My Kingdom Building Done Right!

After staying with Vlad for a while, Tianna eventually left the villa.

She then entered the Aslan Tribe’s cave with a faint smile on her face.

Surprisingly, no one stopped her. Leone had long told everyone that Tianna had been granted free access to the underground tunnels.

In his eyes, the young lady was already Jason’s future wife, so he treated her as part of his family and inner circle.

Several minutes later, she arrived at Leone’s house. Fortunately, he was there, seemingly taking a short break from his duties as chieftain.

"Leone. I have something to tell you," Tianna said.

"Hmm?" Leone raised his head in response. "What is it?"

"Vlad plans to infiltrate the Aslan Cave tonight," Tianna replied.

The young chieftain blinked once, then twice, before looking at the lady in front of him in confusion.

"Why?" Leone asked.

Tianna then shared Vlad’s complaint about Leone offering Brent a proposal to become his vassal. The teenager had been pouting, saying that he wanted to be Leone’s next vassal and that he was upset to hear about someone beating him to that position.

A sigh escaped the young man’s lips. Hearing that he had disappointed Vlad, whom he genuinely valued as a future vassal, made him feel guilty. It didn’t cross his mind that the teenage boy would feel that way upon learning that Brent would be bestowed vassalship before him.

"He plans to sneak into the cave, bypass the defenses, find you, and prove how capable and resourceful he is," Tianna stated. "What do you think?"

Leone crossed his arms over his chest as he pondered with a serious expression on his face.

After a while, he finally spoke.

"Very well. Let’s put Vlad’s determination to the test then," Leone stated.

"Will you help him succeed?" Tianna asked. "Like decreasing the number of guards and letting him slip past the Aslan Tribe’s defenses?"

"No." Leone shook his head. "I admit, it crossed my mind to let him pass through easily. I just changed my mind. Making things easy for Vlad is akin to not taking his determination seriously. Since he wishes to become my vassal that badly, I will not lower the difficulty for him."

Tianna met Leone’s gaze at those words and immediately understood that he was being serious.

"Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t give him a little help," Leone said before taking out a scroll from his storage ring.

He then handed it to Tianna, prompting the latter to unfurl it to see what was inside.

There, she saw the map of the underground tunnels of the Aslan Tribe that led to Leone’s cavern.

The moment she saw this, her expression turned serious. The Warclaw Tribe and the Grimhowl Tribe had long wished to infiltrate the underground tunnels of Grimjaw Mountain in order to learn the secrets behind it.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that all of them wished to get their hands on the map leading to Leone’s home within that vast tunnel network.

After all, if they ever planned to kidnap Leone and make the Aslan Tribe obey their demands, the map in her hands would be the key to the downfall of the rising star of the Borderlands.

"This..." Tianna looked at Leone with a complicated gaze.

"Don’t worry," Leone stated. "Only you and Vlad could see the contents of that scroll. If anyone else tries to look at it, all they will see is a blank piece of parchment."

Daedalus made that map. That being said, it had already added some safety measures, preventing those with bad intentions from getting information on the map.

Last but not least, Daedalus planned to make the map disappear as soon as it served its purpose.

"Now, I plan to add one last gatekeeper that will block Vlad’s path to my humble abode," Leone said in a teasing tone.

"And that person is?" Tianna asked.

"It’s Jason," Leone replied.

Tianna’s face became serious. Jason also lived in the main cavern of the first Aslanians, making it his mission to ensure Leone’s safety.

Due to Jason’s heightened senses, it would be very difficult for Vlad to enter the cavern undetected.

"You’re being mean." Tianna glared back at him.

"I’m not." Leone chuckled. "Didn’t Vlad say that he would show me how resourceful he is? If he is serious, then there is a way where he can bypass Jason."

"And that method is?" Tianna decided to press for an answer so that she could help her little brother overcome the last hurdle that he had to face.

"Have Vlad draw a painting of you," Leone said with a smug look on his face. "Jason will be easily bribed by it. Of course, you’ll have to find a way to pass this message on to your brother."

Tianna’s face turned beet red at those words. The thought of Jason having her picture, which he could see every day, made her feel embarrassed.

However, she didn’t dislike the idea.

In fact, she was even worried that Jason would not accept her little brother’s bribe!

"Well, then. Do you have anything else to say?" Leone inquired.

"None." Tianna shook her head. "I’ll be going back now."

"Okay." Leone nodded. "I look forward to tonight’s infiltration mission."

Tianna gave Leone one last glance before leaving the house.

It was then that she heard someone calling out to her.

"Natalia?" Jason, who had just finished taking a bath after his training, called out to her. "What are you doing here? Also, why is your face red? Are you sick?"

The young man walked up to her and even pressed his hand over her forehead, checking her temperature.

"Yeah, you’re a bit hot." Jason frowned. "I’ll ask Kael to make some cold medicine for you."

"T-Thank you." Tianna stuttered while cursing Leone internally.

At the moment, she felt more flustered than sick, especially since her conversation with Leone was still fresh in her mind.

Who would’ve expected that the exact person they talked about would appear right in front of her and even talk to her with concern in his voice?

The young lady’s knees were starting to feel jelly, but she endured out of sheer pride. At the end of the day, she was still the Oracle of the Earth Mother, as well as the proud daughter of the Chieftain of the Warclaw Tribe.

She refused to let Jason see her weakness, especially at this moment.

"Don’t worry about me," Tianna said. "I just talked with Leone concerning future collaborations with the White Falcon Merchant Guild. I will now return to the villa."

"Would you like my company?" Jason offered. "I’m worried you’ll collapse along the way. You’re sick, after all."

"... Suit yourself," Tianna replied.

She had originally planned to refuse his offer, but she held herself back. After thinking twice, she believed there was no harm in letting him accompany her, so she ended up agreeing to his proposal.

Jason reached out to hold her hand, which surprised her a bit. Still, she didn’t pull back and allowed him to escort her outside ‌the cave while walking hand in hand.

Inside Leone’s home...

"What do you think, Daedalus?" Leone asked. "Will Vlad succeed?"

"I don’t know," Daedalus replied with amusement. "But I hope to watch a good show."

The young man smiled faintly, also interested in seeing how Vlad would reach his destination.

If he really succeeded, then Leone would reward the teenage boy’s courage, making him his vassal regardless of the consequences that they would face in the future.

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