Chapter 267 "Whom would you like to see first?"...
Years later, the proprietress of the now-expanded inn still talked about this with great relish—it was something she could boast about for a lifetime.
"The superpowered woman was attracted to my strength. After flying to the slave camp, I slapped two guards away. Her daughter, who wasn't asleep at the time, heard the commotion and looked out of the tent like the other slaves. I spotted her immediately; her demeanor was different from the other slaves—exceptionally outstanding and elegant. She must be the superpowered woman's daughter. I pulled her out and ran with her, helping her mount a bird. The guards chased after us, but we flew into the sky and escaped."
The proprietress spoke with great enthusiasm. The guests listened with rapt attention, and every now and then someone would ask, "There are only two of you, and the slave camp has a guard. Even if you managed to take down two, there are still quite a few left. How did you manage to defeat so many guards?"
"Well, it's the middle of the night, there aren't that many guards on duty. They're all sleeping, sleeping with women, or playing cards. Who would have thought the superhuman woman would come? It wasn't until the slaves made a noise that the guards were alerted, and by then the superhuman woman had already taken her daughter and flown into the sky."
"Why doesn't the superpowered woman take her daughter and fly directly to the Northern Capital to settle accounts with the Grand Chancellor?" another guest asked.
“I asked the superpowered woman that question too,” the landlady chuckled. “She said that since her daughter was abused like this, she wouldn’t dare go to the Prime Minister for fear of being abused herself, so she might as well just run away.”
One of the guests chuckled and said, "The superpowered woman is overthinking it. As long as she has superpowers, the Prime Minister will never abandon her."
“That’s right, that’s what I said at the time,” the proprietress quickly said. “But the superpowered woman said she no longer has superpowers, and now she has kidnapped my daughter, which has embarrassed the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will definitely kill her, so we should run away quickly.”
"How did she escape the North?" the guest asked with great interest.
“This is all thanks to me,” the landlady said proudly. “After we flew out of the town and landed on the ground, the superhuman asked me if I knew any shortcuts to get out of the North. I said, ‘Can’t a bird take you out? I’m willing to show you the way.’ There are no shortcuts, only two routes: one is by land, which is the route we commoners take, and the other is by water, which requires a train to travel underwater and is usually the route for nobles.”
"The supernatural woman asked again if there were heavy troops guarding the land route. I said yes. She sighed and said that the birds couldn't carry people for too long; an hour was the limit. According to her estimate, they wouldn't be able to leave the northern border in an hour. I said I had a way. They could disguise themselves as men and squeeze into the largest public carriages. They would pass through a guard post along the way, and maybe they could get past it. When they were close to the border, they could summon the birds again and break out of the northern border."
"The superpowered woman's eyes lit up after hearing this, and she decided to use this plan. The three of them—her daughter's companions—also escaped. They bought some tattered men's clothes, wore them, and boarded a public carriage. I even lent the superpowered woman a bag of copper coins; that was all the money I had on me at the time, and she used it to pay for the carriage fare. That's how they escaped to the North. You all know what happened next."
While gesturing to the waiter to pour wine for each table, the proprietress said with a smile, "When the Prime Minister learned of the appearance of the superpowered woman, he sent a large number of guards to hunt her down. But it was also a coincidence, and the superpowered woman was lucky. A quarter of an hour before they arrived, the superpowered woman had already flown away with her daughter."
The guests sighed and whispered among themselves.
"I heard that the Prime Minister doesn't want to kill the superpowered woman; he wants to bring her back to the capital."
"Wealth and honor are inevitable, and the woman with superpowers is a fool."
Just then, another group of guests entered the inn, clamoring to hear the story of the woman with superpowers. The landlady, who was pouring wine from a jug, laughed heartily and said, "Come early tomorrow, today's is over."
She has already amassed a steady stream of customers by using the story of the supernatural woman, and the inn has made a fortune.
Actually, her story was a mix of truth and fiction. The "slapping two guards down" part was a lie; the truth was that she and I teamed up to take down two patrol guards. We each picked up a sturdy branch and attacked from behind. The two guards were stunned. Just as they were about to retaliate, she immediately picked up a stone and smashed it into their heads. They staggered a few steps, and then, just as they were about to fall into a defensive trap, they suddenly fell in and were knocked unconscious.
We didn't escape by public carriage. Even dressed as men, we still looked like women, especially Asmin and the older beauty; their buttocks were still noticeably upturned even in men's clothes. In desperation, the landlady remembered an acquaintance nearby who pulled a cart. We borrowed his cart, and a few of us sat on it as a strong, black horse pulled us along, which was quite a speed.
The Grand Chancellor's army didn't arrive a quarter of an hour after we took off, but an hour later. By then, we had already broken out of the northern border and entered the stateless public zone. Using a bag of copper coins that the landlady had borrowed from an acquaintance, we boarded a public carriage and entered the western border. We then desperately squeezed onto a free train, and after getting off the train, we used the remaining copper coins to board a public carriage and finally arrived at the royal city on the western border.
It's no exaggeration to say that the journey was a race against time.
I have also come to deeply appreciate the importance of real-time information.
On this rather backward continent, the transmission of information was also slow. If the Prime Minister had received our message earlier, we might not have had a chance to escape; if the Western Border hadn't also received our message later, we might not have been able to escape to the Western Border successfully. I later heard that Hyya was also looking for me, but I escaped quickly.
When our carriage arrived at the post station near the capital, my dark blonde daughter, who had received news last night that the supernatural woman had appeared, immediately wondered if I would come looking for her and ordered a thorough search of the area outside the city. They found us in no time.
I was welcomed into the royal palace.
The royal city was also blanketed in snow; the western border was always colder. Inside the palace, the underground heating was burning brightly, and in that moment of being enveloped in warmth, I let out a heavy sigh.
“Mother,” my dark blonde daughter said, bringing with her a thin, dark brown-haired boy and a slender, dark blonde girl, “these are Jacob and Mia, your grandson and granddaughter.”
Jacob was very tall, but not very sturdy, and his face was pale, indicating that he was not in good health. Mia had a rounder face and a plump figure, and although her face was also pale, she looked better than Jacob.
“Jacob just turned fifteen last year, and Mia is not even ten yet,” she said.
I was slightly startled. She had previously said that her son had killed the Elf King's illegitimate son; could it be... this fifteen-year-old son?
She saw through my thoughts and said bluntly, "Yes, it was this son who caused the trouble back then."
Jacob and Mia were both expressionless, seemingly looking at me but not really.
I gave a brief introduction to Asumi, then said I was tired and we'd talk again tomorrow.
After having a simple dinner with Asumi, the older beauty, and my dark blonde daughter, we went to our room, which had already been prepared, to rest.
I used to be very familiar with this palace, but after not returning for decades, it has become completely unfamiliar.
My dark blonde daughter, walking beside me, watched as the head maid led the way, and suddenly said, "Mother, you don't know my name yet, do you?"
I felt a little awkward, and she said directly, "Aurora."
Despite the long separation, Azumi's reunion with her daughter brought no joy, much like her own reaction.
When Asmin saw me in the slave camp, she asked in surprise, "Who are you?"
“I am your mother.”
She didn't believe me, calling me a liar and telling me to get lost. The landlady chimed in, "If it weren't your mother, what woman could summon birds? This secret is in the hands of men. If it weren't your mother, would she risk her life to save you?"
"I won't lie to you," I said.
She reluctantly believed me—it was all in an attempt to escape the slave camp. During the escape, she rarely spoke to me; most of the time, the older, more beautiful woman relayed her messages. Now that we had arrived in the capital, she only exchanged brief pleasantries with Aurora and her nephew and niece before falling silent.
Aurora wasn't as kind as I'd imagined. She didn't know how to treat me—too kind, and it would seem fake; too cold, and it would seem heartless.
So at the door of the room, she said to me, "Mother, please forgive my indifference. I don't know how to get along with you yet."
"It's okay, you should rest for a bit too," I said, closing the door behind me.
My daughters hate and resent me, and my youngest son probably does too. I can't change their attitude towards me immediately. Maybe time will change things, maybe.
I slept soundly until dawn. After changing into the long dress provided here and draping a slightly thick shawl over my shoulders, I entered the dining room, led by a maid.
Everyone's here—Aurora, Asmin, Jacob, and Mia—only I'm missing.
I was the last one to get up. Feeling a little embarrassed, I sat down.
“Mother, I have just received several invitations to visit me, from King Bernot of the East, King Hya of the West, and the Grand Chancellor of the North. Who would you like to see first?” Aurora waved her hand, and a maid immediately came to my side with a tray containing the invitations.
"They received the message pretty quickly," I remarked.
Aurora smiled. "Receiving information is relatively quick, but the interception by the Grand Master of the North, King Bernot, and King Hya is not so fast, because the army needs time to travel."
That's why they couldn't catch me despite chasing and intercepting me.
“Mother, if you don’t want to go with them, stay in the royal city. The royal city is your home,” Aurora said.
I laughed and said, "Thank you!"
Aurora was quick to sense my need. She was very smart, much smarter than I was at that age. Later I learned that she was the smartest of all the children. Anria was also smart and precocious, but she was far less shrewd and experienced than Aurora.
Indeed, how could a woman who could take the blame for murder for her son and conquer the capital be ordinary? Especially when she was in a disadvantaged position and severely lacking in resources.
A few days later, I met with Haiya. The western border is part of the same territory as our capital, and the relationship is close. Considering the interests of the capital, I met with my old friend Haiya.
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