idnight, the sounds outside died down. Then the door to the single room creaked open. A man who was quite drunk stumbled in, a lascivious smile plastered on his face. He unbuckled his belt as he walke...Goliath refused to listen to Simon's explanation. She snatched a sword from her guard and plunged it directly at Simon.

But Ripples saw a flash of light in Simon's eyes, as if he was glad to have succeeded. She subconsciously opened a defensive magic array for Corlia, while Grey's sword swiftly and accurately slashed across the opponent's head, making them drop a silver coin-like object mixed with blood from their grasp. It instantly dimmed as they slumped to the ground.

Simon's last sight was Goliathia's furious face, and the emotionless violet eyes of Ripples.

Gallia was blocked back, but she also discovered Simon's purpose. It seemed he wanted to take advantage of her anger and loss of reason, wanting to control himself when she tried to kill him, and then leave here with her.

The thing in Simon's hand, the size of a silver coin, was a magic array refined by a mage that could teleport short distances. It must have been refined by Simon's blood relative, as it could be activated directly with blood without producing magical fluctuations, which is why neither Leah nor Laya had been able to detect it beforehand.

"Fortunately, my young master reacted quickly, or else this fellow would have succeeded!"

La Ye stepped forward, picked up the miniature silver magic circle, and summoned a ball of water to wash away the bloodstains on its surface before handing it to Lian Yi.

At this moment, Lillian had already grasped her daughter's hand, relieved that her impulsive action was stopped in time. She thanked Ripple and Gray for their intervention.

Then, Golia's father and brother rushed into the cave, seeing Simon who was dead beyond recognition. They were both shocked speechless for a moment.

Leia had already removed the disguise magic circle, but she was still wearing Corlia's pink dress, which made Lilyan and her husband even more confused.

"Master, everyone outside has been dealt with. I've covered this place with a magic circle, so it's safe now and you can stay here for a while."

"I understand. For now, let's leave this to Corlia and her family. We'll see how they handle it. We've done what we can to help."

Ripples spoke softly, then nodded to Leia, who also nodded and, with Grey, exited the cave.

"Larry, go get Raoul. We're going to rest here tonight, and wait until Golia has explained everything, then we can leave tomorrow."

Yes, young master!

Laya received orders to go pick up Raul, while Grey went through the belongings of the bandits and then disposed of the bodies, waiting for Laya's return to deal with them together.

"Lotus, what do you think they will do"

Leia sat by the campfire, quietly asking as she roasted it.

The forest was very humid, and after the sun set, it became a little chilly. So both Lian and Leia sat huddled around the campfire.

"Simon is dead. If the Nasi family doesn't want to offend anyone, they will pretend nothing happened and continue to Palo City."

And, as always, Corlia would send Simon letters at irregular intervals to prove their feelings remained strong. When it came time to fulfill the betrothal, if Simon were to disappear, then it wouldn't be a matter of the Nasi family.

"Indeed, but aren't they afraid we might leak the information"

"We are the ones who do it. Will you leak the information to the Simon family"

The ripples smiled and asked back.

"No, the Simon family may not be a renowned one, but they still have some clout. They've produced several powerful paladins. I wouldn't want to cause any trouble for the family."

Leia grinned, showing a hint of white teeth, and said in a low voice.

Another family in a different cave didn't even care about Simon's body. They were all huddled together, listening to Corlia recount her experience of seeking help. Luckily, she ran into Master Lian and Miss Leia. The rest was how she investigated the bandits' hideout after hearing their story and found out that Simon was the one who started it all.

"That's the situation. Clearly, the bandits have been eliminated, and Simon is also indirectly dead at my hands. The engagement certainly can't be fulfilled, but we can't let Simon's family know he died at our hands."

At this point, Golia had completely calmed down and simply stated her thoughts.

Goliaths' father, Rode, nodded with satisfaction, agreeing with his daughter's opinion.

Actually, it was after they were ambushed and captured that he realized something was wrong. Because these bandits didn't plunder their storage tools or kill them immediately. Instead, they forced them to contact their daughter. Finally, from his wife Lillian's possession, they took the mirror that could utilize family bloodline to transmit messages.

This made him certain that it must have been someone very familiar with their Nasi family who did this. It was just that he, like Gloria, hadn't expected it to be Simon, his soon-to-be son-in-law, who had done it.

"Golia is right, including Lord Lian and Miss Leia who helped us out of trouble, they shouldn't be involved in this."

"Let's erase all traces here. We should continue to Palo City and aim to arrive earlier than expected, demonstrating that our journey has been smooth and incident-free."

Rhode said decisively.

"Listen to your father. Everyone here should pretend nothing happened."

Liliana looked at the family and guards surrounding her, and said firmly.

"Yes! Father, Mother (Head of the Household, Madam)"

Everyone immediately responded, saying that surviving was already a blessing, so they couldn't afford to create another powerful enemy for the family.

"Golia, you should still communicate with Simon as you used to, sending messages when it's appropriate and gifts when necessary. After a while, when we return to Sol City, you should visit his parents with me. Then, tell them that Simon has been distant towards you since you left, laying the groundwork for what's to come."

As always, Lillian had thought things through.

"Okay, I'll listen to my mother."

Goliath tightly held onto her mother's hand, obediently agreeing.

We still need to think carefully about how to thank Young Master Lian and Miss Leia, as well as Apothecary Raul!

Luo Deli saw that his daughter's complexion had improved, so he directly changed the subject.

After a night's rest, everyone was refreshed and lively. The two parties were finally introduced to each other formally by Golia.

Rhodel's praise for the Ripple crew was generous, and he presented them with gifts of his own. There were pills that could conceal one's shape and miniature magic arrays - treasures the Nasi family kept close to their chests, capable of saving lives in a pinch.

Before, because it was a surprise attack and we were caught off guard, we didn't have time to use it. Also, these things are hard-earned and very precious.

They all took it without any burden, and at the same time reassured Golia, promising that they wouldn't spread word about what happened here.

After Goliya let go of the stone in her heart, she directly proposed to travel with Ripple and the others because everyone had the same goal: Palor City. Ripple and the others naturally wouldn't refuse. After the team grew larger, everyone sped up their pace.

But Simon's mother awoke from her sleep, she grabbed her husband's hand and gasped for breath:

"I dreamed that Simon had his head chopped off!" slightly. She raised a hand to smooth her wavy hair, twisted her waist, and re-entered the ballroom as if nothing had happened.After she re-entered the ballroom, ripples emerged from the corner. She...