Vance and Alice entered the town without issue. Even with her hooded cloak hiding her face, no one made a fuss. Luckily they did not meet the bandit-like men who were chasing Alice. Vance figured they were still searching for the imaginary blonde-haired naked woman in the forest.
"We will get a room first before getting some food. It would be best to eat in our room for the time being. We can stay here for two nights before moving out. It should give plenty of time for things to die down some. But we will need to do something about your hair color, so I suggest using a masquerade potion. But there is no such shop in this town to get one." Vance suggested as he pulled Alice to one of the inns. Alice was quiet the entire time. Vance had been holding her hand all this time which had caused her to be flustered at first, but as they continued to walk, she noticed that Vance had been very cautious about people getting near her. She realized that he was trying to protect her from any accidents. At this, she couldn't help but take another look at him. He was being so meticulous about things that it truly surprised her.
Her thoughts were not that far off. Vance really did not want Alice's hood to slip off and expose her hair color, as it would definitely cause a scene. Pink hair was only ever seen in nobility and was mainly from the royal line. So to have Alice's hair get seen now when they were still on the run would be a bad thing.
They walked into the inn and got a double room which was a room with two beds. The room was located on the second floor of the building, where Vance took Alice straight to the room and had her settle down. "I will lock the door. Do not answer it for anyone. I will be back in thirty minutes at most with some food."
"Alright." Alice nodded as she sat on the bed and looked around. The room was lightly decorated with a few paintings and was very clean. The beds were soft, and the linen smelled freshly washed. For a room in a small town, it was actually quite nice.
Vance left the inn and went to the nearest street stall, where he bought quite a few meat skewers and some bread. He did not wish to get anything too extravagant since leaving Alice alone for too long might be bad. He did not want any accidents at this juncture in his quest.
When he returned to the room, he found Alice sitting on the bed, staring off into space. "What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Alice was startled by Vance's sudden question. "I was just thinking. If I was not trying to cover up my identity, it would be much more fun to run around and do my own thing."
"Anything other than being chased would be better than being chased. Well, maybe not everything, but at least for now, you do not need to worry. I will do my best to get you to the capital safely. You just need to do your best to keep your identity concealed. We will stay here for two days so I can get some rest and then we will continue to the capital. It should not take long." Vance figured by the time he reached the capital, it would be a day before the game's release. Things had gotten jumbled up from his original plans, but the quest came first.
"I guess that is true. But still, even being a princess can be tiring. I want nothing to do with the royal line of succession. I even tried to tell my father I wanted to give up my rights to the throne, but he refused. My brother sees me as a threat which means he would want me dead no matter what. He sent out a group of bandits to attack my carriage as I was making my way back to the capital from the southern border. But now that I think about it, my father was the one who sent me there, so I do wonder if this was some kind of setup. Maybe he was using my life as a means to test Edward's resolve or to test his character altogether. I don't really know. I only know I never asked for any of this." Alice felt much better after saying everything out. She did not know why she was able to tell Vance all of this, but it made her feel that a bit of her stress was released at this time.
"Either way, it is still not something one should have to deal with on their own. If you do not wish to stay a princess, you can always finish dealing with this situation and then change your name to become someone else. Then you can do as you please and follow the path you want to follow." Vance felt pity for Alice. He could see the loneliness in her eyes. It was as if she was alone in a dark room with no one to rely on. Such a feeling he had felt once before when he was doing his best to help his mother. He had once felt trapped with no one to rely on but himself. But he overcame that as he grew older and matured.
"Mm… I will think about it." Alice forced a smile. Her eyes then landed on the bag of food in Vance's hands. She couldn't help but gulp a mouthful of saliva she had not eaten for an entire day.
Vance noticed her line of sight and chuckled inwardly as he said: "Let's eat. I will then sleep."
Alice nodded, and the two went quiet once again. Vance chomped down on his meat skewers, quickly eating them before pulling his boots off and lying on the bed.
Alice nibbled on the meat skewer in her hand and snuck a glance at Vance, who had already closed his eyes. His breath slowly became steady as he slipped into a deep sleep. She really did not know what to make of this young man. He was doing so much and not asking for anything in return. She wondered if she could ask for some kind of monetary reward from the castle when she sent them a letter. After finishing her food, Alice also laid down and took a nap.
Outside the town waiting in line, three men were worse for wear as they angrily stood in line. They saw no hide or hair of any damn blonde girl. They really wanted to find the young man who gave them the false information and beat him senseless! But they had no time for that. They needed to ask around for any information about a pink-haired girl.
"Where should we check first?" Bandit-like man one asked.
"We will just ask around first. Let's check the clothing store for anyone selling shoes for women. Our target tossed her shoes when she was running from us before."