Chapter 144: The Note
Charles and the merchant were finally escorted by the clerics to the underground prison, waiting for the Holy Church’s judgment.
Teresa left with them. Just before stepping out, she asked me a rather odd question.
“If one day… you discovered that everyone has been deceiving you, even those you trust the most, your closest friends… Silvya, what would you do?”
I stared at her slightly pale face.
“Why do you ask that?”
Teresa shook her head. “Just answer me. You can choose to stay silent too.”
I didn’t understand the purpose of her question.
But since she asked, I decided to give her a serious answer.
“Um…”
After a moment of contemplation, I arrived at my answer.
“If the deception you speak of doesn’t hurt me or the people I care about? Then… I would just feel sad.”
Teresa nodded and then asked, “What if it does hurt… or could eventually hurt?”
“I would put a stop to it.”
“No matter the cost?”
“No matter the cost.”
“…Good luck.”
After taking two steps away, Teresa turned back.
“I hope we can be friends.”
…Friends?
I thought we already were…
Teresa… is that all you wanted to say?
Long after she left, I stood there in a daze.
The infernal fire in the alley had completely extinguished, leaving only piles of ice and frost, making the air of early spring feel like mid-winter. No one could deal with it, not even me. I’d just have to wait for it to melt naturally… which would probably take a long, long time.
The Sword of Kanli finished checking the goods. They took away all the mixed-up lotus seed grass, and the leftover clothes were sent to the orphanage.
No matter what, the children are innocent. Without this batch of goods, they might not have new clothes for a long time.
When I went to see them today, most of the kids were in really old clothes.
After that, I left the alley with the Sword of Kanli and boarded the war chariot to the royal palace.
I was uneasy on the way back.
Sitting next to me was the vice-captain, Tanis, who looked deep in thought. Her expression wasn’t very bright, and soon after, she let out a soft sigh.
I understood why she felt worried.
Today’s operation was, to put it mildly, a failure. Although we intercepted the goods and caught some heretics, one had even been killed, we were left with almost no new leads, completely disrupting Victoria’s original plan. Our position had shifted from active to passive.
All because of two suddenly appearing kids.
But it was too late now; all we could do was wait. Wait for the captured merchant or Charles to confess and see if we could gather any new intelligence from that. Of course, the premise is that they really were from the Gate of Truth.
“Her Majesty the Queen is definitely going to be mad… another scolding coming my way… this is just awful.”
Tanis murmured to herself, and I turned to stare at her profile, comforting her, “It’s not your fault.”
Simple words didn’t bring a smile back to her face, and Tanis shook her head.
“Her Majesty… only looks at the results.”
She pondered for a moment, suddenly looking as if she remembered something. She turned her head sharply to ask me, “Miss Silvya, did you see what those two kids looked like?”
“No.” I frowned, “They were very dirty, their hair covered their faces.”
As my mind spun, I quickly caught on to what Tanis was implying.
“You mean…”
“Those kids just happened to be there? How coincidental…” Tanis murmured, “There aren’t even any people living in those nearby streets… which kid would wander so far to play… and cover their faces… Marco, Marco!”
She hurriedly stuck her head out of the chariot window, calling out a name loudly. After a moment, a voice with a hooked nose answered from outside.
“What’s up, Vice-Captain?”
“Did you see where those two kids went?”
“No.”
“Go ask others if they saw them. If no one did, get someone to look for them right away… forget it, I’ll go myself.”
With that, Tanis turned back, shouted “Miss Silvya, please go back first” at me, and then leaped out of the carriage, leaving in a rush.
I wanted to join her, but as I moved, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen, making cold sweat bead on my forehead.
…Guess I’ll just go back and rest for a bit.
After Tanis left, there was no one else around, so I didn’t have to hide anymore. Crouching in a corner of the carriage, I pressed my hands tightly against my abdomen, my brows knitting together.
Earlier in the alley, I held the lotus seed grass… at that moment, I really had the impulse to light it up and take a puff.
The reason? Pain.
It hurt so bad! It hurt to the extent that I just wanted to numb myself.
I had been enduring since morning. At first, it was just a slight pulling pain, but then it slowly morphed into an indescribable tugging sensation. By the time I was in the alley, the pain felt as if a big hand was mercilessly squeezing me, and I really couldn’t take it anymore.
This was the first time I truly realized how torturous Aunt Flo could be.
The previous few times, maybe I lacked experience so I was a bit tense. Even though I couldn’t control my temper, my actions were much more restrained. I wouldn’t eat poorly and would bundle myself up tightly when I slept… Then I gradually noticed that this body was quite healthy and didn’t easily succumb to pain, so I relaxed, thinking it was no big deal, and started to play around.
Now, I deeply regret it.
Why couldn’t I control myself? Knowing it was coming, why did I insist on drinking last night…
I desperately tried to distract myself, thinking about those two kids who ran away… they probably wouldn’t be found, right?
In this massive royal city, looking for two kids whose appearances I couldn’t even recall felt like looking for a needle in a haystack… Maybe I should approach it from a more reliable angle…
By the time I got back to Longdoll Street, it was already past noon.
Warm light filtered through the thin clouds and barrier, lazily shining down on me.
The even stone-paved paths were alive with the buzzing of insects and the scent of flowers.
Victoria still hadn’t returned. At this time… she was probably still tangled up in that troublesome advisory council, playing mind games with those fat-headed nobles.
Struggling back to the mansion, I felt a bit hungry, but I was really exhausted, so I just made myself a simple bowl of honey pie.
Cuddling up on the sofa with the pie, I stared blankly at the already cleaned-up living room, taking small bites.
Soon, my eyes began to sparkle with stars, and my sweat-soaked dress clung tightly to my back… it felt a bit uncomfortable.
Really… I felt like I was going to d*e…
Suddenly, a friend from my past life popped into my head: “Girls with period pain are just abandoned angels.”
She had said that while lying pale in bed, and I had laughed at her for being overly dramatic… Ha, little did I know I’d be facing this today. What a karmic retribution.
The pie tasted slightly bitter in my mouth, not delicious at all. I only managed to eat two and a half bites before I couldn’t swallow anymore, and I even felt a bit nauseous, like I might throw up.
Quietly, I tossed the half-eaten pie aside and got up from the sofa, weakly shuffling toward the bedroom.
Might as well take a nap… I don’t even need to change out of my clothes; I’ll just leave my bag by the closet… my bag… oh!
Suddenly, I remembered that Abel had quietly slipped something into my bag.
What could it be?
Opening it, I rummaged inside and pulled out a yellowed little note. Unfolding it, I saw a crooked line of hurried handwriting:
“Tonight, meet at Alik Street alley.”
