Leone quickly walked over to the group of girls, paused in surprise, and hurriedly helped a silver-haired girl up, shaking her gently, "Wake up, wake up."
Kaguya, pretending to be unconscious, mentally complained, You're shaking so hard, even if I weren't fainted, you'd knock me out.
"Who is she?"
Lubbock strolled over nonchalantly, but when his eyes fell on the silver-haired girl in Leone's arms, he froze, his eyes widening. It took him a while to snap back to reality.
"Hey, who is she?" Lubbock asked urgently, his eyes fixed on the silver-haired girl.
"She's someone I met by chance once, the daughter of an official," Leone said softly. "I thought she had escaped the capital, but I didn't expect her to end up in this situation."
Leone sighed, looking at the silver-haired girl with pity. In her mind, Kaguya had fallen into this den of vice and had likely suffered at the hands of the villains, maybe even...
Thinking of this, Leone felt a twinge of guilt. If she hadn't been so suspicious back then and had personally escorted her to the town, maybe none of this would have happened.
"Let's go," Leone said, picking up Kaguya and heading off.
"Let me help you, sister," Lubbock quickly caught up, grinning.
"You just want to take advantage of her, don't you?" Leone gave Lubbock a sideways glance.
"No way," Lubbock quickly waved his hands, laughing, "I just want to help."
"Stop making excuses," Leone snorted, a hint of disdain on her face, as she walked toward the exit. "Your eyes already gave you away."
"I didn't mean it," Lubbock protested, hurrying after her.
Kaguya had intended to feign unconsciousness, but Leone's embrace was so comfortable, and she was so exhausted from recent events, that she ended up falling asleep.
Kaguya's long eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, revealing clear, watery pupils. Startled, she quickly sat up, finding herself in an unfamiliar place. The slight swaying and cramped space suggested she was in a carriage.
"Don't worry, everything's fine now," came a gentle voice beside her.
Turning her head, Kaguya saw that the speaker was Leone, the blonde girl.
"Where am I?" Kaguya asked, puzzled.
"This is a carriage heading to a northern town," Leone replied with a smile. "Don't worry, those bastards have been punished. You won't be troubled again."
"Thank you for saving me again," Kaguya said gratefully, her skin flushing slightly.
"It's nothing," Leone replied, a bit embarrassed, scratching her head. "When we got there, we found those people had already been dealt with. We just brought you back."
"Still, you saved me," Kaguya shook her head gently, "otherwise, I might still be there."
"Sorry," Leone said apologetically, "I should have taken you to the town back then, so you wouldn't have been caught and humiliated by those bastards."
Humiliated? Kaguya was momentarily confused but quickly understood. That place was the capital's largest red-light district, filled with girls forced into prostitution. Since Kaguya had been found among them, Leone must have thought she had suffered the same fate.
Kaguya shook her head gently, a sad expression on her beautiful face, tears brimming in her eyes, making her appear pitiful and vulnerable.
Kaguya inwardly applauded her performance. It was so convincing, almost indistinguishable from reality. If there were awards in this world, she would surely win.
Leone, seemingly moved, extended a pale arm to embrace Kaguya like a gentle big sister. Kaguya, taking advantage of the situation, curled up in Leone's arms.
Just then, the curtain suddenly lifted, and Lubbock poked his head in.
Seeing this scene, Lubbock was momentarily stunned before blurting out, "Sister, why are you crying—ouch!"
Before he could finish, a cup thrown by Leone hit him on the head, knocking him back out of the carriage.
"Didn't I tell you not to come in?" Leone roared, like a lioness.
"It hurts, it hurts," Lubbock grumbled, rubbing his forehead as he got up, "You hit too hard. I was just going to tell you we're almost at the town. Do you want to eat first?"
"Really?" Leone poked her head out of the carriage, scoffing. "Who was it sneaking a peek last night?"
"What?" Lubbock protested, "I wasn't peeking. I was checking if the door was closed properly."
"Really?" Leone snorted.
"I swear on my honor."
"Ha, do you even have that?"
After spending a day in the carriage, Kaguya and Leone stepped out to stretch and have a meal. The carriage was not great—though not shabby, it was far from comfortable, nothing like Kaguya's royal transport.
Kaguya's luxurious carriage was so smooth it didn't even feel like it moved. But after a day in this one, she felt like she might fall apart.
"Here," Leone handed her a meat skewer resembling a chicken leg.
Lubbock had caught a low-level danger beast in the forest, small but incredibly fast. He said it took him a lot of effort to catch it.
"Thank you," Kaguya said politely, taking the skewer.
The meat was well-cooked, fragrant, and flavorful. As she bit into it, the juice burst out, leaving a lingering taste. Perhaps from the exhaustion of the previous night, Kaguya found herself quite hungry and quickly devoured it, leaving only the bone.
"There's more, eat up," Leone handed her another piece of roast meat, smiling. "Don't be shy."
"Thank you."
As Kaguya ate slowly but steadily, Leone casually asked, "Do you have any relatives or friends?"
Kaguya's heart skipped a beat, knowing the moment had arrived.