The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1397 Exit Stage Left

Before anyone in the Palace could figure out what had happened, Crown Prince Lukas and Karl were already leading a small procession out of the Palace.

They were accompanied by a dozen guards, four maids from the Crown Princeʼs suite, and one grizzled carriage driver, who looked more than a little annoyed to be sent away from the Palace just when things were starting to get interesting.

But he wasnʼt told the whole story, only that the Crown Princeʼs hatchling needed a calm environment for her early development, and that would not be available in the Palace during renovations.

He didnʼt know that they were the target of the attack, or even that it was an attack at all, and not a tragic accident during training.

Everyone knew that there was a new training area in that wing, but none of them knew yet that the training area was intact and functional, not the source of the problem.

”Why didnʼt we just fly? It would have been so much faster.” Cara asked once they were out of the Capital.

”Because we have a hatchling with us. They donʼt do well with cold temperatures and high altitudes during their first few months.” Lukas informed her.

”Really? I didnʼt know that. We could keep her warm, and Karl is big enough to carry the carriage in his claws.” Cara suggested.

The thought of a World Dragon carrying a carriage for a hatchling minor Princess was enough to put a smile on the driverʼs face.

”I donʼt think that the Raptors would handle that well. Theyʼre not big fans of flying.” He joked, with a gesture to the reptilian carriage beasts.

”Hmm, good point. Well, at the very least we can have Karl buff them up so this isnʼt so slow.” Cara decided.

”Are you in a hurry?” The driver asked, wondering why the strange girl was so impatient.

”No, sheʼs just easily bored, and travelling at a walking pace frustrates her at all times.” Karl joked.

”Ah, to be young again. Well, you can always fly along with the carriage if you would like. But youʼll be doing a lot of circling.” The driver suggested.

Cara shook her head. ”No, a Chaos Badger is pretty recognizable, and the whole point is to go on vacation and not be bothered for a little while.

If everyone sees where weʼre going, theyʼll just come bother us in a new spot.”

”I see. Well, I can assure you that nobody cares where Iʼm going, so if you can wait long enough, we can get to your destination without a single problem.” The driver agreed.

”We can play games. I have cards.” Rue suggested.

Cara smiled at the Princess. ”Why didnʼt you say that earlier? I have a rather extensive knowledge of popular card games. Now, what are we going to play first? I am thinking Baccarat, or perhaps Poker?”

Rue frowned. ”I donʼt know those ones. What about go fish? Do you know that one?”

The Crown Prince was doing his very best not to laugh at the Chaos Badger, who was more likely to be a card shark than a casual childrenʼs game type of person. But Cara brought out a small folding table, and set it between her and Rue.

”Go fish it is. Who else wants in on this action?”

Mildred shifted to sit in on the game, while Karl moved to give them space.

”I will keep watch in case we are followed. I donʼt sense anything, but if we are, I can send something to deal with it without breaking our cover.” He whispered to Lukas.

The Crown Prince got a dangerous look in his eyes as he smiled. ”If youʼre certain that nobody will trace it back to you, go ahead.”

”Other than the Supreme Lady, I doubt that anyone on this continent even knows that I have the skill. But if we donʼt use it, I will call them once we arrive at our destination, and I can have the summoned creatures work as guards.

They donʼt need to sleep, and it makes for a great advantage when you are camped and in need of rest.”

The carriage was making good time down the roads, as the Raptors were much faster than horses were. But with a hundred kilometres to go, it was going to take them all day to get there, instead of a few hours at the very most while flying.

In fact, if Karl had flown them all directly, they would have been at the retreat faster than it had taken them to get out of the city.

It would not have been subtle, though.

With the size of his dragon form, especially when enhanced to carry passengers, he would create a spectacle that nobody who saw him would soon forget.

The girlsʼ card game managed to pass a few hours before they got bored, and then an afternoon nap, with Cara, Rue, and Lukasʼ hatchling all piled up on the floor, took another few hours.

That got them into the mountains, and the retreat was finally in sight.

It was no mere villa.

No, this was a full-fledged mountain castle for the Royal Family. It wasnʼt large, but Karl was certain that it could hold fifty guests with ease, and it had its own guard detachment.

That was not optimal, from a security standpoint. None of them knew who the guards might be loyal to, or their political affiliation in the never-ending drama that was the life of the Royals.

But they should be loyal to the King, and with the Crown Prince present, Karl had some hope that they wouldnʼt cause any issues, even if they were from families that were loyal to the Queenʼs faction.

”Alright, this looks like a good spot to teach a hatchling to fly. Not too high, but thin enough air to give those wing muscles a workout.

We will add the little oneʼs physical conditioning to the mix, since sheʼs born a Commander.” Karl decided as they wound their way up the gravel road.

”Thatʼs not necessary, Envoy. We will get to her training soon.” Matilda whispered, while protectively cuddling her little one.

”Nonsense. Everyone loves to fly. Plus, it will do her a lot of good to start early in thin air, so she will have an advantage over the others her age when we finally get back to the capital.”

Plus, it would keep Cara from getting bored.

Keeping Cara from getting bored was always a priority, and while they were up here in the mountains, there wouldnʼt be much else for her to do outside of training Rue.

So, having the hatchling to play with would satisfy her need to cause chaos, as well as serving a productive purpose.