“…How did you know?”
It was Erna’s voice. Kalion smirked and whispered.
“What’s the point of changing how you look using your magic when you don’t change the way you walk?”
He could tell right away. The certain walk, the hand movement she did, and the way her eyes glistened when something grabbed her attention. Erna’s spells could hide her appearance, but not her nature.
“I’m glad that I could tell but you should be more careful next time.”
“Psh.”
Kalion’s comment made Erna, whose ego was hurt as she had thought her disguise was flawless, pout her lips. Kalion kissed Erna’s head and asked the merchant, “How much for the necklace?”
* * *
Erna fidgeted the necklace on her hand as they walked around the village.
It looked like a single round pendant, but it actually split into two.
A thin silver string went through each pendant. This sort of accessory was typical for couples to buy in these kinds of festivals. It was also common for the pendants to be attached to something other than a necklace.
The merchant added that he engraved initials for free and asked for their names.
“Um… Ella.”
“Hm… Kay.”
The two mumbled their fake names, and the merchant added two big letters “E” and “K”, and handed it back.
Erna received the necklace and fumbled it with her finger.
Should I give it to him?
The shape of the pendant and the initial honestly seemed very silly and unrefined. Something that couples would have.
As Erna silently looked at the necklace, Kalion, who had been leading her, pulled to a stop.
“We’re here. This is the place.”
Erna quickly put the necklace in her pocket after hearing his voice.
She looked up and saw a two-story house. The walls were light ocher colored and roof tiles rested on top of red bricks. A well decorated garden and stairs could be seen over the house door. She could feel that the person living here liked to keep things neat.
“What should we do?”
Erna thought for a bit as Kalion asked. Then she dragged him to a secluded alley.
“There’s nobody around, right?”
“No. Why?”
As Kalion checked there was no one near them, Erna started to move her hands. A complicated formula started to appear midair. And as the spell casted, Kalion’s eyes widened with surprise.
Just a moment ago, Erna had been disguised as a stranger. However, now Vanessa was standing before him.
“How is it? Does everything look good?”
This time her voice was also the same as Vanessa’s. Kalion was not sure how to respond, so he just blinked. He then noticed something different.
“Did I change too?”
He was shocked by his own voice. It was a familiar voice. It was the voice of one of Vanessa’s secretaries who was frequently seen with her.
Kalion shook his head as it was his first time changing.
“We’re going to get caught.”
Their disguise could only trick Chenille for so long. As Kalion had noticed Erna through her behavior, Chenille would probably notice theirs and realize they aren’t Vanessa and her secretary.
Erna nodded at Kalion’s words.
“Most likely. But if we entered like this instead of marching into their house without the disguise, maybe we could gain some more intel. Let’s see how far we can go.”
* * *
Chenille Regis took a sip of tea as she listened to the noise from the festival.
“It will be peaceful again after tonight…”
It was a quiet village which is why Chenille liked the place. The village was a sufficient place for her to live in the name of Alexia after ending her wild career in the wild castle.
Although he kept telling herself that his relations with the castle were over, it was still constantly on her mind. Especially after hearing about the recent arrival of Haband’s delegates and the exile of the royal family of Aether, she could not sleep properly.
So, she had sent a letter to his relative who still worked in the castle.
A response letter arrived right as she started to worry if her letter had safely reached the receiver. Although the reply had arrived days later than usual, she was still glad to have received one.
They’re coming for the two kingdoms again…?
No wonder Vanessa had come to visit. Although she had said that she came to share a glass of tea, her eyes were sharp. It was a look that was filled with doubts and worries of whether or not Chenille had leaked information about the duke of Hessenguard and the castle.
“The way she acts sometimes…”
It wasn’t that she could not understand Vanessa’s behavior. She knew the lives Vanessa had taken just to bring peace to Hessenguard.
Right when Chenille was about to put away the book she struggled to focus on reading, a knock came from the door.
“Who is it?”
Chenille walked towards the door. She was stunned to see who it was.
“Madam Vanessa? What…”
As Chenille stood in shock, Vanessa opened her mouth.
“I have some things to talk about regarding the dukes.”
“Pardon?”
Chenille, with her surprised voice, walked a few steps back signaling Vanessa to enter. As Vanessa and her secretary walked in, Chenille asked in a trembling voice.
“Something to talk about… Are you referring to the pillar? Or the black hounds?”
As she was still in shock, Chenille missed to catch Vanessa making a fist from the information she had extracted.
