At night, Li Qi was resting on a bed inside the Royal Capital's guard prison.
After displaying his "talent" in front of Bolent, Bolent had left without saying anything.
Li Qi had no idea what Bolent was thinking, but judging by how excited he had looked when he left, Bolent probably would not do something like killing him out of jealousy toward the capable.
If that really happened...
Li Qi might have no choice but to find a way to escape.
Fortunately, things had not developed in the worst possible direction.
Late that night, someone familiar to Li Qi came to his door.
"Captain."
The prison door opened, and a familiar voice roused Li Qi from his rest.
Li Qi looked up and saw an officer in a military coat standing before him.
"Generro?"
Li Qi called out the other man's name, his voice filled with surprise.
Generro should have been on the front lines forming his own squad. Why was he here?
Meeting Li Qi's eyes, Generro took off his military cap and smiled at him.
"Captain, long time no see."
"What are you doing here?"
"Commander Bolent sent me. He told me to escort you to the border."
Generro explained the reason for his arrival.
Hearing that it was Bolent's order, Li Qi finally relaxed.
Although he had already guessed that Bolent would not abandon him, a guess was only a guess. Without solid evidence, who knew how Bolent would treat him?
What if he decided Li Qi was a threat, or could not withstand the pressure from the Granger Family and handed Li Qi over?
At that point, escaping from prison and fleeing would probably be his only option.
But for now, Bolent was still following his original plan: sending Li Qi to Inglis to carry out a spying mission.
Sitting up in bed, Li Qi looked over Generro's clothes and the bag on his back before asking:
"Are we leaving now?"
"If possible, yes. This is when the guards are the least vigilant."
Generro answered seriously.
Li Qi did not hesitate. Since he had not taken off his clothes, he did not even need to change. He could simply get out of bed and leave with Generro.
Generro led Li Qi out of the prison, and miraculously, they did not encounter a single patrolling guard along the way.
Clearly, Bolent had given them advance notice.
They reached a building somewhere near the city center without hindrance. Generro led Li Qi inside, then tossed him a box.
"Captain, change into the clothes inside. The commander prepared an identity for you to use while fleeing. You must use this identity until you reach the border."
"Fine."
Li Qi did not think much of it. He opened the box, took out the clothes, and prepared to change.
However, the moment he saw what was inside, Li Qi fell silent.
He silently pulled out the Lolita-style dress favored by noble ladies, then raised his expressionless face toward Generro.
"...Generro, can I ask what this is?"
Generro looked at the clothes in the box and froze as well. After a long while, he finally answered awkwardly:
"It... It's the clothing the commander prepared for you."
"Are you sure you didn't take the wrong one?"
Li Qi's death stare landed on him, and Generro immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"I think... so? Or should I go back and ask Commander Bolent?"
Li Qi stared at Generro for a long time before finally letting him off.
"Forget it. I'll use this one."
Actually, judging from the size of the clothing, Li Qi knew that it was impossible for Generro to have taken the wrong box.
These clothes had been custom-made for Li Qi.
It was only because Li Qi was reluctant to put them on that he had asked Generro to confirm.
But doing so only made things difficult for Generro. After all, he had genuinely followed Bolent's instructions and knew nothing else.
The identity Bolent had prepared for Li Qi was a female identity named Angela Angulo, the second daughter of an ordinary baron's family on the border.
Although the identity was fake, the Angulo Family itself truly existed.
The family was part of the Reformist Faction and one of the many forces under Bolent's command.
There were two reasons for preparing this identity for Li Qi. First, a female identity was less likely to be checked. After all, everyone knew that Li Qi, who had been arrested and then escaped from prison, was male.
Second, a female identity was more likely to be overlooked. No one would imagine that a seemingly delicate and fragile Young Lady possessed the strength of a Strategic Rank Mage Master.
Li Qi more or less understood this, so after gritting his teeth slightly, he found that he could accept the clothing.
It was only a disguise. There was no need to carry such a heavy psychological burden.
Because he had once served as Berry's dress-up doll, Li Qi did not waste much time changing, despite how complicated the outfit was to put on.
After putting on the decorative wig and using a special magic technique to change his eye color, Li Qi became an entirely different person in the blink of an eye.
When Li Qi finished changing and walked out of the room, Generro was the most astonished of all.
He stared at Li Qi in disbelief and asked in shock:
"C-Captain?!"
"Is there a problem?"
Li Qi cast a cool glance at Generro.
His hands, covered in White Silk Gloves, were folded elegantly in front of him. He stood by the doorway with the graceful bearing of a true noble lady.
From Generro's perspective, aside from her eyes, the "Young Lady" before him bore no resemblance to Li Qi whatsoever!
He had never known that his captain possessed such disguising abilities!
Looking at the captain's face, which appeared even more beautiful after being made up, Generro parted his lips slightly before speaking dazedly.
"Captain... You should keep wearing a veil after you go out. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll run into other trouble on the road..."
"Mm, I understand."
Li Qi said nothing more.
In this era, it was common knowledge for noblewomen to wear veils when going out. Even if Generro had not mentioned it, Li Qi would have done so.
After somewhat uncomfortably straightening his dress, Li Qi raised his head and looked at Generro.
"It seems your current identity is my butler?"
Generro was now wearing a crisp butler's uniform. Given his burly build, the outfit looked slightly out of place on him.
However, at first glance, he looked quite convincing and had the air of a butler.
"Yes, Captain... No, Young Miss."
Generro smiled and performed a noble's salute, changing the way he addressed Li Qi at the same time.
His noble's salute looked as if he had only just learned it, and his movements were somewhat stiff. Li Qi looked him up and down, then walked to the window and gazed outside.
Dawn was almost here. The horizon had already begun to pale, and by now, the Guard Department had probably discovered the fact that Li Qi had "escaped from prison."
"How did Commander Bolent arrange things?"
Li Qi turned from the window and asked.
Generro answered:
"When the sky grows light, I'll take you to the station. The commander has prepared tickets for us to go directly to a city on the border. Someone from the Angulo Family will meet you there."
"And then?"
"Then... We'll cross the Shipu Federation under our current identities. Once we reach the border between the Shipu Federation and Inglis, you'll use your other identity to cross over."
Generro explained the arrangements Bolent had made for Li Qi.
The Shipu Federation was a neutral country situated between Inglis and Uno. It was a federal nation.
Li Qi's next destination was there.
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