The number of merchant caravans entering and leaving the Empire had significantly increased compared to the past, which greatly reduced the difficulty for Leon and his daughters to infiltrate. 

If there were only a few merchants, the guards would likely search each one thoroughly. But with one carriage after another, inspecting each one would take all day, and they wouldn’t let many caravans through. 

That would seriously slow down the tax revenue collection process for the officials, and that simply wouldn’t do. So, a "turn a blind eye" approach seemed good enough.

However, one new guard, not yet hardened by …