"Did Sir Richard give you something?"
"He looked like he had given you something." He added, curiosity was all over his face.
"Are you suspicious of me, dear?" I asked, teasing Archer.
"N--no, I was just asking."
"He handed me this sword for protection. The red forest is a dangerous place after all." I said as I lifted it up, showing him the familiar emblem of the guild. So now, I have two swords with me, one is the one I used during the previous assassination, and the other one is from Sir Richard. He claims that this sword will assist me in avoiding an attack dog, which is what he refers to as a bully. The sword has the emblem of his wife's guild, so if anyone tries to steal or attack me, they'll most probably hesitate.
Archer only nodded in agreement and continued walking through the crowd. When we arrived outside the borders, the knights blocked us using long, sharp spears and quickly asked for a badge. I took it out of my pocket and gave it to them, and just like Archer said, they let us in easily. I didn't even get a chance to mesmerize their spear.
Indeed, this is a world of female supremacy. Men are responsible for children and preparing items for their wives that will be required for their hunting. While women are in charge of hard labor, such as being knights, mercenaries, and so on. Although both men and women here wear trousers and long skirts, it seems that they don't have any issues with how a person dresses, unlike in my world, where people will judge you about how you dress. This all feels even more surreal now that I was able to witness the world outside the castle.
"Mother, look! Those carriages are beautiful," Felipe said as he pointed to the carriages of the aristocrats.
Gold and silver, shimmering designs with their respective family emblems can be seen in those carriages. I can see the stark distinctions between commoners and nobles. This is how poor and inferior the citizens are compared to the aristocrats. Commoners will walk barefoot while nobles will ride on wheels.
Commoners were guided by the female knights, and to be honest, we look like slaves being forced to march. Meanwhile, the nobles were being treated with the utmost care and respect. The knights would immediately bow their head in respect and greet them.
As soon as we arrived at the Red Forest, a cold, gloomy feeling welcomed us. I felt a pulse of excitement. The intimidating aura this forest is giving off of me is an overwhelming sensation to my entire system. It's as if something inside of me wanted to get out. I inhaled deep and relaxed myself. I might be agitated by all this crowd and unfamiliar place.
Before we got right into the festive area, knights instructed us to wait there for the opening ceremony of the hunt. In the middle of the bustling crowd, a man fully dressed in the finest suit-like dress, tailored with gold, white gems, red threads and wearing a versatile pair of pumps, all while carrying his sword, up on the podium. Without any mistake, this is how a noble person should dress, which is also what I expect them to look like. How extravagant, while some of us look like 18th-century peasants.
"Welcome, citizens of the Deborah Kingdom, I am Duchesss Carlisle Wilchard of Brimsley. I am here to commence the opening of the Red Forest Hunting competition. Our glory and almighty King have blessed us to commence this event with the help of her beloved husband, Queen Atlanta."
He seemed quite familiar. Oh, I remember him!
Duchess Carlisle of Brimsley, the right-hand man, the one and only trusted friend and servant of the Queen, and is the villain's father. And according to the book, he will soon be executed along with the Queen. For some reason, knowing someone's fate gives me a chill. I know that I was able to transmigrate into this world while knowing its future is not as easy as other stories, transmigration would be like. Because this is reality and in reality what is bound to happen will always happen. This is why saving Sein's life and the possible butterfly effects are keeping me all agitated and nervous. Uncle Joe told me once that changing someone's fate is through stealing somebody else's fate. This gives me even more chill. I didn't die, so I feel like I stole someone's life.
My eyes suddenly widened in realization. Since I did not die and fully transmigrated into this world, does that mean the life that I stole was truly Sein's life? This feels so wrong, but that voice before, it was commanding me to go somewhere.
"Are you alright, Lorelai? You look pale."
"What—"
"Huh? No, I'm fine. There's just way too many people." I snapped out of it.
I tried to avoid Archer's eyes and gazed in the other direction. It looks like the hunting competition is about to start. According to Sir Richard, this isn't only a hunting competition. There will be racing, strength competitions, and more. This is also an opportunity to attract possible nobles, merchants, and especially the guilds, which were looking for potential skilled mercenaries.
Well, I'm not here to attract any of them. I am here to explore and look for the Blessed Knights. There is a possibility that the Queen will join this competition in disguise, since he is looking for more potential sword masters. I also decided to sneak into the Creek forest and watch how the nobles hunt. They seemed interesting to watch. And I don't really have any choice. I basically stole Sein's life, so I have to take responsibility for it. My only goal is to give these three people a good life before the next assassination, let them get adopted by the Queen and give them a promising future, especially my twin siblings.
"Dear, let's sit over there." Archer said and carried Felipe. I only nodded in response and also quickly carried Felix as it was starting to be more crowded. I quietly followed Archer. I know he's worried about me now. I must not let my mood ruin this event. I promised to made them happy and live a good life. I should stop overthinking and focus on them.
As we got to the center of the festive area, the twins were becoming fascinated by the large crowd of people in armor and by how festive the place looked. Indeed, between the border and the Red Forest is a long street of crowds, food, rare and magical items, and even game stalls.
"Holy sh*t, what is that creature!?" I blurted out and unconsciously lowered my body. I couldn't help but be shocked at the large, dragon-like creature that was just casually walking past us.
"Why are you so surprised, mother? It's just an Aragorn beast, and I'm sure you've seen it before," Felix said as he tightened his grip on my shoulder. I forgot I was carrying him. As someone that came from an ordinary and not so magical world, I would naturally react on that and, too bad, I can't tell them about it.
"I'm sorry, I was just surprised, since, you know, it's been a while." I said and smiling awkwardly at Felix.
I mean, the Sein you knew must have seen it, but for me, I haven't seen any creature that looks like it came straight from the Jurassic Period and that close. It is way too realistic and guess what, to my surprise, it is realistic and existing. I think my soul just went out for a second. More beasts were seen as we walked through the crowd. Different beasts were owned by merchants, guilds, and other high-ranking knights.
The four of us decided to sit beside a food stall. I immediately put down Felix and went ahead to my seat. I need to get my sh*t together.
Wandering my eyes, the bells, flowers, decorations, people selling foods, weapons, and other interesting stuff, hunters who are preparing for the hunting competitions, and beasts that are just casually blending in with people—it looks very festive here, and people are very lively.
"I didn't expect it to be so crowded. Many outsiders that came all the way from their respective kingdoms came to join the miracle season hunt as well," Archer said in amusement.
"Yeah, you're right. By the way, Felix mentioned the Aragorn beast. Can you tell me more about it? I mean I only saw it once, so it was quite surprising to me," I asked, sounding like a fool. I don't care. I would rather be informed about it than endure my curiosity till it actually kills me.
"Well, the beast obviously came from the Aragorn Kingdom, and the beast is called Kaida. Kaidas are Aragorn's smaller version of a dragon and the ideal beast for racing competitions. They're fast and competitive kinds of dragons, so the beast we just saw might be one of the participants in the racing competition." Archer said.
"Amazing, you seem to be very knowledgeable about it."
"Yes, it is because I am originally from the Aragorn Kingdom."
"What!? Really?"
"Yes, have you forgotten already?"
"Huh? No, I mean, yeah, I think I have forgotten the fact that you're not from this kingdom."
I'm sure, I sound suspicious just now. I may have remembered most of Sein's memories, but not all of them, particularly those that were considered unimportant to Sein.
Archer sits Felipe down and searches through the bag. He took out a pouch and said, "We haven't eaten a proper breakfast, so shall we buy and eat some delicious food in here?"
The twins excitedly agreed, so we all quickly went to the nearest food stalls and bought some food. And Archer was right—the food here is indeed delicious. It's like eating different dishes from different countries. The four of us hopped on from one stall to another, until we got satisfied with all the delicious food there. I also made sure that we got to eat the skewers, which made Archer really excited. Looking at the three of them, I can see how hard life is for them. They're all skinny, unlike me, which is quite unusual. I look perfectly fine and healthy. As someone who died from being unhealthy, I must not let them experience such hardship.
"I haven't eaten this much food in a while. I especially love the roasted meat. How 'bout you, Felipe?" Felix asked, wiping Felipe's mouth, which was covered with powdered sugar.
"Well, I like the sweets here more."
"Really? Then, I'll buy you some more sweets in the future then."
I can't help but smile melancholy. It reminds me of my childhood memories and how I greatly cared for my little brother back then. These two may be twins, but one acts as a big brother and the other acts as the youngest. I walked directly to them and patted their head gently.
"How about we go and buy some toys now? Since you are both very well-behaved and obedient all this time."
Turning my head to Archer, I asked, "Do we still have any money, dear? Can we buy them some toys?"
"About that, I'm sorry, but we have run out of bronzes already." He said flatly. Lifting an empty pouch in the air. I saw the twins getting disappointed by it. This is bad. I gave them false hope.