Raven lay down staring at the ceiling. She had felt sleepy before they arrived at the inn. But now that she had somewhere to sleep, she wondered where all her sleepiness had gone.
She sat up and looked around the room. There was nothing fancy in the room, nothing interesting. She decided to go out.
She gave herself a nod of approval, and wrapped her scarf around her neck, covering the lower part of her face. She went out.
There was a crowd of people outside. Most of them looked as if they were coming from pleasure houses. Some were drunk, laughing like crazy while being carried in the arms of noisy ladies.
Despite herself, she rolled her eyes in disgust.
" The men are drinking, the women are struggling to even buy salt."
Guards were still roaming around.
Sigh. " They really can't sleep without worrying about me." She clicked her tongue with sadness. Running and being chased, this wasn't something she ever wished for.
She watched the guards as they moved. Her eyes fell on their swords. An idea popped up in her head. She was being hunted by people who carried swords.
If she was caught by chance,... She corrected herself. If she was caught by ' misfortune' then she couldn't just fight them using her hands and kicks. But if she also had a sword, at least it could increase her survival rate. Maybe she would even be able to run away!
She decided to go to a weapon shop and buy a sword for herself.
She had no money. With a bitter smile, she cursed, and scrutinized the environment.
Her eyes caught sight of a guy dressed in vibrant colors.
Truly eye-catching. He looked like a peacock among chickens. He stood with his peers near a stall, picking up some accessories.
Seeing how extravagantly he was dressed, his attitude, and his peers, Raven came to a conclusion. The man was rich, so borrowing money from him wouldn't be that bad. Since he wanted attention, Raven was going to fulfill his wish. She walked over to him, and
' accidentally ' bumped him.
" My apologies." She murmured and kept going.
The apology wasn't for bumping into him. It was for her borrowing act.
The peacock only gave her a glance, not really caring. He continued talking to his peers.
After talking to the stall keeper, he reached for his pouch to pay. It wasn't there.
The image of a person who had just bumped him floated in his mind. He looked left and right, but saw no one.
He buried his face in his hands, laughing from frustration.
" Those stinky thieves. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?!"
People stopped walking for a second and gave him strange looks.
" What?!"
They shook their heads and went back to their schedule.
" You are too easy to steal from." One of his peers just patted his back while others made fun of him.
Raven patted the money pouch before entering the weapon shop.
Since she didn't want to be recognized, she threw her bargaining hobby aside and bought the sword for the asking price.
She realized she wasn't really far away from her home. But instead of going there, she headed to Eniva's storehouse.
There were carts being pushed from that direction. She stepped aside and allowed them to pass.
She continued her way and soon realized those carts were from Eniva's store.
She quickly hid.
" I don't understand why we need this." The man's voice was calm. Raven tried to remember where she had heard this voice but she didn't. She slowly raised her head to steal a look.
Raven saw a shadow of a feminine figure beside the man. Raven tried as she could to see them but she only saw the man.
She instantly recognized him. The man who once bought them wine. Lance.
She was confused. " What is... "
" Aren't we taking the whole thing?" One of the workers asked.
" You're unnecessarily loud." A beautiful voice sounded. The worker awkwardly looked down.
Although she sounded arrogant, Raven couldn't help but admire how beautiful her voice was. Truly sweet.
She subconsciously touched her neck.
' Why do I sound like an eagle?'
She felt even more eager to see the lady. But she didn't succeed since Lance was blocking her sight.
Lance glanced at the lady with an undefined expression. He looked at that worker. " Take only the one on the list."
The worker nodded and walked back in the store.
The couple of people continued talking. Their voices dropped low, so Raven wasn't able to hear anything.
She slouched down and started thinking a little too hard.
Eniva was dead.
Lance's face flashed in her head. She recognized that she had seen the man the night before Eniva's and Orchid's death.
Orchid had said he was her mother's friend. A fellow medic.
She could think of two possibilities.
One: Lance worked with Eniva and so took over her storehouse after her death.
Two: Lance was somehow involved in their deaths.
But was it because of some kind of herbs? If so then why would he not just find them himself or tell Eniva to help him?
Or why would Orchid...
So many questions piled up in her mind that her head began to burn. She clutched her head trying to somehow ignore the throbbing pain.