RSHTV 11

Chapter 11

Bellona was relieved that her hood was covering her face well. She quickly composed herself after realizing that she had accidentally revealed too much, then subtly ignored Ruils’s question.

“If you’re asking why I came here, I came to get some information. Like everyone else who comes here.”

For now, she only needed to focus on getting what she wanted from the information guild. She could come up with some plausible excuse later.

Perhaps the large, intimidating man hadn’t expected such a young woman’s voice, because he frowned.

“This isn’t a place for a young lady who was raised in comfort.”

“I heard this is a place where you can find out anything as long as you pay. Isn’t that right? Who I am shouldn’t matter.”

Bellona ignored his implicit condescension and took a gold coin from her bosom, placing it down without hesitation.

The man across from her snatched the coin up at lightning speed and examined it from several angles beneath the dim light.

“Of course. What you say is true, young lady. What could your identity possibly matter?”

His tone had instantly become polite. Bellona heard Ruils quietly click his tongue.

Since Bellona had no intention of wasting any more time, she immediately got to the point.

“I heard that a certain noble family hired several sturdy men through a labor agency and ordered them to drive away a boy with blue eyes and dark red hair whenever he tried to approach the residence of a noble family.”

Bellona stopped halfway through her explanation. Come to think of it, calling him a child wasn’t quite accurate.

“Ah, he’s not exactly a child… More like a boy who hasn’t fully grown yet?”

She frowned as she tried to remember the age of her cousin, Julian.

Was he fifteen? Fourteen? She remembered it being somewhere around there.

He was old enough to have enough sense to make his way to the capital alone, but he was still too young to properly take care of himself.

“I think I may know what you’re talking about, but then again, I’m not entirely sure…”

The man gave her an intentionally vague answer while rolling the gold coin between his fingers.

Bellona took out the entire pouch from inside her clothes and placed it on the counter.

The clinking of the coins as the pouch swung made a loud sound when it landed with a heavy thud.

The man discreetly opened the pouch and saw the dozens of gold coins inside. He immediately broke into a broad smile and answered.

“Ah, now I remember. There’s this shabby-looking boy who’s been making a fuss, saying there’s someone he absolutely needs to meet. Seems he doesn’t have the slightest idea how high and mighty these nobles are.”

His smirk was filled with mockery.

“I want you to tell me where that boy is staying.”

“But the noble who commissioned that request is quite an important person… I’m afraid I can’t exactly go against his orders.”

Bellona tilted her head slightly and sighed.

That was all the money she had managed to save from the allowance she normally received for her living expenses.

She reached into an inner pocket and took out her final option.

It was a beautiful hair ornament, with a ruby set into the shape of a butterfly. It was obviously valuable.

“Will this do?”

“Is it genuine?”

“You’ve already guessed my identity. Let’s not waste time.”

She had done her best to hide herself, but at such a close distance, it was difficult to completely conceal the expensive fabric of her dress whenever her outer cloak shifted.

That had been partly intentional. As long as she concealed her face, there was no need to hide everything else.

“So this boy managed to offend even a young lady from a noble family. Looks like his life really has gone completely wrong.”

“Answer me.”

“Here, I’ll give you a map. He seems to be staying at a cheap inn because he doesn’t have much money. You’d better hurry and find him. If he keeps recklessly picking fights with people, he might end up completely penniless and get kicked out of the capital altogether.”

Bellona knew that this was exactly how things had ended in reality, which was why she was in such a hurry.

She had to meet Julian before he could no longer endure it and ended up leaving the capital as though he had been driven out.

“I hope this information is accurate.”

“How could I dare give you incorrect information?”

When Bellona reached out to take the map, the man’s grimy, darkened hand slyly grabbed her pale, slender hand and stroked it.

The lecherous intent behind the action was so obvious that Bellona felt like she might vomit.

Just as Bellona gritted her teeth in irritation and tried to pull her hand away, someone acted first.

“Take your hand off her.”

This time, Ruils had actually drawn his sword, and his presence was quite intimidating.

Bellona stepped back and shook the man’s hand off. This time, she did not stop Ruils.

The man looked at the sharp blade pressed against his neck and raised both hands in surrender.

“You certainly have a loyal escort.”

“If you don’t want your wrist cut off, apologize properly.”

Ruils’s blunt demand for an apology carried a clear promise of merciless punishment.

The man might have thought he was merely being threatened, but Bellona knew better.

Ruils was genuinely the sort of person who would follow through.

Still, the man seemed more perceptive than she had expected.

“Please forgive me. It was a mistake.”

Anyone could see that it had clearly not been a mistake, but Bellona couldn’t be bothered to sit around arguing over whether the man’s wrist should be cut off over something so trivial.

She grabbed Ruils by the arm.

“He’s not worth dealing with anymore. Let’s go.”

After confirming that Ruils had sheathed his sword, Bellona turned sharply and left the building.

Ruils followed a moment later.

“Are you all right?”

As soon as they stepped outside, he looked down at Bellona’s hand and asked.

He repeatedly clenched and unclenched his own hand, as though he wanted to examine hers but couldn’t bring himself to touch her.

“I’m fine, other than being a little uncomfortable.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have come out here like this.”

Bellona gave a faint smile as she watched Ruils look back at the guild with an expression even more unpleasant and disgusted than her own.

Honestly, even though there were plenty of reasons to dislike him, his personality made it impossible to hate him completely.

“Wait…”

Just then, Ruils’s arm stopped Bellona as she was about to walk forward.

“Why? Is someone there?”

The alley was eerily quiet, without a single sound, yet Ruils’s face was deeply furrowed.

Could the figure she thought she had seen earlier, before entering the information guild, really have been someone?

“No. I think it was just my imagination.”

Even after hearing Ruils say that, Bellona couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling this time. Without realizing it, she moved slightly closer to him, seeking the safety of his presence, and spoke.

“So, are you going to come with me to help a poor boy, or not?”

“Is that boy the person I’m supposed to protect?”

“Yes.”

The information guild’s man had mistakenly assumed that Julian had offended her, but Bellona’s words made it clear that the opposite was true.

Ruils moved his lips several times before finally giving her a single answer.

“…I’ll go.”

“Good. We’re going by carriage, so follow me.”

Bellona began retracing the route she had memorized.

Ruils followed closely behind her like a proper escort and spoke to her again.

“How did you know my name?”

“It’s written on that bundle of medicine. Ruils.”

At Bellona’s nod, he looked down at the bundle he was carrying.

When he saw his name scrawled across it, he let out a small “Ah,” as though he had just realized something.

Of course, Bellona had only noticed the name tag herself a moment ago.

“Someone must be sick.”

Even as Bellona thought to herself that she really had too much free time if she was sticking her nose into other people’s affairs, she ended up speaking to him anyway.

She really must have been an expert at doing things she would later regret.

“My mother is ill.”

“I hope she gets better soon.”

The words tasted bitter on Bellona’s tongue because she knew what the future held.

Yet, paradoxically, she meant them sincerely.

Regardless of the fact that Bellona didn’t particularly like Ruils, he was destined to become someone who would give hope to many people.

And yet he himself was destined to suffer through misfortune.

Wasn’t God cruel?

“…Thank you.”

Ruils looked somewhat dazed, as though he hadn’t expected such an answer from Bellona’s cold demeanor. He somehow managed to force out a response.

Before he could say anything else, Bellona reached the main street and headed toward the carriage parked off to one side.

She knocked on the carriage door.

A moment later, Rose came rushing out through the opened door.

“My lady! Why did you take so long? I was so worried that something might have happened to you. But who is this person…?”

Her rapid-fire scolding ended with a suspicious look directed at Ruils.

Ruils seemed to realize that he had forgotten something and politely bowed his head.

“I apologize for the late formal introduction. I am Ruils, an apprentice knight affiliated with the Temple.”

All knights affiliated with the Temple were given a shared surname, but since Ruils was not yet a full-fledged knight, he had neither a title nor a surname. He was simply Ruils.

Bellona naturally continued from where he left off.

“Ruils escorted me the whole time. So don’t worry, Rose. Nothing happened.”

“Ah… You’re with the Temple. Thank you.”

Her words were accompanied by an unmistakably suspicious expression.

“My lady needs to return to the mansion by carriage now.”

As expected, Bellona’s guess had been correct.

The way Rose looked at Ruils was almost exactly like someone guarding a well-bred noble young lady from a man who might harbor ulterior motives toward her.

Bellona stepped in appropriately to stop Rose.

“No. He’s coming with us. I have somewhere to go.”

“What? Where?”

“Let’s go toward the checkpoint.”

Bellona gave the coachman his instructions, then climbed into the carriage with Rose before gesturing toward Ruils, who was still standing there blankly.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting in?”

“Huh? Yes.”

Ruils answered somewhat awkwardly and climbed into the carriage.

Bellona finally removed the cumbersome hood and let out a long breath.

Ruils’s gaze fell upon her vivid red hair, which cascaded all the way down to her waist, before meeting her blue eyes.

He flinched as though he had been burned and quickly looked away, but then he looked back at Bellona’s face as if trying to confirm something.

“Is there something you’re curious about? Why are you staring?”