Chapter 71: Encountering an Acquaintance

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The sunlight was blinding, the bells tolled loudly, and the crowd buzzed with noise. Jeanne arrived at the market, where she saw a group of children dressed in crudely made mini version of the city guard's light armor, holding wooden swords and small red shields. It was said that this was the Children's Holy Legion of Cast City Guard, established by the son of the council high-ranking official Savonas, with the purpose of uncovering various darkness in the city.

Jeanne leaned against the fountain beside the group of children, listening to their conversation.

"What is it, another confidential affair?"

"Yes, Captain."

—A girl with short flaxen hair, around thirteen or fourteen years old, cautiously looked around before approaching a boy standing by the wall with an air of authority. He had a healthy, rosy complexion, sleek black hair, well-defined features, and appeared to be well-groomed.

"Exactly, Sir Bedoras, — it's confidential!" The little girl straightened her back, her face serious, saluting the boy like a true soldier before continuing her hushed reply.

"Oh, confidential, the dictator Roman Empress's spies that are in Cast City has been discovered?"

"No, sir, — we still haven't found any spies that the dictator bitch planted in the city..."

"Ah, right," Bedoras corrected himself, "I heard someone reported that their aunt is involved in a secret cult that worships the Dark Young, it's Giovanni's aunt, she drew blasphemous spells and arrays in her room, how about you? If the report is true, I'll have to request the city guard to arrest her and execute her directly."

"Sir, after our investigation, we found out — Giovanni's aunt is just an ordinary mentally ill person, her mind doesn't seem to be quite right..."

"Don't dawdle, soldier! We don't have time for this, tell me what the confidential affair is."

He spoke loudly, in a voice that didn't sound at all like it was discussing a confidential affair.

"Yes, sir!" the little girl said, "Here's the thing, —Shalya's stepmom and her lover, — a sneaky peasant, when the dad went to the city underground to fix the natural gas pipeline valve, they stole and drank a rare bottle of red wine from the dad's cellar. That sneaky peasant got drunk and then did some unspeakable things with the stepmom, and while doing so, he loudly told the stepmom, — their leader is planning some kind of operation, and during it, he'll take advantage to target a certain Holy Cross Church, — it's said to be hiding a lot of money, so he can run away with the stepmom. She was very happy and offered a candle jar on the statue of the Lady of Health, thanking the goddess for helping her escape from that fat pig of a husband."

"Sinful, utterly heinous!" Bedoras frowned, pronouncing the wickedness of the stepmother and her lover, then asked, "How did you find out, Anna?"

"From my sister Vina, who heard it from the cook Fatalon, who has a liking for her, and Fatalon's information came from..."

"The man's address?" The little boy captain cut her off sternly.

"Lorenelle's Grocery on Gesualdo Street near the Francis Academy."

"Good," Bedoras said, "We'll send people to investigate this tonight."

Jeanne glanced sideways at the group of children earnestly discussing 'confidential affairs' in the market.

These kids aren't just fooling around.

Even if they were, once the higher ups from the Council got involved, it ceased to be a mere game.

An extensive network of informants composed of seemingly innocent children spread throughout the city, Jeanne thought, this high ranking Council member named Savonas is quite a talent... Perhaps he only stumbled upon it and then decided to get involved, or maybe he actively encouraged his own son to form this mini army that represents the city's future.

She noticed a little boy, about seven or eight years old, leaning against the wall and crying loudly, looking very sad.

"What are you crying about?" a slightly older boy beside him asked.

"I reported my father and aunt for secretly sleeping together!... But then they found out...  my father was part of a scheme with an underground cult to blow up the natural gas pipeline. They arrested him, sent him to prison, and he was executed three days later!... Executed! If I had known my father would be executed, I wouldn't have come!"

"Oy, Lunien," the slightly older boy shook his head reproachfully, "How could you have such a sinful thought! Think about it, if the scheme to blow up the natural gas pipeline and create panic had actually succeeded, how many people would have died? You're actually reluctant to sacrifice your own family for the greater good of our city! Do you want to be executed too?"

Lunien immediately stopped crying, but his face was twisted with fear, almost unable to catch his breath, perhaps feeling as though he was about to be executed himself.

Jeanne shook her head.

It's hard to make a judgment.

But there are indeed many unstable factors in this city, and most of them revolve around those flammable gases.

"Excuse me!" A plump woman, her face flushed with excitement, ran over and accidentally knocked down a young woman who was buying barbecue by the roadside. But she didn't have time to care about such things; she just grabbed a boy and asked, "Can you tell me where I can find a little girl with short stature and blue eyes?"

"Her name? Ma'am."

"Annie, Annie Sidonia..."

"Which squad is she on?" the boy asked her seriously.

"By Gedderone's grace! I really don't know... I've been searching all day, asking everyone I see, but it's no use. If this is because I knocked down a girl going to magic school yesterday and didn't apologize, then just throw the punishment at me! Don't take it out on my poor little Annie..."

"Is she your daughter, ma'am?"

"She's my niece. This child is usually very fond of learning and very well-behaved. I thought she would grow up to be a respected scholar... Suddenly, a few kids enticed her into joining this legion. Just imagine—she's delicate and frail, yet here they say she has to fight with wooden swords and shields..."

She sighed deeply.

"That's your own prejudice!" the boy told her seriously, "Serving the future of the city is the most honorable thing! You don't even consider..."

How tedious—Jeanne shook her head and turned away, no longer paying attention to this noisy crowd.

She noticed—the young woman who had been knocked down earlier was slowly getting back on her feet.

She wore dark blue men's trousers, a white short-sleeved top, and a deep red overcoat draped over her shoulders. The woman had long golden hair tied back with a red ribbon into a rough, short ponytail. She had rolled on the ground twice to protect the barbecue in her arms—despite her fair skin that looked like that of a noble lady, she seemed to have come away unscathed.

"How disgusting, these bastards in this place have no manners at all..." the woman muttered with harsh words.

Jeanne took a few steps over and reached out to help her up.

"Huh? Oh, thank you—"

The woman stood up, holding onto Jeanne's hand.

She looked up, her gaze meeting Jeanne's. Then there was a pause.

The emerald green eyes... the casual demeanor... the carelessly tied golden hair... and the equally astonished expression.

In that instant, all Jeanne could do was blink, bringing the distant noisy world back into focus. As their eyebrows furrowed deeply and their hands gripped tighter—almost to the point of crushing each other's fingers—she suddenly understood.

Both of them broke into a fierce grin—a wild, savage grin that was completely out of character for these beautiful young women.

"Isn't this the crazy bitch who insulted my Sire?" that hateful voice said, "Do you think today will be your death day? I'd really like to repay everything that happened that day."

"I think today will be your death day," Jeanne said with a cold smile, "I will kill every single one of your ghoul-faced Sire's subordinates. I will chop your bodies into four pieces and toss them to the wild dogs. Your bones, I will grind them into dust and blow them away in the wind. I will take down every chump who spouts your ghoul-faced Sire's name with respect. Till the word 'King Arthur' becomes nothing more than meaningless babble in the mouths of infants—"

"After I send you on your way— try saying that to me again!" Mordred replied with an equally chilling intent to kill.

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