Chapter 35

Roadell was a beautiful city.

In the central square there was a large fountain of magnificent work with gurgling transparent water, and around it lined up in the rows of red brick buildings.

The square was a rather lively place where there were many parents with children and white pigeons who were fed by passers-by.

Juliet, walking through the square and shopping area, suddenly stopped in front of one of the shops.

- Welcome! What would you like to see? - The store owner asked with a bored look, without even looking at Juliet when she offered to show the goods.

Juliet did not answer anything and instead continued to look at the various fruits laid out on the shelves with admiration.

Probably because of the warm climate, many unusual types of fruits grew here, which she had never seen before. However, to buy them, you had to pay a small amount, as they were not cheap.

Juliet took two juicy red apples, and when she reached for the oranges, her hand froze halfway.

"What else is that?"

She was amazed to find a much smaller fruit right next to the oranges.

"And why is the price twice as high if it's so small?"

Juliet stood indecision in front of the fruit counter.

But when silver coins rang in her small wallet, she still made up her mind.

- I'll buy it too.

The face of the store owner, who all this time expressed only boredom, immediately shone.

The fruit she pointed to was expensive and rarely bought by anyone.

- Oh, of course!! I'll help you pack them!

After a while, Juliet, having completed her walk around the shopping area, sat down at an outdoor table near one of the cafes and opened a fruit package.

First, she took out a small orange fruit that looked like an orange. People here seemed to call this fruit "Mandarin."

"Mandarin."

Even the taste was the same as when she tried it in the North.

After enjoying the taste of fruit and having a little rest, Juliet got up, about to leave when she noticed a counter with newspapers.

She hesitated for a while, and then bought one.

She knew she shouldn't follow the news, but in the end she couldn't restrain her curiosity.

(Translator - anarai - http://tl.rulate.ru/book/37848/982935)

Before deploying the newspaper, Juliet took a deep breath. After that, I ran through the news very quickly.

- ...Nothing.

No. It can't be.

Juliet read the newspaper again, already more carefully, and was completely convinced that there was no news she was looking for. She closed the newspaper.

It was a little strange feeling when you look for bad news and don't find it. However, she wanted to check whether it happened or not.

"Perhaps she hasn't appeared yet."

Juliet was always waiting for this moment with horror.

Even if there was no news about it in the newspaper yet, she knew that Dahlia had most likely already appeared.

In Juliet's first life, Dahlia appeared on the first day of this year. The place where she appeared, and the time were so dramatic that there was real turmoil.

She clearly remembered it.

"Have you heard about it, Your Serene Highness? They say "Child of Prophecy" has appeared!"

It was none other than Juliet, who shared this news with Lennox with a mysterious smile.

Now she didn't remember what Lennox answered then. Probably, as always, it didn't matter to him.

In her past life, Juliet often looked for various reasons, including this news, to just be able to see him and stay with him a little longer.

Then she always did that. Just because she wanted to see him sometime.

- Let's see.

Juliet sat down at a table near the road and opened the map.

Unlike other parts of the empire, the power of the nobility in the East was not so great. In addition, in the center of the East there was a great forest, where many different species of creatures lived, and...

- And here's Lucerne!

Juliet found a point on the map.

Holy Land of Law, Lucerne.

Lucerne was a special city-state where the rule of law and religion were above the power of the emperor or nobility.

Although Lucerne itself was a small city-state, its influence extended to the entire continent.

- Except, maybe, the North?

The disgusting relationship between Duke Carlisle and the temple was widely known.

That's why Juliet decided to go to the East. The eastern part of the country was the area where the temple and law had the greatest influence compared to other parts of the continent.

In this part of the country, most people believed in the goddess, unlike the Northern Lands, where Duke Carlisle ruled.

Therefore, Juliet thought that if she went to the East, Lennox, who had a bad relationship with the temple, would not be interested in her future fate, even if he had such a desire, although then she strongly doubted it.

"But he..."

Juliet's face darkened, and she pressed her lips.

She did not even assume that Lennox would mobilize his forces and break into the temple behind the sacred relic of the Great War.

In addition, he even accused her of wanting to escape with his child.

"I bet you were very angry once you decided to do it."

Juliet sighed slightly.

She didn't regret running away, but she was a little upset about how it turned out.

Juliet just wanted to say goodbye to a cute smile and quietly leave.

He was always indifferent to her and everything that surrounded him, moreover, he himself always calmly said goodbye to his mistresses, so why was he so angry this time?

- Well, in any case, what is done is done... - Juliet muttered into the void and looked at the map again.

As long as Lennox has a sacred artifact, it's only a matter of time when he finds out that Juliet is here in Roadelle.

In addition, he already knew that she was heading to the East, as he saw her get on the train.

That's why Juliet changed her plan halfway and went to Roadelle.

She had to get off here to get rid of persecution before going to her original destination. Otherwise, Lennox will know where she went and why. And this state of affairs did not suit her, as she decided to cut off all ties with him.

And now, to avoid surveillance, she will have to neutralize the Eye of Argos.

If the Eye of Argos were a magical tool, it could cope with this task much easier, but it was an artifact charged with divine power.

Mana (magic power) and divine power (sacred power) are opposite forces, and a higher level of divine power is needed to neutralize the relic.

Other people would probably wonder: "How to do it?" - But Juliet wasn't too worried about it, because she already had a good idea.

- I found it.

Juliet smiled broadly, looking at the map.

(Translator - anarai - http://tl.rulate.ru/book/37848/982935)

****

From Roadella station to the next destination in Lobell, Juliet planned to travel by stagecoach, so she went to the place where they were leaving.

- How far are you going to go, miss?

In the place where stagecoaches stayed, many teenagers crowded, vigorously welcoming new guests and providing various services from stagecoach tickets to housing.

- Don't you need housing?

- You can stay at our hotel!

Juliet remained silent, thinking that if it continued, she would lose her bag before she reached the stagecoach.

At the same time, Juliet was suddenly passed by a tall young man.

- Get out of the way.

For some reason, the young man's voice was full of irritation. The man was much taller than their height, so he walked pushing back the heads of the assembled teenagers with his palms.

Teenagers, who were rudely repelled, protested angrily, but the man did not pay attention to them and continued to go.

Thanks to him, Juliet was able to easily walk along the road opened by a man to the next stagecoach.

There she saw this man again.

"Wo that..."

Juliet raised her eyes and stared at him with her mouth open, struck by his appearance.

"What amazing red hair!"

This man attracted the attention of others. He looked so impressive that people stopped and looked at him.

Is he also a traveler?

Juliet looked at him with some curiosity.

- How far are you going to go, miss?

- Ah... I'd like to go to Robel.

The man who spoke to Juliet's mind was a coachman who was a stagecoach.

A little later, Juliet got into a cart heading for Lobell, paying for the fare.

- ...

And then there was a rather awkward situation.

The "polite" red-haired man she met earlier was sitting in front of Juliet.

The only sounds were only the noise from the streets and the roar of stagecoach. There was an awkward silence, and Juliet felt a slight regret.

"I wish I could get another stagecoach."

She decided to sit down a little later, thinking that there would be more passengers in the stagecoach, but in the end they were here only together.

Later she learned that since Lobell is a small town, no more than one or two passengers go there a day, the coachman kindly told her about it.

The groaning stagecoach was completely different from the crews Juliet was used to.

The seats were two long vertical boards arranged side by side to accommodate several people. Of course, the backrests were out of the question.

Fortunately, even before the crew started, the man sat down, crossing his arms on his chest and closing his eyes as if he were sleeping.

Thanks to this, Juliet could easily watch the man sitting opposite her.

Even if you used magical objects to change hair color, they usually acquired a reddish color, but this person's hair was almost blood red.

"Maybe I should dye my hair too?"

Probably, some other magical objects were used in the eastern part to change the natural color of the hair, which made it look more saturated.

- Hey, miss, what brought you to Lobell?

Just as she was thinking about magical objects that change hair color, the coachman spoke to Juliet. She didn't seem to be the only one who felt uncomfortable in this silence.

- I have to meet someone. - Juliet answered vaguely.

Perhaps it was because of boredom, so the coachman eventually started talking about Lobella, although he was not asked.

- In fact, there is no other safer place than Lobell, because it is the king's hometown.

- The king?

Juliet, who had listened before without much interest, suddenly became curious about a new story that she had never heard of before.

- Haven't you heard of him? About Lionel Lebatan, the Red King.