The old man had a strange hair color, a mix of his naturally red hair beginning to turn gray.
Just like the strange man she ran into on the carriage earlier, it seemed this neighborhood had a lot of redheads…
That’s what Juliet thought as she quietly admired the scene.
Then, the people who went to catch the pickpocket returned to the square.
“Oh, you’re an elder!”
“Are you okay, sir?”
The people who returned with the pickpocket began to fuss around the old man.
“I’m fine. But…”
The old man leaning on the fountain in the square lightly touched the collar of the pickpocket who was caught with the end of his cane, and surprisingly, several wallets fell out.
“How many wallets did you steal?”
The townspeople were as surprised as Juliet. They took the pickpocket away again to find the owners of the wallets.
Then, it seemed Juliet and the old man were left alone at the fountain, as if they missed their timing to leave.
“You don’t seem to be from this village, young lady?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
“If there’s anything I can help you with, feel free to tell me.”
‘… Is this the time to ask him?’
The townspeople called him ‘sir’ and treated him with respect, so he was not just an ordinary old man.
Juliet took turns looking at the old man, who could be described as having a strong spirit, and his cane.
In fact, when she picked up the old man’s cane a while ago, Juliet had roughly realized something. The heavy cane was what is commonly referred to as a swordstick, with a sword hidden inside.
Suddenly, she remembered what Cain had told her.
“The most reliable people in the East are old mercenaries.”
He often talked about his mercenary days, and this was one of those things.
An old mercenary is not just an elderly person. It was a medal that meant they had survived on the battlefield for a long time.
Perhaps he could grant even an outrageous wish if asked. But Juliet decided to compromise with reality, since she would still have to ask one of the inhabitants of the city.
“Ah, well then.”
Juliet took out a folded piece of paper.
Zachary Law Firm.
“Could you tell me how to get here?”
* * *
Zachary Law Firm.
Zachary was the town’s lawyer, but his main business was real estate brokerage.
Since it’s next to Carcassonne, where the top headquarters are gathered, there were many people coming and going in Lobell, and renting houses for a short period of time was also common.
Ding.
“Welcome… Oh my, sir!”
Zachary was taken aback when he saw the old man who came in with the woman next to him.
“I’m just an escort. Attend to this young lady first.”
The old man said, pointing at Juliet.
“Excuse me. How can I assist you?”
With a smile, Zachary turned to Juliet and politely invited her to sit in a chair near his desk. As soon as they both sat down, she immediately explained why she was there.
“I want to rent a house. Preferably for about a week, and not too far from the square.”
“I see. Let me take a look.”
While Zachary was meticulously reviewing the documents, Juliet glanced towards the back.
The old man who accompanied Juliet was sitting comfortably in the armchair of the office, reading a newspaper as if it was his own home.
‘Is he a local lord?’
One thing was clear: he wasn’t an ordinary person.
Given the attitude of Zachary who greeted him with ‘sir’ and the townspeople earlier, he could even be someone high up in the top guild. That might be a bit too far-fetched, but who knows?
Juliet suddenly remembered that she didn’t know the old man’s name.
“Ah, we have a nice place available.”
Just then, Zachary knocked on his desk with his pen, and Juliet soon forgot about that thought.
After kindly explaining the rental conditions, Zachary took a quick glance at Juliet and asked.
“Are you by any chance affiliated with a guild?”
“No, I’m not.”
Guild.
There were lords in the East who had ruled over their territories for generations. There were systems and nobles, and there was a social circle.
‘Yes, there are, but…’
But what had the most influence was probably the guild. Simply put, it was an organization like a mercenary group.
“I do, however, have a pass issued by the guild.”
Juliet took out the pre-prepared pass. It was an identity certificate that had been useful on the train.
Zachary took a close look at the pass.
As Juliet said, along with the issued pass, there were two seals of famous top guilds enclosed. Juliet had obtained this in advance through the information guild before she followed Lennox to the North. She didn’t know at the time how useful it would be.
“I see. It has been confirmed.”
Thanks to the seals, Zachary couldn’t tell that the pass was a fake.
Juliet smiled with a broad smile.
The Guild was essentially a political and economic community.
And Lionel Lebatan was the one who laid the foundation for that system.
There’s a reason why even a three-year-old child knows the name of the king, even if they don’t know the Emperor’s name in the east.
“Lillian, Seneca… Miss? Or is it Mrs.?”
Zachary cautiously asked after seeing the name written on the pass. Juliet intended to respond faithfully to the initial settings without giving it much thought.
“Mrs.”
“Oh, I see. I apologize.”
“Mrs. Seneca. Are you here to meet your husband? If you have more companions, please provide your husband’s information here.”
“No!”
Juliet hastily changed the settings.
“My husband… he died. Two years ago.”
This was a side effect of hastily created settings. Juliet’s illusional husband was discarded just 30 seconds after being created.
“Oh, I’m sorry. You must have been deeply saddened. I apologize.”
Zachary looked at her with sympathy, leaving Juliet with no choice but to feign a somewhat sorrowful expression.
However, she had no other option. It was faster to kill a non-existent husband than to create one.
“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”
Zachary, who had handed Juliet over to the landlord Rhonda, saw her off kindly till the end.
Clang.
“Having a visitor in such a village is quite rare, isn’t it, sir?”
Zachary murmured while watching the two women walk away.
The ‘old man’ who was reading a newspaper in a comfortable chair gave no response.
“Anyway, she’s still a young lady. To be widowed… She must have suffered a lot at such a young age.”
Zachary, who had turned around thoughtlessly, was momentarily surprised.
The red-haired old man was no longer reading the newspaper.
He was sitting in the armchair like a lion, lightly resting his hands on the sword cane he always carried.
“Zachary.”
“Oh, yes, sir.”
“What was the name of the woman who just left?”
“Ah, that-.”
Zachary rummaged through his documents for a moment before informing him of the name of the customer who had just left.
Lillian Seneca.
“Right. That was definitely her name.”
The old man, looking in the direction where the woman had disappeared, had no longer any warmth in his face.
* * *
Meanwhile, Juliet was on her way to her original goal.
On a hill about a 10-minute walk from Lobell Square, there stood an unidentified building of great antiquity.
Whether or not she knew of this situation, after unpacking her luggage at her lodging, Juliet headed for the town library.
Next to the library, about a 10-minute walk from Lobell Square, there was an unidentified relic. It was the site of an old temple, but it was not known exactly which temple it was.
“Welcome, my name is Veronica. How can I help you?”
When Juliet entered the library, a woman spoke to her.
“But there won’t be much to see there?”
When Juliet explained her purpose of visit, the librarian kindly explained.
“No one knows what it is. It’s just been left neglected.”
“I see. May I take a look around?”
“Well, as much as you like.”
Librarian Veronica guided Juliet to the entrance of the ruins, telling her to look around and come back.
Juliet waited for her to walk away before immediately starting to check the four corners of the ruins.
“It should be somewhere here…”
In Lobell, there were some of the oldest temple ruins in the East. Just as there were neglected ancient temple ruins around the imperial capital.
“Ah.”
While pressing down on a place where a corner might have been, Juliet found soil that felt a bit different from the rest.
Thud.
“Found it.”
When she hurriedly swept away the spot, a small box came out. Inside it was a fragment of a mirror.
In ancient times, there was a tradition of burying fragments of mirrors to pray for the blessing of the gods.
Juliet had seen Dahlia in a previous life find the artifacts of the temple like this.
Now that Carlyle is using divine power to chase her, the best way to hide herself is with an object imbued with divine power.
Even if it can’t hide Juliet for long, it’ll be a temporary solution. She didn’t know much about divine power, but it was said that the older the holy artifacts, the stronger the divine power.
‘Come to think of it, how could Dahlia use divine power at will even though she wasn’t a priestess?’
While looking at the mirror fragment, Juliet thought flatly.
Moreover, she had often revealed secrets that even high-ranking clerics didn’t know.
‘Maybe it was possible because she was the child of prophecy.’
Juliet carefully wrapped the mirror fragment she had found in a handkerchief to prevent it from breaking and put it in her pocket.