Chapter 483

Actually, this principle is easy to understand, but before this, Leon and Losweiser were both blinded by their own involvement and failed to grasp the essence of the matter.

It was Claudia who gave them the courage to take the step of having a third child, while the maid Milan dispelled their worries and anxieties.

The couple now believe that the temporary separation is for a better reunion, and that their current efforts are all for the future of their family.

If they indulge in the comfort and happiness before their eyes, then sooner or later, when a crisis comes, it will destroy everything they cherish even more.

"Noa will be taking the promotion exam at the end of the semester, so she will be living at school for most of the semester and won't be going home. As for Mu En and Xiao Guang, I will take care of them."

"Okay, thank you for your help. I'll be back as soon as I can get things sorted out here."

Losweiser smiled and reached out to straighten his collar. "Safety is the most important thing. No matter what you do, you must come home safely, understand?"

"Okay, I'll definitely come home to find you with every single part intact."

The Queen punched him in the chest in exasperation. "Idiot."

The couple chatted about their children, and before long, they heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from the wilderness.

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw a caravan of carriages slowly approaching.

When the convoy stopped, the newcomers were Rebecca and Martin, along with some members of the Lionheart Society.

"Captain! Sister-in-law~"

The twin-tailed girl waved and jogged over.

"I brought my men here as soon as I received your letter. Has the captain already obtained any clues about Lord Shadow?"

"Yes, we have a general direction for the investigation, but we need to return to the Empire to begin. The letter didn't explain it clearly."

"Good."

Rebecca nodded, then turned to look at the silver-haired beauty behind the captain.

"Sister-in-law, are you coming too?"

"No, I can't leave the tribe for too long, so this time only your captain will go back with you."

"Oh, I see... I was hoping to get closer to my sister-in-law, sob sob~"

Losweiser smiled helplessly yet indulgently, then slowly walked forward, opened her arms, and pulled Rebecca into her embrace.

Because of the significant height difference, Rebecca experienced the face wash up close.

"Ah~ I feel like I've come back to life~ So the captain eats so well every day, no wonder he doesn't want to go back to the Empire."

Leon grabbed Rebecca by the collar and pulled her out of his wife's arms like a chick.

"Once things are done, you'll have plenty of time to cuddle and hug your sister-in-law."

Rebecca pouted indignantly, "Hmph, stingy! You're stingy! All married men are stingy!"

"It's getting late, Captain. We need to reach the next post station before dark," Martin reminded him.

"Okay."

Leon pushed Rebecca's head away and turned to continue instructing his wife.

If here—

He pointed to Losweiser's lower abdomen, indicating that she was pregnant, "You absolutely must tell me."

"Okay, okay, just go do what you need to do, I'll take good care of myself."

Leon nodded. "Remember to write to me, and write to me whenever you're feeling down."

Okay~ okay~

"My daughters also write to me when they miss me."

"Mmm~"

"If Senior Claudia sends the donkey over, please let me know immediately."

The Queen covered her mouth and chuckled, "No problem."

As Leon walked backwards, he recounted everything he could think of.

Losweiser listened patiently.

A gentle breeze swept across the desolate land, causing the Queen's skirt to flutter and dance in the wind. She gazed at her departing husband, silently praying for his safe return.

Once the convoy had driven far away, Losweiser suddenly remembered something.

She patted her head.

"Oh... I forgot to ask him to name our third baby!"

53 High-level scapegoats

With the war over, there was no need to worry about enemy ambushes along the way, nor was there any need to take a long detour. They could directly rush from the mainland, and in less than ten days, Leon and his party returned to the empire.

It was already evening when they arrived at their destination. Leon declined the welcome dinner prepared for him and simply ate something with Rebecca and the others.

He didn't really like that kind of atmosphere; he felt more comfortable having meals and chatting with his old teammates.

"When I entered the Upper City just now, I saw that almost all the streets had been repaired. You guys are very efficient, Nacho," Leon said sincerely, holding a can of beef.

"After all, the Upper City is the Empire's main economic exchange area. Your kick not only killed the Primal Nightmare, but also almost broke the Empire's entire financial chain. If we don't handle the aftermath quickly, you probably won't even be able to afford canned beef now and will only be able to eat cold noodles."

Leon squinted and smiled wryly, "You're still as sharp-tongued as ever."

Nacho chuckled and then extended his hand to Leon. "Welcome back. With your help, we'll definitely be able to find the remnants of the Empire much faster."

Leon put down his can of beef and gave Nacho a high five. "You've all worked hard these past few days. What's the progress in interrogating those ministers who colluded with Cantor during his time in power?"

Nacho thought for a moment and replied, "There has been some progress. But not the kind of progress we imagined."

Leon was taken aback, then immediately became interested. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see for yourself tomorrow."

As soon as he finished speaking, Leon stood up abruptly. "Then why wait until tomorrow? Let's go now!"

Nacho was also stunned for a moment, "But you, Rebecca, Martin have been traveling for more than a week without much rest. Even if you're in a hurry, one more night won't make a difference."

This time, it was Rebecca who answered Nacho.

The crazy girl slowly got up and said in a 'I know everything' tone, 'Nacho, you still don't understand the captain. You must never let him see any signs of anything, otherwise he will definitely deal with it as quickly as possible.'

Nacho raised an eyebrow. "Why is this happening? I've never heard of the Dragon Slayer Army Queen being so decisive."

During the Dragon Slayer Army period, Nacho heard more rumors about Leon than anything else about the legendary Dragon Slayer having killed a certain dragon king yesterday, killed another dragon king today, and planned to kill another dragon king tomorrow.

"Well, before it was to end the war as quickly as possible, but now..."

Rebecca moved closer to the captain, one hand on her hip, the other raised, and nudged Leon's chest lightly with her elbow, saying with a mischievous grin,

"Of course, it's so I can go home and find my wife sooner."

A married man. "How dare you speak such nonsense!"

In the early hours of the morning, at the Imperial Prison.

Leon, Nacho, Rebecca, and Martin went to the prison's special detention area.

"During the dark period of Cantor's previous rule, this place was used to imprison the most important figures in the empire."

Nacho explained as they walked through the prison corridor.

"Important figures? We need to give them special treatment?"

Nacho nodded. "Actually, most of the celebrities who are imprisoned are just high-level scapegoats on the surface."

Leon, the scapegoat, understood what that meant.

During the Silver Dragon Campaign, he was ambushed by an internal traitor. The Empire thought he was dead and publicly declared that he was the war criminal who caused the defeat.

That was also the first and the Only One time that General Leon took the blame for the Empire and became a scapegoat.

But...

"High-class... scapegoat? There are good and bad scapegoats?"

"Certainly."

Nacho continued to explain,

"As you know, during Cantor's reign, there were many shady dealings and transactions within the empire, and once these filthy scumbags were discovered, the empire's usual solution was to find an unlucky scapegoat."

"But when things get out of hand and ordinary scapegoats can no longer quell public anger, they will find a big shot with a name to take the blame and draw the fire."

"Most people don't actually care about the truth of the matter; they only want to see what kind of person is being punished, whether they are high-ranking or powerful."

"Actually, you can't blame the general public. After all, all the information they could access was restricted by the empire at the time, and they couldn't think independently through such a thick information barrier. There was nothing they could do about it."

"Let's get back to the main topic."

Nacho casually patted the wall of the special detention area. "And this place was originally a luxury apartment for those high-ranking scapegoats to stay temporarily. Don't be fooled by its unremarkable appearance; they were actually treated very well."

After listening to Nacho's explanation, Leon nodded thoughtfully.

"You seem to know so much about the inner workings of the Empire. But I remember you used to be part of the Dragon Slayer Army, so you shouldn't be involved in prison work, right?"

Nacho shrugged with a wry smile. "My father used to be the scapegoat of the empire."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

Leon remembered that Nacho had told him that his father had been pushed into a corruption case by the Empire, and that the Empire had promised to release his father if he completed the mission well.

But in the end, his father was murdered in prison because he knew too much about the empire's inner workings.

Thus, having witnessed the darkness and filth of the empire, Nacho decided to pledge allegiance to Leon.

Although General Leon's Queen is often away from home, at least he won't lose his head so easily.

"After Cantor fell from power, we imprisoned all the ministers who had been arrested for their corruption here for easier interrogation."

Rebecca said, "But now it's not the same as before. A room, a bunch of weeds, that's it."

Upon hearing this, Leon paused, then spoke seriously.

"Yes, that's exactly the treatment prisoners deserve."

At this point, someone might ask:

General Leon General Leon, how do you know so much about the treatment of prisoners of war?

The only person who can answer this question is his beloved wife, with whom he has recently moved to another city.

"Leon?... Leon!"

One of the prisoners in a cell seemed to have heard the conversation outside. He rushed to the door and shouted through the narrow food delivery window.

"Leon Casmod! I'm innocent! Make them release me! I've never been in cahoots with that bastard Cantor!"

His cry for justice prompted other prisoners in the cells to join in.

"Ka, Casmod! Please help me explain to these ignorant young people, I've been wronged too!"

"Me too! Me too! I really haven't done anything like human trafficking... those children... those children were all there voluntarily!"

"Then... then I'm innocent too. Those women seduced me; I was forced!"

"..."

The more I listen, the more outrageous it becomes.

Leon frowned. "Are these people out of their minds?"

"Interrogation for several weeks in a row can indeed dull and confuse their brains."

Nacho said, "That's exactly what we wanted, otherwise these people would be all incredibly stubborn."

"There weren't any wrongful arrests, were there?"

"Don't worry, there's absolutely no such thing."

Nacho pointed to the cells one by one.

"Embezzlement, human trafficking, seduction, drug trafficking, and so on—you can find all sorts of fancy crimes here."