Chapter 70
Chapter 70. Testing And Trial, Part XI
Translator: Khan
Editor Group: Liber Reverie
It didn’t take much time to get from the mansion to the center of the capital, so it was quick to get there. Aria, who got off a little from the square, held Jessie’s hand tightly so as not to fall over the crowd. If she fell alone, she didn’t know what would happen.
Having confirmed that the knight was right behind her, she stepped out into the street with reassurance. He was so nervous, but fortunately, he seemed to have been in good shape.
“Miss! Look at this!”
Who had hesitated when she had asked her to go? Jessie ran around excitedly like a fish in the water. She was very cute, shining her eyes on the coarse ornaments and dolls. There were tens of thousands of times more precious and beautiful things in the mansion, but why was she greedy for things that were likely to be broken in no time?
“Do you like it?”
“Yes! What a cute hairpin.”
“Really?”
Aria, who had been handed a hairpin in her hand, put it back in Jessies’s head. When she saw only one, it was so crude, but when she put it in her head, it was worth seeing. Maybe it went well with her plain clothes without decoration.
“It looks better than I thought. I’ll buy this one. How much is it?”
“Miss!”
Aria pulled the wallet out of Jessie’s inside pocket. Jessie stopped her very hard, but she didn’t want to scuffle it with her because of a hairpin that only cost ten shillings, so she quickly paid it and walked away.
“It’s too much for me, miss…”
“Jessie, you have to say ‘thank you’ when someone gives you a gift.”
“But…”
“I can’t help it if you show such dissatisfaction in your look. I have no choice but to throw away the hairpin.”
Aria warned her lowly in imitation of the wicked woman who had harassed her. But instead of being surprised, however, Jessie smiled, giving a little bit of strength to the hand she held against Aria.
“Then thank you, miss. I’m so glad.”
“It would be nice if you said that at first.”
Now she seemed perfectly unafraid of Aria. She had given Annie, who had been Mielle’s maid not long ago, a festive holiday, and had accompanied Jessie for a walk.
Moreover, the intention was impure, but there was a time when she had given a brooch made of gold and given a break when there had been nothing to do. Although she might still be called a wicked woman in the public, for them she was like a saint.
Presenting some of Jessie’s eye-catching ornaments and dolls, she walked a little and came to the square. On the stage set in front of the fountain, performances continued from morning to evening.
Aria, who watched the old man sing for a gentle melody, bought street food for sale in the corner. Because she bought the two, they thought that those foods were for Jessie and herself, but the destination of the food was for the knight and Jessie.
“What about you, miss?”
“Do you think I will eat this kind of food?”
She couldn’t have eaten it because she hadn’t had money in the past, but it wasn’t now.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“Yes, I had too much tea earlier.”
The knight looked puzzled as he did not know that she would take care of his share. If he were a knight from the nobility, it could be, but not many nobles cared about a knight from the common people. He bowed his head and apologized as she clicked her tongue because she was so unhappy when he alternately looked at between the food and herself.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be glad to eat.”
Aria, who nodded to the knight’s reply, sat down and watched the performance where the stage was clearly visible. Spring came, and the gentle wind and warm sun seemed to cover the cold weary heart. As she listened to the sound of the song with her eyes closed, she remembered the past when had been poor and lonely.
She had used to feel happy when she had heard a song from afar on the festival day… Unlike now, she had been totally lacking in everything, but her heart had not been in any discomfort.
‘Can I be happy to live like this?’
Life couldn’t be happy to ruin someone. But there was no other option. It was the greatest joy to live to ruin Mielle.
Aria shook her head. Yes, it was clear that God gave a second life for revenge, not necessarily a second one for happiness. Therefore, it was right to wish for the destruction of the saint, not of her own happiness.
As she tried to turn away from the past by grasping her broken heart, a shadow fell on her head. As she raised her head to wonder who dared to block the view, there was a little familiar face there now.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You’re…!”
“I see you more often than I thought.”
Asher smiled softly and replied. At first, he met her at the general store, then at the jewelry shop. He had always embarrassed and troubled Aria. Aria didn’t like Asher, especially those blue eyes staring at her as if he knew everything.
“Have you come for a walk?”
“…”
‘Do I really have to answer back to him?’ Aria glanced beside her at the waiting knight. He showed a stiffly strained shoulder and his right arm ready to attack the opponent at any time. Only then did Aria, who was a little relieved, nod. She thought it would be better to have a cold reply and send him away quickly.
“So did I. The festival of the common people is full of energy.”
“I understand what you mean. I thought so, too. But all of a sudden, it didn’t.”
The festival, which had been sentimental and quite enjoyable until now, quickly turned out not to be so. The knight who was eating was very nervous, and Jessie was shaking in surprise when she recognized the man.
‘Isn’t it really the worst?’ Every time she met him, she felt uneasy, and she only wanted him to understand and disappear.
“Oh, I see.”
Unlike Aria’s wishes, Asher smiled at her attitude as if he felt a wall and it was funny. He was like a child holding the candy he had been waiting for. He had a child’s expectant face, knowing how much the content would please him.
“I can’t help it then.”
‘Does he mean that he will step down?’ She looked up at him with a heart that desired to escape quickly, but he did not take his eyes away from Aria’s jeweled eyes for a while.
‘What the hell is he doing? What’s his intention?’
She couldn’t understand him paying much attention to her as she had nothing he could use.
Of course, for Aria, the attention and goodwill of men were the same as the air, so it was very natural for strangers to talk, but this man in front of her was a little different.
‘I’m sure there’s something he wants…’
It was not Aria’s love or interest. She couldn’t quite figure out what made this man’s eyes shine.
Like the eyes of a prey-seeking beast, Aria faced him, unable to avoid his eyes. By the time she felt that his blue eyes were somehow getting darker and darker, a man who seemed to be his party approached.
“Mr. Asher.”
He was the one who had overpowered John and Paul the other day. He had instantly incapacitated the two knights in that narrow space. It would have been impossible for him to do so without sufficient strength. Suddenly, the fear of the moment was resurrected, and as soon as she was about to get goosebumps, Jessie also grabbed Aria’s sleeve.
“Miss…”
‘It’s dangerous.’ Jessie must be thinking so. And it was the same with Aria. There had never been much harm, and she didn’t think their status would be too high, but the atmosphere was dangerous. Asher did not move at all even though his name was called.
“… what should I do?”
When Asher did not take his eyes off Aria, the man who arrived late drew his ears to Asher’s face. Then Asher whispered in his ear as if he had waited, and the companions who had come to him quickly disappeared back into the crowd.
“I have become a loner because my party has a business to do.”