Chapter 16

Our carriage proceeded towards the village at the base of Mt. Broke in high spirits.

As we got nearer, I thought it would draw too much attention if we arrived riding a carriage adorned with the emblem of the Crescente household.

Instead, I had the carriage drop us off before we arrived and walked the rest of the way.

Leah and the escort didn’t seem to know the independent store was part of the Magnolia Merchant Company, but I was wary Marianne might. To make sure she didn’t get wind of this, I gave the escort a silver coin together with a warning.

“Please keep my visit to this store a secret, especially from my mother. I don’t want her to find out in particular.

“You mean… the Lady of the House?

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that she’ll be ill at ease if she finds out that the Young Miss of the household is visiting clothing stores for commoners.”

The escort looked at me suspiciously. Receiving a tip, while being asked to keep a trivial matter like a clothing store visit a secret seemed dubious to him.

I hurriedly handed him another silver coin. He quickly pocketed this piece and said, “I understand. I will do so.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The escort cleared his throat, which made me grin. Since it will take us a while, I suggested he could join us and buy himself a set of clothes as well. He said it would be best if he didn’t know too much about the store so he’d rather wait for our return nearby.

Just in case we ran into someone we knew, I veiled my face and entered the store with Leah. The store was bustling with people and activity.

“There are so many customers.”

“I hear people from neighboring villages also come here to shop.”

Leah tilted her head at my comment. Even if the scale of the store was slightly bigger, it was just like any other clothing store. She seemed to find it strange that people would come here all the way from neighboring villages. But that doubt was resolved.

“Ah, Miss! The clothes here are so cheap!”

“Yes, it seemed like it.”

“How did you find a place like this?”

“Someone I know introduced it to me.”

When she figured out that I didn’t want to speak about this in detail, Leah didn’t ask any further. Instead, she called an employee nearby asking for recommendations.

When I saw the employee who was leisurely watching the store approach Leah, my heart skipped a beat.

It’s the store manager!

Calling the store manager for recommendations, when did my handmaid become so audacious…? But of course, Leah didn’t know he was the store manager…

“Le – Leah. There are too many people, I feel a little dizzy. I’ll step out for a little bit and come back.”

“Sorry? Then, I too shall – ”

“N – No. You check out the clothes. I am fine.”

I slipped some coins into Leah’s hand to cover the cost of the clothes and hurriedly left the store. As I walked away, I heard the store manager say, “How can I help you?”

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath when I was outside. I wondered if it would’ve been better if I told her beforehand not to treat me like a Young Miss while in the store… That way there wouldn’t have been any problems.

There was a big possibility the store manager remembered my face. Letting Mr. Ken find out I belong to an aristocratic family was not an option.

If he did, it would easy for him to find out my real identity and confirm that I was Adrianna Crescente.

“Maybe I should take a little walk.”

I decided to wander around the streets and return around the time Leah finished picking her clothes, so I called the escort waiting nearby and started walking.

The village, located at the foot of Mt. Broke sat at a slightly higher ground than the others.

The hazy mist thickened as I got closer to the mountain. Fascinated by the mist, my feet moved in that direction.

As I got closer to the mountain, the fragrance of the dense forest slowly became stronger. The air was filled with the refreshing smell of vegetation that you can never smell in the heart of the capital city. I wondered if this was the reason why the faces of villagers here appeared to be overflowing with vigor and vitality.

These were scents I was familiar with in my past life. I lifted my veil, to allow myself to enjoy this olfactory delight a little better.

Immersed in this natural perfume, I stopped walking and sat on the stump of a tree.

Unexpectedly, I heard the conversation of two seniors passing by.

“A few days ago, this place was bustling but it’s so quiet now. I suppose they must’ve wrapped up all their work?”

“That’s what I heard. They were saying something like they dug up an enormous jewel from this mountain.”

That ‘enormous jewel’ could very well be the Magic Stone. I wanted to hear more so I listened harder.

Suddenly, a young boy ran towards us. He looked like he was using every ounce of his energy to run that his face had turned deathly pale.

“Monster attack! Everyone, run! Hurry!”

Monster…?

Monster attack…?

Indeed, the shape of the monster coming this way from afar started to appear little by little. My mind went blank in terror at the prospect of coming face-to-face with the monster. People around me were already running helter-skelter.

“Miss! We have to leave this place immediately!”

“I know!”

I came to my senses and got up from the stump right away. My legs were shaking, but that wasn’t important now. We had to run away.

ROAR!

The frightening sounds of the monster started getting closer.

Running with a body that had no athletic ability while wearing high heeled shoes impeded my speed.

Since I wasn’t out on a secret trip today, I was appropriately dressed as an aristocratic Young Miss – my clothes and shoes were unsuitable for physical activities.

I took them off and tossed my shoes and picked up the hem of my dress. My dress was originally floor-length. Taking my shoes off made it drag even more.

I didn’t look back but judging from the sound, the monster was getting closer.

The escort looked at me with an impatient expression because I was too slow.

I was running slower than the rest because of my awkward clothes and lack of stamina. If I kept that up, I’d be in trouble.

“Miss, could you please run a little faster?”

“I am not running slowly on purpose, you know?”

Ah! I felt a sharp pain on the sole of my foot. I must’ve stepped on something pointy. The wound must be deep because every time my foot touched the ground, I felt a throbbing pain.

It was not the best time to stop running, but I had to check the state of my foot. It must’ve been a deep cut because blood was gushing out. I started feeling dizzy.

“Sir, what do we do? I just cannot run anymore — ”

I turned my head around, but the escort was nowhere to be found.

“Oh.”

I burst into empty laughter. He abandoned me and ran away by himself? Given the pandemonium, even if I was determined to look for him by searching through the crowd, I won’t be able to find him. So, I gave up on that idea.

The monster sounded even closer. Am I going to die here today?

Just because I’ve died once, it didn’t mean I was unafraid of death. Even though I didn’t remember my death during my past life vividly, I did have a dim recollection of the feelings and sensations of dying.

It was painful, scary, distressing, and cold.

That feeling, as I was taking my last few breaths, was terribly lonely.

– Growl…!

The moment I turned, I came face-to-face with a wolf-like monster. The monster bared its sharp fangs threateningly.

I wondered if I’d be bitten and torn-apart to death. It’d be good if it happened quickly. My body was shaking like quaking aspen trees.

The monster opened its jaws and ran towards me. I stood still and tightly shut my eyes.

Clang-

Riiip!

Instead of pain, I felt warm liquid splatter across my face and body. Wh – what kind of situation was this?

I was still shaking. I was so terrified I clenched my fists tightly but I decided to take a peek.

The monster was lying on the ground and a man was standing over it.

“Are you okay?”

I’d seen him before. He was wearing black clothes, his pointed ears peeking out from his hair.

Even while he asked me about my condition, the Crown Prince of the Demon kingdom never stopped attacking with his sword.

It was an unbelievable sight. The blade of the magic sword that cut the skin of the monster, was shining fiercely.

Was this a dream?

Whatever was transpiring in front of me right now, didn’t seem real. The fact that my life was saved and that this man was standing before my eyes was surreal.

I resented the feeling of being chased by the monster, a feeling which was too vivid to even be considered a dream. Now, however, I felt lightheaded because all the tension had left my body.

I dazedly stared at the figure of the Crown Prince. He continuously pierced and cut the body of the monster who chased me. The blood of the monster soaked his clothes and splattered across his face.

Gradually, the monster’s movements were getting feebler and feebler. I recovered my composure and looked around.

Aside from the Crown Prince, there were other demon soldiers who were also fighting the monster. Bits and pieces of its body parts were scattered all over the street.

The monster leaped on one side, which was a mistake. It was acting so recklessly it failed to block the sword of the demon who acted deliberately and methodically. In the end, all that was left was a pile of cut-up body parts.

The stench emanating from the carcass gradually permeated my nose to the point where it felt like my nose would be paralyzed.

“Mr. Vergarde.”

When the remains of the monster were mostly taken care of, a light-green haired man with hollow, sunken cheeks approached the Crown Prince. It seemed the name of the Crown Prince was Vergarde.

This demon man was following the Crown Prince closely behind in the Black Town. Even then, his face appeared to be full of tiredness.

“The monster from the mountain has been mostly handled.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Kiel. Those who attacked the village had also been taken care of.”

Vergarde, who showed me no interest besides asking me how I was earlier, silently continued to cut the monster. Suddenly, his gaze turned towards my direction. His chilly gaze made me instinctively curl my body to make it appear smaller.

“Are you able to get up on your own?”

I had fallen on the ground without my knowledge. Hearing his words, I tried to get up but it didn’t go too well.

I had lost all strength in my legs and the wound on the sole of my foot didn’t help either.

“You must be wounded. Kiel, you should be able to treat it, right?”

“Absolutely.”

The man with hollow cheeks, who was just addressed as Kiel, sat before me and held my ankle to look at the wound. With his other hand, he covered the sole of my injured foot.

White light spilled out of Kiel’s hand and the pain in the sole of my feet slowly vanished.

Was he using healing magic…?

“How does it feel? Does it feel okay?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes… It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

I stared at the man in front of me, feeling absurd. I was fascinated by how my wound healed immediately. It was a rather big wound.

“It’s closed up but hasn’t perfectly healed yet.”

There was a faintly visible cut mark on the sole of my foot, just as he mentioned. Additionally, I could also feel a slight ache. Of course, if you compare it to before I received the treatment, the pain was negligible.

“Most of all, it bled profusely. My treatment cannot replenish the blood you’ve already lost. I highly recommend that you eat healthy and rest well.”

“Yes…”

Kiel raised his head to indicate his work was done and returned to Vergarde’s side. Vergarde turned and spoke to Kiel.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“Just – a moment please…!”

Vergarde’s steps came to a halt upon hearing me shout.

“What is it?”

“I… There’s something I want to ask.”

This was a matter I had no prior knowledge of.

Around this time, in “The Story of Ramona”, the condition of the Kalin Kingdom was not mentioned. During this period, Ramona’s party diligently attended the Academy in Arsentia and received requests.

But what’s this strange uncomfortable feeling?

“Perhaps… I don’t want to think this way, but – ”

The Magic Stone at Mt. Broke was mined just a few days ago. Around the same time, a monster ran amok and on that very same spot where the stone was taken, the demons appeared.