CHAPTER 2

The carriage gradually slowed down.

The sun that had been hanging high in the sky when they departed from the outskirts had already turned into a blazing sunset.

If this much time had passed, then they must have almost arrived.

It’s okay. The Grand Duke himself wouldn’t come out personally. One of the important people will probably deal with me… There’s no special evidence anyway, so they’ll let me go soon…

Arliata desperately tried to calmly organize the situation in her head.

However, the growling sound coming from her stomach kept scattering her thoughts.

If I had known this would happen, I should’ve eaten first…

If she ended up in prison, then before going there, she would plead her innocence.

She would explain that people had simply fallen in love with her songs and rewarded her with things like bread.

Then perhaps they would at least listen to her story.

Her smooth wheat-colored hair and turquoise eyes were quite beautiful, and her matching voice was rather lovely as well.

But that was all.

It wasn’t to the extent that people would become so enamored with her appearance and voice that they would offer her things.

Arliata herself knew that fact better than anyone.

I really should’ve eaten first… Even if I had no work, I should’ve gotten up early and eaten. I’m someone who runs on food, and I’ve been starving all day, so my brain is starting to go strange!

Creeeak—

As her thoughts wandered unconsciously, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Startled, Arliata instinctively swallowed a breath.

“Hup—”

“Get down.”

The man she had seen when she was brought here pulled her out of the carriage with a touch that seemed slightly gentler than before.

The enormous tower before her was dyed red by the setting sun.

As she entered the tower with the men standing on either side of her, a seemingly endless staircase appeared.

How long had they climbed?

By the time beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and the tops of trees became visible through a small window, a massive door finally appeared.

The man standing on her right carefully knocked on the door, and it immediately opened.

Inside the spacious room lit by only a few candles were two men.

One sat behind a mahogany desk with the window at his back, while another man in elaborate clothing stood before him.

Because there was a lit candelabrum beside the elaborately dressed man, she could see that he had light purple hair and wore clothing adorned with peacock feathers.

However, she couldn’t properly see the face of the man in black sitting before the window.

The sunset light streamed strongly from behind him.

The two men who had brought Arliata here practically threw her into the center of the room and made her sit.

This is my chance!

The moment she saw the elaborately dressed man move his lips as though he was about to speak, Arliata shouted loudly.

“I have never committed fraud! I’m innocent!”

The room became even quieter than it had been before she entered.

“Everyone simply liked my songs! They just rewarded me for them. I only received things like lamb sandwiches or linen fabric…”

“I heard you received money as well.”

How does he know that too?!

“Th-That… Even bards receive money sometimes…”

“You were an outsider who entered the Grand Duchy eight months ago. You were neither a bard nor a physician. Yet you sought out the sick, sang to them, and accepted money in return.”

The man in elaborate clothing spoke to Arliata in an increasingly sinister voice.

Meanwhile, the man seated behind the luxurious mahogany desk remained silent.

Even though she couldn’t see his face, Arliata could tell that the hidden man’s gaze was fixed on her.

“If this isn’t fraud, then what is?”

There were only two men in front of her, yet it felt as though a blade was pressed against her throat.

Her mind was sending frantic warnings that this situation was extremely dangerous.

But even in this moment, she was hungry.

They say even a ghost that dies after eating looks better!

She had grown up hearing that she was clever and quick-witted at the orphanage, yet her brain simply refused to work.

“How dare you wander through the sacred Grand Duchy committing fraud? I should banish you to the Forest of Screams beyond the Grand Duchy’s borders…”

“I-I…”

At the words Forest of Screams and banishment, the hands she had placed on the floor trembled uncontrollably.

The gaze of the man in black became even more intense.

“I am someone who sings lullabies!”

An even deeper silence settled over the splendid yet dark room.

“Lullabies?”

The man who had remained silent all this time, making her wonder if he could even speak, finally spoke in a low voice.

Now! I feel like I’ll survive only if I say something right now!

“People who hear my lullabies have especially good dreams and recover from illnesses more quickly! That’s why they rewarded me even though I refused to accept anything!”

“Ahahahahaha!”

Suddenly, loud laughter filled the room.

The man dressed in black leaned back and laughed heartily before bending forward again and chuckling.

Seeing a man dressed entirely in black suddenly burst into laughter, only one thought appeared in Arliata’s stunned mind.

He’s insane!

Judging from the seat he occupied, he was probably of higher status than the man in elaborate clothing.

The Grand Duke himself wouldn’t come out personally over some petty fraudster.

So he must be someone of very high rank within the Grand Duke’s household.

Perhaps he’s the Grand Duke’s aide? Someone like that holds a high position…? Is this place really okay?

For the first time, Arliata regretted the past eight months.

The Grand Duke rarely showed himself, and countless rumors surrounded the Grand Duke’s castle.

People said ghosts wandered there.

Others claimed a demon lived within its walls.

Although she had traveled to many places throughout the Empire, entering the territory of the Grand Duke of Raphaeleon had been especially difficult.

And yet she had deliberately broken her own rules and settled in this gloomy, rumor-filled place because of the villagers.

This is why I should’ve moved on quickly… I got too close to the villagers.

She had been living as a wanderer for eight years.

It had been a very long time since she had found a place she liked this much.

Uncle Ganelon’s huge sandwiches were cheap and delicious.

Ardi, who sold fabrics, always tried to give her a discount whenever good fabric arrived.

At Aunt Shila’s bookstore, there were rare books she couldn’t find anywhere else.

And contrary to the rumors, the village square was clean and beautiful.

Most of all, someone her own age, Yuel, had become a reliable guarantor who vouched for her to the villagers.

Her life of singing and earning money from it had been enjoyable, but she wasn’t immune to the exhaustion of never being able to settle down anywhere.

Yet despite charging less than she did elsewhere, she had ended up in danger of dying because of this madman.

I’d rather be asked to attend someone’s night service like last time!

Even while countless thoughts threatened to burst her head apart, the man continued laughing.

When it lasted longer than expected, even the man wearing peacock feathers turned around.

Only then did the laughter finally stop, and a low voice drifted out.

“Mitchell, have you finally gone mad? Or am I the one who’s mad? A woman who sings lullabies?”

“But…”

“What use are songs? Judging by the absurd nonsense she’s spouting, she truly seems to be a fraudster. Lock her underground and throw her out.”

Underground? Throw me out? Forget dying, they’re going to throw me out this easily? Do they know how hard it was for me to get here?!

The nights beyond the Grand Duchy’s borders were filled with monsters.

How difficult had it been to avoid those monsters and make her way here?

The Grand Duchy’s territory was even larger than the Imperial Capital.

Naturally, people gathered in its vast and fertile lands, and even its outskirts held three times as many people as an ordinary territory.

She had entered the Grand Duchy despite the monster attacks precisely because there were so many people.

The more people there were, the easier it was to make money.

As proof, although she charged less than elsewhere, she had already managed to save quite a considerable amount.

No… Absolutely not. I was just about to save the large sum I’d been dreaming of!

Arliata made up her mind.

She would risk everything.

“Wait! My lullabies aren’t ordinary songs!”

Just as the man called Mitchell gestured outside to summon someone, Arliata shouted desperately.

“People who listen to my lullabies recover faster and don’t have nightmares! The next day they feel especially good, and everything they do goes well! They’re not just ordinary lullabies!”

The two men silently stared at the determined-looking Arliata.

Damn it… They don’t believe me? But I don’t have anything else I can say…

“What shall we do?”

Mitchell turned around and quietly asked the man in black.

“I-It’s true. Would I dare lie before someone so important? Besides, I only accepted the money because people insisted on giving it to me! If my songs had no effect, they wouldn’t have paid me in the first place!”

Silence once again filled the room.

At some point, the sun had set completely and moonlight had appeared outside the window.

The man in black looked as though he had been swallowed by the darkness itself.

For an instant, it seemed as though a soft laugh escaped him.

“Then prove your worth tonight. If your words are true, I shall spare your life. If not, tomorrow night I will banish you to the Forest of Screams.”

It was the longest thing he had said since she entered the room.

Mitchell hurriedly turned around and approached him.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Isn’t this what you brought her here for?”

“But I never expected her to say something so ridiculous.”

“Since things have come to this, let’s see whether that damned prophecy is correct.”

Though both men spoke in low voices, for some reason it felt as though they were casually bickering.

The man rose from his chair and approached Arliata, who was kneeling on the floor.

He had looked large even from a distance, but the closer he came, the larger he seemed.

Arliata’s head tilted farther and farther back as she looked up at the giant man.

And then she became certain.

The man standing before her wasn’t merely a high-ranking aide of the Grand Duke.

He was the Grand Duke of Raphaeleon himself.

The man who had displayed genius from the age of ten.

The Sword Master who could kill monsters with sword aura alone.

The man whose massive physique had been extraordinary since the age of thirteen.

The man said to possess overflowing dignity and an overwhelming aura.

Yet the first thing she noticed wasn’t his enormous build or his noble bearing.

It was—

Good heavens… Why does his face look like that…?

The terrifying complexion on his face and the enormous dark circles beneath his eyes.