Once the sun went down, everyone in the castle began to enjoy another great feast to celebrate the king's sister's unexpected return.
"As soon as he opened the chest, the whole floor collapsed and trapped us all in a room full of giant angry spiders!" Ann explained.
Dunha's aunt, Ann Star, was currently talking about one of her adventures.
"What happened next?" Lily asked as she gasped.
"This was not an easy fight..." said Ann. "Our main tank was badly wounded after slaying 10 of them and our healer was running out of mana... It was the first time I thought we might actually be in trouble..." she paused and closed her eyes.
Lily and some of the soldiers held their breath as they continued listening to Ann's story. Meanwhile, Dunha quietly listened to her aunt's story with a smile as she enjoyed a plate of salted pork.
"Haha, I can't believe that I didn't know my aunt was an adventurer in my first life..." Dunha thought. "This would explain why she ended up dying in the Reddy Kingdom of all places... Her luck must've run out during one of her adventures."
Just then, Ann dramatically opened her eyes and slammed the table with her hand, startling Lily and some of the nearby servants.
"BOOM! That's when our mage used what's left of his powers to release a large fireball and cooked those creatures alive!" Ann shouted. "In the end, we survived the attack, we completed the quest and got the money. Ah! We also gave the thief an educational beating before kicking him out of the group for nearly getting us all killed."
Once Ann finished her story, she began to empty her mug while Lily looked at her with admiration.
"Wow..." Lily murmured.
The soldiers and servants also began to cheer with joy after hearing her story.
"Our highness sure is merciful! If it were me, I would've killed that thief long ago!" a soldier laughed.
"Aye, I can agree with that!" another soldier agreed.
While the soldiers laughed, Lily began to jump up and down.
"Is there more? Is there more?" Lily asked. "These stories are so fun!"
"Slow down, Lily," Ann chuckled. "I have plenty of more stories to tell you all. But before that..."
She then looked at Dunha and Lily and smiled.
"In the next few years, I'm planning on going back to the Reddy Kingdom to continue my travels," said Ann. "Are you two perhaps interested--"
She stopped mid-sentence when she felt something menacing behind her. She noticed that the soldiers who were just laughing were suddenly drinking and eating in silence while the servants quickly walked away. Dunha and Lily were also staring at something behind her.
"..."
Cold sweats began to appear on Ann's forehead as she slowly turned around. Seo-Yeon and Clover were standing right behind her.
"Fufufu... We talked about this..." Clover chuckled.
"Oh my... My dear sister-in-law..." Seo-Yeon smiled. "I believe my darling and I already discussed this before..."
Although they were smiling, Ann knew those were not happy.
"I-I was just going to ask them if they were interested in some of the treasures that I've found during my travels!" Ann nervously laughed.
She then proceeded to pull out multiple items from her dimensional pocket. She pulled out various treasures and two particular items caught the interest of Lily and Dunha. Those two items were a silver dagger and an odd-looking yellow plant.
"Wow~!" Lily shouted enthusiastically.
"What is that plant?" Dunha wondered.
"Now, now... No need to rush," said Ann.
She then quickly glanced behind her and sighed in relief when she noticed Seo-Yeon's and Clover's aura began to calm down.
"Phew... The last thing I want to see is Seo-Yeon getting angry..." Ann thought. "I barely recovered from her mood swings when she was pregnant with Dunha..."
After signing in relief, Ann asked Seo-Yeon where Henry was.
"By the way, where's my brother?" Ann asked.
"My darling? Ah..." Seo-Yeon murmured.
Seo-Yeon paused for a second with a concerned expression.
"He's... busy at the moment," said Seo-Yeon.
She then leaned closer to Ann and whispered something in her ear. Ann's eyes opened wide in shock.
"One of them got killed?!" Ann whispered back. "How is that possible?"
"That's all I know for now," said Seo-Yeon. "Let's talk about this later when the kids are asleep."
While it seemed like Dunha was looking at the gifts her aunt brought, she was actually trying to listen to her mother's and aunt's conversation.
"I think I heard them talk about someone getting killed," she thought. "Is this related to those idiots at the alleyway?"
Just then, Lily tapped Dunha's shoulder.
"?"
"What are you going to pick?" Lily asked. "I picked this!"
She was holding a small silver dagger that had its handle encrusted with sparkling jewels. This caused Dunha to chuckle.
"Pfft, first or second life, some things don't change," Dunha thought. "Even in my first life, she picked a bronze dagger as her 7th birthday gift..."
"It's so pretty..." said Lily as she stared at the dagger in delight.
"Well, at least you don't have to worry about werewolves and vampires attacking you," Dunha joked.
When she turned around, her mother and aunt were finished talking.
"Damn it, I didn't properly hear anything... Oh well, it's too late to regret it... Let's just hope it wasn't anything important," Dunha thought. "Now let's see... What should I pick?"
She looked around the remaining items to pick something and the strange yellow plant caught her attention.
"I heard that the Reddy Kingdom is known for their exotic wildlife. I guess this is one of them," Dunha thought.
She chose the yellow plant.
I'll pick this one!" said Dunha. "It looks weird but its grassy smell is good."
"You both have good taste!" Ann smiled happily. "That's the dagger I got from a pirate captain that I slew when he and his crew tried to capture my ship."
"Really?!" Lily shouted with excitement as her tail began to move around.
"What about this plant?" Dunha asked.
"Ah, that? When I defeated the pirates with my crew, we looted their ship and found that plant in a chest," Ann explained. I'm not sure why someone would put a pot in a chest but I assumed it might be valuable so I brought it with me."
When Seo-Yeon heard that, she quickly walked towards her daughter and picked up the plant.
"Sorry sweetie, let mama take a look at this for a second..." said Seo-Yeon.
Her eyes suddenly changed from brown to purple as she examined the plant. After a few seconds, she returned the plant to her daughter.
"It's not poisonous," said Seo-Yeon.
"What? Did you think I'd give this to the kids if it was poison ivy or something?" Ann frowned.
"Knowing you for years... You never know," Seo-Yeon retorted. "Remember the herb incident?"
For a brief second, Ann did not say anything and only licked her lips.
"Haha... Alright, you got me there..." Ann chuckled. "But it wasn't out of malice, it was truly an accident back then."
Just then, someone wrapped their arm around her shoulders. It was Clover who was holding a large mug.
"Relax. Lots of accidents and tragedies happened during that damn war, Ann. But it's all in the past now and I think we had enough time to move on from it," Clover smiled. "There's no point in sulking over what happened back then. Instead, let's enjoy our lives while we still can, and let's also hope that the future does not end in disaster for any of us here."
Ann and Seo-Yeon were briefly stunned by what Clover said.
"Wow... That's surprisingly deep," said Ann.
"Well, losing a husband, brother, and a leg will make you look at life differently," Clover chuckled as she emptied her mug. "Plus, if you've seen what we had to endure during the... Nevermind... I rather not talk about it."
Clover's smile faded as she slowly lowered her mug. She then looked at Lily who was still staring and playing with the dagger which caused her to grin once more. She also realized that she caused the atmosphere to become awkward.
"Well, I didn't mean to kill the mood," she smiled. "So let's quickly change it."
She then quickly grabbed another nearby mug and gave it to Ann.
"Care for a good challenge?" Clover grinned. "I believe it's been 3 years."
"Aye, it's been 3 years since I last bested you," Ann smirked.
"It was a draw," Clover laughed. "Let's make this challenge become the tiebreaker."
"Alright, I don't have a problem with that. However..." said Ann before pausing.
She then gave the mug to a nearby servant.
"Get me a brand new mug. There's no way in hell am I going to drink with an already used mug," she chuckled.
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[Henry's Office]
In the king's personal room, two men were currently discussing a certain problem that occurred in the abandoned streets.
"What did you just say?" said Henry.
"One of your men was found dead and another is badly wounded," Blue answered. "He's alive but he's not in his right mind right now, so we're not going to get anything from him."
He then placed a badly damaged helmet on the table.
"Doesn't this look familiar to you?" Blue asked.
"Aye, it does," said Henry as he picked up the helmet. "Back when the assassin struck my daughter's guard, his visor was badly damaged and this helmet looks like it met the same fate."
He then gently put the helmet back on the table before walking away to stare out the window.
"Did they manage to find the man responsible for the murder?" Henry asked.
"No," said Blue. "However, they were able to catch two men related to the killer. After a little interrogation, we know that they're not related to the cult."
Henry took a deep breath.
"He's probably planning on attacking Dunha in the next few days," said Henry. "My guess is that it'll happen during the celebration party."
"And I assume you want me to keep Dunha safe until we catch this guy?" Blue asked.
"Aye," said Henry. "We can't let him get away with murdering one of my men and we can't let him hurt any of my family."
"Hm... Do you have a plan?" Blue asked.
"A trap," Henry grinned.
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[Meanwhile]
In the outskirts of the city, a certain merchant carriage was approaching one of the southern main gates.
"Halt," said a city guard. "State your business."
An elderly man greeted the guards with a smile.
"I'm here to deliver some supplies to the local baker," said the old man.
"Is that so?" said the city guard. "Can I see your identification paper?"
"Of course," said the old man.
He then opened the bag that was next to him and pulled out a piece of paper. Once the city guard received the paper, he began to read it while the other city guards inspected the crates in the carriage.
"Leon Gilson... A merchant from the Foggy Hills... Hm..."
"All clear," another guard shouted. "They're full of flour."
After a few seconds, the city guard returned the paper to the old man.
"Let him through," said the guard. "It's verified."
"Thank you, young man," said the old man. "Have a good day."
As the old man entered the city, the guard noticed a ring with a red gem on the old man's finger. Without many deep thoughts, the city guard shrugged it off and proceeded to inspect the next carriage.
"Nice ring," the guard thought.
That night, the city guards unintentionally allowed a certain dangerous visitor to enter the city.
(To Be Continued...)
2021/11/01