Veronica returned later that same evening—much earlier than the time she had mentioned in her letter.

Leon and Rosvisser went out to the courtyard to welcome her and prepared a warm late-night meal.

In the dining hall, Veronica ate while the couple sat with her.

“Are the children already asleep?” she asked.

“They are,” Rosvisser replied. “We were planning to welcome you tomorrow based on your letter, so the girls went to bed early. We didn’t expect you to arrive so soon.”

Veronica smiled.

“Olette and I were actually following the original plan. We were supposed to rest somewhere on the outskirts of the dragon territory tonight, but the environment there wasn’t very pleasant, so we decided to travel through the night and return early.”