Chapter 480: No Stopping.

Chapter 480: No Stopping.

“Would you like another biscuit?”

“Sure, can I also get some more tea?”

“Of course!”

“...”

“Oh, excuse me, Professor, would you like some too?”

“No, I'm fine...”

Roland glanced at the four girls who were sitting and eating sweet snacks. They were inside a rather spacious carriage that they had procured for this trip. There was even tea inside, and thanks to a few enchantments, the carriage would not shake, even if it went over uneven terrain.

The group was ensconced in the carriage, which smoothly sped along the cobblestone streets outside of Antolun. The magical equine beasts pulling it were indeed as swift as Margaret had promised, and Roland found himself grudgingly appreciating the comfort and speed. As they traveled, he used the time to consider their destination and the potential problems ahead.

Lucienne and her friends were chatting quietly, the tension from earlier was slowly dissipating. Hadley, the maid, took a seat next to him and both of them watched the girls on the other side.

"So, Professor Wayland, what exactly do you expect to find when we get to Ballac?"

Hadley asked, breaking the silence. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp. It was clear to him that there was more to this woman than met the eye. She was trying to measure his strength, it was as if she was trying to figure out how a battle between the two of them would go. Both of them had devices to hide their status so neither of them knew their opponent's true strength.

I am not entirely sure, but Miss Lucienne’s brother has found himself in some trouble and was probably falsely accused of something. I’m sure once we get there, everything will become clearer."

Hadley nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face which was also slightly filled with doubt.

"I see. And you are certain you can handle whatever awaits us?"

Roland glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I wouldn't have agreed to come if I wasn't."

The carriage sped on, and the landscape gradually shifted from urban to rural as they passed through the De Vere territory. Roland took his time to examine the surroundings and ensured he was tracking their travel route. There was a possibility that they would need an escape route to the mage tower. He wasn’t planning on letting his brother die; as long as they managed to escape into the territory of another noble, the De Vere family wouldn’t be able to follow. In a worst-case scenario, he would be able to hide Robert in Albrook where the aristocratic Valerian house ruled.

“Very well, Professor. Just wanted to make sure we are on the same page.”

“That’s fine, I’m sure you’re only concerned about the lady you serve, it’s understandable.”

Roland was sure that this woman was some kind of guard but she probably wouldn’t harm him or the other girls. However, he wasn’t so sure if she would abandon the group and prioritize Margaret if things got sour. It would probably be up to him to protect the rest and judging by the map, this might come sooner than later.

At first, the journey proceeded smoothly for the most part; the carriage sliced through the rural areas of the De Vere territory in an efficient manner. Their speed was high, but they eventually entered a dense forest area, where some unforeseen guests were waiting for them. Roland could see dots on his mapping device trying to encircle them, clearly enemies that had been waiting for someone to take this route.

‘Bandits again?’

No one knew him inside the kingdom, and besides the incident with Viola Castellane, he didn’t have many enemies. There were a couple of possibilities in this situation: either this was just an area filled with bandits and their luck was bad, or they had been followed. It wasn’t uncommon for bandits to appear, occasionally attacking wealthy travelers and then escaping into another region before any knights could be dispatched to deal with them. However, he was still hated by someone who had already tried to assassinate him before, so he couldn’t exclude the other possibility.

‘They probably created a barricade and will try to entrap us once we stop...’

The girls inside the carriage didn’t notice anything was wrong, but Roland had a clear view of the situation outside. Above them, a metallic object in the shape of a dodecahedron was floating, relaying a feed directly into his helmet. He had let one of his inventions fly above them like a drone to keep watch over their movements. Through this, he could see into the distance where his enemies lurked. This would probably allow him to act before anything happened, and soon he was moving towards the carriage door.

“Miss Hadley, I need to step away for a moment. We have a few unwelcome guests, but don’t be alarmed; they aren’t much of a threat.”

“Yes, everything is fine. There was a small obstruction on the road but now it’s gone.”

“A small obstruction...”

Margaret looked towards her maid for confirmation, but she just nodded back, implying that it was better not to pry into the matter. Soon they resumed their trip, which became much quieter after the strange incident. They quickly continued their journey towards Ballac, and the girls eventually came to terms with what had happened.

Lucienne, though still worried about her brother, couldn't help but marvel at the sheer power he possessed. She was aware that he wasn’t much older than her and younger than their other brother Robert. He was someone with many secrets who acted too mature for his age. However, he was becoming someone she could count on, and she believed even more that somehow they could save their sibling.

They were now back on track and the carriage continued its journey. Swiftly and smoothly, the magical beasts pulled them at an unmatched speed. The landscape outside gradually changed, with the dense forest giving way to rolling hills and farmlands. The transition from rural to the more populated area signaled they were approaching Ballac.

As they neared the city, the atmosphere within the carriage grew more tense. Roland could sense the apprehension among the girls, especially Lucienne. She was worried about her brother, and it was uncertain what was waiting for them in Ballac. The carriage started to slow down as they arrived before the main gate and took their spot in a waiting line to get inside.

The large, fortified gates of Ballac loomed ahead, guarded by stern-looking sentinels who scrutinized each carriage and pedestrian entering the city. The surrounding area buzzed with activity as merchants, travelers, and city folk moved about. This was a true large city and even though Albrook had been developed further, it could not compare.

Roland took a deep breath and looked over at Lucienne, who was fidgeting with her hands. He wanted to reach out to give her some reassurance but with the other girls around, it wasn’t possible. Luckily, they were quite responsible young ladies and almost instantly noticed that something was off. Margaret placed her hand on his sisters and gave her a reassuring nod.

‘Now then, there are a lot of them... the guards are mostly tier 2... but there is one tier 3 within the tower...’

The concentration of soldiers was much higher within Ballac than in Albrook. They were well-organized and appeared ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. Using the suit, Roland began scanning the area, creating a three-dimensional map inside his databank. Once he had some time, he would analyze the structure for any potential weak spots. His runic drones, which had been flying about previously, had to be hidden, but perhaps during the night, he could venture forth and prepare an escape route.

“Um...Professor Wayland?”

As the scanning continued, Lucienne posed a question. The other girls were here with them but there was no reason to hide what they were aiming for.

“We need to find your mother first, Miss Lucienne, she should be somewhere within the city in the noble district.”

Roland knew that their plan wasn’t too great. Lucienne didn’t give him enough information to form a proper tactic and her mother Francine Arden didn’t explain anything. She was supposedly here working to free Robert from the De Vere household. He didn’t like going into things without a proper plan but there was no other choice here.

‘That woman, Francine... I wonder what she would do...’

As the carriage continued to inch forward in the line at the city gates, he continued to worry. One of the reasons that he had left the Arden estate was because of this woman. It was no secret to anyone there that she despised him and would pit Robert against him whenever she could. He was without a mother and ways of defending himself but he wasn’t truly alone.

‘Martha was there too, I hope she is doing well.’

He started replacing a few incidents involving him hiding out in the pantry and the maid discovering his location. Even when asked about his whereabouts, she would lie to the mistress and her son. She saved him from a lot of fights and probably thanks to her he was able to survive those five years with minimal damage to his pride.

This had become quite a serious matter and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to conceal his identity from this woman. There was a possibility of his other two elder brothers appearing but he wasn’t sure if they would care for Robert enough. Even back when he lived with them, the children from both wives didn’t interact with each other too much. Their mothers created somewhat of a barrier between the siblings.

Robert and Lucienne weren’t Francine’s only children as there also was a second daughter named Dianna. She was the oldest of the bunch and had married another nobleman somewhere. From what he knew, this person wasn’t that wealthy or exceptional to help them in this situation but perhaps some help would arrive from this side of the family.

“You there, come forward!”

Finally, the carriage neared the front of the line at the Ballac's gates. The guards called out to the coachman and a stern-faced guard approached, peering inside. Roland was aware of the procedures here and just needed to show some identification to move it along. Thus he quickly produced the Institute insignia and flashed it towards the guard who was probably not fully aware of its significance.

“We hail from Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry, let us through.”

His voice was altered by his armor's magic to sound lower and more menacing. The guard instantly realized that they weren’t guests that could be ignored. The girls looked like young nobles, there was a maid inside and a strange mage-looking person that was probably their bodyguard. With haste, the man just nodded and waved to the others.

“Let them through!”

The way was clear and the carriage rolled forward into Ballac. They had made it here before the sun could set, now they just needed to find Francine Arden and see if it wasn’t too late to save their elder brother.