Chapter 36 - 35: A Scene in the Alley

Chapter 36: Chapter 35: A Scene in the Alley

It was about a week ago.

Lucian saw Lilia for the first time at the entrance of a blacksmith shop. At that time, he didn’t know her name, nor did he know she was a student at Lien Academy. The reason she caught his attention was that it was incredibly rare to see Noble ladies in a place like a blacksmith shop.

Specifically, Lilia was wearing a sky-blue silk dress that day, topped with a wide-brimmed hat that Noble ladies often wore when going out, and she carried a leather handbag that looked quite expensive.

Let alone Lucian, even the blacksmith inside the shop recognized her extraordinary status at a glance. He spoke carefully, completely devoid of his usual booming, shouting demeanor, as if he was afraid that speaking too loudly would shatter the porcelain doll standing before him.

Out of curiosity, Lucian stopped in his tracks, wanting to see why such a delicate young girl had come to a blacksmith shop.

"...Miss, what would you like to buy?"

"Can you forge silver jewelry here?"

The girl’s voice was mingled with the CLINK-CLANK of hammering, making it sound somewhat muffled yet exceptionally clear and clean.

"I suppose we can..." The blacksmith hesitated. "But for folks like us, our craftsmanship is quite rough. I doubt we can meet your standards..."

Hearing this, Lucian couldn’t help but smile. He knew the owner of this blacksmith shop. Setting craftsmanship aside, the man was at least a shrewd merchant when it came to business. Usually, he would hoodwink even experienced customers however he could, itching to fleece a few extra coins out of them. Now that an easy mark with more money than sense had practically delivered herself to his door, he was actually saying his "craftsmanship is quite rough" and he "doubt we can meet your standards"?

Lucian wondered when the man had grown a conscience.

Under Lucian’s amused gaze, the shop owner continued his earnest persuasion. "If you want to forge jewelry, it might be better to go to a specialized shop. We mostly deal with ironware here..."

"I’ve been to jewelry shops, but they said they need complete blueprints." The girl took a piece of paper from her handbag, carefully unfolded it, and handed it to the owner. "I only have this. I drew it myself. It might lack detail, but I want to get it as soon as possible, so I don’t have the time to make adjustments... I wonder if you can make it here?"

The owner took it and glanced at it. "We can make it. The shape isn’t complex, but our finished product definitely won’t be as fine or pretty as a specialized shop’s."

"That doesn’t matter," the girl smiled at his words. "It’s just a bookmark anyway. It doesn’t need to be too pretty; as long as it’s practical, that’s enough."

Lucian saw the blacksmith choke on his words. Obviously, for working-class folks like them, a pure silver bookmark was already a luxury item. It had absolutely nothing to do with the word "practical."

The owner muttered something, looking as if he wanted to curse about Vampires like he usually did, but seeing the smile on the girl’s face, he swallowed the insult in the end.

"...Alright, what is your expected timeframe?"

"The sooner the better."

The blacksmith nodded. "Then come pick it up tomorrow evening."

"Thank you! You’ve been a huge help!"

The girl clasped her hands together and tilted her head, her eyes crinkling into a beautiful smile. She promptly paid the deposit, then turned and left.

Lucian stepped aside, pretending to be a passing pedestrian.

A light rain had fallen yesterday. Unlike the streets in the Queen District, the alley where the blacksmith shop was located didn’t have daily patrols and maintenance. After years of wear and tear, the ground was full of potholes that had collected a good amount of rainwater, which looked rather muddy after settling overnight.

The girl lifted her skirt with one hand and held the brim of her hat with the other, stepping lightly over the puddles. Her sky-blue silhouette crossed the water’s surface like the reflection of a flying bird on a lake.

As she passed the entrance to the alley, her footsteps paused. A little beggar was curled up there.

Outside of the Queen District, beggars and vagrants were very common. Lucian traveled often and had long grown used to it, but it was clearly the girl’s first time seeing such a sight. She watched for a moment. Instead of approaching directly, she looked around and found a passing stray cat.

She seemed to naturally draw favor. Even the usually vigilant stray cat didn’t react defensively as she approached; instead, when the girl crouched down, it stretched out its neck, waiting for her to pet it.

Obliging it, the girl rubbed its head, then took a stack of banknotes from her handbag and had the cat hold them in its mouth. Cats that survived on the streets were very smart. It instantly understood the girl’s intentions, trotting over to the little beggar in a few strides and dropping the banknotes at his feet.

The little beggar’s eyes lit up. He didn’t immediately reach for the money; instead, he looked up to find the kindhearted person. With this money, he and his mother wouldn’t be kicked out by their landlord, and tonight’s dinner was secured!

However, all he could see was an aloof young man standing in the distance and, on the opposite side, a Noble lady with her face hidden by a hat, looking as though she couldn’t avoid street urchins like him fast enough.

The little beggar lowered his eyes, figuring it was probably some kindhearted Mage. Some Mages came from commoner backgrounds and didn’t treat street urchins as coldly as Nobles did. Besides, they commanded Magic, so controlling a cat wouldn’t be difficult for them at all.

Clutching the money in his hand, the little beggar stood up and said to the cat, "Wait for me here. I’ll go buy you some food."

He ran off as fast as a thief, not forgetting to choose a route that kept him as far away from the Noble lady as possible. He hadn’t forgotten that most Nobles didn’t like commoners appearing before them and would fly into an angry rage.

Lucian’s gaze remained fixed on the girl. Ever since she placed the banknotes into the stray cat’s mouth, she paid no more attention to the little beggar, acting as if she hadn’t just done a good deed but had simply tossed away a stack of scrap paper.

Kind yet aloof. These two completely contradictory traits somehow blended perfectly within her.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, the girl glanced back before leaving the alley. Their eyes met. She tilted her head, as if she recognized him, yet also as if she didn’t. She didn’t pay much mind to this brief interlude, lifting her skirt and disappearing at the end of the alley.

The very next day, Lucian visited the blacksmith shop again. He waited at the entrance for a while, and as the sky gradually darkened, he finally stepped inside.

"Lucian?" The shop owner was fairly familiar with him. "What are you looking for today?"

"Just passing by. Having a look around," he said casually. "Business been good lately? I think I saw a Noble’s carriage nearby earlier."

"Ah, I just took a small job." The blacksmith had his guard completely down around him. "Got it forged in a single night. It was just picked up shortly before you arrived. It was my first time seeing a Noble lady personally handle such a trivial matter. If you say the item was important, she wanted it rushed, so it clearly wasn’t prepared with great care. But if you say it wasn’t important, she came to oversee it herself... It’s quite contradictory."

Indeed, it was contradictory, Lucian thought to himself, just like the girl herself. Speaking of which... what kind of person was she, exactly?