Chapter 124

Translator: yun

Just as I turned my head at the stunningly beautiful voice, I spotted a man wearing a thin white tunic. Then, all of them began to play a smooth melody as if they were a travelling band.

“Wow, how lucky! I think it’s time for the Templars of Song to perform.”

“Did you already know?”

“Yeah. I hear them perform here sometimes.”

Someone tapped me. It was the Templar of Rivers.

“Instead of apologising, I’ll show you something more interesting, miss.”

The templar returned to the fountain. With a clap of his hands, a pillar of water gushed out of the fountain just like what I had seen before.

Under the sunlight, the sparkling water glinted in gold as it moved to the rhythm. Watching the water move like a dancer, people burst into ecstasy.

“Pipio, shall we eat as we watch?”

“Yes, sounds good.”

When I turned my head, I could see street vendors conducting their business by selling simple foods. There were also men moving through the crowds as they sold food like the people working in baseball stadiums. The whole street was filled with smiles.

“Alright. I can’t lose now! I’ll join you.”

A man donning a pink robe swung a long cane. Then, pink flowers resembling cherry blossoms began to flutter down like raindrops in the small square.

“A Templar of Flowers. That’s rare to see.”

Someone muttered. Young children acted like butterflies as they ran around trying to catch the petals. Young couples would hand each other the flowers before whispering in their ears and giggling.

Under the warm light of the sun, I was splendidly in peace. The flowers and the people. The various colours, scents and people’s faces.

Before I knew it, people were gathering here like a tidal wave. As I was surrounded by the crowds, I managed to lose sight of Soricks for a moment. As I looked around, Soricks suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“It’s crazy here, isn’t it?”

“Yes. A little.”

“There are a lot of people here…”

He laughed before whispering lowly. Before I realised it, he had a serious expression on his face.

“You wouldn’t be able to notice if anyone had disappeared, would you?”

There was a roar in the background.

“Do you mean… the missing people?”

Soricks gave a slight nod. Certainly, in such a pleasant and beautiful landscape, no one would care if a child who was running around and playing suddenly went missing.

“Oh no. I didn’t want to talk about something so heavy. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, pipio.”

He flashed a grin as bright as this sunny day.

“How reliable.”

“Of course. We’re here to catch a legal criminal.”

If Granius ever heard that, he would have furrowed his eyebrows. Soricks left me alone for a while saying he wanted to buy me something to eat.

As soon as he disappeared, I collapsed. I did not say anything but I felt slightly dizzy.

‘What a nice day.’

I hated sunny days.

The melody which was soaking into my ears and melting my eardrums still resonated in the square. People were welcoming the singers with flowers.

The flowers raining down like rain reminded me of the symposium but these were different.

After the song ended, the tunes quietly receded from the soundscape as my ears began getting pressed down with the shouts. The noise was deafening.

“Did Dane or Fleon know… that the capital was this kind of place?”

When princes became adults, they were required to travel around the capital and have meetings with senior aristocrats or the emperor. There are those who would secretly travel because of their tastes and those who would openly stir up the streets while riding a carriage.

What I mean was that Dane, Fleon and perhaps even Castor had travelled through this scenery once.

“But I can never do that.”

I would still be in the palace when I become an adult. Until I get married.

If I had not entered Auresia’s chambers that day, I would have still been displayed as a pretty doll in that peaceful palace before becoming someone’s wife.

Was that the normal life I had been hoping for?

I fiddled with the small handbag I brought. Of course, I had the diary in there.

‘I wondered why I wanted to bring it…’

Right now, my diary was not doing me any good. Because it had not foretold my outing with Soricks. In other words, the outing I was going on today was part of the future that the diary did not forecast. I did not know what was going to happen today.

“Sister. Sister!”

When I turned my head around, the little girl smiled.

“Would you not buy some flowers?”

The child was standing in front of the fountain in the midst of the falling flowers. Her body was small and only reached up to my waist. She was also wearing scruffy clothes. I frowned for a moment before noticing a strange wound on the child’s forearm before unknowingly stretching my arm towards her.

“Flowers? Alright. Can I see them for a second?”

When I spotted how surprised the child was, I hurriedly lowered my hand.

“Ah. Sorry. I was just shocked by your forearm. I thought you got hurt.”

“S-sorry but please buy my flowers. Pretty sister!”

I was taken a little off guard before quickly switching to a smile.

“What should I do? I don’t have money now?”

Oh dear, the child looks sullen. I quickly spoke.

“The one I came with will be here in a little while. Can you wait for a while before I buy it?”

“Uhm, t-that! I don’t necessarily need money. It can be your valuables!”

After pondering for a moment, I took out my handkerchief.

“What about this?”

“Sister, uh, this… this handkerchief is not something expensive.”

“But it’s silk?”

Handkerchiefs made out of silk were usually sold at a fairly high price. That was why I would occasionally give one to the maids.

Unsurprisingly, the child’s blinking eyes quickly shone.

“Here!”

Instead of taking the handkerchief, the child held out all the plants in the basket. Then, she hesitated.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I thought you were going to hit me… Then, see you! Thank you!”

The child disappeared into the crowds. The words the child whispered to me lingered for a long time. Had she been abused or something? Well, in such a vast Empire, not everybody could be happy.

“Oh dear.”

The child whom I thought disappeared peeked out her head from the crowds. She was in front of an alley not too far from the square.

“Yeah? What is she doing there?

The child then handed the handkerchief to some man. Wondering if it was what I was thinking of, I frowned.

“Wait!”

I quickly jumped to my feet.

“Woah!!”

Just after their performance ended, a compressed sound reverberated through the square as I covered my overwhelmed ears as it ripped through the crowds.

He was clearly hitting her. I saw the man hitting the child and pulling the child by her hair. I was not worried. Soricks told me he could find me as long as I stayed a certain distance away.

“You there….! Uh?”

There was no one left in the narrow and dark alley. Neither the child nor the man who was hitting the child. After being lost in thought for a while, I turned around.

“Aaack! Save, Save me! Save me please!”

It was a clear shrill scream. The cries of a pained child. I took a breath in.

Just a little. I would only go in to check on them for a little before coming out.

Because it suddenly got dark, I fumbled forward with my hands. The stench of old dust and terrible filth. It smelled like a public toilet that had been left unattended for too long and stung my nose.

“Urgh…”

I blocked my nose and spotted a faint light in the distance. Was that the other side of the alley? With the noise and the crowds behind me, I quickly walked towards the brightly lit exit. I was almost there.

And just when I was going to take another step.

“Eup, I’m sorry…”

I crashed into someone who suddenly appeared before me and flinched.

“Oh dear.”

Afterwards, someone behind the stranger I bumped into did something so the wind did not manage to catch the rest of the apology.

“I’m… sorry.”

Oh, my insides were tingling. I bit down really hard.

“Ah, it’s me.”

I could hear a low voice above me.

As soon as I heard the voice, I was startled.

“I was distracted for a moment.”

Dane?

“I did not see where I was going. Are you alright?”

No, It was not him. He was a man with a really androgynous face so I had no idea how I could be mistaken.

“You don’t look hurt…”

He had coffee-coloured skin. Other than Meta from the patrols, I had never seen anyone with that skin colour. He had fascinatingly scarlet eyes but they were different from Dane’s bright red.

“Hm, are you mute?”

When I first heard his voice, it sounded like Dane’s low to medium-low voice but it was completely different from Dane’s.

That was weird. The only thing they had in common was their brown hair. Why was I mistaken?

“I seem to be bothering this young lady whom I’ve met for the first time today.”

“Ahm I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Only after getting my senses again, did he smile at me.

“It’s alright. Does this face suit your fancy, miss?”

Her scarlet eyes which rose like a cat’s curved thinly.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I have a prior engagement today.”

“Huh, well, I’m glad you’re finally thinking about it now.”

A hand stretched out to stroke the man’s cheeks.

When I turned my head to the sweet voice that was dripping with charms, a tall woman suddenly appeared and leaned on the man. When she spotted me, her eyes widened.

“Oh my. How cute. It’s a child.”

The woman placed her hand on my cheek. She was wearing gloves that ended at her wrists.

“Here. This wicked man.”

She was wearing tight-fitting clothes before smiling softly.

“You don’t need to be so polite to such a wicked bastard. You should go for a more refreshing and stable man.”

Not only did she have a nice body, I could clearly see her chest too. There was nowhere my gaze could land so it continued to shift.

“Oh dear, you?”

She had bright hair and her eyes were bright red as if they had been set on fire. The woman looked me in the eye before tilting her head slightly.

“Oh my god, your eyes are purple.”

Ah. My hood fell off. I felt around my ponytail that I had tied up high on my head. I could feel the coolness on my head and her persistent stare. She pointed at the bandage.

“Did you get hurt?”

“Sweetie. Can you look at me instead of this cute miss?”

The woman cackled before removing her hand from me.

“Are you mad, darling? How cheeky.”

The woman briefly grabbed onto the man’s neck before whispering.

“You don’t like it?”

As the man shrugged and his scarlet eyes curled, he kissed her.

Should I give them some space? Their actions were reminding me of those from the red light district. With their alluring gazes, here was a man and woman showing off their sensuality with just their gazes and small gestures.

Why the hell was I listening to this conversation when there should be a R-rated sign here? I should head back now. I was sure Soricks should be looking for me by now.

“Uh oh, miss, that road is dangerous.”

“Don’t mind me.”

“Oh my, your voice will be pretty crying on bed… Let’s have a good night together next time. Ack!”

When I looked back, I noticed the woman stepping on the man’s foot.

“Don’t joke around with the child. I don’t associate myself with criminals.”

I heard the brain could make errors when in urgent situations. I regretted comparing Dane to that man who could not tell the difference between jokes and sexual harassment.

‘Let’s hurry back.’

Finding my way back looked easy. However, only a moment later did I realise I made a huge mistake.

‘Hold on, this does not look like the way back…?’

The air here felt dense. I was lost in this maze of alleys. I glanced at the piles of rubbish and trash before pinching my nose.

‘What’s that?’

There was a dark lump on the ground. Once I got used to navigating my dimly-lit surroundings, I gradually managed to make out a face in the dark.

“Is someone there?”

Something fishy and disgusting that felt horribly familiar invaded my nostrils. I wrapped my hand with a tunic before letting out a breath.

‘This stench… Impossible.’

I knew what it was without even looking at it.

“… A corpse.”