novelraw Chapter 60: A Letter
Chapter 60: A Letter
"Bang!"
The carriage door swung open as Larr leaped out of Mir's embrace, her eyes shining as she looked toward the entrance, only to see the exhausted face of Raphaëlle. It seemed the recent battle outside had drained every ounce of her energy.
"Lady Raphaëlle..."
Mir gazed worriedly at the visibly dejected Raphaëlle and couldn't help speaking up.
"Lady Raphaëlle, where's Fischer?"
Larr glanced at the lavender fields outside but couldn't spot the familiar figure of that human male. Moments earlier, their slave marks had completely vanished—Mir and the others knew exactly what this meant, their complex gazes fixed on Raphaëlle.
Meeting Larr's uneasy look, Raphaëlle gently closed the door behind her. After shutting her emerald eyes for a second, she reopened them and addressed Cachil and Fassil,
"You two take the reins. We're turning back toward the tribe... Head south first. After I check Fischer's map, I'll take over driving. Mir, keep an eye on Larr."
"Yes."
Mir bowed slightly and cradled the tiny Larr in her arms.Raphaëlle swept her gaze over her companions and the carriage interior. Only after Fassil and the others went outside to steer the carriage southward did she approach the first door on the left—Fischer's room.
The furnishings and items inside remained largely untouched, with numerous human books lining the shelves, silently watching Raphaëlle enter.
She initially intended to turn and unfold the Southern Continent map hanging on the wall, but her peripheral vision caught a pale yellow envelope resting on his desk, beneath which lay an aged parchment scroll.
Raphaëlle reached out and picked up the envelope. On it, written in Fischer's distinctive Nary cursive script, were the words:
"To Raphaëlle."
A letter?
Raphaëlle opened the envelope to find a folded sheet of paper bearing Fischer's handwriting.
"To Raphaëlle's Eyes Only."
"If you're reading this, it means you've emerged victorious in our little game. First, congratulations—to you and your companions—on winning your freedom. At the same time, this also signifies our paths will diverge here, branching toward separate directions until they eventually reconverge or lead to entirely different destinations."
"Your excellence and strength repeatedly made me consider eliminating you. Yet my independent judgment allowed me to recognize the simple kindness and passion within the dragonkin race—and made me grow fond of you, with your blazing soul. After much hesitation, I resolved to let you go. Your stage isn't in humanity's dark prisons, nor within the modest walls of my Nary home. The vast wilderness of the Southern Continent is your future."
"I also hope you'll always maintain independent thought, carefully considering every action before taking it. This will aid your decisions and path. The parchment beneath this envelope contains clues to the ruins of the dragonkin's Fermabah Dragon Court—a parting gift from me. Should you wish to reciprocate, you can repay me when we meet again."
"May your future path be blessed with light."
"Fischer Benavides"
"P.S. You still owe me one punishment. Don't forget to repay it when we meet again."
Raphaëlle clutched the thin envelope, lingering over Fischer's signature at the bottom. Silently, she lowered her head and pressed the envelope against her forehead—her crimson, ethereal dragon horns passing straight through the paper.
Strangely, though that human lacked horns and physical objects couldn't normally touch a dragonkin's horns, Raphaëlle felt ripples reverberating through her soul at this moment, as if their hearts had connected.
A long, long time passed before she reopened her eyes. Her emerald pupils now resembled bottomless pools—yet hidden within those depths, countless violently burning flames churned, radiating blinding light like the sun.
It was time to depart—to accomplish what she'd long intended to achieve.
Under the Southern Continent's scorching noon sun, a carriage set off from the northern reaches, just as it had arrived.
But now gripping the reins wasn't the Nary gentleman from before—instead, it was a dragonkin maiden as radiant as the morning sun.
The crimson Dragon Queen was rising.
(Volume One: The Crimson Dragon Queen)