Chapter 39: The Purple-Haired Woman?

After obtaining the valuable information that Kael, the Orc Slayer, had recently visited the shop with his wife to buy some sweet pastries, along with the important detail that a major duel would take place in two days, the exotic brown-skinned woman broke into an increasingly wide smile, radiating a dangerous charm.

"Oh... So that mercenary is already married?" the woman murmured in a sweet yet scheming voice. "How cruel of him... How could he possibly get married without sending me even a single invitation?"

Casually, the woman picked up several intact pieces of sweet pastry from among the shattered display case debris before turning around.

"Let’s get out of here," she briefly ordered her three subordinates.

However, just as she reached the shop’s doorway, she suddenly stopped and glanced back at the shop owner. Her right hand swung forward, tossing a thick cloth pouch through the air.

CLINK—CLANG!

The pouch landed on the cashier’s counter, spilling out more than a dozen gleaming gold coins mixed with a generous number of silver ones.

"Use those coins to repair your damaged shop," the woman said with a wild, challenging grin. "Oh, and feel free to report this destruction to the city guards if you want... After all, I’ll definitely be coming back here!"

The shop owner and his employees could only stand frozen in place, their bodies trembling violently as they stared at the pile of treasure before them, overwhelmed by an extraordinary mixture of fear and confusion.

Meanwhile, Kael leisurely strolled along the city’s streets, carrying Lizzy back to the inn in his warm embrace after they had finished exploring the marketplace and enjoying some sweet pastries together.

Thick black clouds once again crept low across the evening sky, casting a cold, grayish hue over the city. It was a clear sign that another heavy downpour was about to strike.

Upon arriving in the inn’s front courtyard, Kael’s gaze fell upon Cherry, who was crouching on the ground, thoroughly engrossed in playing with and feeding two fluffy wild lambs.

Kael had actually decided to leave the lambs in Cherry’s care, since she had expressed a desire to look after them. He was well aware that his busy schedule and future travels would leave him with little free time to care for pets.

Not far from Cherry, beneath the shelter of the inn’s outer roof, Xavier was lying lazily with his eyes closed, completely indifferent to his surroundings.

When he heard approaching footsteps and saw Kael carrying Lizzy in his arms, Cherry froze for a moment. She straightened up and looked toward the married couple.

"Lizzy... Have you fully recovered?"

Resting her head against Kael’s shoulder, Lizzy offered a faint smile.

"I’m feeling much better now, Cherry."

Drip... drip... drip...

Raindrops began pattering against the leaves.

Without wasting any time, Kael hurriedly carried Lizzy inside the warm inn hall.

Cherry followed close behind, carrying both wild lambs snugly in her arms, followed silently by Xavier.

Within minutes, heavy rain accompanied by powerful gusts of wind swept across the outside of the building, leaving behind a bone-chilling cold.

Cherry gently placed the lambs in a corner of the room before settling down on one of the wooden chairs.

Rubbing her cold fingers together, she opened the conversation.

"You know, Kael... I’ve recently heard some news from a few merchants. Apparently, the kingdom has officially reduced all the citizens and remaining soldiers of the Vermilion Kingdom captured during the war to the status of slaves. But... have you heard anything about the fate of the Vermilion King’s children?"

Kael pulled up a chair and helped Lizzy sit on the edge of the bed in the room, whose door had been left open. He let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Isn’t this kind of cruelty already commonplace during wartime?" Kael replied flatly.

It wasn’t that he lacked compassion or a conscience. He had simply witnessed this bitter reality far too many times.

"The victors reap all the benefits, while the defeated lose every right to live as they please. What can we possibly do to change that?"

Kael narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling puzzled.

"Besides... why are you suddenly bringing up the Vermilion King’s children? As for the king himself, his gruesome death was confirmed when the entire main royal family was wiped out after their main fortress fell. I even witnessed it with my own eyes on the front lines when an elite Royal Knight beheaded him."

Lizzy, sitting beside the bed, also wore a curious expression. Before meeting Kael and settling down with him in their cabin, the war between the two kingdoms had indeed shaken the entire continent. She wanted to learn more about it.

Cherry’s beautiful face twisted into a complicated and bewildered expression. She began tapping her fingers against the wooden table.

"Actually... I recently heard a very strange rumor from a slave market in a city near the kingdom’s border. Apparently, there’s a purple-haired female slave who keeps screaming hysterically inside her cage, like a madwoman. She swears that the Vermilion King’s biological son is actually still alive somewhere out there and will eventually come to take revenge on the Leonheart Kingdom. I was just thinking that—"

"Wait a moment!" Kael suddenly interrupted Cherry, his voice rising sharply as he took a step forward. "You said... a purple-haired woman?! Are you absolutely certain that female slave has purple hair?!"

At that very moment, old memories came rushing back into Kael’s mind. He recalled the late Yohan, who had once told him about a purple-haired woman with a tiny mole beneath the corner of her lips.

Cherry was startled by Kael’s unusual reaction, while Lizzy, sitting on the bed, suddenly narrowed her eyes, a faint hint of suspicion flickering in her gaze.

"Y-yes... Her hair is bright purple," Cherry answered nervously, looking bewildered. "Why are you reacting so dramatically, Kael?"

Meanwhile, Lizzy silently began piecing things together with growing anxiety.

"????????’?? ???????? ????????’?? ????????????????? ?????????? ????... ?????????? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?????????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ????????????-???????????? ???????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ????????, ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????????? ?????! ????... ???? ??????! ?? ???????????????????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????????????!"

Kael remained completely unaware of the storm of jealousy raging inside his wife’s heart.

He himself had never actually met the purple-haired woman Yohan had told him about.

But one thing was certain: Yohan, a man who loved drinking, gambling, and visiting brothels, and who had never wanted to form an emotional attachment to anyone, had sincerely admitted that he loved that purple-haired woman with all his heart.

So, if this woman really was the same person... what exactly was the connection between Yohan’s purple-haired acquaintance and the secrets surrounding the fallen Vermilion Kingdom’s throne?

Kael clenched his fist, sensing that several mysterious threads were somehow connected.

"Where is that purple-haired woman now, Cherry?!"

Cherry helplessly shook her head.

"I don’t know her exact whereabouts, Kael. But there’s a good chance she’s already been sold to a wealthy merchant or a noble from another region... I heard rumors that despite her shabby clothes and the fact that everyone considers her insane, the woman is extraordinarily beautiful."

Cherry looked at Kael with furrowed brows.

"Actually... do you know that woman?"

"No, I’ve never met her," Kael replied with a slow shake of his head, his voice softening with regret. "I just suddenly remembered an old story told to me by the late Yohan. He once mentioned a woman with exactly those characteristics."

Upon hearing that reasonable explanation, the tension in Lizzy’s chest immediately melted away.

She suddenly felt immensely relieved to learn that her husband had absolutely no intention of bringing another woman into his life.

"?????????? ????????????????... ?????????????? ???? ???????? ???????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????? ?????????????? ??????????, ?? ?????????? ??’???? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ???? ?????????? ???? ??????????????!"

Although Kael was disappointed to have lost the trail that might have confirmed the purple-haired woman’s identity, he knew there was nothing he could do about it for now.

However, he still had serious doubts about the rumor.

"?????????? ?????????? ???????????? ???? ?? ?????????????????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????????????? ????????’?? ?????????????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????????????? ?????? ??????????...?" Kael wondered intently amid the roar of the rain outside.

"???? ???? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????????????? ?????? ?????????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???????????????"