Chapter 150: The Old Servant
The long night stretched on, with flickering lights dotting the horizon.
The September night breeze had turned chilly, rustling through the grass and trees of Stag Town. Along the perimeter of the central square, chaotic Tavijis fruit trees danced in the wind. The roads leading to the square were already jam-packed with people, their shoulders brushing against each other, and the crowd had spilled out into the overgrown weeds beyond the cobblestones. Farther ahead, the bonfire-lit stage was completely out of sight.
But the cold wind couldn’t extinguish the citizens’ soaring spirits. The cacophony rose and fell in the heart of town as people donned their cloaks against the wind, eagerly craning their necks. All around, the bright flames illuminated countless homes and sharply defined the silhouette of the church.
On the roads south leading to the leather workshop, many had clambered onto the rooftops, some sitting, some standing, pointing at the stage and loudly laughing over their drinks. The entire town buzzed with an infectious energy.
As time passed, the atmosphere grew even more electric. Finally, amidst a thousand shouts and calls, a torch-bearing fellow leaped about with nimble footwork. To the thunderous cheers of the crowd, he bounded onto the high platform at the square’s center. He spat a finger of flame toward the bonfire, and the bright light burst forth with a booming sound. The crimson curtain was flung up by the gust, fluttering skyward before floating down. A male performer, dressed in princely theatrical garb, made a grand entrance, and the much-anticipated show was finally underway.
The first act told the tale of a noble prince from Silgaya who fell in love with a shepherdess.
Once upon a time, a prince fell for a shepherdess during his travels, but the evil black wizard, who had long been eyeing the kingdom, cast a curse on her, turning her into a wooden puppet. From then on, the kingdom was plagued with constant rain, and to save his beloved, the prince set off to slay the black wizard. After enduring countless hardships, he finally chopped off the wicked wizard’s head, the rains stopped, but the shepherdess would forever remain asleep.
The prince never married for his lost love, and hundreds of years after his d*ath, the shepherdess was worshipped by the townsfolk in a small rural chapel. Until one day, the great Mother Deity took notice of her plight, and out of compassion, she lifted the curse, transforming the shepherdess into an angel of the Mother Deity, tasked with safeguarding the people of this land.
It was quite a sorrowful story, but thanks to the humorous antics of the performers, they interspersed the narrative with playful performances and witty lines. Laughter echoed through the central square; for those further away who couldn’t hear, they simply enjoyed it as a pantomime. By the time the scene concluded, applause and cheers erupted.
Tonight, Stag Town was bustling like never before.
So busy that those famine-stricken souls who had fled from the southern lands had forgotten they had lost their homes, their lands, and even their wives and children. They reveled in the comfortable joy of the moment, as if the bloodshed and chaos from the south was just a distant daydream.
On the western side of the square’s bell tower, I sat cross-legged atop the stone platform with a bag of sweet cakes I’d just bought and a water bag filled with juice beside me. Looking down at the noisy crowd, I slowly munched away. Feeling a bit dry, I unscrewed the water bag and took a small sip.
Before long, the second act began.
That woman still hadn’t taken the stage.
The bell tower was on the high side of the central square, about twenty meters from the stage. Unlike the typical dome or spire, the top of the tower was flat and made of bricks, providing a spacious platform that obscured my view from below. The townsfolk couldn’t see me, while I had a clear view of the stage, making it a perfect lookout point.
My mission tonight was simple: sit here, keep an eye on the woman, and wait for the Jester to show up.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one with such a mission…
I could clearly see the play on stage. Although the din made it hard to catch the performers’ lines, I wasn’t there to watch the performance; I had little interest and lacked the desire to sit back and enjoy.
Ever since stepping out of Daniel’s old house, certain thoughts had been swirling in my mind like a tornado. No matter how hard I tried to distract myself, I couldn’t help but think, my thoughts a jumbled mess, unable to find peace.
And the words that woman had said to me kept surfacing, refusing to fade.
bl**d Pearl, Land of Dragons, ruins, Divine Reliquary, the Children of Cataloma… their bl**d…
The southern lands, war, the dead…
From any angle, the actions of the Gate of Truth were brutal, irredeemable, almost mad. The situation in the southern lands showed that those loathsome Heretics… some of them had no faith at all; they merely reveled in their wickedness, finding joy in their heartless deeds.
It seemed for those lunatics, like the Sixth Council Member, their war was merely a m*rder fest, delighting in d*ath and torture. They came to the Western Continent, trampling one village after another, killing every living thing in sight, like beasts.
As for the Jester, I hadn’t seen him yet, but I suspected he might be the most heartless of them all…
Yet that woman, no matter how much I hated her, wanting to k*ll her, there was one thing I had to admit… she was different from those lunatics.
Even if Daniel had told me that the gruesome, inhumane acts I witnessed were likely orchestrated by her…
I despised her for that…
But she was definitely no madwoman.
She was different from the Jester and those people.
She had conviction.
She had…
A hope she would achieve even if it meant being shattered to pieces.
…I knew it was absurd.
But during our brief conversation, that was the feeling she left me with.
It felt as if a brutal, cold-blooded murderer suddenly revealed herself to be surprisingly virtuous, and those people weren’t actually her victims… It was a scenario that would only happen in third-rate TV dramas, making viewers exclaim, “Really? This can wash her clean? The screenwriters must have lost their marbles!” Could something so outrageous truly exist in reality?
…How ridiculous.
Though laughable, it was an inescapable thought.
That woman…
What did she really mean when she spoke to me…?
Such a mess…
“Creak, creak…”
I bit into another sweet cake, shaking my head vigorously.
No…
I shouldn’t be thinking about this…
Those were just the words of the Heretic, I couldn’t let her influence me, absolutely not…
But…
Daniel’s attitude toward this matter and his reaction after hearing I met that woman seemed… a bit odd…
…Odd?
What did he know—
“Good evening, Miss Silvya.”
!!!!
As the voice called my name, I jumped up from the tower’s peak like a startled cat, blanking out momentarily. My scalp felt like it was exploding, my eyes lit up with a blue glow, and with a frost-covered fist roaring through the wind, I instinctively swung backward!
Whoosh—
“Miss, please calm down.”
A shaky yet calm voice echoed again. Just as my punch rushed forward, a small black figure darted aside as if it were a ghost, narrowly dodging my blow and standing three meters away, stooped over, coughing lightly twice: “I mean no harm.”
Looks like an old man…
“Who are you?”
As the dim blue glow in my eyes faded, I frowned and asked.
An old man could sneak up on me without a sound…
“I’m Sebastian, Miss Meiser’s old servant. I was sent to report a few things to you.”
…He’s one of that woman’s people.
She has subordinates in town!? Did Daniel know about this…
Shock crept into my heart as I instinctively clenched my fists: “Heretics?”
“No need to be tense, Miss Silvya. Miss Meiser bears you no malice; she’s busy preparing for the upcoming performance, and I’m merely here to share some information about the Jester.”
…Information about the Jester?
Is he here to make peace and share intel with me?
No, I couldn’t trust a Heretic…
“How do you know I’m here?”
I frowned and asked again, my vigilance unwavering.
“Miss, ever since you met with Miss Meiser, I’ve been watching you from the shadows.” The old man’s tone was steady, as if he were stating the most mundane fact.
But my eyes widened in shock.
“You’ve been following me?”
“Yes, that is part of my duty. If I have offended you, I apologize.”
…Sure, I’ll accept your fatherly apology.
This old geezer…
He was watching me all this time, and I hadn’t noticed… no, even Daniel hadn’t noticed. He must have seen me enter that old house…
d*mn it…
Creepy Heretics…
“What do you want?”
“Nothing sinister, just wishing to share a few things regarding the Jester. Miss Meiser thinks you may be underestimating the Jester’s strength, so she specifically asked me to come and remind you.”
“…Why?”
What kind of joke is this? Isn’t the Jester on their side?
Is it possible that the woman saying she wanted to k*ll the Jester wasn’t lying to me… but was serious?
Shivering slightly from the cold wind, the old man adjusted the sleeves of his rough cotton clothing and buttoned the top. His white hair danced in the breeze, and he brushed it back with his hand: “Miss Meiser believes that to smoothly complete tonight’s performance without disturbances, it’s vital to prevent the Jester from finding an opportunity to disrupt things before then. She wouldn’t want to see chaos unfold among the people.”
“……”
I found myself momentarily speechless.
She certainly doesn’t hold the church in high regard…
“What’s in it for you to k*ll the Jester?”
I asked so bluntly because I wasn’t sure what to say to him anymore. I didn’t want to take his word easily, nor did I wish for him to be as roundabout as the woman, so I went straight to the point, hoping to see his reaction.
“Eradicating villains.” The old man replied solemnly.
Then he seemed to smile: “If I say this, you probably won’t believe me, so just consider it as internal conflict within our Gate of Truth, and since Miss Meiser’s goals happen to align with yours, she wishes to assist the church in this endeavor… Can’t you think of it like that?”
He paused: “Miss, I think… in tonight’s situation, having one less strong enemy and one more powerful ally, allowing the Jester to perish quietly, would avoid exacerbating issues and calm the populace. For the church, it would be a total win with no downside, right? Once the Jester is dead, you could proclaim the victory of this war.”
