Chapter 56
Dragon Blood
Olivia led over the warhorses brought by the Guard Cavalry, keeping only two for changing mounts and driving away the rest. The hoofprints could mislead the pursuers’ judgment.
She nimbly flipped onto the horseback, her petticoat and boots tracing an arc as she moved.
Reaching back, she pulled Lucy behind her and felt the girl's arms wrap around her waist.
"Hold on tight!"
Before the words had fully left her mouth, the whip lashed the horse's leg. The chestnut warhorse neighed sharply and dashed forward at full speed.
Moments later.
More than ten Golden Cult believers with golden flames burning in their eyes rode up in pursuit.
A follower wearing the bishop's robe pulled the reins, staring at the knight commander whose face was covered in blood.
"Where are they?"
The knight commander raised his trembling hand and pointed in the opposite direction from where Princess Olivia's horse had fled.
Just as several other followers were about to give chase, the bishop suddenly raised his hand to stop them.
"Wait."
The holy radiance at his brow flickered, and a cruel smile tugged at his lips. "You dare to desecrate the servants of the Lord of Golden Worship with lies, offering his life as a sacrifice..."
"Yes!"
...
Three days later
On a small wilderness path shrouded in morning fog, a packhorse carrying two girls slowly emerged from the horizon.
"Up ahead should be Gravel Town."
Lucy, sitting behind and holding the princess’s slender waist, tightened the windbreaker they had bought from a merchant, her fingertips moving along the yellowed parchment map.
Olivia, also wrapped in a windbreaker, spoke from under her hood with a hint of doubt. "Are you sure you didn’t read it wrong this time? You made us walk an extra ten miles yesterday."
Lucy’s face flushed slightly.
The maps of this era were completely out of scale. Those distorted lines were more like riddles than guides, so it was understandable to misread them.
"This time I definitely won’t get it wrong." She swore earnestly.
"Let’s hope so," the princess replied ambiguously. "I only wish there’s a decent inn in town."
They had already spent three whole days in the wilderness.
Aside from finding a cave on the first day, they had either curled up on the damp ground or perched on tree branches to sleep, risking a fall with the slightest carelessness.
About fifteen minutes later, the outline of Gravel Town finally came into clear view.
This small town, dependent on its marble quarry, had only a little over three hundred houses. Fortunately, there was indeed an inn in the center of town with a copper bell sign hanging at the entrance.
Judging by its appearance, the environment seemed decent.
Once they entered the room and took off their windbreakers, both of them almost laughed.
Days of traveling had painted a mottled "map" on their faces, making them nearly unrecognizable.
Luckily, the innkeeper's daughter soon brought up hot water and poured it into a wooden barrel embedded in the washroom wall.
The bather only needed to pull the valve, and water would flow continuously from the wooden barrel.
After taking turns bathing and changing into new undergarments and petticoats, they both felt as if a great weight had been lifted from them.
When Olivia came out of the washroom, Lucy was sitting at the bedside, struggling with her head full of silver hair.
These damn strands had always cost her much time, and after the past few days, they had tangled into a complete mess.
"I’m going to cut off this whole troublesome mess!" She gritted her teeth.
"What a waste," the princess said as she naturally walked over and took the comb. "It would be such a shame to cut off such beautiful hair."
After these days of eating, living, and riding together, the two had grown familiar enough that neither found such behavior inappropriate.
When Olivia finished tending to her own black hair, she found Lucy sitting at the bedside with her eyes closed in meditation.
After the bath, Lucy's skin was pale as snow, her silver hair cascading down her back, and her petticoat revealing hints of springtime allure.
Recalling the tingling sensation when her fingers ran through Lucy’s hair just now, those burning memories from their time in the cave suddenly resurfaced in her mind. She swallowed involuntarily, her throat dry, and her heartbeat gradually quickened.
It must be the dragon blood!
She immediately found an excuse for her racing heart, blaming it all on that damned dragon blood.
She had already learned from Lucy that the incident in the cave had been caused by the dragon blood’s influence, so Olivia resolutely placed the blame on the dragon race.
Hearing movement, Lucy, who was preparing to end her meditation, suddenly sensed a shadow falling over her. As she opened her eyes, she found the princess’s face right before her.
The heat in those eyes made her instinctively lean back, but her exposed calf was caught.
"What are you doing?!"
...
One hourglass later
Lucy lay limp amidst the disheveled bed sheets, her silver hair fanned out like a waterfall, mist clinging to the corners of her eyes as she glared at a certain shameless princess.
"It must be the dragon blood's fault," Olivia said with a guilty conscience as she pulled the blanket over them.
Lucy: "…"
After the candlelight went out, rustling sounds echoed in the quiet. A familiar arm wrapped around Lucy’s waist.
"No more nonsense! Sleep!"
"Oh…"
The exhaustion from three continuous days, coupled with the fatigue after their intimacy, surged over them like a tide. They sank into sweet slumber until dawn the next day.
When Olivia woke up, the space beside her was already empty. Morning light streamed through the window lattice, tracing golden edges on the petticoat slipping off her elbows, revealing large swaths of snowy skin.
She stretched lazily. The rare, restful sleep had rejuvenated every cell in her body.
"Good morning."
She greeted Lucy, who had finished her meditation, and suddenly caught the gaze the girl failed to retract in time. "Were you looking at my legs?"
The silver-haired girl calmly shifted her gaze, but the flush at the tips of her ears could not be hidden. The princess’s legs, bathed in the morning light, were like works of art. Years of noble dancing and riding practice had given them explosive strength without the hardness typical of female knights.
"It’s not early anymore, I’ve been awake for quite a while," Lucy stiffly changed the subject.
Indeed, she had woken after only seven hourglasses and then started her daily meditation.
Even while on the run, she would still carve out time to improve her mental strength.
This was a process like water dripping through stone; skipping even one day of meditation would delay her advancement by another day.
"You were meditating just now?"
Lucy nodded. "Yes. Meditation is the foundation of a wizard’s power."
Olivia said, "You said I’m a witch… Do I need to meditate too?"
"Of course. A witch’s talent is like an unsharpened sword," Lucy closed the Anatomy Notes. "Meditation isn’t just a means to strengthen mental power; it also purifies the Contamination Value, keeping a wizard clear-minded."
"Teach me," the princess suddenly leaned in, carrying a faint milky fragrance from who knew where. "I don’t want to be a burden next time danger comes."
Although temporary practice might not be effective, thinking of the inevitable destination at the Tower of the Four Sages, Lucy nodded.
"Of course," said Lucy. "But before that, you need to freshen up first. Let’s go eat something."
Her stomach had been growling for a while.
"Oh."
Princess Olivia stretched again before flipping herself off the soft, large bed.
When she finished washing up and came out of the washroom, she was holding two pieces of clothing in her hands, a mischievous smile on her face. "Miss Lucy, who was peeking at someone’s legs, do you think I should wear pants or stockings?"
Lucy choked on her own saliva, her face flushing red as she snapped, "Whichever!"