Chapter 12: Departure

“You’re saying you’re leaving?” Marfa widened her eyes in slight surprise, looking at the young lord before her. He was now wearing ordinary adventurer’s clothing, with a seemingly old and dull longsword hanging diagonally on his back. Beside him, Ophariel, wrapped in a black cloak, stood silently, only her bright sapphire blue eyes flickering in the shadow of the cloak.

“That’s right,” Julian nodded, lightly pressing the hilt of his sword at his waist, looking at the servant before him.

“I have some urgent matters to attend to and will be leaving here for a while. I think if all goes well, I should be able to return by the end of the month. During this time, everything will continue as usual, don’t worry about me. Regarding the small town, I don’t think there’s anything that particularly needs my attention or handling at the moment.”

Due to Julian’s orders, the old town mayor had already begun to repair and reorganize that road. Because of this, before the road was repaired, this small town’s connection to the outside world was basically cut off – but for a small town that was already isolated from the world, this actually didn’t cause them any particular trouble.

“I’ve left some money, you can handle it yourself. If you have time, you might as well replace those dirty and worn tablecloths and bedding.”

“I understand, my lord,” Marfa carefully took the money bag Julian handed over, then bowed deeply to him.

“I will convey your requirements to the others.”

“Then, what about me, my lord?” Standing beside Marfa, Erin timidly reached out her hand and asked.

“What should I do, should I go with you…”

Julian didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced at Ophariel. Noticing his gaze, Ophariel stepped forward, walking to the girl’s side and looking at her.

“You don’t need to come with us. As a maid, you’re still very lacking,” the girl’s clear and serious voice sounded, making little Erin nervously hold her breath.

“Your etiquette isn’t perfect enough, and your tea-making skills aren’t up to par. As a maid, your posture also hasn’t met the strict requirements and standards. Moreover, we didn’t allow you to speak, yet you took the initiative to question your master… Honestly, Erin, you’re not a qualified maid.”

“I, I will try hard, Miss Ophariel!” Hearing this, the little girl’s face turned pale. She tightly gripped the hem of her dress, raised her head, and looked at Ophariel before her with fear and unease.

“I will definitely try hard. If I’ve done anything wrong, I will correct it! Please, don’t drive me away, I really need this job… I will definitely try hard!”

“If there’s no good guidance, no amount of effort will be meaningful,” hearing these words from Ophariel, the girl’s eyes suddenly dimmed. But Ophariel’s next words rekindled the flame of hope in her eyes.

“Therefore, I think during the time we’re away, you should have enough time to learn these things… Mrs. Marfa, could you please teach her what a maid should do?”

“No problem, Miss Ophariel,” hearing Ophariel’s words, a flash of surprise passed through Marfa’s calm expression. She carefully looked at the young lady before her, then showed a gentle smile and responded. Then, she reached out her hand and lightly pressed on Erin’s shoulder.

“I promise you, when the two of you return, she will definitely be a qualified maid.”
The heavy door slowly closed. Julian shifted his gaze from the castle now hidden by tree shadows and looked at the girl beside him.

“I didn’t expect you to be so strict. I bet that little one was almost scared to tears by you.”

“Current strictness is for future ease, Mr. Julian,” Ophariel put down her black cloak and looked at the forest before her, squinting slightly as the brilliant sunlight shone on her.

“If we’re not strict now, then in the future, she will definitely face unimaginable blame.”

“Is that so?” Hearing this, Julian became somewhat curious. He originally thought that Ophariel’s strict requirements for Erin’s etiquette were just some kind of insistence due to her royal background, but from Ophariel’s perspective, it seemed completely different. However, Ophariel didn’t say anything more on this issue, so Julian didn’t pursue it further. He found that since returning to this world, this princess seemed extremely reluctant to talk about her past affairs, almost never mentioning anything from before on her own initiative. Of course, considering the fact that she was murdered, perhaps Ophariel herself was subconsciously hoping to avoid that painful past.

After leaving the castle, Julian didn’t head down the mountain. Instead, he led Ophariel into the forest behind the mountain.

There was no path here.

The overgrown weeds, vines, and unrestrained, randomly growing tree branches, along with those fallen stones and tree trunks covered in moss, made it almost impossible for ordinary people to move. Especially in the current season, not only did one have to worry about the slippery ground underfoot, but those predators curled up lazily in the grass due to the weather were even more dangerous.

Ophariel’s movements were somewhat clumsy – this was normal. For a lady who probably had never walked in a forest since birth, subconsciously treating this place like a country road or the flat avenues of the royal city was not something to laugh about. Perhaps in the minds of those ladies, even the paths on hillsides were like what they walked on, just slightly steeper… But when they stepped on the slippery mud and collapsed gravel, this naive thought was immediately ruthlessly destroyed.

In contrast, Julian moved through the forest with a leisurely strolling posture. Those stretching and crisscrossing branches didn’t hinder his movement. On the contrary, in Ophariel’s view, these plants seemed to actively make way for Julian, allowing him to move forward easily and freely. Of course, this was just an illusion. In fact, apart from being slightly more agile in his movements, Julian didn’t show any abnormal behavior.
Could he be a half-elf?

While forcefully pulling her cloak that had gotten tangled in the tree branches, Ophariel sighed helplessly. To be honest, when Julian first proposed this idea, she subconsciously thought it wasn’t a big deal, so when Julian smiled and asked if she needed to prepare more, the girl naturally refused his suggestion. It wasn’t until now that Ophariel discovered that mountain paths were not as easy to walk as she had imagined.

“Ah!”

In a daze, Ophariel felt she had stepped on something soft under her foot, which made her cry out involuntarily, instinctively wanting to jump away. But she forgot that the ground around her was all slippery mud. The girl who originally intended to jump backward stumbled and fell backward. At this moment, a hand reached out from her side and supported her body.

“Be careful, Miss Ophariel,” Julian put his hand on her back, helping Ophariel regain her balance and stand steady. He glanced at the ground in front of Ophariel – there, a rabbit that had been dead for who knows how long had already rotted and split open. Ophariel’s previous step had just turned it over from under the cover of soil and fallen leaves. Now, that nauseating carcass was lying on the ground with its legs in the air, its internal organs spilled out, dark and turbid blood slowly flowing from the wound. He slightly swayed his body, blocking Ophariel’s view. This wasn’t a scene a girl should see. In fact, if Ophariel were to faint from fright, it would be Julian who would have to deal with the trouble for the rest of the journey.

“Holy Grace above, what did I step on?” Ophariel’s face turned pale. She looked around in panic, then quickly withdrew her gaze. It seemed this princess also understood very well that some things were better left unknown. And looking at her, she was just like a frightened squirrel.

I say, Princess, have you forgotten that you’re a ghost after all, and you were once the most dangerous kind among soul beings?

Admiring Ophariel’s panicked expression, Julian smiled slightly, then extended his right hand.
“Hold my hand, Miss Ophariel. We need to hurry, and… please be careful, mountain paths are very dangerous.”
Hearing Julian’s words, Ophariel was slightly stunned. She looked at Julian, remained silent for a moment, then lowered her head and grasped Julian’s large hand.

“I’m very sorry, my lord. Thank you for your trouble…”

For the rest of the journey, the two moved much faster. Although holding Ophariel’s hand, Julian’s speed didn’t seem to slow down because of this. In fact, his speed wasn’t particularly fast to begin with; it was just his agile and smooth movements through the dense forest that gave others such an illusion. And Ophariel, in order to make up for her previous loss of composure, also gritted her teeth and followed behind Julian. She held Julian’s hand with one hand, while the other tightly gripped her cloak, following Julian as they traversed through this dense forest.
The view suddenly became open before them.

A towering cliff face appeared in front of the two, and under its shadow, ten fully armed warriors were standing quietly. When Julian and Ophariel appeared, they turned their heads, and a red light flashed inside their black helmets.