Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

"Wait!" a young noblewoman with cyan-colored hair cried out to Alex, who had already taken a step inside his smoke carriage.

Turning to glance at the woman, Alex sized her up and down before inquiring in a flat tone, "What is it?"

The noblewoman stiffened for a moment when she heard his tone but quickly pulled herself together. Not one to beat around the bush, she went straight to the point, "We want you to escort us to Baron Drisidd's territory where the Drazen auction will take place."

Alex remained silent for a moment before nodding, "I accept, but I won't do it for free."

To tell the truth, the moment Alex had noticed this group of nobles, he had in mind to propose escorting them to Drisidd—for a fee, of course. But with everything that happened with the guard captain, he had sort of forgotten about the nobles. If this young woman hadn't stopped him in his tracks, he would have probably left without even glancing in their direction.

The noblewoman with cyan hair nodded, "You will of course be remunerated, but... we don't have any money on us currently," she mumbled the last part, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"That's obvious," Alex replied, sizing the woman up and down again, noting her tattered clothes.

Under his inspecting gaze, the young woman's blush deepened, and she didn't know what to retort.

"Tell you what," Alex said, seeing that she had no intention of speaking soon, "I will escort you, and afterward, each of your parents will pay me," he proposed.

The young woman didn't hesitate for a second before nodding eagerly, her eyes shining with newfound hope.

"What is your name?" Alex inquired, his gaze steady on the young woman.

"Daisy Wa-"

"Then Daisy, go tell your comrades to quickly board," Alex interjected, cutting her off before she could start boasting about her lineage and rank in her family.

Daisy nodded absentmindedly before a confused expression crossed her face. "What are we—"

Before Daisy could finish her sentence, Alex snapped his fingers. A portion of his smoke carriage detached and, under the baffled expressions of Daisy and the group of nobles standing a bit farther away, a new smoke carriage took shape. 

This new carriage was identical to Alex's but larger and more spacious, able to accommodate the entire group of nobles comfortably. It was designed with ample room for their belongings, not that they had any belongings at this point, and enough seating to keep them from feeling cramped during the journey.

"Go on, don't waste my time," Alex said to the young woman, who was staring at the smoke carriage in awe.

Alex's words snapped Daisy out of her thoughts, and she quickly bolted back to her group to inform them of the deal she had struck with Alex.

Her news was a great relief to the other nobles. After all, If they couldn't stay the night in Eidross, their best option was to find a reliable escort through the mountain range that separated Eidross from Drisidd.

Barely a minute later, the group of nobles began boarding the carriage.

If he hadn't been in such a foul mood, Alex might have laughed at the sight of them cautiously testing the solidity of the smoke carriage before stepping inside with wary expressions, as if expecting it to dissolve beneath them at any moment.

After the group was ready to depart, Alex cast a final glance toward the city gates, where the butler stood waving with a polite smile. Alex snorted before stepping into his carriage.

Not wanting to attract attention by making the carriages take off into the air in front of so many people, Alex opted for a more discreet approach. He allowed the carriages to glide smoothly along the ground, moving away from Eidross at a steady pace.

Once they were a few kilometers away from Eidross and confident that no one could detect his presence, Alex deactivated the smoke cloak and collapsed onto the carriage seat, his body drenched in sweat. He had maintained a façade of strength before the people of Eidross and the group of nobles, but in reality, he was suffering from intense pain.

Just like the first time he had used the attack that sliced through the captain's arm, the resulting backlash was anything but pleasant. Not only had that single strike consumed more than half of his mana, but it had also left him in excruciating pain, every muscle in his body screaming in agony.

Seeing her brother's pitiful state, Amelia hurried to his side and immediately began to heal him or at least relieve his pain. 

"Why did you use the power of that cursed weapon when you knew the consequences?!" Amelia scolded him, doing her best to alleviate his suffering. 

She loved that he became enraged and sought vengeance the moment she was harmed, but just like him, Amelia hated to see him in pain.The knowledge that he could have avoided this ordeal by simply not using the double-headed scythe frustrated her even more.

"There really was no need to attack that captain if it meant ending up this weakened," Amelia continued, her tone a mix of concern and reprimand.

"But didn't you like how I stood up for you?" Alex asked suddenly, a teasing smile tugging at his lips despite the pain.

"Of course I did!" Amelia replied, her expression softening.

"Then stop complaining and start pampering me," Alex shamelessly suggested, his grin widening.

"Right away!" Amelia responded with a playful roll of her eyes. She gently massaged his temples while continuing her healing efforts, determined to ease his discomfort as much as she could.

Meanwhile, Maya was staring at Alex with a slight frown on her face. It was seriously hard to reconcile the image of this shameless master before her with that of the man who had coldly chopped off the arm of a level 5.

She had always seen Alex as someone who spent his time teasing and joking, certainly not as someone capable of emitting such a suffocating killing intent. In fact, it made her realize just how dangerous Alex could be. It also made her painfully aware that she was far from winning their bet.

Around half an hour later, when they had sufficiently distanced themselves from Eidross, Alex brought the carriages to a complete stop and instructed the nobles to disembark and get their wounds treated.

He handed each of them a healing smoke potion, and for those whose injuries were more severe, he asked Amelia to heal them. Meanwhile, Alex took the opportunity to lie down and close his eyes. It was time for him to rest.

****

"Why did you let him go?" the captain of the guards demanded, his voice laced with resentment as he approached the butler stationed on the city walls, watching the two carriages carrying Alex and the others disappear into the distance.

The butler glanced at the captain with a nonchalant expression before shrugging casually. "Orders from the city lord," he replied after a brief pause.

A peculiar silence settled between them until the captain, his tone softer, asked, "Do you have any idea why she ordered us to let them go?"

The butler shook his head. "No, but I can tell you she was particularly adamant that no harm come to those covered in smoke."

He paused, carefully choosing his next words before adding, "She seemed especially protective of the man who took your arm. Judged by the way she spoke, I shudder to think what might have happened to you if you'd harmed him."

The butler glanced at the captain's missing arm and chuckled. "I doubt you could have harmed him anyway, given how easily he severed your arm."

"Fuck off!" the captain shouted angrily, which only made the butler chuckle again.

"In any case, you have permission to go to Vissa to have your arm treated," the butler said, barely containing his amusement.

The moment the captain heard the name Vissa, his pale complexion brightened, and his eyes sparkled. Before the butler could say anything more, the captain had already disappeared.

The butler shook his head, returning his gaze to the receding carriages of Alex's group. Even after they vanished from view, he remained on the walls for a few minutes longer, staring in their direction. Eventually, he sighed, turned, and walked away.

Had the butler stayed on the walls just a little longer, he might have noticed a second group of people tracking the path of Alex's carriages.

This new group was none other than the bandits who had been tormenting the noble party for weeks.