Chapter 37

The old man who met Juliet also had a strange hair color. Although he was already almost completely gray, still among the dim gray hair, strands of unusual red color could be seen.

"His hair color is almost the same as that of the arrogant guy I was riding with in a stagecoach. There should be a lot of people with such hair in this city." - Juliet thought, looking at the old man with curiosity.

Soon the people who ran to catch a pickpocket returned to the square.

- Elder! We caught him!

- Are you all right, elder?

People who brought a pickpocket with them began to fuss excitedly around the old man, raising a big noise.

- I'm fine. However...

When the old man, carelessly leaning against one of the store shelves, touched the pickpocket's clothes with the tip of a cane, to the surprise of all those gathered, he had several wallets from behind his bosom.

- It looks like you stole wallets from a few more people, am I right?

Residents who grabbed the pickpocket broke their mouths in amazement, but quickly recovering, dragged him aside to find wallet owners.

After that, Juliet, who missed the moment to disappear imperceptibly, was left alone with the old man.

- Young lady, you're not from these places, are you? - The old man asked amicably.

- Oh yes, that's right.

- If there's anything I can help you with, just tell me. I would like to thank you for your help.

"... Maybe I should ask him?"

The fact that the villagers were polite to him and called him an elder served as another proof that he was not an ordinary old man.

Juliet once again looked closely at the old man, wondering whether she should ask him for help or not. Most likely, in the past he was a mercenary or an adventurer, judging by his strong physique, and given the polite treatment of the residents, it means that he was quite famous.

In addition, when Juliet raised the old man's cane some time ago, she guessed why she was so heavy. A blade was hidden inside this seemingly ordinary cane.

"The most reliable people in the East are veteran mercenaries."

These were Kane's words that Juliet suddenly remembered.

He sometimes told her about the hardships of mercenaries' lives during their tea parties, when he was still one of them.

Old mercenaries are not ordinary old people. Elderly mercenaries could be found very rarely, but all of them were respected by people in the East, since only a few lived to this age with such dangerous work.

In addition, he once even said that if you meet an old mercenary, he can fulfill one of your wishes. Juliet then, of course, these words seemed completely absurd.

Returning from memories to reality, Juliet decided that nothing terrible would happen if she asked this good-natured old man for directions, as she would still have to ask one of the residents of the city.

- Well, then...

Juliet took out a folded piece of paper and spoke again:

- Then can you tell me which side this place is?

****

Zachary Law Office.

Zachary was a lawyer in this small town, but his main job was real estate mediation.

Since Lobell was in close proximity to the big city of Carcassonne, it served as a transit point for travelers from other cities, so many people rented accommodation here for a short period to take a break from the long road.

Bams.

- Welcome... Oh, elder, it's you!

When Zachary saw the old man standing next to Juliet, a wide smile appeared on his face.

- I'm just an escort, so take care of this young lady.

By saying this, the old man pointed to Juliet.

- Oh, I'm sorry. How can I help you?

The lawyer with a smile on his face politely offered Juliet to sit in a chair near his desk. As soon as they both sat down, she immediately explained for what purpose she came.

- I need to rent a house for a while... For one week or so. And I wish it wasn't too far from the square.

- Okay, now let's see what I can offer you.

Juliet imperceptibly glanced at the old man while Zachary was studying the documents.

Meanwhile, the old man who accompanied her settled comfortably in a chair and calmly read the newspaper.

"Maybe he controls this area?"

This old man definitely didn't look like an ordinary man.

Those people on the street and even Zachary all called him an elder and expressed deep respect when they saw him.

Although it was a little incredible assumption, but maybe he held some high position in one of the leading guilds?

Juliet suddenly froze, suddenly thinking that she had never heard the old man's name.

- I have a very good place for you.

Just at this time, Zachary knocked his pen on the table, and Juliet instantly forgot about this thought.

Kindly explaining the terms of the contract, Zachary looked at Juliet and asked:

- Are you a member of any guild?

- Oh, no.

Guild.

In the Eastern region, lords ruled from generation to generation, but they had not too high influence. As in other areas, there were also social circles in society and the aristocracy.

"I already knew about it, but..."

It was the guilds that had the greatest influence in these territories. Simply put, they were influential organizations consisting of mercenaries.

- But I have a pass approved by the guild.

Juliet took out her pre-prepared pass with an identity card, which she had already used on the train, and showed them to Zachary.

Zachary carefully studied the pass and certificate.

On the pass, as Juliet said, there were two seals.

When she planned her escape to the East, she found out all the necessary information about the guilds and took care of obtaining permission on her penultimate visit to the capital with Lennox.

However, at that time she did not yet know that it would be so useful, and received it just in case.

- It's a simple formality, but I had to make sure you had it.

Thanks to the seals, Zachary did not suspect that her identity document was forged.

Juliet chuckled mentally.

Guilds were just administrative and economic communities.

And the person who laid the foundation for this system is Lionel Lebatan.

- Lillian Seneca... Hmm... Are you a miss or Mrs? - Zachary asked carefully, looking at the name in his identity card.

- I was recently widowed. - Juliet answered without hesitation, deciding that she would no longer need him in the future.

It took her less than 3 seconds to get rid of her husband.

- Oh my God! You must be heartbroken. Forgive me.

Sincere sympathy broke out in Zachary's eyes, and Juliet was forced to depict an expression similar to moderate sadness on her face.

Nevertheless, such an outcome was inevitable. Since killing her husband was faster than explaining his absence in the future.

- If you still have any questions, you can ask them.

However, Zachary then no longer asked Juliet questions, but introduced her to the mistress of the house where she would live, and kindly said goodbye.

- A woman traveling alone is a rare guest in such a place. Isn't it, elder? - Zachary muttered, watching two women leave out the window.

There was no answer from the old man who was sitting in a chair and reading the newspaper.

- By the way, it's a pity that this happened to this young lady. The death of her husband at such a young age. She must have had a hard time...

Throwing a careless look at the silent old man, Zachary was amazed for a moment.

The old man didn't look at the newspaper anymore.

He was sitting in a chair in a tense position, as if a lion ready to tore his prey, firmly clutching the black cane with both hands, which he always carried with him.

- Zachary.

- Yes, elder?

- Remind me, what was she called?

- Oh, uh...

Zachary hurriedly began to look for the name of the client who had just left in the papers.

- Lillian Seneca. Yes, that's definitely her name.

There was no longer good-natured expression on the face of the old man looking in the direction where a woman named Lillian Seneca had just disappeared.

*****

Meanwhile, Juliet, who was unaware of it, calmly headed towards her original goal. Leaving her luggage in the room, she was going to visit the city library to find out about the ruins of an old temple located near the city square.

- Welcome, my name is Veronica. How can I help you?

When Juliet entered the library, a girl talked to her.

- Tell me, do you know anything about the ancient ruins that are near the square? - Juliet asked the librarian girl.

- Unfortunately, we don't have any information about him. These are just abandoned ruins. - The librarian girl answered kindly.

- I see. Oh, can I examine them?

- Yes, if you want.

After that, Veronica showed her where the entrance to the ancient temple was, allowing her to inspect it.

Juliet waited for her to leave, and only then began to inspect the ruins.

- He should be here somewhere...

Lobelle had the oldest temple in the entire East. It was exactly as abandoned an ancient temple as the one near the capital of the Empire.

- Hmm.

After a while, Juliet finally noticed a place in the corner of the temple, where the soil was slightly different from the rest of the places.

- I found it.

Leaning down to see if there was anything there, she noticed the edge of an object in the ground. Swling the top layer of the earth with her hand, she took out a small silver box, and when she opened it, she saw a fragment of the mirror inside.

In ancient times, it was a custom to bury fragments of the mirror in the ground, asking God for blessing.

From her past life, Juliet knew that Dahlia found such objects in abandoned temples, and they were sacred relics.

So now that Carlyle was chasing her using a sacred relic, she also had to find a similar object to hide.

Probably, such an object will not be able to hide it indefinitely, but even if it is only temporary, it's not bad. She knew little about divine power, but it was usually said about relics that the older they are, the stronger.

"If you think about it, how could Dahlia freely use sacred relics if she had nothing to do with churches and priests?"

Juliet looked at the fragment of the mirror, thinking calmly.

In addition, she knew much more about them than high-ranking priests.

"Well, maybe she knew all this because she was a girl out of prophecy."

Juliet carefully wrapped a piece of mirror in a handkerchief so that it did not break, and put it in the pocket of the dress.