Chapter 7: Chapter 6

Wait, hey, wait!

“No!”

I hastily caught hold of Ash’s clothes

As he looked at me, I hurriedly made an excuse .

“I was coughing because of the dust . It’s not a big deal, I’m still healthy . The doctor gave me vitamins since the days have been getting colder… so I’m totally healthy .

“… . . ”

“So you just need a change in scenery right? Let’s leave early and go eat lunch outside tomorrow . “

“…Okay”

‘Shit’

I cursed . I don’t know how things ended up this way but I wanted to blame someone for it .

‘The same clock tower’

Why did you have to be in the square? No, why do I even exist in the beginning? What the hell am I doing here?

I blamed the clock tower for everything .

Of course, I knew it wouldn’t change anything .

Bessie stood beside us and exclaimed that we had such an amazing relationship .

It was a terrible night .

***

Since things had already ended up like this, I decided to stop bothering myself on things I couldn’t change .

I was a bit bewildered that things hadn’t gone the way I wanted but it wasn’t like I had completely failed .

‘All I need to do is prevent Agrita’s death’

That’s the ultimate goal .

I just have to make sure that the heroine doesn’t die this time .

‘This might be better since the clock tower would definitely not be destroyed . ’

I won’t say the clock tower is getting old even if someone threatens me with a knife .

Ah, actually, I might if that happens .

Anyways, I decided that I would only say good things about the clock tower when we see it .

‘We’re only going to look at the clock tower and we’ll avoid the heroine . No problem . ’

“Phew . ”

Letting out a determined sigh, I looked at the mirror then turned away .

“Oh, Miss . You look so beautiful . ”

Bessie was filled with excited energy as I finished getting ready .

I replied with smiles to all compliments thrown at me, even if it wasn’t from her .

Just like Ash said, this was my first time going outside in a while .

I wasn’t the type that enjoyed going outside, and I thought that I should stay in the house as long as possible since I would be leaving for good soon .

‘I should be optimistic . This will let me refresh my mind before running away . ’

Today, I put my red hair up and wore a green, outdoor dress that had buttons all the way up to the neck .

People said that I looked like a fully bloomed rose when I dressed up like this, and it was an expression I liked .

Because roses have thorns .

‘It’s sort of a battle outfit . ’

Furthermore, I wore dark gloves that were almost black .

Good . This reinforced my decision .

Just then, people’s attention moved away from me .

“Duke, you’re here?”

“Oh my . ”

I turned my head .

In his outdoor clothing, I saw Ash walking down the stairs in a relaxed manner .

He had his white hair pulled back so his forehead was exposed and his dark navy clothing reminded me of a soldier’s uniform .

Besides the fact that he was missing a cape, the design was very similar to a uniform .

‘Regardless, he knows exactly what looks good on him’

Ash, who looked as if he just stepped out of a painting, came towards me .

It looked like he was walking slowly but his long legs made it easy for him to quickly close the distance between us .

“Shall we go?”

Ash, standing nearby, offered me his arm in an escort position .

I subtly breathed in and put my hand on his arm .

“Yes . ”

Alright, let’s go .

“Have a safe trip . And come back before it’s too late, you haven’t forgotten what day today is right?”

“Don’t worry . ”

After Bessie reminded us, Ash and I left the house .

Before we left, I had memorized the heroine’s entire schedule today, just in case .

‘ 11 AM . She should already be away from the clock tower, and should be with the charity group at this point . ’

After thinking through our planned path, I concluded that there wasn’t really a high chance for us running into Agrita .

The square was huge . As long as we didn’t go around trying to see everything it was very unlikely that we would run into her .

It bothered me a little that the charity group would be giving out free food at noon in the middle of the square, but it wouldn’t be too hard to avoid the area if I could talk him out of going there .

‘Let’s be on guard, just in case . ’

The fact that there was only a small chance of us running into the heroine eased my mind .

On top of that, this was my first time going out in a while, so I was a little excited .

On the way to the square with Ash, a store stand caught my eye .

‘Oh, that hair clip is pretty . ’

I wasn’t the greedy type but I had a clear preference .

The jeweled hair clip at the store stand was one that clearly matched my tastes .

I thought I only took a quick glance at it but Ash immediately stopped in his tracks .

“Do you like it?”

“……What?”

My rational side yelled at me that it was not the time to be looking at some hair clip, but I ignored it because I really did like it .

Besides, it wouldn’t take long to buy it .

I rummaged through my bag, thinking that I could quickly buy it and then we would continue on our way .

‘Hm?’

Then I paused .

‘Huh?’

Wait, what is this?

‘It’s not here!’

My wallet is gone .

‘I’m sure I brought it though?’

I always took my wallet with me whenever I went out .

Whether I was alone with Ash, or with a servant, I always brought with me my wallet .

It wasn’t because I shopped a lot, it was just a habit .

I assumed it was a habit from my past life, but really, I’m getting distracted, why isn’t it here?

Ash seemed to notice my frustration since I stopped looking for my wallet .

He threw the seller a gold coin, allowing me to take the hair clip as we continued to walk down the street .

‘Did I drop it on the way?’

I shook my head immediately . There was no way .

It’s not like I was waving my bag around, so how could it just fall out by itself?

‘Then……’

“Pick-pocketing . ”

The word I had thought of came out of someone else’s mouth .

I looked up at Ash .

“Is it?”

“……Probably . ”

He said it like that but his tone indicated he was certain .

There’s no way I could have left it somewhere . I had never taken it out since we left and I checked the house before we left so I was sure I brought it with me .

Trying to recall what happened earlier in the day, I remembered that I had it in the carriage as well .

Which means that it disappeared in the short time we walked from the carriage storage area to the shop stand .

‘Who did I bump into on the way?’

You know that movie-esque scenario when someone pickpockets you?

You bump into a stranger while you’re walking and they say ‘oh, sorry’,and you say ‘it’s okay’ and your wallet is gone .

But I couldn’t remember bumping into anyone .

On our way here, we passed by a crowd but Ash had been escorting me so we didn’t encounter any difficulties .

‘When did they steal it?’

I couldn’t believe it . How could they take my wallet without me even noticing?

At this point shouldn’t they be considered a living legend? Or the textbook example of pickpocketing?

I’m not sure if I should be amazed or what . As I was about to give up, I saw Ash, who had his back towards me, take something out .

……hm? What’s that?

‘A jewel?’

No, that’s not it . I got on my tiptoes to take a look .

It was a small sphere that I couldn’t figure out what it was used for .

Then, a moment later I heard someone’s voice flow out of it . .

[You called?]

“Find the person . ”

Ash commanded in his matter-of-fact voice .

My eyes widened .

With that demonstration, I could tell that the sphere was a tool that allowed you to communicate with people far away, just like a cellphone .

I remember hearing about it once . They said it was probably made using magic .

But who did he just command?

‘No way . ’

It was a little suspicious to say that it was one of our house servants . Then I remembered something .

A villain should not only have forces that everyone can see on the outside .

Ash also followed this rule .

I only knew this because I read the book, but Ash felt that he needed power ever since our parents passed away .

This wasn’t the type of power a man could obtain through mastering some sort of martial art .

My younger brother wanted a group that he could use as his followers .

But such a group can’t be created easily just because you want it .

It requires a lot of money and power, but the biggest problem was that it took time .

Which is why our villain Ash, simply took over an already existing group .

‘The Dark Streets……’

The Empire had something known as the Dark Streets .

To put it simply, it’s like the world opposite of this one .

City of night, the criminal’s area, the Empire’s darkness were all referring to this primitive Dark Street .

There, everything was based on power, and there was a large gang that acted as a ruler in those streets .

And Ash killed the leader of this gang and took it over .

‘He was fifteen at the time too . ’

It hadn’t even been half a year since our parents’ funeral .

There’s no way to know exactly how my brother manages to control the gang because it isn’t written in the book .

But since they are known to follow the rule of power, I can only assume that he used his overwhelming ability in martial arts to make them yield .

I don’t know if I mentioned this but my brother’s been using toy swords to break wooden statues ever since he was three . I used to think it was cute…… .