First Village
We exited the cursed forest in the evening. After the incident with the devil no one needed Matt's words to spur us forward. We ran our horses for what they were worth. A steady pace mind you, as a gallop will only exhaust them prematurely. It was only as we had the plains outside the forest in sight that we galloped. Sighs of relieve followed and a glance back, then we were riding on. It was not long that we found a highway. There Celestine found the courage to ask, "What was that?"
All eyes turned to Matt. The veteran adventurer frowned. "If earth knows, I do not!" He said. "I'll rather we hurry to the closest town before night. Listen to me now,"
"Fair enough," Celestine shrugged and we continued in silence. I fell in thought as we went. At this point in the story not much people in the world knows of the devils so it's not surprising that Matt doesn't know too. Still, a devil in V'alkre, how interesting. I could only thank god I am going to Crystalis to study, I don't want anything to do with does creatures. I knew this verdict was a 'blessing in disguise!'
Night fell before we reached the village. It sat atop a hill, and from the distance it was marked by lamp lights from windows. We were greeted by three village guards who took us for brigades at first, but they let us in after explanation. I couldn't make out their faces as the clouds shrouded the moonlight this night. But the leader called himself Paul.
Paul was a rather big man with a loud cheerful voice. We dismounted at the gate par his instruction and led our horses through the village of wooden houses. The village was not asleep this early and the people gathered to watch us head towards the only inn in the village.
"Say where did you come from?" Paul asked. "You almost gave little bro a scare riding into first village this late."
"We come from green ports," Matt answered smoothly, "The noble children's father is to marry a second wife at Kaitlyn Storms. Their mother paid me to hurry them there."
"Nobles get to marry many wives, how envious," one of the other guys said.
"Merchants too," the third one pointed. "Wealth is indeed incredible,"
"I wonder," Paul shook his head. "Maya will never let me do that even if I was a noble,"
You'll have a peaceful life too I suspect, I thought derisively.
The inn was a quiet one storey building with only two bedrooms free upstairs, even though only one was occupied by any other traveler. The other knights will find somewhere to sleep but I will sleep in the same room as Matt, and the girls in the other. The knights helped us with our luggage, and, as I was sorting my stuff on the bed Matt spoke to me. "What do you think lord Coldfire?" he asked.
He said lord but made it sound like 'brat'. I am an annoying 'brat' so fair game. I looked up at him sitting on the other bed. "What do you mean?"
"You know," he shrugged. "Will the princess let you marry another woman in the future, you think?"
I frowned. Growing up, at some point, people started expecting me and Celestine to get married in the future, but is this a question you should ask a child? Guess I am not that young in this world's standard. The knight laughed at my silence and left the room to dinner, urging me to hurry with my business and join him. But his words gave me something to think about.
I don't know where you come from on earth, but you might know marrying first cousins is accepted on some part of the world and forbidden in others; that's the same in Aliye. But V'alkre is one of those kingdoms that accepts it, in fact it's even encouraged. Now I can stand here and lie that there's an obstacle that will prevent me from marrying Celestine if I want, but that'd be a big lie.
I might say big boss Viktora will be against it, but the woman just has a sly smile when she speaks of Celestine to me, like an adult that thinks they know something about a situation like that and loves it.... That kind of thing, ah. The only obstacle I can imagine is if Celestine grows up with looks or a personality I dislike, at that point not even boss lady can force me into a marriage. I made that vow as i went down for dinner.
In the morning while having breakfast in the common room Matt informed us that we'll be staying here for a day before we move on tomorrow. Celestine asked him if we'd be in time for the entrance exam and he said 'yes with a week too!'
After dinner I found myself unusually alone. Celestine had left first, before Matt, then Cvela had gone to check on her. The little princess has hijack my slave as her servant on this journey. I frowned at that thought, upset even though I didnt know why. I might be a petty human being I suspect. Well I might as well look around the village. Since being reborn in this world I have been mostly sequestered in the Highvoid mansion then the Coldfire castle where I grew up, and never really got the chance at witnessing the normalcy of Aliye.
That's how I found myself walking through the village. It was an interesting place. These people acted different from those in the castle. In the castle everyone wears a mask of courtesy and class, but here smiles are realer, and even those that don't, have genuine nervousness. You know even though I can't read minds I can read emotions; I felt like it was the first time in my life that the emotions on a person's mind matches their mind and I was hooked to it like an addict on a drug. I read this guy's emotions and this woman's face. It was as I was doing that that I felt a mind that was just quiet wonder like the rest before blossoming into surprise and fear.
My head snapped to the direction. It was a blond woman by a house. Immediately she noticed me watching her her eyes widened in panic and she rushed into the house. I wanted to walk away but my legs wouldn't move, something told me to investigate this; the spike of surprise and fear was too much for anything casual. Even now she paces up and down in panic in the house trying to decide what to do. Ignoring the people around I made a beeline towards the house. Of course even being a child I am a noble so my wish was law to lowborns, no one questioned me.
The room lacked most furniture beside the table and chairs in the center, shelves lined the walls though, where potteries were kept. The woman froze when I entered the house and drew back to the wall in fright as if she saw a vampire. "What's wrong commoner?" I asked but got no reply beside the shake of her head. I frowned getting annoyed, I need to get into her head to find out what's the meaning of this. "What's your name?" She shook her head and said nothing. "What's with you?! Why won't you respond? If you don't answer this very second you'll rather wish you were dead," Yeah turns out I am an evil noble.
The woman shook her head for the third time, but this time spoke, though shakily. "You'll posses me if I tell you."
"Oh," I let out, stunned. She knows my ability. Damn, behold reader, the random villager knows. How? No I have to use my mind here, what do we have here?; she's blond, beautiful, in her mid thirties, tall too and busty, a villager and could read me... "Presila," I said, and her eyes widened in horror. 'You'll not scream,' was the first command I gave. Next I commanded her to be always truthful to me, be unable to hurt, betray, or tell anyone what she read about me, and lastly I asked. "What did you see anyway?"
"That you are reincarnated like a mythical hero or villain. But there's no way a hero did get that sick power of yours; is this it, are you possessing me?"
"Why do you keep saying possessing?"
"Because you occupy another's mind don't you? Please leave me alone I won't tell!"
"I know," I replied. "I will go now not to raise too much suspicion, but we are not done here. You'll answer some of my questions later, ah," Then I slipped out of the house. The villagers were gossiping about why the noble kid enter Presila's house. Did he go to rape her? Hey isn't he too young for that? No he isn't. I ignored them and decided to head back to the inn and think. Wasn't I suppose to say and drink? I guess I am still a child.
But... I met Presila. Not a main character or hero but an interesting character nonetheless. You see, Presila has the uncanny ability to read other people. Once she sets her eyes on you she could find our everything about you in the matter of minutes. Though I never expected to see her in such a place and time, it's not that surprising if I think of it. It was said in the novel that she was previously living in a village but relocated to Kingsground after her village was attacked by monsters and her husband died. But at the time I just thought of it as just back story in an interesting yet lacking novel. But now it's my reality.
Ah, my life is really fucked up isn't it?
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