The Rules of Blood-Volume Two ; Chapter 60 (276) - Perhaps Only For Blanc
Perhaps due to the chaos Blood Seraph was creating in other Domains, as the guard told Blanc, the entrance inside the city of Prida was wide open to all who came. Be it merchants, mercenaries, or citizens.
The guards looked in Blanc and his companions’ direction, but asked no questions as they passed. A good thing, a convenient thing, but one created from something bad.
Blood Seraph will suffer one day for all the choices they made since the moment they decided to betray Blood Denegis and the Empire. But all in due time. Before their heads could be mounted on pikes, he first had to take back his sister.
No matter the cost.
“You look angry,” Velakia said as she got to Blanc’s side, “What’s wrong?”
“Counting all my enemies, my dear,” Blanc sighed, shaking his head, “But now that we’re here, before we enjoy some food and the beauty of this city, we have supplies to buy.”
“Before that,” Velakia said, “You said a few times this will be our last, real stop, before we get to the Domain of Blood Seraph, correct?”
“Yes, the rest of the cities will be dangerous to stop in,” Blanc nodded. “Why do you ask?”
“I fear we might need to stay the night in this place,” Velakia began, “We need clothes, both for the road, and for the meeting with Blood Seraph.”
“That is true,” Blanc muttered, thinking on the matter, “Supplies, clothes, and a meal inside the city might take us a lot of time, and not to mention that I need parchment to write the letters before we leave this city. Is it fine with you to spend another night again?”
“With you?” Velakia asked, her eyes wide.
“N-no, I meant-”
But Velakia began laughing, interrupting him, “I know what you meant, and yes, if this is the last stop, we have to make sure we are ready.”
“Are you certain they are fine with it as well?” Blanc asked, looking towards Thareni and Lendros, who watched their conversation, despite understanding nothing of the Empire’s language.
Velakia sighed, not even turning to face them as she began talking in the language of their homeland, Iskahese, “Emanar mov apteon tespe, trupen en a tigaper. Asta elmabot prevo tasa cu?”
“Un, ema tesanpir,” Lendros bowed lightly towards her.
But Tahreni stood silent for a bit, her eyes meeting Blanc’s for a moment, before she placed a hand around Velakia’s shoulder, a smile on her face as she replied to Velakia, “Colde.”
Even though Blanc was slowly grasping the language, all he understood was close to jackshit.
Luckily for him, Velakia clarified, “They have no issues with staying for the night.”
“That’s good,” Blanc nodded, turning his sight towards the human-filled city street, “If that’s the case, we might as well look for an inn first.”
After picking the best suite at one of the inns on the main road, having a five-room layout with a bathtub, a living room, and private toilets, they left their backpacks inside their room and went back into the city.
The first objective was picking the supplies. Twenty pounds of oats and a pound of salt. Five pounds of dried meat, and twenty of smoke-dried fish. Vegetables were out of the question as they would spoil too quickly. But as a last addition, Blanc picked two pounds of raisins and two pounds of nuts that would make any porridge he made into a decently pleasing meal.
It looked like plenty of food, but realistically, as they would not stop to restock again, they had to make sure to ration it as well as they could; otherwise, in mere weeks, all that food would be gone.
Next would probably be clothes, a good idea overall, as Blanc also wanted to make sure he grabbed some clothes more appropriate to the place he was going. He had clothes decent enough to meet with Blood Seraph. But a thing he didn’t have were clothes thin enough for the overwhelming heat of the Domain of Blood Seraph.
Stolen novel; please .
Luckily, that’s why he left with gold in his pockets.
Unlucky, however, was that Velakia had other plans.
“I think some of us should take the food back at the inn before we buy more things,” she began, “Blanc dear, take Lendros with you and take everything back.”
Blanc frowned, “You are getting too comfortable, my dear. What makes you think you don’t have to help out?”
“I want to explore a bit and take my friend for a walk. We can meet here in half an hour, no?” Velakia asked, a kind, fake smile on her face.
“Ask nicely, and I might agree to it,” Blanc sighed.
Velakia approached lightly, “A reward would work best, no?”
“But we said… You are playing with me again,” Blanc shook his head, grabbing all of the supplies that he could carry.
He then pointed with his head towards Lendros to follow him.
Lendros looked towards Velakia, who only gave a sharp nod as confirmation to follow, sending him rushing with the rest of the supplies towards Blanc, who already started walking towards the inn.
[Translated from Iskahese]
“Well then,” Velakia spoke as he watched the two men get lost inside the crowd of the busy street, “Thirty minutes should be plenty. Follow me, Tahreni.”
“My princess…” Tahreni began, as she followed behind Velakia once they started walking again, “Tell me-”
“My princess?” Velakia frowned, “You sound like Lendros. What happened with you calling my name? Are we not friends? ”
Tahreni sighed as she looked forward, “There is something that is making me worry.”
“Speak freely,” Velakia clicked her tongue while looking at the signs of the stores nearby.
“Fine,” Tahreni replied, leaving any formality behind, “Did something happen between you and Blanc? And do not lie to me.”
Velakia’s eyes widened, “W-what makes you ask such a ridiculous question?”
“You told me to speak freely, so freely I shall speak,” Tehrani began, “I need to know the truth, Velakia. I do not intend to harm the man who is supposed to get us home. And do not get me wrong, I would be happy if you found a bit of happiness. You at least looked happier since the night we helped that man with his horse, but I need to know. Lendros is suspecting you two, and he will not ask questions. You know his mission and why he was appointed to be your Protector.”
Velakia remained silent, her eyes to the ground.
“You lost control that night, didn’t you?” Tahreni asked, her voice gentle.
“I did,” Velakia nodded, “Then we did it again last night.”
“Are you crazy?” Tahreni muttered, “I understand losing control, but doing it after that is madness. Do you have any idea what would happen if this comes out?”
“Tahreni,” Velakia spoke, her voice sharp and authoritarian, “I understand what I did wrong better than anyone. And that’s why we’re here now.”
“What do you mean?” Tahreni asked, her brows rising slightly in curiosity.
Velakia pointed with her head towards the sign of a store on the other side of the street.
As Tahreni turned to look at the foreign sign, Velakia began explaining.
“Blanc plans to tell his wives about what we’ve done. And since I was the one who lost control first, I have to at least explain my part to his wives, without him knowing.”
“Why go so far?” Tahrei asked, “It isn’t like you two could be together regardless. It was his fault as much as it was yours, so let him handle his own.”
“No,” Velakia shook her head, as she began crossing the street, “I owe him this much.”
“Velakia… do not tell me you began loving the man,” Tahreni muttered once they crossed the street, stopping right in front of the store.
Velakia remained still near the entrance of the store, her back towards Tahreni, “Perhaps it was unwise to allow you to speak freely, my friend.”
“Then tell me this… friend,” Tahreni spoke, “Is the letter you are about to write really for Blanc’s wives, or is it for you?”
“Perhaps both,” Velakia sighed, grabbing the handle at the store’s entrance, “Perhaps only for Blanc.”
“Are you done writing the letter, young lady?” the clerk behind the desk asked.
“Yes,” Velakia nodded, “How fast can it get to the Domain of Blood Maroux?”
“Well,” the old clerk began, clearing his throat, “Depends on the price, we have the on-foot option priced at-”
“Spare me the details, I have gold,” Velakia sighed, interrupting the man, “What’s the fastest you can get it there?”
“Two days by bird carrier,” the man replied, “It will be one gold coin for that.”
“Not an issue,” Velakia nodded, placing a gold coin on the table.
The man stretched his hand to grab it, but before he could grasp it, Velakia pressed a finger on top of it.
“Can you guarantee it will get there safely, secretly, and as fast as you mentioned?” she asked.
“I swear on the Vita above that it will,” the man pressed a hand against his chest, “Without a doubt.”
“Perfect,” Velakia smiled, raising her finger off the coin.
“If you could also tell us the name of the person you are sending this letter to,” the man said, grabbing the coin.
Velakia looked straight at the man as she replied, “Celine of Noble Blood Denegis.”
Volume Two ; Chapter 60 (276) - Perhaps Only For Blanc
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