Chapter 23 -- That Dad, Claude (6)

The town was livelier than usual. Athy stuffed a sandwich into her mouth as she looked outside the window. A crowd of people were gathered around a wooden notice board.

What's happening?

Curious, she polished off the last piece of her sandwich and stood.

"What's going on?"

Unable to get through the crowd gathered before the board, she was unable to read what was posted there. Instead, she asked the woman who owned the inn nearby.

"Not long ago, there were flyers posted everywhere regarding the missing princess. But, it was difficult to find her just from a picture. It seems that they will be playing a recording stone in the plaza later today."

Athy flinched. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as they spoke among themselves.

"I heard from a relative who works in a bureau that the palace is placing a recording stone in every zone."

"Isn't that very expensive?"

"Well, the precious princess disappeared, so money is no issue."

"I heard that every girl who was claimed to be the princess was escorted to the palace. But, none of them were actually her."

"Miss, you should be careful too. There's a rumor that every girl with golden hair is being captured."

"Yes, I will."

Ha ha ha… Athy left. Immediately, she went into her room to pack her belongings.

What? Recording stones?! When did they start putting those out?! It was only a few days ago that they released a sketch of me. 2D wasn't enough. Now they're using 3D? Ugh! You're a hell of a man, Claude. Do you really want to kill me that much?

She pressed her ear against the door.

"There have been a lot of natural disasters happening here and there recently."

"In the southwest area, I heard there were a couple of landslides. Why a countess was in one and…"

"I heard it snowed in Quinln."

"But Quinln is a desert!"

"That's why it's so strange. Not long ago, in the Holy Saikancia Empire…"

Eventually, things quieted down. It seemed that everyone had gone to the plaza. The small, rural, town didn't pay much mind to the goings-on of the palace. Staying there had been comfortable. She was a little sad to leave.

The princess drank the juice that had been sitting on her nightstand as she gathered her things.

Ah! Apple juice made with only 100% juice, not from concentrate, really is the best kind!

The only things Athy owned were the few clothes that she'd purchased in the city and the money in her pocket. That was all she needed. Half-heartedly, she took her cape from the closet and snapped her fingers.

A few moments later, she was standing in a windy field.

"Here again."

Once again, she felt no human presence there. Carelessly, she threw her bag to the side and sat down. She had run into Ezekiel during one of her outings with Lucas. To get away from the younger Alpheus, she had flown into the sky. Eventually, she'd landed in this very field. When she escaped from Claude's attempt to kill her, once again, she found herself among the waves of dancing reeds.

In a last-ditch effort to live, it seemed that she had teleported away. Her magic had been inconsistent at best, but when she needed it most, it worked. Seeing how everything turned out, the princess admired how people could survive through adversity. She must have been quite desperate.

Post-escape, Athy could not return to the palace, so she lived the life of a fugitive. She had no money but was not homeless.

That's because I became this century's best producer of magical, counterfeit, money! MUHAHAHA!!

In reality, the girl felt like crying. Athy didn't want to do it, but she'd had no choice.

Her encounter with Claude had been so sudden, that she'd been unable to bring the jewelry that she had hidden around the Emerald Palace with such diligence.

My pretties! I went through so much trouble to collect them! They were supposed to be my backup for situations just like this!

However, it wasn't like she could go back just to collect them. Claude would be waiting there to kill her.

Rather than risk going to the Emerald Palace, she could have robbed something out of her personal coffers or the treasure rooms. Sadly, she'd given up on the idea pretty early on. She wasn't able to teleport to exact locations at-will.

The book of magic she'd read said to draw the location in one's mind while calculating some of the coordinates.

But calculating coordinates is so troublesome. Also, what if I tried and happened to teleport in front of Claude instead of into a treasure room? What would happen to me?

Thus, Athy had to swallow her tears and become a master of creating fake coins. She had no problem with performing the magic to create fake money. But her conscience stabbed at her every time she used it.

It's because I'm not shameless, like Lucas. OH, YOUR HONOR!!! PLEASE BE LENIENT! MY CAT MADE THIS MONEY, NOT ME! ...Even though I don't have a cat.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the fake money had yet to fail her. However, she never knew when her magic would refuse to work, so she made plenty in advance and carried them along with her simple clothes.

If I could use magic whenever I wanted, like Lucas, I wouldn't be going through this much trouble.

Even so, given that she'd left the palace with absolutely nothing? The princess was currently living a reasonably comfortable life.

If I continue like this, and I get caught by someone working for the palace? I'd be stripped naked or worse. Creating fake money, disrespecting the emperor? Even my corpse would be ripped to shreds. He's relentlessly searching for me at this very moment.

Her body trembled at the thought. After hearing that Claude was looking for her, she had decided not to stay in one place for too long.

Teleportation was high-level magic. Because of that, she couldn't control where she teleported. Troublingly, her destinations were completely random. But with practice, Athy gained at least some level of control.

People believed that Claude was drowning in his despair. That he was suffering because he loved the missing princess so much. In reality, the flyers that went up were essentially wanted posters.

"I guess I can no longer stay in Obelia."

Up until then, she'd been staying within the empire. But now that she knew Claude was extending his search into more rural areas, it seemed that was no longer possible.

Then, where should I go now?

Oddly, she wasn't worried or frightened. She didn't know how long she could maintain her lifestyle. But, with her determination, Athy was sure she'd find a way to keep hiding. When she practiced, she could even perform more difficult magic.

I'd never known I had such an amazing talent for magic. It's not baseless confidence! If there's anyone else who can accomplish as much as I have through self-study alone, then I'd like to see them.

Besides, even if Claude did catch her. The princess believed that she'd be able to escape, just as she had in the rose garden. She had no will to perish at Claude's hand.

That was what I was thinking that day, that I don't want Dad to be the one who kills me.

A light breeze rustled her hair.

Now that I think about it, that day was a long time ago.

The princess looked up at the sky. Memories of what happened at Claude's birthday banquet came to her. Her vision began to blur. She remembered Ezekiel, who had remained wordlessly at her side. As tears rolled down Athy's face, she bit her lip.

Impulsively she declared her next destination.

"Why don't I go to Arlanta?"