Anya returned to the outskirts of the Northlands Fortress.
The cold night was wrapped in frost, the city gates brightly lit with torches, the guards’ armor reflecting a chilly gleam.
Their checks were strict, and their eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.
However, Anya walked forward as if she were long accustomed to this, showing no sign of fear.
Iris felt the sharp gazes of these people were frighteningly intense and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Little Anya, aren’t you afraid of these people? They seem a bit scary.”
Anya shook her head indifferently. “I’ve entered the city like this since I was a child. I’m already used to it. There’s no helping it—if they don’t do this, Dragonkin could disguise themselves as humans and enter the Northlands.”
Iris nodded thoughtfully.
It seemed that living in this place really was full of danger!
“Normally, people don’t go in and out on purpose, so these soldiers just need to focus more on anyone suspicious,” Anya continued to explain.
“Mm…” Iris nodded, then pointed at the soldiers slowly approaching. “But those people’s eyes—they seem to be looking at you a little strangely.”
Following her gaze, Anya indeed saw a small squad of guards walking towards them.
“This young lady,” the leading soldier stopped two steps away, hand resting on the sword at his waist, “just now, I saw you whispering to yourself—did you encounter some trouble?”
“No trouble. Thank you for your concern. I need to enter the city,” Anya answered simply.
“I’m very sorry, young lady.” The lead soldier shrugged, his tone helpless. “The general has ordered us to strengthen the fortress’s defenses. If we don’t know your identity, we can’t let you in.”
It seemed her father had learned that she was being hunted by Dragonkin and thus tightened the Northlands’ defenses, not allowing even strangers to enter easily.
Anya instinctively reached inside her military uniform to the inner pocket.
There should have been the Auckland Household crest there—a token that would allow her passage without hindrance. She must have lost it in her panicked escape just now.
“Not good…” she muttered softly, her delicate brows knitting as she clenched the empty pocket.
“Young lady?” The soldier reminded her again, his scrutinizing gaze intensifying.
To him, this young woman was very suspicious.
Iris stood to the side, at a loss as she watched everything unfold. This sort of situation, requiring identity verification, was something she really couldn’t help with.
Just as the atmosphere grew more tense, a rush of footsteps sounded from behind.
A group of people quickly approached, and someone immediately shouted, “It’s the young miss, it really is Miss Anya!”
“You know her?” The lead soldier was startled and turned to look at the newcomers.
They were several men dressed in the Auckland Household’s servant attire, the family crest at their waists—clearly people from the Auckland Household.
He looked back at Anya, his eyes sweeping over the features of her face.
Wasn’t this his superior’s own daughter?
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead at once. If the young miss decided to use this against him, his own position wouldn’t be safe!
Fortunately, Anya did not make things difficult for him.
When she saw the newcomers, Anya’s tense expression finally relaxed a little.
If not for these servants from Auckland Manor appearing in time, she would have had to spend many more words at the fortress gate to enter the Northlands.
After a brief identity check, the fortress soldiers let Anya through.
One of the servants quickly came forward. “Young miss, the news of your abduction by Dragonkin has already spread throughout the household. The Master had already prepared for the worst… How did you suddenly show up here?”
“It’s a long story. Take me to see my father,” Anya didn’t explain much.
“The Master is waiting in the study. Please come with us, miss.” The servants didn’t ask more questions and led the way.
At the same time, another servant went to inform the others that Anya had been found so they could stop searching for her.
Anya lowered her gaze, following silently behind, a chill radiating from her that seemed to warn others to keep their distance.
“Why are you and your family’s servants so distant from each other?” Iris could tell that Anya didn’t want to talk much with these servants; there seemed to be a deep rift between them.
Anya pressed her lips tightly together and did not respond.
Seeing this, Iris mused to herself: Looks like to open up little Anya’s heart, I’ll first have to learn about her past.
Watching Anya’s tense profile, a faint helplessness rose in Iris’s heart. She could only wait and see what kind of place this Auckland Manor really was.
Before long, the group arrived at the Auckland Manor.
This sprawling residence was blanketed in thick snow; the silver-white layer bent the tree branches and coated the gray stone walls with a cold, silent sheen.
A servant led Anya to the study door and bowed. “The Master is inside handling affairs. Please go in, miss.”
“Mm.” Anya nodded stiffly and reached out to push open the heavy wooden door.
Iris followed along, her eyes sweeping over the servants in the manor.
Although they bowed to Anya, there was not a trace of respect—some even had a subtle indifference hidden in their eyes.
The whole manor was gloomy, and Iris even saw disdain in the eyes of some servants as they looked at Anya. This made Iris even more concerned about Anya’s situation.
It seemed little Anya’s position at home was very low. Clearly, she was the young lady of the house, yet she had never smiled upon returning home.
After coming home, Anya always wore a blank face. Even after surviving a life-and-death ordeal, there was no relief on her face—she only grew more silent and withdrawn.
Iris took all of this in and chose not to ask questions yet; she decided to observe a bit longer.
Inside the study, the flames in the fireplace flickered weakly, casting light on the middle-aged man in a black brocade robe behind the desk.
As soon as Anya entered, she bowed like a puppet set by a script and smiled, “Father, I’m back safely. I didn’t make you worry, did I?”
Karen slowly raised his head, his gaze landing on Anya. A fleeting shock flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly buried beneath deep indifference.
Silence stretched in the study for a long time before he finally spoke, making an effort to keep his voice gentle.
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No.” Anya gently shook her head.
Karen nodded, his gaze falling back onto the documents on his desk.
“That’s good. Go back to your room and freshen up. Yisha will prepare food for you. I’ll be returning to the fortress to handle some affairs later. Since you weren’t caught by the Dragonkin, I can rest easy.”
“Alright.” Anya didn’t say anything more.
This conversation between father and daughter was eerily calm, lacking even a shred of the warmth found in ordinary households. Instead, it was like the routine exchange between two strangers.
Iris stood by the door, watching Anya’s retreating back, growing ever more certain: this father-daughter relationship, and the interactions with the household staff, must have everything to do with Anya’s silence.
Karen’s hands were still stained with ink from fortress duties, his brow marked by unshakeable exhaustion.
He watched Anya’s back as she left, his Adam’s apple bobbing, but in the end it only turned into a light sigh.
Iris glanced at Karen one last time, then stepped on Anya’s shadow to follow, her gaze sweeping over the family crest hanging on the corridor wall.
The Silver Eagle Treading Snow emblem gleamed coldly in the dim light, exuding an unapproachable aloofness.
“Oh my, isn’t this our cousin Anya, who managed to escape the Dragonkin’s clutches by sheer luck? Nothing happened to you, did it?”
Suddenly, a sharp voice shattered Iris’s thoughts.
She frowned and looked up, only to see a young woman in a crimson and gold-embroidered gown standing prettily at the end of the corridor.
Her golden hair was arranged in a complex coiffure, dotted with tiny sapphires.
She stood half a head taller than Anya, looking down imperiously at the arrivals.
At the same time, a sneer curled her lips, the arch of her brows and the corners of her eyes full of undisguised superiority.