Chapter 7

Giving her a maid was to keep a close watch on her. Giving her a knight was to prevent her from escaping. They wanted complete control over her.

He didn’t fully believe her.

Talli lowered her head.

Her voice was cold. “I don’t think I need them. Master, I grew up in the countryside, used to a free and unrestricted life. Having someone serve me so closely all of a sudden—I’m afraid I can’t stand it.”

“That was in the countryside,” the family head said. “Now, you are in the Imperial Capital. Besides, you haven’t stepped out of the estate for so long. If you want to go out for a walk, wouldn’t you need attendants and a knight to protect you? Or do you want others to laugh at our Fred family?”

“…”

“Then let’s compromise,” Talli said lightly, seeing that his expression had indeed darkened. “I can accept a personal knight, but I truly don’t need a maid to serve me. The regular cleaning staff is enough. After all, I simply can’t imagine having someone else in my room while I go about my daily life.”

“…” The Fred family head was silent for a moment before finally nodding. “Fine.”

“—And I will personally choose my knight.”

Talli added.

Ignoring his face, which was now dark enough to drip ink, she gave a slight bow. “Then, I appreciate your kindness, Master. My injuries are not yet healed, and I need rest. I’ll take my leave now.”

—

Even at this point, she didn’t believe she had won anything.

Her knight would still have to be chosen from the list provided by the Fred family head.

Deep in thought, Talli quickened her pace. Suddenly, a face appeared right in front of her, startling her.

“Hey! What are you thinking about so deeply? I called you several times, and you didn’t even look up.”

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the corridor’s pillars, casting a warm glow. It illuminated the boy’s light golden hair, making it shimmer like the first rays of dawn on the horizon.

“…It’s none of your business.”

Talli stepped around him, ready to leave.

“How is it none of my business?” Carl stretched out his long arm, blocking her path. “What if you do something like that again and bring disgrace to our family?”

Talli’s gaze darkened slightly. “I’m going back to my room to pack. I plan to go out tonight.”

“You’re going out?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but… you’re going alone?”

“I might bring a few maids.”

She wouldn’t. And if she did, she’d shake them off.

Carl frowned. “Where are you going?”

“…Do I have to report this to you too?”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just go ask Father.” Carl raised an eyebrow. “Besides… Talli, if you’re alone, the guards probably won’t let you out, will they?”

Talli took a deep breath, as if weighing her options, before speaking. “Fine. But you can’t tell anyone.”

Seeing Carl’s skeptical expression, she reluctantly said, “…I’m going to the Magic Beast Market.”

“M-Magic beasts!?”

Carl’s eyes widened.

But what startled him even more was Talli’s hand suddenly covering his mouth. Her fingers, wrapped in bandages, were slender and pale, carrying the bitter scent of medicine.

“Shh!”

Talli was speechless. How could someone be this loud?

“Why are you going to a place like that?”

“To buy a vicious dog to protect me.”

Talli withdrew her hand and turned her face slightly away. “Do you know when magic beasts were first granted the honor of knighthood?”

Carl hesitated.

“When the former emperor was young, a warhound risked its life to protect him on the battlefield. In gratitude, he awarded it the first honorary medal in history. After he ascended the throne, he introduced new policies regarding magic beasts, recognizing their right to earn merit on par with knights.”

“…Are you saying you want a magic beast as your personal guard?”

“…”

“Are you insane?” Carl lowered his voice in disbelief. “Even if what you’re saying is true, I’ve never seen anyone do it before… especially a noble lady in the Imperial Capital.”

“Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. At the very least, it’s within the rules.”

As Talli spoke, she continued walking toward her room.

“Hey, wait—” Carl caught up. “But what kind of image does that give? You’re a Fred family—”

“Precisely because I’m from the Fred family, no one would dare laugh, right?”

“…If you need someone by your side for protection, why not choose a knight? Or buy a slave and train them to be your—”

“I don’t have that kind of time.”

Talli’s steps suddenly halted.

She had reached her door. Turning the handle, she stepped inside, and Carl, following too closely, nearly ran straight into the door.

She only opened the door halfway, blocking the entrance. “More than that, I find it hard to trust humans.”

Would buying her own slave guarantee they wouldn’t betray her under the Fred family’s threats or bribes? She only had one month to live—did she really think she could make a living, breathing human completely loyal and devoted to her in just a month?

Anyone could see that was impossible.

If it weren’t for the pressure from the Fred family head, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Carl pressed against the doorframe. “But even so, do you know how chaotic and dangerous the Magic Beast Market is? You’re just a weak girl, how… Ow!! That hurts!”

Talli clicked the door shut and then opened it again. “Have you said enough? I’m changing now.”

“You…”

Carl retracted his hand, rubbing his knuckles as though the pain had struck him hard, his eyes red at the corners, gritting his teeth.

“You really… don’t know what’s good for you!”

“Bang—”

The door slammed shut.

Talli quickly changed her clothes.

The wardrobe was full of piles of dresses sent by the maids. After searching for a while, Talli pulled out a deep purple waist-cinching long dress. She let her hair down and put on a hat. The large brim of the hat made her resemble a witch from an illustration—covering part of her face.

She put on gloves and a high-collared wrap, then opened the door.

“Why are you still here?”

More than twenty minutes had passed, and she thought Carl had already left.

The young man was leaning against the wall. The warm glow of the sunset made his hair look like platinum. He was tall, arms crossed, and when he heard her, he lowered his head, raising his eyebrows impatiently. “Why else would I still be here? If you’re alone, someone can’t even get out of the main door, let alone go to the Magic Beast Market that you’ve never been to!”

He said this, rubbing the back of his head lazily and turning around. When he saw Talli, he paused for a moment.

The girl was small, with black hair and bright eyes, her skin pale almost to the point of transparency. Her dark purple eyes matched her outfit. She looked unexpectedly cute in this attire, and the mysterious aura about her fit the interpretation of a “witch.”

“Do I have something on my face?” Talli asked.

“…” Carl turned around angrily, “Nothing, are you going or not?”

Talli followed him.

She exhaled and finally spoke softly, “…Thank you.”

Under the setting sun, she didn’t see the faint redness in the young man’s ears.

Following Carl, she wasn’t stopped by the guards.

“We won’t get caught by the family head, will we?” Talli asked.

Carl snorted lightly. “Now you’re scared?”

You were so bold when you grabbed my hand earlier.

“…”

I didn’t expect him to speak kindly.

Carl cleared his throat. “This is your first time out, isn’t it? You’ve never seen such a lively scene before, have you?”

Talli followed closely behind Carl, small in stature, only reaching up to his chest. Although she was older than him, she looked like a younger sister.

“Indeed, I’ve never seen anything like this in the countryside,” Talli said, glancing around in surprise. The crowd was so loud that she could barely hear Carl’s voice unless she stayed close. “Does it always get this lively every night in the capital?”

“This is the capital of the Heine Empire, Mekalei City. It’s nothing like a rural area,” Carl replied proudly, like a host showing off. “You think this is busy? If you were to come out during the anniversary celebrations or the New Year’s festival, you’d realize this is nothing at all.”

As he spoke, he felt his sleeve being tugged.

“Walk slower,”

Talli pulled on his sleeve. “I’m having trouble keeping up.”

Her body had been undernourished since childhood, and she was short with small steps. Carl walked quickly, and she was starting to get winded.

“…”

It seemed like Carl turned his head and muttered, “Shorty,” but he did slow his pace a little.

Talli thought Carl would angrily pull his sleeve away, and she prepared to retract her hand, but to her surprise, he allowed her to hold on, so she continued with ease.

There were many small stalls at the night market. Carl told her to wait where she was while he went to buy some kind of potion. He threw a bottle at her.

“What is this?”

Talli uncorked the wooden stopper and sniffed it.

“Poison,” Carl grinned wickedly.

Talli almost threw the bottle at his face.

“Just kidding. It’s a potion with hallucinogenic magic,” Carl said, removing the stopper and drinking the potion in one go. “After you drink it, your appearance won’t change, but to others, you’ll look like someone else.”

Talli hesitated for a moment.

“Do you want our father to find out we secretly went to the Magic Beast Market tonight?”

She stared at Carl, then drank the potion.

The taste was hard to describe—it wasn’t necessarily unbearable, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant. When Talli finished it, she barely had time to process the taste before her eyes widened.

“The effect… is actually pretty good.”

She struggled to speak.

“Hey, what do I look like now?” Carl asked her.

“…You look like a completely different person from usual,” Talli replied vaguely.

“You now…” Carl rubbed his chin and bent down to get a closer look at her. “You actually look like a pretty handsome young man.”

Talli instinctively took a step back, changing the subject. “Uh… Can this potion really be sold so openly in the market? Won’t it be misused by fugitives?”

Carl turned around nonchalantly. “It’s a rare potion, but I showed the Fred family’s crest, so the stall owner sold me two bottles.”

Talli: “… “

No wonder they are from a renowned family of witches.

In the flowing crowd, the deep and resonant sound of a bell suddenly rang out.

The crowd involuntarily stopped, everyone turning their gaze toward the distant high tower under the moonlight. They lowered their heads in reverence, crossing their fingers and clasping their hands tightly together.

Every night at 7 o’clock, the giant bell of the tower in the Heine Empire rings. Stopping to pray when the bell tolls has become an unspoken tradition in the empire, especially in large cities where people have a near-veneration for the tower that symbolizes the absolute power of the royal family.

Behind the royal family are the witch families, and behind the witch families is the arrogant monarch.

As everyone was praying, Talli turned her head and saw a young man’s figure.

Gray hair, dark eyes, tall in stature, wearing a platinum-colored robe, giving off an aura of scholarly elegance.

While everyone was clasping their hands and lowering their heads, he, like Talli, aimlessly scanned the crowd.

Their gazes unexpectedly collided.

The eyes of Priest Ryan, at first glance, appeared indigo, but upon closer inspection, there was a hint of cold blue. In the colorful lights of the night market, they leaned more toward ultramarine.

A cold touch within the warm tones.

He saw Talli and froze for a moment.

Talli, on the other hand, quickly looked away.

…She wondered if he recognized her.

In that brief moment when their eyes met, Talli, with her sharp eyes, noticed the young woman next to him, her arm linked with his, also bowing her head in prayer. She had light golden hair.

Because she was too far away, Talli couldn’t clearly see her face.

But she was already sure.

…That was the female lead, Theresa.

She finally remembered the plot from the original book.