Sitting in the carriage, Ilucia breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the clamor of the checkpoint gradually fade away; the appearance of that officer just now almost made her think she had been exposed.
Ilucia clutched her chest, letting her emotions calm down a bit; she had already signed a contract with the Scourge, and exposing the existence of the Scourge would doom her soul forever.
After calming down, the Barov Family's young miss coldly instructed the attendants outside the carriage, "You must be careful to conceal yourselves, otherwise, if the matter is exposed, none of us will come to a good end.
Be wary of the Paladin of the Silver Hand and those from the Holy Light Church; they are much more perceptive than ordinary soldiers."
The attendants remained silent; although they were nominally responsible for supervising Ilucia, Ilucia was now their master, and they had to protect the Barov Family's young miss without violating their ultimate objective.
Fortunately, from Westwealde all the way to Lordaeron Royal City, although they passed several more checkpoints and even encountered a patrolling Paladin of the Silver Hand squad, none of them conducted a more thorough search of the convoy.
The Barov Family's convoy thus entered Lordaeron Royal City unimpeded, which gave Ilucia an unreal, illusory feeling.
Ever since the plague incident in Lordaeron, the kingdom's regulation of all roads had become much stricter; Ilucia had originally thought her actions this time would be quite troublesome, but now it seemed things were progressing too smoothly.
After entering the Royal City, the convoy turned left and right, finally entering a somewhat quiet high-end residential area—this was where the Barov Family had property, which also saved Ilucia the awkwardness of staying in a hotel.
A lean camel is bigger than a horse; the Barov Family, after all, might be the wealthiest noble family in human history, and even after being divided by various human nations, they still possessed considerable financial resources.
At least the fiefdom of Caer Darrow, although considered in decline by great nobles, was still a holiday resort for many princes and nobles, and many people had private villas on that picturesque small island.
Ilucia specifically chose a quiet location for a residence, to facilitate contact with the Dark Dean.
This property was managed year-round by a butler and servants, so the owner could move in at any time without worrying about any issues; even all food, clothing, and daily necessities were readily available.
Sitting at the head of the dining table, with servants of the Barov Family standing on either side, Ilucia looked at the overly lavish dinner for one person in front of her and finally regained some of the feeling of being a noble lady.
In Caer Darrow, under the watchful eye of the Dark Dean, no matter how luxurious and comfortable her life was, she could still feel an oppressive pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Now, far from Caer Darrow, the restraints from Scholomance and the Scourge had lessened, allowing Ilucia to truly relax a little.
After dinner, Ilucia was about to bathe and change before inquiring about her next task, but the old butler reported to her.
"Miss, we have a distinguished guest."
A distinguished guest?
Ilucia was slightly puzzled; her entry into the Royal City had not been particularly ostentatious, and the Barov Family's old friends had scattered like monkeys when the tree fell; she really couldn't figure out who would come to visit her at this time.
But the old butler's next sentence made Ilucia's expression somewhat tense.
"It's... an envoy from the Secret Intelligence Agency."
When he uttered that name, the old butler's usually composed expression also faltered a bit; anyone living within the Capital City was deeply secretive about this mysterious department belonging to the Lordaeron Royal Family.
He even worried somewhat that his mistress, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, might have committed some wrongdoing outside, thus attracting the attention of the Secret Intelligence Agency.
The Barov Family was already a very sensitive name in Lordaeron; if Alex Barov had not been kind to the old butler, he would not have chosen to continue managing the family's properties in the Royal City after the Barov Family's decline.
"Go... please invite this distinguished envoy in."
Ilucia was somewhat apprehensive; she didn't know why someone from the Secret Intelligence Agency had suddenly come knocking, but she couldn't avoid them now, otherwise, there would truly be a problem.
...
"The Barov Family's young miss has settled in the Royal City; our envoy has already gone to find her."
"I understand, Nathanos." Arthas held a pen, processing documents under the light of an oil lamp, "Thank you for your hard work, but you don't seem to need to go in person; your subordinates should be able to handle this work."
The person standing in the shadows replied, "It's my duty, but I did come this time to say something else—I'd like to request a leave of absence."
Arthas's pen paused; he looked up at the person in the shadows, then lowered his head again.
Even though he had personally recruited this person into the Secret Intelligence Agency, every time Arthas saw this, the only Ranger Lord among humans, he still felt a bit strange.
"A leave of absence... are you going back home?"
"No, my parents are managing the farm very well, and I don't need to go back and disturb them, making them worry needlessly about me," Nathanos replied, "I want to... go to Quel'Thalas."
Arthas nodded lightly, "I understand; you may go. I won't give you a specific leave time; ever since you joined the Secret Intelligence Agency, your work has always been busy. For a vacation, Quel'Thalas is indeed a good place."
"Thank you for your generosity; I will return as soon as possible."
Nathanos was always decisive; upon receiving Arthas's approval, the Ranger Lord immediately prepared to leave Arthas's study.
"Oh, one more thing, who was sent to meet Ilucia?"
"Lilian, Lilian Voss."
Hearing that name, Arthas couldn't help but raise his eyebrows; he naturally knew that this excellent assassin worked for the Secret Intelligence Agency, but he hadn't expected fate to bring her into contact with Scholomance again.
"I understand. Have a pleasant holiday—oh, if you meet Ranger-General Sylvanas, please say hello for me."
Upon hearing the Windrunner's name, Nathanos's body stiffened, and his departing steps immediately quickened.
Arthas playfully stroked his slightly stubbled chin; this fellow was usually cold and ruthless, but when the Ranger-General's name was mentioned, he became like a shy young girl.
Heh heh, having a subordinate like this is truly interesting.
Oh, I wonder if Miss Ilucia can get used to Lilian's attitude; Arthas remembered very clearly that Miss Voss's usual demeanor was... a bit different from ordinary people.