Reincarnated Maid is About To Be Captured by All Players

"Sister Anna!"

Lily, who was holding my hand, suddenly cried out in surprise.

Chris and I looked toward the courtyard simultaneously. Enrique had unwrapped the gifts from one of the carriages.

"A lion?!"

Chris was equally shocked. A lion statue carved from jade gleamed lifelike under the sunlight.

It must have cost a fortune to create. No wonder Lily was surprised, she should have only seen such masterpieces outside Reunion Castle.

"Good morning, Miss Christiana. Preparing for departure?"

"You don't mind if I accompany Anna for a stretch? I've grown somewhat tired of staying in Ende all this time."

Chris temporarily handed over the quest distribution work to a nearby administrator. Players who accepted quests wouldn't need to worry about finding the questgiver to submit them.

"How could I mind? To travel with such a beautiful person as Miss Christiana is my great fortune in three lifetimes. However, regrettably, there's no carriage here worthy of Miss Christiana."

"That's fine, I can ride horseback."

Chris walked around the jade lion. Since the other cargo boxes remained unopened, Enrique's intention was obviously to use this jade lion as cover for us.

"The compartment below… I don't think it can hide Anna, can it?"

Chris's concern was reasonable. I myself also felt that a certain overly abundant area really couldn't squeeze into the small compartment beneath the jade lion.

The wooden board beneath the jade lion was fixed in place, with a rather obvious small space, though this could only be seen by completely removing the board that concealed the lion.

Considering the jade lion's value, no matter what, the guards wouldn't dare be rough with it. It truly was perfect cover.

Having a large chest comes with its own troubles...

Currently, both Lily and I are wanted within the ducal territory, so I must hide with Lily and temporarily leave Duke Obi's domain. After Enrique completes the handover, I'll go with him to other Watertown Merchant Association bases in the Kingdom of Michel. That's how the plan was laid out.

Enrique chuckled helplessly.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Miss Christiana has misunderstood. That compartment isn't the space reserved for them."

"Then... where are they to hide?"

Enrique climbed onto the wooden platform and knocked on the jade lion. The sound had an obvious abnormality.

"Could it be hollow?"

Enrique nodded with a smile. Chris's unexpected expression pleased him greatly.

"Have you heard the legend of the golden apple from Arcadia?"

"You mean... the goddesses of Arcadia's faith had conflicts over the distribution of the golden apple, ultimately leading the goddesses to vent their anger on the country of the prince who judged the apple's ownership?"

"A maid from the Kingdom of Michel is also familiar with Arcadia's legends? Precisely so. The goddesses who failed to obtain the golden apple induced mortals to form a coalition army to attack the prince's country. However, the prince's city-state was impregnable. Even with divine assistance, the city remained unconquered for a long time, and they gradually grew weak due to supply problems. But later, a hero in the coalition army devised a strategy. They pretended to withdraw. The prince's country fell for the trick, left the city to pursue the enemy, scattered the coalition army in killing, and captured many spoils of war."

Enrique's hand rested on the jade lion's body, as if using it as a model.

"Among the spoils was a large wooden horse. The prince's country brought it back to the city as a trophy for repelling the coalition army. However, that wooden horse was hollow, hiding coalition soldiers inside. When night fell and the coalition army returned, with the cooperation of the soldiers hidden in the wooden horse, they opened the city gates and ultimately achieved victory."

"So you want Anna and Lily to hide inside the jade lion?"

"I think even the most cautious guard wouldn't dare smash a gift intended for the Third Princess without concrete evidence."

"Good idea. But to think a gift for the Third Princess is actually a hollow jade lion..."

Chris implied that Enrique was rather bold to dare cut corners like this.

But Enrique became even more pleased.

"I unconditionally support the Third Princess's marriage to the Kingdom of Garuda. How could I possibly offer such a substandard gift? It was originally made from inferior materials, creating fake jade that could fool the eye. Masters with advanced appraisal skills can distinguish its authenticity, but I've investigated beforehand. There are no such talents at the checkpoint we need to pass through. Once we leave Duke Obi's territory, if anything unfortunate happens along the way, it'll be entirely up to me to explain, won't it?"

"Hmm..."

"You see, how unfortunate. The jade lion we intended for the Third Princess was broken by clumsy servants because we had to rush our journey due to delays..."

Chris was speechless. Enrique really was a man with meticulous planning.

This way, no one could detect anything suspicious, and Lily could be transferred outside through this method.

Once away from densely populated cities, Lily would be temporarily safe.

"Time is money. Please, Anastasia."

Enrique opened the jade lion's mechanism as he spoke. There was a small opening barely large enough for one person to pass through. The space inside could accommodate at most two adults, perfect for hiding the most conspicuous Lily and myself.

The only flaw was that after measuring the entrance size and looking down to compare it with myself... Check latest chapters at novel-fire.ɴet

"Sorry, Master Enrique, may I use [Spatial Transfer] to get inside?"

"...You're truly exaggerated."