Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Toward the Truth
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Meanwhile, the pumpkin carriage carrying Kanibella raced furiously away from the capital. It came to a stop in a forest on the outskirts. She jumped out right away, and with a pop, everything vanished.
The carriage she had ridden in, the dress, the shoes, the accessories—everything.
Even the clothes Lainen had bought her disappeared for some reason. All that remained with her was the small backpack she had when she left the Rasone Kingdom. She slung it over her shoulder and started moving.
‘Where is this?’
She stood in the middle of the forest. It was pitch dark, and the cries of wild beasts echoed around her.
She immediately climbed a tree and gazed at the stars. Lukamin’s advice proved useful in that moment. He had taught her not just swordsmanship but so many other things, including how to survive in the wilderness.
She had barely thought of Lukamin during that stormy week. She swallowed her guilt toward him. How could she get distracted when her loyal subordinate and father figure was suffering who-knows-what?
“Haha…”
Then Lainen came to mind. She recalled the happy week they had spent together. Those days overflowing with a joy she thought she’d never know again in her life. Experiencing new things, enjoying them, learning, and building emotions layer by layer.
…And she remembered the expression he wore when she fled in the carriage.
His eyes swirled with pleading, betrayal, despair—all sorts of negative emotions. She knew those feelings all too well. She felt so sorry for the darkness in his eyes.
But she couldn’t just dream of a future with him recklessly. There was her promise to the little one, of course. Yet if there was one thing she had realized in that week, it was that he had been her respite.
A sanctuary where she could escape her harsh, grueling reality, if only for a little while.
But respite isn’t eternal. Eventually, she had to rise and move forward. If she lingered there, she might abandon her pursuit of her mother’s killer.
That was why she left. Finding the one who caused her mother’s death was her sole purpose in life. She could never give it up.
Yet his final image kept holding her back. His desperately reaching hand kept appearing, and his eyes wouldn’t let her go.
“Lainen…”
She couldn’t sleep. Countless thoughts of Lainen rose and fell. To clear her mind, she stared at the stars overhead. She watched until the darkness receded and the sun rose.
Morning came with the scent of grass and the rustling of animals. The sunlight was dazzling but refreshing. Despite not sleeping a wink, her body felt fine. Confirming no one was around, she climbed down and stretched.
“Time to head out?”
She started walking, using the sun’s position as her guide. This continued for a week. During the day, she walked as far as she could. At night, she climbed a tree to protect herself.
Eventually, a village came into view. She pulled her hood low and entered. It seemed like a fairly large village, bustling with people. She grew wary.
Would they say something about her hood? But looking around, plenty of people dressed similarly, so she relaxed.
“May I see your identification?”
In the Luminir Empire, proving one’s identity with papers was commonplace—not just at borders but even at small places like inns.
‘If not for that little one, I really wouldn’t have been able to settle anywhere.’
She showed the innkeeper the ID the little one had made for her (insisting it was essential for settling down). He held the “polite white stone” to it, and with a beep, a green light appeared.
“Have a good day.”
Nodding curtly at the innkeeper’s pleasantry, she headed to her room. It was worn but clean, which she liked.
She locked the door and lay on the bed. After days of traversing mountains without proper rest or letting her guard down, sleep came easily. She slept until sunset, only coming to when night fell.
Her stomach growled, so she bought some food with her money to fill it and used the inn’s bath service. Washing off the grime lifted her spirits. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out the village map she’d bought before entering the inn.
“Hmm…”
She decided to settle in this village. Its size meant plenty of tourists and strangers, making it hard to remember every face—a clear advantage. And fitting its scale, there was an information shop.
Since she had come here to pursue the truth of her mother’s death, it was time to get serious. She had been chasing leads for three years but made no progress due to scarce information. Now, things could pick up.
The only concern was that not just in the empire but across the continent, all information shops were under the Remiachi family.
‘The Remiachi family allows no rivals when it comes to intelligence.’
On top of that, they were one of the empire’s four great meritorious houses. If they deemed her investigation harmful to the empire, she’d vanish like morning dew on the execution ground before learning the truth.
Gathering information safely while evading their eyes would be tricky.
“What should I do…?”
She racked her brain. How could she uncover the truth of her mother’s case without drawing the Remiachi family’s attention?
‘First, change my appearance.’
She immediately dyed her hair brown and cut it into a bob. Blonde was too eye-catching. Long hair was a noble trait, while commoners lacked time for it, so she went short.
Fortunately, the little one had listed her name simply as “Mariya” instead of “Mariya Emari.” She felt grateful to him for the first time.
‘With the ID, they won’t suspect my identity.’
“Come on in.”
She entered the shop right away. A burly, bearded man with a rough look—the only soul in the dusty place—spoke to her. She stated boldly to him,
“Any chance you’re looking to hire new help?”
The man stared at her, dumbfounded. No hiring notice, and here she was asking if they needed newcomers?
But he quickly hardened his expression. Unlike the many shops nearby, this one had little demand. Far from the capital and no info hub, it was just a precautionary branch.
Suspicious. What was she after? he wondered.
‘This could get troublesome.’
Even with verified ID and her volunteering, he didn’t drop his wary gaze. He even subtly emitted killing intent. It didn’t intimidate her, but it annoyed her.
‘Oh?’
Impressed inwardly by her unflinching demeanor but showing none of it, he said,
“Hey, miss. Do you even know what this place is, making demands like that?”
“It’s an information shop. Run by the Remiachi family.”
“I don’t know exactly who you are, miss, but you don’t seem to have come here with pure intentions.”
“Do I have to start everything with pure intentions?”
She smirked. From the moment she began this path, she had been mired in a sticky swamp. Each step stained with blood on the sharp road of vengeance.
Purity was farther from her than those stars. The chill in her smile made him even less inclined to accept her. But rejecting someone who walked in had no justification.
“Fine, I’ll give you a test. Pass it, and you’re in officially. Fail, and don’t ask again.”
“Deal.”
“What does this village need most? Figure it out any way you can, write a report, and bring it to me within a week. That’s your pass.”
She found it tedious. What had he seen in her to go this far? Still, she nodded. And in just three days, she handed him a neat report.
“Now we’re good?”
“Yeah. Welcome aboard.”
After all that hassle, she finally got her chance. It had taken ages to reach this point. Now to chase the truth.
* * *
Information was mostly used by nobles. Those types were hypersensitive to it—if they didn’t know something first, it itched. And in political battles, what could be more vital than info?
Commoners, meanwhile, rarely even had access. So the customers at this rundown shop were almost all nobles.
From minor background checks to events treated as confidential. Working there with just her and the man, she got to see various levels of info.
Of course, she still couldn’t access the classified stuff. Even as spring turned to summer, she lacked permission to enter his info room.
She was fed up with this suspicious man. Her ID was verified first thing, and she hadn’t acted shady. Yet she hadn’t reached her core goal.
The situation grated on her.
Her foe hid so deep in the shadows that three years yielded no leads. Would they let their info float around? No, they’d bury it.
This was a race against time. Before they erased everything, she had to dig, even if it was fabricated data.
‘Just hold on a bit longer, just a bit…’
The man stared at her working beside him, then mentioned a client and left. Suddenly alone, she gazed at the empty shop. Then the door opened, and a hooded man entered.
He slapped down money and demanded all info on the crown prince. She couldn’t hand her “sanctuary” to this blatantly shady guy. So she mixed some real info into fakes and gave it to him.
“Everything in here is true, right?”
“Of course.”
At her brazen response, he took the papers and left. Once he was gone, the shop owner returned.
“Something happen?”
“Some guy asked for everything on the crown prince, so I gave him scraps. Didn’t touch any secrets, so no worries.”
He smirked and handed her a key—to the warehouse of classified info. That’s when she realized it was all another test.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
After that, she could access the classified archives. By day, she worked the shop with him; by night, she used “sorting files” as an excuse to hole up and investigate the case.
“This isn’t it. Not this either…”
There were many incidents in the Rasone Kingdom from six years ago. But most were useless. Days spent sorting, days judging relevance—all time gone.
“Huh?”
Finally, a faint trace. She glued her eyes to the document.
[The Rasone Kingdom suffered a massive fire of unknown origin six years ago. The queen died in the blaze, and the princess fell into a critical coma. No one knows which faction was involved. Most related parties are dead or missing.
Oddly, the bodies weren’t just fire victims—they were hacked up as if murdered.
The first to report the fire was none other than Lansien, current princess of the Rasone Kingdom.
Count Astro was implicated as the mastermind. Case closed for lack of evidence.]
Lansien suddenly looked very suspicious. Once princess of the Kasir Kingdom, she was demoted to servant when it fell. Yet after this incident—somehow—she seized the princess title.
But as the document said, no proof Lansien orchestrated it. And how could she and Count Astro alone kill the queen? She remembered at least dozens of masked assailants.
‘Besides, Mother never allowed Count Astro private troops.’
Count Astro had betrayed his homeland Kasir before its fall and defected to Rasone. Wary he might betray again, the queen had watched him closely.
‘Anyway, Lansien is too suspicious. I need to write to Lukamin.’
She copied all she’d learned in code only they knew. Back at the inn, she tied the documents to a messenger bird’s leg with a “be careful” note.
Watching it vanish into the night, she clasped her hands.
‘Please let this lead to the truth…’