### Chapter 124: The Heist
Southern City.
On a morning at the end of December, the crescent moon still hung in the sky, while the east glowed with red hues at sunrise. On the wide street running from south to north, two opulent golden-patterned war chariots sped by, escorted by a team of royal guards.
Suddenly, a dark figure swooped down from mid-air!
The figure moved with astonishing speed, agile as a cat, apparently jumping off the terrace of a three-story building adjacent to the street, landing right on top of the speeding second war chariot.
Things happened so suddenly that the royal guards didn’t even have time to react. The captain leading the beast-mounted squad, startled, even locked eyes with the shadow for a brief second before watching in disbelief as the figure flipped over and grabbed the edge of the door frame, then “whoosh”—it disappeared into the chariot’s interior.
He froze for half a second, his eyes wide with incredulity.
But then, his expression twisted into a sarcastic, contemptuous smirk. He pulled down the visor of his iron helmet and shouted, “There’s a carjacking! Protect Her Majesty—”
“Go!”
As he drew his blade and sprinted toward the chariot, the first thought in his mind was that some desperate church lunatic had lost their mind—what were they thinking? This was the royal city!
This wasn’t the chaotic Emerald Capital—it wasn’t the weak king of the Republic sitting inside that chariot but none other than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who had the strength to keep the entire Rossius family under her heel!
Who would dare attempt to hijack Her Majesty’s war chariot in the royal city?
Forget going solo; no amount of people could pull that off.
Not to mention, there were 30,000 loyal soldiers in the city, all armed to the teeth, ready to serve. With Her Majesty traveling with her shadow, and inside the chariot sat the captain of the Sword of Kanli, Mr. Rect.
Even without him, Her Majesty’s sword skills were nothing to scoff at. Her talent for the Power of Order meant that even the strongest Pope Knight would think twice before getting into a scrap.
A carjacking?
This wasn’t just asking for trouble—it was pure lunacy!
As he thought of this, the pounding hooves of the beast swiftly brought him to the side of the chariot. Other royal guards were just beginning to catch on, rushing to the front of the chariot, and someone shouted at the maid driving, “Stop! Stop now—”
But the chariot didn’t slow down. In a blink, the tightly-drawn carriage curtains were yanked open, and a figure suddenly tumbled out, colliding with the guards’ captain with a thud. Both of them fell off the horse and rolled to the roadside amidst the chaos of the charging beast.
Ignoring the pain, the captain got up immediately. As he turned to look, he saw the chariot continuing to speed away, dodging two guards blocking the front and turning the corner, disappearing from sight. The guards swiftly followed, and panic rose in the man’s heart—he had to catch up.
Then he saw the person he’d collided with rising groggily a short distance away, turning to him with a dirty, incredibly unimpressed face.
“Mr. Rect…”
“……”
The man with the Forgiveness Head rolled his eyes, his expression a mix of frustration and unspoken sorrow. After a moment, he managed a strained, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Her Majesty is safe. Go tell your men to retreat. Leave the rest to the Sword of Kanli.”
…
Creak, creak—
The wheels rolled over the slick ground as the “hijacked” war chariot cruised smoothly through the city. The guards hadn’t chased too far before they were blocked and ordered to retreat.
When they reached the city gate, the maid driving didn’t even say much, showing her insignia to the guards. They didn’t even bother searching and waved them through.
Along the road out of the city, the chariot soon distanced itself from the royal city. At this point, the seemingly clever maid finally showed a hint of trouble on her face. She tilted her head back slightly and asked, “Her Majesty, um… where are we heading now that we’ve left the city?”
She asked carefully, and after a moment, a voice from inside replied, “Just keep going along the road. Let’s head towards Mount Ahama, to the Clear Lake at the foot of the mountain.”
The voice was melodious and distinctly youthful, hinting at a young lady’s tone.
The maid waited for a while but didn’t hear any further instructions, so she shrugged and replied, “Oh.”
Nodding in response, the beast driver urged the horses to pick up speed.
Inside the chariot.
The aroma of fragrant incense filled the air, but the atmosphere felt a bit heavy.
Queen Elizabeth, adorned in a crown and luxurious robes, leaned back against the carriage seat, one hand propping her chin, eyes closed as she rested, her grace akin to that of an ethereal being.
Across from her, a black-haired girl dressed in simple, loose clothes—made for ease of movement—curiously lifted one edge of the curtain to gaze at the withered grass and open fields nearby, observing the distant rolling mountains, a lollipop-like sweet treat in hand as she licked it and said, “Hey, look! Grass is sprouting by the roadside, even though it just snowed a lot…”
“It feels like spring will come here soon. The climate in Ethanbel is truly peculiar.”
The girl had removed her face-covering black veil, and the black attire she wore during the “heist” was now tossed aside at her feet. Her hair danced in the wind blowing into the chariot, and her little red shoes swayed along.
“The Empire and the Kingdom are at a critical juncture.”
After a moment, Queen Elizabeth unexpectedly spoke, eyes still closed and her tone rather cold, “If you do something so foolish without considering the consequences, it’s not just a minor misunderstanding. The damage could be minimal, but the relationship between the two nations could plummet to an ice-cold reality. If that happens, I couldn’t stop it.”
“I didn’t even show my face! If you don’t tell them, how would they know what’s going on?” the girl pouted, sneaking a glance at Queen Elizabeth with a doll-like whine.
Hearing this, the Queen furrowed her brow, “Do you think everyone is as foolish as you? News of my abduction won’t stay hidden; they’ll quickly realize you’re missing too. The alliance between the Empire and the Kingdom is a major trend, benefiting most. Yet, there are always dissenters. What do you think they’ll do if they find out?”
“Oh come on~”
The girl seemed increasingly impatient, her small face scrunching as she waved her hand dismissively, “Tomorrow, tomorrow we’ll go back. Quietly, without leaving a trace—no one will find out…”
After a pause, she turned to stare at the Queen, her lips pouting, “Besides, didn’t you say you wouldn’t scold me? You’re not allowed to go back on your word.”
“……”
Queen Elizabeth opened her eyes, meeting the girl’s gaze for a brief moment: “Mr. Rect knows about this, right?”
“He doesn’t,” the girl shrugged and said.
But she figured her name would be hard to hide from this woman, so she added, “He doesn’t know what I’m really up to. I tricked him, so don’t blame him.”
“Hmph.”
Queen Elizabeth huffed, falling silent again, shutting her eyes once more.
The girl watched her pouty expression, and a smile suddenly lit up her face.
That woman could certainly go back—she knew that the maid steering the chariot was actually her personal attendant and one of her close guards, who would never take orders from her. If Viki insisted on not coming with her, the maid would have to drag her back, even if it killed her—let alone, there was no way she could forcibly take her.
But in reality, after the chariot was “hijacked,” that woman didn’t put up even a symbolic “resistance” and even instructed the pursuing Sword of Kanli to urge the guards to retreat—everything afterward was under Rect’s command.
Throughout their journey out of the city, she sulked while wearing a very impatient face but did nothing to stop her.
Heh, what a stubborn woman…
I looked at her face, my lips curling up slightly—something I hadn’t even noticed myself.
