Episode 48
Life on the run with Belzeon was surprisingly comfortable.
He’d come meticulously prepared.
Compared to Cheshire, who’d brought only Hata in a single bag, his readiness was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The hired carriage took them to an abandoned house.
There, they changed from head to toe into clothes he’d hidden away.
With Belzeon’s help, Cheshire swapped her outfit completely, including the bag holding Hata.
Though dressed in tattered commoner’s clothes, her noble-like face stood out, so she didn’t forget to pull on a worn hooded robe.
Then they caught another carriage and headed toward the city square.
It was an unexpected choice—not fleeing the capital but delving deeper into its heart.
“The Count will surely track us quickly,” Belzeon explained. “Moving slowly will throw him off more.”
A boy and toddler, roughly matching their builds, were in a carriage heading out of the capital.
The plan was to let them draw the pursuit while the real Cheshire and Belzeon hid in the city center.
“And pushing too hard would tire you out.”
Though it came last, it was easy to guess this was a key factor in his plan.
Belzeon strode swiftly through the square.
The morning sun bathed the vast capital square.
Red flags bearing the sun emblem, symbol of the Palen Empire, fluttered everywhere, with the grand Imperial Palace visible beyond the open plaza.
The square was meticulously designed to inspire awe in both citizens and foreign visitors toward the Palen royalty.
As Cheshire took in the sights, Belzeon asked softly, “Want to look around?”
Hidden inside his robe with only her face peeking out, she shook her head.
A two-year-old orphan might be seeing the capital square for the first time, but the sorceress Lichesia had been here countless times.
*There’s a great tea house behind that building.*
She smacked her lips inwardly.
Crossing the square, they passed a large bulletin board.
At its center, in the most prominent spot, were several wanted posters for the sorceress Lichesia.
Reading phrases like “heinous,” “vile,” and “striking appearance,” Cheshire wrinkled her brow.
*Why’d they draw me so ugly?*
The portrait didn’t capture even a fraction of her real looks.
She wanted to track down the artist and give them a good smack.
Amid the posters, a bold red warning stood out:
[Anyone who damages or removes this poster will face severe punishment.]
Lichesia’s fame meant some people collected her wanted posters.
The underworld was littered with them since no one bothered picking them up, but oddly, outsiders were more obsessed.
*Well, underworld folks see the real me often, so maybe that’s why.*
Belzeon glanced at the posters but said nothing.
His attention shifted elsewhere.
“Extra, extra!” a newsboy shouted. “Massive explosion in the capital this morning! Shocking news—the Basilian estate has collapsed!”
The sensational headline made the papers sell like wildfire.
Blending into the crowd, Belzeon bought one with a coin.
Clinging to his robe, Cheshire spoke up. “Um, young master—”
“Call me big brother.”
“Oh, right.”
Calling him “young master” while on the run might draw attention.
During their escape, “big brother” seemed the safer choice.
She nodded, and Belzeon added casually, “You can keep calling me that.”
“…?”
“It doesn’t have to be just for real siblings, does it?”
He tossed the comment offhandedly, then asked in his usual cool tone, “Why’d you call me?”
“Can the puppy stick his head out too?”
“Do as you like.”
With permission, Hata poked his head out beneath Cheshire’s face, forming a two-tiered tower of toddler and puppy.
Belzeon’s lips seemed to twitch with a faint smile.
It vanished quickly, too fleeting to be sure.
Their destination was a rundown inn.
Before entering, Cheshire and Hata ducked back into his robe.
Belzeon paid the innkeeper, and only once inside their room did they emerge.
He hadn’t shown it, but he’d been tense.
Setting Cheshire and Hata on the bed, he sank into a chair and exhaled deeply.
Relief was clear in his long breath.
“We’ll stay here tonight and move tomorrow,” he said, kindly outlining the plan.
From then on, their time felt oddly leisurely for fugitives.
While Belzeon stepped out briefly, Cheshire and Hata scouted the inn’s surroundings for suspicious figures.
Then they ate a late breakfast-cum-lunch with the food he brought back.
A loaf of bread, water, and a small piece of cheese.
Watching Cheshire eat plain bread without jam, Belzeon’s face darkened for some reason.
“Is it okay? If it’s tough to eat, I’ll get something else.”
“Huh? It’s delicious!”
She was eating happily, so his concern puzzled her.
To reassure him, she added, “I eat stuff like this all the time. Back in the day.”
As an orphanage kid, it wasn’t exactly a lie.
But her words only made Belzeon’s expression gloomier.
Every time she spoke, he grew darker, so she gave up talking and finished the bread with Hata.
After the meal, Belzeon went out again, returning after sunset with dinner.
A steaming bowl of stew.
While a stuffed Cheshire and Hata sprawled on the bed, Belzeon drew his sword and began cleaning it.
*Oh.*
Cheshire watched with interest.
It was her first time seeing him handle a sword.
She’d only ever seen him with a quill.
His movements were skilled and practiced.
He was likely a formidable swordsman.
His sword was striking.
The deep indigo blade matched his hair color.
*Is there an indigo metal suitable for swords?*
Come to think of it, Kierne’s sword was unique too—pitch black, like his hair.
*Are these swords custom-made for the Basilian family?*
Perhaps sensing her curiosity, Belzeon, inspecting his blade under the lamplight, spoke impassively.
“The heir to the Basilian countship forges a demonic sword.”
A demonic sword.
She’d never heard of such a thing.
“For a hundred days, it’s fed the owner’s blood. For another hundred, the blood of various creatures. And for the final hundred, the blood of the Black Forest’s monsters.”
After three hundred days of daily blood offerings, the sword is buried in the Black Forest’s soil for ten days.
The blade’s color changes, and a demonic sword is born.
“You haven’t been deep into the Black Forest, so you wouldn’t know.”
She’d recently visited the forest and seen Kierne’s hidden treasures but kept quiet, listening intently.
“Owning a demonic sword means taking on the duty of dealing with the monsters there.”
He sheathed the sword, wrapping it in cloth to conceal it, and declared coolly, “So don’t get curious. You’re too young to understand now, but you’ll thank yourself later for escaping the Basilian family.”
He added, “The Basilian family is cursed.”
She didn’t think she’d care much later either.
Instead of voicing that, she asked something she’d been dying to know.
“What about getting rid of the Black Forest?”
Belzeon gave a faint smile, amused by her childlike question.
“That’s not something human strength can solve.”
Cheshire thought to herself, *What about fairy strength?*
