho were working for him."
"..."
"He managed to hide his own involvent with the attempt and got his secondary objective, which was ."
"You were his objective?"
"Yes... he always desired and always tried to marry , using his position to try to weave a political marriage with the crown."
"And then you married a woman."
"Exactly. It isn’t a marriage recognized by the Church, but it is legally recognized by the laws of the kingdom. You see, my father has spearheaded several changes, and that was one."
"So he resorted to enslavent..."
"Yeah."
"But, if you are the princess... couldn’t we just show up in the palace or sothing and then put that Duke to justice?"
"I don’t know... Maybe, yes. But my own maid and bodyguards betrayed . And the Duke seems to have only strengthened his power since the failed coup attempt."
"And?"
"The court is a place of intrigue and subterfuge, and my father is getting old. If we just show up there without first knowing who is friend or foe, it might backfire."
"But if you just tell everyone he enslaved you, wouldn’t he get arrested?"
"It depends."
"Huh?"
"If it were years ago, that’s how it would probably go. I don’t know exactly how things are, but from what I’ve heard..."
"What you have heard...?"
I ask her quizzically.
"Yeah, sotis I manage to make the guy talk; sotis it’s the girls bringing news, or one of the overseers. That’s why I know sothing, but not nearly everything."
"Oh, I got it."
"So, from what I’ve heard, the Duke faction is grabbing key positions in governnt, including the position of chief judge. So, they could even silence us before we can say a word."
"So that’s what you ant by knowing who is friend or foe before showing up."
"Exactly. In the worst-case scenario, he might even claim you as his daughter. He is your father, after all, and if he uses that card in the tribunal, we’re done for."
"I want to see him trying to seize ."
She laughs at my expression.
"That’s why, when we show up at the palace, we have to have a working plan. And allies, trustworthy allies."
"Or, you know, I could just kill him and be done with it."
"That would make you a criminal, by the laws of the kingdom, and maybe even empower his faction even more. No, we need to break him thoroughly."
"Break him?"
"Yes. After he loses his position and legitimacy, then we can kill him, and we’ll have the backing of the law for doing it."
Ohhhhh, Mother. You’re the best!
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