Even the Royal City residents, who were watching the bustle from the sidelines, found their blood boiling, infected by such a spectacle.
The carriage slowly started moving.
Just as Irene had promised, even on the rugged stone steps of the city gate, the carriage body only swayed slightly before immediately sinking into that smooth texture of traveling as if on clouds.
Sophia leaned against the soft cushion, looking through the carriage window at the subjects kneeling on both sides. Those eyes that were once filled with fear and despair now actually held some inexplicable expectation.
They looked at this imposing and extraordinary procession, looked at that girl Queen wearing the golden crown, as if looking at the only true god on these ruins.
Mm, the carriage really doesn't bump anymore. Comfortable.
Irene worked so hard; I must heavily reward her when I return.
Sophia took a sip of the warm black tea with milk that Willow had poured, feeling the warmth in her abdomen, and gradually closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, behind her carriage, Chancellor Valery was sitting in another vehicle, frantically flipping through intelligence on the lords of various countries, his old face written full of a certain determination.
This procession, not massive in scale but exuding a terrifying aura of a transcendent era, thus disappeared into the morning fog, speeding away in the direction of the Kingdom of Orr.
*
The carriage moved smoothly forward on the deep autumn wilderness, its wheels crushing the withered yellow grass leaves, emitting a slight and rhythmic rustling sound.
Although the harsh winter where dripping water freezes into ice had not yet arrived, the chill of deep autumn still carried a bit of bleakness, penetrating the layers of withered forests.
Thanks to Irene's almost stubborn shock-absorbing design and the carriage's sealing treatment, those slightly cool autumn winds outside were blocked by the thick wooden boards, leaving only a patch of tranquility inside the carriage.
Outside the window, gold and red interwoven maple leaves occasionally flashed by.
Delilah rode on her warhorse, her upright back appearing exceptionally heroic in the autumn wind. However, even as tough as she was, after hours of continuous marching, her fingertips had been tainted with a bit of the chill unique to autumn days.
"Lord Delilah, come in and drink a cup of warm water. The road ahead is very smooth; the adjutant can take good care of the troops."
Willow pushed open a small carriage window and suggested softly.
Delilah hesitated for a moment and glanced at the sky. At this time, the setting sun was going down, and the autumn wind was rising; she indeed needed to recover some physical strength to deal with the first audience upon entering the territory of the Kingdom of Orr.
She dismounted and, with capable movements, climbed into the spacious carriage.
The moment she stepped into the carriage, the outside chill was instantly replaced by a scent mixing the fragrance of milk and extremely faint wood ash.
Inside the carriage, Sophia was leaning sideways on the soft cushions, not holding a book scroll or checking accounts as usual. Her heavy golden crown had already been removed and placed properly on the velvet cushion to the side.
Perhaps it was because that form-fitting high-tech protective suit, while safe, also carried a bit of tight constriction, causing Sophia to feel a lingering fatigue during the long journey.
At this moment, she had fallen into a deep sleep induced by the carriage's excessive smoothness.
In Delilah's eyes, this Queen who was usually cold, majestic, and decisively murderous at the drop of a hat, was now curling her body slightly, her silver hair glowing with a soft luster under the autumn sunset's afterglow.
Because she was sleeping somewhat deeply, her breathing was fine and even; the coldness that usually kept people a thousand miles away was replaced by a kind of near-transparent innocence.
"Your Majesty..."
Delilah lightened her breathing, trying her best to restrain the sharp aura all over her body. She sat on a soft cushion in the corner of the carriage, her gaze falling on that black velvet long dress.
For this land, she probably hasn't closed her eyes this peacefully for a long time.
Staring at the trial fields in the West Tower, revising commercial laws in the study, and having to remain vigilant against surrounding conspiracies at all times.
Is it only in this small carriage belonging to her that she dares to reveal such a tired side?
Looking at that face, which was even more tender than her own, Delilah's heart overflowed with a feeling called pity.
Just then, the carriage passed over a small bump.
Irene's shock-absorbing system turned this bump into an extremely soft sway, but this sway caused Sophia, who was deep in dreamland with her senses completely disconnected, to lose her center of gravity.
She dazedly felt that she seemed to be falling to one side, but her brain, in a state of extreme craving for sleep, had no intention of issuing a command to wake up.
Sophia merely waved her hand instinctively in her subconscious, trying to grab a support point.
Delilah saw this and reached out to support her almost subconsciously.
However, in the next second, this support changed in nature.
Sophia felt a heat source much warmer than the icy carriage wall; it was a powerful life heat carrying a faint metallic scent and the aura of the biting autumn wind.
For Sophia, who was currently searching the whole world for a body pillow in her dream, Delilah was simply the perfect candidate.
"Mm, warm."
Sophia let out an extremely light murmur.
Not only did she not push Delilah away, but she followed this force, like a small beast disturbed by the autumn chill, and extremely naturally pressed her entire person into Delilah's arms.
Delilah's body instantly stiffened like raw iron ore from the Kingdom of Qubi.
Sophia nuzzled against the hollow of Delilah's neck, finding an extremely comfortable angle. A pair of hands even skillfully wrapped around Delilah's waist protected by light armor, making satisfied, fragmented humming sounds like she was hugging a giant plush toy.
Delilah held her breath, her entire being falling into a blank state.
Your Majesty, are you actually so completely undefended against me?
Feeling that warm breath on the side of her neck, and that soft body in her arms appearing somewhat firm due to wearing the inner armor, Delilah's originally calm heart felt like a heavy bomb had been dropped into it.
In this world, who else could make this Tyrant so close?
Willow? Or Irene?
No, she chose to approach me in her dreams.
This means that in her subconscious, I am her sturdiest shield, the only harbor where she can indulge her fatigue.
This kind of trust, this total entrustment...
Delilah lowered her eyelids slightly, and her originally stiff arms, due to some indescribable warmth, began to become gentle. She moved extremely slowly and carefully to pull up the surrounding wool blanket, wrapping both their bodies together in the warm current.
She did not realize that Sophia actually just treated her in the dream as that huge, moderately soft and hard long body pillow from her previous life.
Sophia was dreaming that she was eating fresh mashed potatoes by a warm fireplace, and the big body pillow in her arms not only provided heat but also rose and fell with breathing, allowing her to sleep sweeter than ever before.
At your service... even if it is a sweet dream, I will guard it for you until the end.
Delilah whispered solemnly in her heart.
She no longer thought about those complex diplomatic rhetorics, but adjusted her sitting posture to let Sophia lean more steadily.
Outside the carriage window, the deep autumn setting sun completely sank into the horizon.
Inside the carriage, the quiet warm fragrance intertwined with the breathing of the two.
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