Rhea returned to the general's house, she was already exhausted by the time they arrived by noon. She decided to lay low for awhile and pretend to be the wife of the general before the imposter found a way to open his fire barrier and give her the stolen treasure.
During her time in the general's house she had secretly observed people's personalities in the border town. They were not like people in the Capital whose minds were full of twists and turns, and they were also impossible to bribe. She even became a little close with the maid, Mielle just to be able to get to eat a none vegetarian food.
She didn't know when the imposter's magic would return but she hoped it would be sooner, she needed the treasure to become rich and go back to the capital to get her mother and also visit her friend, Azure.
She had discovered this place was different from the Capital, relying on status to impress people was totally useless, she was being treated like any ordinary person, no one knew her as the rebellious daughter of the Villden.
Moreover she was completely alone without support, if she still refused to be tactful here, before long she might perish before that Jurian found a way to get into his barrier….
Then would her father or the Emperor turn against the general for her sake? Definitely not. If she was said to 'die of illness due to inability to adjust to the environment', what did it have to do with them? They had always wanted her gone.
The only person she was afraid would be sad was her foster mother.
Rhea's mind was filled with countless thoughts as she devoured the non-vegetarian meal that Mielle had secretly obtained for her. She found the meat flatbread amazingly delicous. The flatbread, filled with a secret recipe stewed meat, was absolutely divine - charred on the outside yet tender on the inside.
It was about twice the size of Rhea's palm, yet she could eat all of it. Actually she felt she'd need more, but her appetite had probably shocked Mielle, who desperately tried to stop her. Only after she promised to buy it again the next day, did Rhea reluctantly put the other one down.
Nonetheless, because Rhea couldn't control herself, at dinner time the bland noodles specially made for her was left untouched, the imposter had to eat all of it. While Rhea was busy walking around the room holding her belly trying to digest the content of her stomach.
As Rhea was walking to digest her food, the cold faced Jurian walked in, he didn't even spare her a look before he pulled the blanket from the bed and laid it on the floor just like he did the other night, he laid down and closed his eyes.
"Grandma wants me to take you out tomorrow to explore the border town, I can't say no to her, so prepare yourself early." He informed with his eyes still closed.
Rhea suddenly felt the urge to smack his handsome face. It was all because of him that she was stuck here, and now she also had to pretend to be the grand-daughter-in-law of the woman. She wondered why no one had noticed this person to be an imposter. Even though he was manipulating their sight, shouldn't they notice the difference in behavior?
"Hey, serpent. For how long have you been pretending to be the general?" She asked slightly curious, however the latter only turned his broad back to her as if she was disturbing his sleep.
Rhea clenched her teeth in annoyance as he ignored her, she wanted to kick his back but held back. 'It's none of your business Rhea, just let him be. After you get your treasure, you'll leave.' she assured herself and took a deep breath to calm her temper before climbing the bed.
The next day, as Jurian had said, the old lady sent Mielle with a new set of clothes to help Rhea prepare for their so called outing.
The new clothes were not in the Capital style, but made according to local style. The cuffs were tied at the ends, the tops were short, the skirt were ankle-length for easier movement. The footwears were short boots instead of embroidered shoes. The prettiest part of the outfit was the palm-wide belt, it was brightly coloured with silver ornaments hanging from it. Rhea couldn't help but grin as she admired herself in the mirror.
The streets were full of ladies checking out stuff on street stalls. In this border town, all ladies whether married or not, could freely wander on the streets as long as they were accompanied unlike in the capital where the young women were usually treated like delicate flowers sheltered and protected behind the tails of their fathers or spouses.
Some things were hard to stop once let loose, just like Rhea now. She had long wished to go out to be free but was penniless, the thought disappeared once she saw the bustling streets and the pouch of gold hanging on the imposter's waist. She was like a rabbit being let out of it's cage, joyously let go of herself. She began to buy anything she set her eyes on.
Actually Rhea preferred the life in border town. In the Capital even though her family were rich, she had to steal to be able to buy something for herself. The duke and his wife she dared not offend, and with those several sisters, her life was an exhausting one. Rhea also needed to constantly try to avoid trouble for the fear of being taken to the fire cave as a punishment.
However, no matter how much she was enjoying herself now, she still wanted to leave to live a life for herself.
As Rhea was taking the things she wanted, the imposter was following behind her and paying for it.
Rhea had a great time, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining. She was grinning from ear to ear as they walked out of the border town market place with countless bags in hands, however the imposter was the one carrying the most of the bags while she walked freely. She couldn't help but think; 'I could get used to such a life!'
She wouldn't mind waiting for a few more weeks before the imposter found a way to open his fire barrier. She wasn't scared of wasting her time, in any case, her life was meaningless. She was originally an idle person with nothing to do. So there was no harm in living here for awhile. At best she would be considered an idle wealthy woman with nothing to do!
Rhea beamed as she ran forward towards a fun fair urging Jurian to hurry up, he glared at her and was about to open his mouth to speak, however what happened next was totally unexpected.
"Thud!" A ball of rotten cabbage hit Jurian's face.
Rhea stared in astonishment. Several children ran over to them giggling while skipping around.
"Ugly general married a beautiful woman!"
Jurian stared at them, not moving, but the bags dropped from his hands.
Right when Rhea was worrying that the serpent would shift and swallow the children, they picked up another rotten fruit from their basket and began to throw it at him one after the other. But he continued to just stand there and merely brushed off his clothes.
Rhea stared blankly. This serpent was actually an easy person to bully?
Rhea felt her veins boil with anger when he didn't do anything, and right when she was about to stop the children, all of a sudden the fat kid among them picked up some mud, swung back his arm and threw it over, with a "Plop" it landed squarely on Rhea's face before it slid down to her new dress.
"Oops, I hit the beautiful lady on the face! Ha ha ha!"
Rhea clenched her jaw, the veins on her forehead started to pop. She wiped the mud off her face, then rolled up her sleeves. She laughed coldly,
"I can see kids these days lack respect, but no worries, I'm here to straighten up your heads. Come on children, let's play!"
Hearing Rhea's words, the children started to laugh. She bent over and gathered a hand full of mud, with a swishh sound, she flung the mud like an artillery shot. It directly hit the chest of the fat kid, he fell onto his butt due to the force and he stared as if in shock.
The rest of the children also stared in shock.
When the pain set in, the fat kid opened his big mouth wide and started to wail loudly.
Rhea cracked her knuckles, popping sounds accompanied every pinch. She bared her bunny tooth while laughing,
"Come on children, let's play some more."
Seeing that Rhea was approaching them, the rest of the children reacted like they saw a ghost, in a split second, they took to their heels and fled in fear, scrambling off to their parents.
"I still have to handle these kinds of things in this town." She said while wiping away the mud on her dress as she watched the kids run away. Rhea angrily muttered,
"Looks like all kids are the same everywhere. There's no difference between those in the capital and the ones in this town."
She had been through this kind of things in the capital, children calling her names. Kids like these made her blood pressure high. They were like ants crawling under her skin. They will grow up being jerks if not taught a lesson!
Almost done with cleaning her face and dress, she turned her head towards Jurian, who was looking at her with his head to the side as if in amusement. She shot him a glance from head to toe with extreme disapproval,
"More than a century year old serpent that let children bully him... Quite a sight to see."
Jurian bent over and picked up the bags he dropped, and looked up at her. His voice was cold as he said,
"A grown lady that fights seriously against little kids with mud. Quite a sight."
Jurian looked down at a few of things they'd bought which was now ruined on the ground, then said, "Let's go back now." He didn't wait for her and turned back to head to their carriage.
Rhea looked at his retreating firm back. There was a strange hostility that shocked her sense, but she hurriedly ran after him calling,
"Hey, wait for me!"