Chapter 15
The Royal Guard was located in the heart of the capital. After passing through the square with the fountain, a low gray building appeared, with a separate wooden structure attached in front. The gray building was the Royal Guard, with its entrance closed and off-limits to outsiders.
“Is this the place?” Regina asked.
Regina and Noah entered the wooden building, where all five doors were open, allowing civilians to come and go freely. Indeed, as befitting the capital, even this wooden building seemed luxurious to Regina. Ceiling fans turned slowly above, and those working behind the counter were dressed in elegant suits.
“Yes, the wanted bulletin board is this way,” Noah said.
The building was bustling with people escaping the late autumn heat, killing time indoors. People who had been standing in front of the bulletin board looking for work made way as Noah passed by. It seemed everyone recognized him.
“…?”
Regina found it strange but focused on looking at the flyers. She was the only one who knew the faces of the runaway maid and coachman, Lily and Hans.
“The flyers about the bandits are over here,” Noah pointed to one side. When she looked, she saw a large number of flyers posted there. Most of them were members of the bandit group called the ‘Red Cat.’
“Recently, there’s been a lot of activity from bandits in the provinces. There sure are a lot of flyers,” Regina remarked, examining the faces one by one. She paused at one drawing.
“Robert was a bandit too,” she said, recognizing the young coachman she had seen in her dream, who had been devoured by the Black Fairy disguised as a maid. Noah glanced at the drawing and tore the flyer off the board.
“Then let’s say we caught this one,” he said.
“Is that okay?” Regina asked, surprised.
“Why not? He’s definitely dead anyway,” Noah replied.
Regina looked at Noah, bewildered, but he nonchalantly took the flyer to the counter. Watching Noah talk to the clerk about the reward, Regina felt confused, unsure if this was really acceptable.
Though she couldn’t hear what Noah was saying to the clerk, soon enough he was holding a money pouch. Returning to her, Noah hummed cheerfully, and Regina asked, tilting her head, “Can you really receive a reward without any proof?”
“No, it’s because ‘I’ said it,” Noah replied.
“Did you use an illusion or something?” Regina asked skeptically, narrowing her eyes. Noah clicked his tongue, as if it were absurd.
“Do you think illusions are a catch-all solution? They can’t be used all the time,” he said.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. This is what you call trust,” Noah said, tossing and catching the money pouch lightly, mocking her. Annoyed, Regina turned her head away, pouting.
“So, did you find your maid and coachman?” Noah asked.
“Uh… not yet.”
Regina wondered if Noah intended to take their reward money as well. She felt uneasy, but Noah urged her on with a brazen face.
“Hurry up. We don’t have all night.”
“…”
Muttering to herself, Regina continued to scrutinize the bulletin board and stopped at one flyer.
“…Lily.”
It was her maid. Despite the heavy makeup altering her image, Regina recognized her quickly. The red hair, slightly drooping eyes, and mole by her eye were unmistakably Lily’s. However, the name written was not Lily but ‘Rose.’
She found Hans’s face right below. He too was using an alias, ‘John,’ on the drawing.
“So their real names were Rose and John.”
Seeing their names made it feel more real. They really were thieves. Lost in thought, staring blankly at the flyer, she suddenly noticed a familiar handwriting on the report below.
-Reporter: Edgar Evelyn.
It was her father’s signature. It seemed the reporter’s signature was required for issuing a wanted notice. Regina carefully reached out and touched her father’s signature with her fingers. He was the kind father whose mouth would always relax into a smile when he looked at her.
As a child, she had once imitated his handwriting while watching him work, and he had displayed it on the study wall. Remembering this, Regina felt a wave of longing that nearly overwhelmed her heart.
Finally, the sense of detachment lifted, and reality set in. It felt like being doused with cold water from head to toe.
‘Ah, I can never see my parents again. They’re truly gone…’
A part of her still hadn’t accepted reality. She had clung to the hope that if she fell asleep and woke up, she could return to her normal life. Realizing this, she felt a lump in her throat, struggling to breathe.
Why did this have to happen to her? It felt so meaningless, unfair, and….
-Crunch.
As if to stop herself from thinking further, Regina roughly tore off the wanted posters for Rose and John. Gripping the crumpled paper, Noah approached.
“Did you find them?”
“Yes, I found them. They were last seen in ‘Epola,’ a barony in the eastern region.”
“Really? That’s perfect. I need to head east anyway.”
“Yes.”
“…Then let’s get going.”
Seeing Regina’s violet eyes blazing with determination, Noah chuckled as if he had expected this reaction and turned away. Regina couldn’t say anything to Noah’s mocking back. Her fists clenched tightly, crumpling the wanted posters with her unresolved anger and sorrow.
* * *
As they stepped out of the wooden building, Noah lightly tossed a small pouch of reward money to Regina. It was the money they had received for reporting Robert. Startled, Regina caught it with both hands. It was heavier than she expected, and she looked at Noah in surprise.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“You discovered the criminal, so it’s your money. You’re not planning to keep wearing those clothes, are you? Use it to buy the things you need from now on.”
“…!!!”
Regina’s face turned bright red. She had been self-conscious about not being able to change clothes. Although Noah had prepared a small amount of luggage, he hadn’t had time to get her any clothes. As a result, she had been following him for four days in the same outfit.
“You’re not human, so you won’t smell or need to wash, but it seems like you need it for your peace of mind.”
“Of course! Please make sure the inn we stay at tonight has a place to wash! I’ll contribute to the cost with this money.”
Regina nodded desperately. Noah was about to say they would leave by train today but closed his mouth, sensing that any wrong word would make Regina’s face turn even redder, possibly to the point of bursting.
“…Alright.”
When Noah nodded, Regina happily hugged the reward pouch to her chest. Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about a Black Fairy’s convenience, would have killed or tried to kill them. He found it absurd that he was behaving this way now.
But at this point, he didn’t feel like being harsh to Regina.
‘Well, nothing changes in the end. This much is fine.’
Regina would eventually turn into a monster. Until then, providing some convenience wasn’t a big deal, Noah thought, accepting his changed attitude without much concern.
“I’ll go buy some clothes and necessary items right away! Where should I go for the inn?” Regina asked, her eyes sparkling.
Noah, feeling uncomfortable with her enthusiasm, pointed to their current location instead of admitting he hadn’t decided on an inn yet.
“After buying everything, wait here. We might miss each other otherwise.”
“Yes! I’ll do that. Thank you, Noah!”
“…”
Noah felt it was absurd being addressed so familiarly. Regina, oblivious to his reaction, smiled brightly and went off to find a clothing store. Although her lack of caution seemed foolish, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything and kept his mouth shut.
* * *
By the time she returned to the designated spot with travel-appropriate clothes, a robe, food supplies, and other necessities, more time had passed than expected. As night fell, the streets grew quieter with fewer people around. Waiting with her now bulkier bag, Regina’s mind wandered.
‘…Should I run away?’
She looked towards the train station in the distance. It would take about thirty minutes to walk there.
‘It seems possible…’
Although she had shown a friendly attitude towards Noah, her wariness hadn’t disappeared. After all, Noah held her life in his hands. He had said that in a month, she would feel severe hunger and wouldn’t be able to resist attacking people. While she didn’t fully believe his words, she didn’t want to spend time idly and end up killed by Noah.
“…About two weeks left?”
“What are you counting?”
Startled, Regina turned to see a stranger’s voice next to her. She hadn’t noticed anyone approaching, which sent chills down her spine.
“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ve been standing here for a while, but you didn’t seem to notice, so I spoke up,” the man said.
He wore a black fedora. Dressed in an expensive suit and a long black coat, his pale skin was as striking as Noah’s.
