Chapter 18: Leila! (Otou-samas POV)

Leila, Leila. Why!? Why did you stop me?!

I was just about to catch up to her. She was within my reach. It would have been fine if Leilas Rug Dragon had stopped.

Didnt they catch the man leading them?

Five guards surrounded me.

It looks like I can break out of here if I just brush past them a little.

When I prepared myself and was about to spur the dragon, the Captain came up from the side and struck the dragon.

Whatre you doing?!

Sorry.

The Captain grabbed my shaking body and dragged me off the dragon.

I was dragged off the dragon. A Marquis. By the guard who is supposed to protect me.

Im sure you know very well that the guard cannot cross beyond the barrier. Thats not all.

The Captain bound my hands behind me and said quietly, Other nobles can pass to the other side, but the Four Marquis cannot leave Kingdom.

Uo, wah!

It was shameful for an adult man over 30 to scream. However, the Captain didnt let go of my arms even if I shouted or rampaged, and no one from the guard chased after Leila.

Whats the point of being a Marquis when I cant even chase after my precious daughter? Is Kingdom a region I have to protect that much?

Dont forget. If we lose you, then the next person in line for the Albans is the 10-year-old Luke-sama.

I was startled.

Luke. He had just started learning magic circulation, so his life will definitely be shortened if he was made to maintain the barrier. I cant. I cant lose Luke, hes the precious Albans heir. No, even if he wasnt the heir, I cant lose him since hes so dear to me.

I stopped struggling, and the Captain finally let me go.

Captain, the target, a guard came to report the information. Target. Not Leila.

They ran along Walsall. From this course, we can assume that he was going to cross the barrier and meet up with his comrades along the forest.

What did his comrades look like?

I couldnt see.

Did the dragons not stop?

Not from what I could see. Theyre supposed to obey the dragon in front, but it kept running as if it were running away from us.

Running away. Was it because we were chasing it? Ridiculous.

Milord, when a Rug Dragon rampages alone, it is to protect its companions. My guess is that it thought that it had to protect Leila-sama and the maid from us.

Why didnt you stop Leilas dragon?

The Captain put his hand to his head for a moment as if he was tired and answered, When there are two dragons or more, you have to stop the head, or else the other dragons will keep on following it. It is unlikely for a dragon to act independently like this one did. If we stopped Leila-samas dragon, then the criminal would have escaped past the barrier.

What is this rescue party for? Was it put together to stop the criminal?!

No.

The Captain looked down.

Its our fault for thinking that we could have secured them both.

So you never thought that youd lose anyone.

He was under no obligation to answer my mutter.

If I had to choose, then I would choose you Milord.

Its like that.

Aaah! My cries were absorbed by the prairie.

Luke, sorry. I couldnt bring Leila back.

That day, we forced ourselves and moved our weary bodies to Kaylie, a border town of Wester. Apparently, they hadnt heard about our situation here, and I was immediately taken to the garrisons when I wore a mantle with a hood.

Apparently, they didnt take me for a criminal. Thus, I was going to return to the Royal Capital, Gadestar, after resting at their dormitory for a night. I was only allowed to be away from the Royal Capital for 10 days.

Im going home. Werent they wrong to arrest me?

Nevertheless, my body, which had been tensed for three days straight, wanted rest and I slept soundly until morning.

The next day before I went back to the Royal Capital, I was invited by the Captain to visit the border with a guard.

So this is the border?

I was dumbfounded. There were no walls or fences. I couldnt tell where the border was and the only thing there was a plaza.

Take a good look at those people, I was told, so I observed the people who were walking towards the plaza. This was the boundary between two countries, even if the border couldnt be seen. Most of the people crossing over were merchants pulling on Rug Dragons.

The merchants seemed to be holding something that looked like credentials in their hand. They showed it to the official in the hut and received permission to cross over. However, people who didnt have much luggage werent checked.

Also, I realised that some people stopped walking for a second. They seemed surprised for a moment before walking again. This was the same for the merchants and everyone else.

Thats the barrier.

Yes, Milord. You cant see it, but the barrier is there, and only those with magic can feel it.

There were indeed a lot of people who crossed the border without feeling anything. Anger swelled up from within me.

Why did I have to giv