A Righteous Female Knight Never Compromises!-Chapter 63 : Why would paying really lead to mistaken identity
{Chapter 63} Why would paying really lead to mistaken identity?
Kingdom Calendar 3285, 30th of Vendémiaire.
...Although describing a date so formally gives the illusion that a long time has passed, in reality, only two short days have gone by since Anna and Atala went on their date.
And two days after refusing the royal envoy and the king's summons, Anna chose to enter the palace once again.
However, not under the name of Anna Garland, but under the name of “Servant Anran.”
“senpai, you look really handsome now.”
A fitted shirt paired with a black jacket, simple and clean black trousers, shoes polished to a mirror shine, clean white gloves, and a neatly tied ponytail that exuded efficiency.
Her facial features were deliberately modified with makeup and magic to soften the more feminine aspects, giving Anna a completely androgynous appearance. Without asking, one couldn't tell whether Anna was male or female.
Her voice was also magically altered to sound slightly hoarse, and further adjustments were made to her eye corners and nose shape, creating the effect of “Anran not looking like Anna.”
“I never expected senpai to buy a set of men's clothes, and it fits so perfectly! I also didn't expect senpai to look so good in this outfit.”
“I bought this outfit just out of curiosity, never thought it would come in handy like this...” Anna quipped.
“If I were into men, I'd probably throw myself at senpai right now.”
“Does that mean Lou doesn't want to throw herself at me now?”
“...Cunning!”
At least upon closer inspection, Anna's features were still recognizable, and Louise didn't hesitate to plant a kiss on Anna's cheek.
“So, what should we do next?” Anna asked.
“...Next, as a servant, senpai probably won't be allowed to enter the banquet with me,” Louise said without hesitation. “Senpai, try to find that man named Balin Lorand during this time.”
“Then, as planned, I and this old butler will personally capture Balin Lorand,” Atala, who was hiding nearby, chimed in, glancing at the old butler also hiding in the shadows.
Another kidnapping and interrogation, this method was always simple, direct, and effective.
This was the plan the group had come up with after yesterday's simulation.
Yesterday, Louise brought new news, the palace was hosting a banquet to celebrate the coming of age of the king's younger brother, Prince Virel.
Anna didn't care about Prince Virel; her only concern was Balin Lorand.
After running a simulation, Anna discovered that if she attended the banquet, she would encounter this masked man named Balin, and after the banquet, she would inexplicably die at his hands.
Although she still hadn't achieved any accomplishments, encountering him meant there was a chance to act. Thus, the plan was formed: Anna would disguise herself as a servant and, along with Atala and the old butler, search for Balin Lorand within the palace.
In the simulation, her death was inexplicable, but the simulator clearly provided information about Balin Lorand, and Anna was confident she could find him.
“We're here.”
The old butler suddenly spoke up, and everyone's gaze turned to outside the carriage.
The palace of Rianved had arrived.
Rianved Castle, a castle built to the specifications of a palace.
Generally, castles were not comfortable to live in, poor lighting and cramped rooms made them places no normal noble would want to stay in permanently.
Many local nobles only retreated to their castles during wartime, living in mansions in the city's wealthy districts or grand estates outside the city during peacetime, like the building now used as the kingdom's headquarters for the Adventurer's Guild.
But Rianved Castle was different. Named after the kingdom, or rather, the nation, it was built with “comfortable living” as its primary goal.
After weakening the castle's defensive functions, it had achieved a level of comfort comparable to the palaces of other nations.
Of course, weakening didn't mean eliminating. Balancing high comfort with a certain degree of defensive capability meant the castle was much larger than usual, occupying almost 50% of the inner city's land.
In a sense, Rianved Castle was “the inner city within the inner city.”
...
“Senpai, please be careful.”
Following the palace servants through the twists and turns of the castle, they arrived at the banquet hall. Naturally, Anna, disguised as a servant, was stopped at the entrance.
At the banquet hall door, Louise whispered her farewells to Anna before entering the hall first.
It's fine, I still have this spatial movement ring.
Twisting the spatial movement ring on her finger a few times, Anna glanced in the direction of Atala and the old butler, who were using skills to remain hidden within the palace, then naturally followed the guiding servant to the rest area.
It was quite strange. Ever since exchanging for this spatial movement ring, Anna had never used it.
Even in simulations, it was never mentioned that she possessed a spatial movement ring, nor did she ever use it to escape.
If Anna hadn't tested the ring last night to see if it worked, she might have thought she'd spent hundreds of achievement points on a mere decoration...
Of course, before coming to the palace, the spatial movement ring had already been fully charged with magic.
After arriving at the rest area, Anna lay down for a while in the slightly luxurious room, then stood up.
“Mr. Anran, may I ask what you need?”
The address took Anna a moment to process, but she quickly remembered that “Anran” was her current alias.
Why did she choose such an Eastern-style name? She didn't even look Eastern.
Silently cursing Helga's poor naming skills, Anna looked at the servant standing at the door.
“Can I go out for a walk?”
“Of course, the palace allows a certain degree of free movement. Even if you try to enter restricted areas, someone will stop you.”
Although this should have been a “conversation between servants,” the palace servant's attitude was unusually deferential.
“Then I'll go out for a walk...”
Everything was going as expected.
“Very well, but please return by afternoon.”
“Understood.”
.
!
Chapter 63 : Why would paying really lead to mistaken identity
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