'Tsk, it's going to be troublesome,' Alex rubbed his face, feeling another headache coming his way.

As he contemplated ways to circumvent city surveillance, his hand, placed firmly on Anna's buttocks, persisted in its actions, caressing and occasionally giving a subtle squeeze.

"He doesn't even appear to be doing it consciously now, it's as if it's the most natural thing in the world,Anna thought to herself, rendered speechless as she observed Alex, seemingly lost in contemplation.

"Any idea on how to proceed?" Alex asked a long moment.

"Well, we can slip a handful of them in discreetly, perhaps a few at a time; it might take a few days to weeks depending on which of the two cities you intend to leave them in," Grace suggested.

"Depending on the city?" Alex raised a brow.

"Yes, although Tohona is our most flourishing city, it still isn't as heavily monitored as Zindal. So if you intend to take them there, we can sneak everyone in a matter of days. If you want to take them to Zindal, however, it will take longer," Grace explained.

"Is it because you live in Zindal that it's heavily monitored?" Anna inquired.

"Yep, I guess they see me as a menace," Grace chuckled.

'It's not just that they perceive you as a menace, you are a menace,' Alex thought internally.

At mid level 7, Grace was as strong as the dukes of the empire, and depending on their tiers, she might even surpass them in strength.

In each level, there were four tiers: the low tier, the middle tier, the high tier, and the peak tier.

The peak tier represents individuals who are extremely close to advancing to the next level, while those in the low tier are the ones who are the furthest away from leveling up.

The different tiers of a level are :

1~30% away from the next level : low tier 

31~60% away from the next level : middle tier

61~90% away from the next level : high tier

91~100% away from the next level : peak tier

For instance, Alex, with his 85 mana points (850 in reality), is in the high tier and is nearing the peak of level 4.

For a normal person, not like Alex, who can increase his level with just a thought if he wanted to, progressing from a low tier to a higher one takes a lot of time. One's body needs to get acclimated to the mana absorbed through the mana core before attempting to absorb more. Otherwise, as explained earlier, your body might explode.

Considering that the highest level in the Fiore empire is seven, Grace who was at the middle tier level 7 was a force to reckon and a genuine threat, especially if you framed and killed her son. That's why the emperor was heavily monitoring Zindal and sometimes even used absurd reason to keep her from getting out of Zindal.

However, even the imperial family's scrutiny paled in comparison to the vigilant monitoring by the current patriarch of the Eswald family and that was for the simple reason that currently, Grace was stronger than anyone in the entirety of the Eswald family!

The last time Alex had seen the man, he was at the middle tier of level 6, which was quite impressive, but compared to Grace's strength, he might as well be a mere child in a playground.

Unfortunately, Grace couldn't act rashly and simply eliminate him, as the man still held the title of duke within the empire. Moreover, being the emperor's lapdog, he was afforded level 7 guards for protection.

"So, is taking these people to Tohona a better option than Zindal?" Lilia inquired.

"If your goal is to sneak troops, then yes, Tohona is better, but..." Grace's words trailed off, a deep scowl appearing on her face.

"But?"

"Tohona is under Victoria's governance," Grace spat with venom in her voice.

As a reminder, Victoria Evernight is the second wife of Alex's grandfather, and for some reason, she and Grace harbored an intense dislike for each other.

"Oh, I didn't know that," Alex remarked.

"How would you know if you skip all the family meetings or never listen even when you are present?" Lilia looked at him, an expression of amusement on her face.

"Cough, cough, I guess that's my fault for not knowing then," Alex smiled wryly, before refocusing his attention on Grace. "So, what if Victoria is the governor of Tohona?"

"I don't trust that witch!" Grace exclaimed.

Hearing her, Alex could only shake his head. To him, Victoria wasn't a bad person. Despite her disdain for Grace, she never directed that animosity towards him or his sister. For that reason alone, he respected the woman.

'But then, I don't know her as much as Grace, so I might be wrong,' Alex thought.

"If you didn't trust her, then why did you let her become the governor of Tohona? You were the head of the branch at that time," he said after a moment.

"Well, people were already dissatisfied with how I became the head of the branch to begin with. If I had tried to force someone of my choosing to be the governor of Tohona, things might have gone bad," Grace explained.

As a reminder, Grace became the head of the branch by beating anyone who didn't accept her as the new head to a pulp.

"We don't really need to trust her, right? We can just make her sign a contract," Anna said.

"Believe me, young one, if that witch decides to betray us, even a soul contract won't stop her," Grace said.

Alex paused for a moment before speaking, "I will arrange a meeting with Victoria later to assess if we can trust her. However, since I can't do so at the moment, we'll have to proceed with taking the troops to Zindal."

"Good choice, but as I have said, it will take time to sneak everyone inside Zindal," Grace said.

"I can actually help with sneaking them inside," Anna suddenly offered. "Since the level of these people doesn't exceed level 2, I can use my ability to render us invisible. That way, we can enter the city unnoticed."

"Ah, I almost forgot about that," Alex acknowledged, turning his gaze towards Anna. "Yes, we can proceed with that plan, but..." He looked at Anna. "It also means that you won't be able to accompany us to the Drazen family auction."

Anna smiled and shook her head gently. "I was never intended to attend the auction in the first place. I merely accompanied you because you needed my scouting ability for the rescue mission."

"Still, I wanted us to go together," Alex admitted with a slightly wistful tone, his gaze lingering on Anna.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't even have time to digest this when Lilia also voiced her departure.

"What, you too?"

"Yes, after my recent breakthrough, I need to resume my training and consolidate my foundation, something that I can't do if I'm traveling with you. I'm sorry," Lilia explained apologetically.

"I...understand."

Alex would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit sad. It's true that the original plan he had in mind was to rescue Cedrix's daughter with the girls and then send them all back to the mansion while he continued his journey to the Drazen.

However, he had grown fond of journeying with his wives. Though he couldn't make love to them unfortunately due to Cedrix's presence, but it was still enjoyable. 

However, he wasn't a child, even if he didn't like the idea of separating with them, he understood why they needed to return, so he didn't attempt to stop them from leaving.

"I suppose it will just be the two of us, sis," Alex said to Amelia, who had been unusually quiet throughout the exchange, sitting across from them.

Amelia made an acknowledging sound but remained silent.

'What's with her?' Alex wondered. Normally, Amelia would be over the moon at the thought of being his only wife to accompany him, but she didn't seem as ecstatic about the news, at least not as much as he thought she would be.

"That's settled," Grace declared. "I already have a location in mind that isn't monitored, where we can safely leave the troops. At the first light of dawn, we will make our way to Zindal."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Alex interjected, his brow furrowing as he glanced around the group.

"What?" Grace wondered.

"To reach Zindal, you would have to pass by another baron's territory. Such a sizable convoy won't go unnoticed," Alex pointed out.

"Wait a moment," Grace said, crossing one leg over the other as she retrieved a map from her space ring and studied it intently.

"The territory we need to cross is governed by that old coot, Goldar," Grace remarked after a moment's scrutiny. "If that's the case, then you don't need to worry. I'll divert their attention elsewhere until we'

ve safely crossed their land."

"If you say so, then I don't have anything to add," Alex shrugged.

"Then-"

Knock Knock