Chapter 105: The Missing Memories and a Forced Purchase

“I am thinking about something… is this place the same city?”

We set off once more, leaving the Governor’s Mansion behind, spurring our horses onto the streets of Romern, attempting to leave this place of trouble behind us.

After Nolan left last night, Kritiya had spoken very little.

She stayed alone, pondering deeply over certain matters, and did not see any outsiders; even the words she spoke to me were merely two or three sentences.

“What do you mean by that? If it’s not the same city, could there possibly be a second Romern in the world?”

I responded absently, my mind occupied with other things.

That phalange holy relic, and the mysterious gray power residing within it—I was already impatient to study the secrets hidden inside.

“No, I was just…”

Kritiya suddenly fell silent.

Then, she looked out through the gap in the carriage window at the street.

The wheels rolled steadily over the stone-paved streets of the city district.

Although the Duke’s caravan had not cleared the way in advance, to avoid drawing attention, they had hidden the family crest and flags of the Duke’s estate.

Furthermore, the soldiers had changed into plain clothes and concealed their weapons.

It could already be considered traveling light and simple, but the grandeur of a large group traveling still forced the merchants and pedestrians along the street to step aside one after another.

“I am just doubting, did I really come here before?”

“Are you confused? When you were eleven years old, you, Nolan, and Diya lived here together… what, could you have forgotten?” I responded with slight surprise.

“No…”

Kritiya furrowed her brow in deep thought, as if confirming her own memories.

After a long while, she finally spoke again:

“Those memories do indeed exist in my mind.”

“But… what is the difference between a memory that leaves no evidence and having had a dream?”

“Evidence? What kind of evidence do you want? Wild geese flying across the sky leave a sound; swallows stepping over mud leave claw marks. Isn’t your very existence evidence enough?”

As I spoke, I recalled what I had seen, searching through my memory for those details of life:

“Although this time coming to Romern we’ve encountered nothing but unpleasant matters related to nobles and merchants, if you think back, life here back then was still quite pleasant, wasn’t it?”

“Let me think, there was a good side to it, right?”

“Those memories of you living here with Nolan and Diya, they won’t dissipate.”

I thought to myself, believing I had seen through Kritiya’s thoughts.

That’s right, this child was probably imprisoned mentally by all the hypocrisy and falseness that occurred in the Governor’s Mansion, right?

Even her past memories of this city had been cast in shadow as a result.

But there was no helping this.

The sights seen and the people encountered when visiting the Governor’s Mansion as a Duke’s daughter, versus blending into city life as a few children, were inherently worlds apart.

To be fair, in our life in Romern back then, we had seen our fair share of dark things.

The internal strife and scheming among the common folk, the hardships and helplessness of life at the bottom—were they any warmer than the overt and covert struggles among the nobles?

I thought not.

Because we came from the countryside, we faced discrimination, were even docked rent by the landlord, extorted by thugs when setting up a stall in the market, frequently cheated by unscrupulous merchants during daily shopping, and even had gangs break into our residence to beat us and smash our things…

Although I did not wish to remember these unpleasantries, they had indeed truly happened.

And by now, these trivial matters had long been washed into the corners of memory by time.

Back then, although we carefully managed our lives, avoiding all losses and risks as much as possible, it was absolutely impossible to act like the protagonist of some novel and exact revenge for every grievance suffered.

However, even so, I had to admit that perhaps because Nolan and Diya were by my side, even in such a bland, trivial life filled with hidden crises, the years still left behind bright colors for us.

“Well… anyway, don’t overthink it. You are not dreaming. Or rather, whether it’s a sweet dream or a nightmare, it is a part of your life, and there are people who remember them.”

I summarized my thoughts and said to Kritiya.

Then, Kritiya said something I could not understand:

“But if those shared memories are actually just my own delusion, what difference does it make?”

“How is that possible!”

The moment her words fell, I understood—this kind of rhetoric was extremely dangerous.

It was like trapping oneself in a dead-end of nothingness, essentially a form of self-harm.

It showed neither trust in others nor respect for oneself.

This was perhaps the very root of why the villain went astray in the original story.

Because of this, I had to correct her; I had to give a firm rebuttal:

“There is no such thing. I am right here; I will always be by your side, and I remember everything about you.”

I originally thought that hearing my certain guarantee, even if Kritiya wouldn’t feel instantly reassured, she should at least show a trace of wavering or reflection.

However, she merely pressed her lips together slightly, her voice as light as a sigh:

“No, it’s different.”

“How is it different?” I pressed.

Kritiya blinked, her gaze drifting elsewhere, and suddenly changed the subject:

“Actually, the Saintess once warned me that it would be best to let you sleep forever and never wake up.”

“But you still chose to let me out,” I interjected.

“No… it wasn’t letting you out,” she shook her head gently, her tone becoming exceptionally heavy. “To me… that feeling is more like retrieving a lost part of my own body.”

I didn’t expect her to use such a metaphor, and I was momentarily rendered speechless.

And she continued speaking, as if sinking alone into a certain memory:

“From the very first moment I opened my eyes and possessed memories, you were in my world.”

“Back then, I never imagined what a world without you would be like… just as natural as I never needed to think about how to breathe or how to blink.”

“But later I found out—that feeling is like suddenly being unable to breathe, unable to blink, a part of the body missing… it’s very bizarre, isn’t it?”

“Could such a version of me still be considered truly ‘alive’?”

“So the advice the Saintess gave, in the end, was nothing more than her own wishful, arbitrary decision.”

She did not continue speaking, but I knew very well what happened next.

It was she who proactively channeled the power of the phalange holy relic and released me.

That was her own choice.

Yet at the same time, a vague rumor I had heard surfaced in my heart.

“Ever since I woke up, I have intermittently heard various bizarre rumors circulating in the castle about the eldest princess.”

Although more people had witnessed Kritiya’s sacred posture wielding the Holy Light with their own eyes, there were also those who said they had seen the princess act like a witch throwing herself into darkness late at night.

“Sounds like something I would do, right? But I must state that I never performed any dark magic rituals in that castle, nor did I ever go out at night.”

“Alright… I understand what you mean,” I spoke up, trying to pull the topic back from this dangerous edge.

“Since you are doubting the authenticity of these memories, why not go and confirm it?”

“If we are going to act, we haven’t left the city yet; Nolan must still be in the city.”

“Before, it was probably because you changed too much that he didn’t recognize us.”

“Whether those past events are a delusion or not, won’t going to verify it face-to-face give you the answer?”

I continued with a tone of certainty:

“Speaking of which, you actually should have waited for him to wake up last night to catch up properly.”

“After all—truly important memories will always leave traces in the heart no matter what.”

“Go see him once…”

“Yes, it’s actually better to go now, and the timing is more appropriate.”

I struck while the iron was hot and persuaded her.

Kritiya seemed moved, a trace of intent flashing across her face.

Speak of the devil; just then, the carriage passed by the commercial street in the Upper City, which was filled with scorched debris of earth and wood caused by last night’s fire.

Looking from afar, only the slightly damaged Magic Goods shop had its door half-open; it clearly hung an “Open” sign, yet it didn’t look like it was receiving guests.

Kritiya finally made up her mind, raised her hand to knock on the carriage door, signaling a stop.

She merely said she would go and return quickly, informing only Sally and the driver.

Then, she broke off and left the group alone; our time was not abundant, but it was enough to say hello.

Kritiya stepped into the Magic Goods shop.

Nolan’s figure was nowhere to be seen in the shop—but I saw at a glance the elven girl, Hill, sitting behind the counter.

She wore a wide-brimmed mage hat, cleverly concealing her long, pointed ears.

When Kritiya stepped in, she also saw us—an expression that was seven parts fear and three parts confusion appeared on her face.

“How is Nolan now?”

Time was tight, and Kritiya had no time for pleasantries or idle chatter.

Hill blinked and said:

“Brother Nolan woke up…”

“Is he in the back?”

“Uh… Brother Nolan is resting… what do you want to do…” Hill said quietly.

I saw her inching her body, trying to block the wooden door leading to the backyard.

“What is it? Did someone come?”

The wooden door creaked open, and I saw Nolan wearing a linen coat, walking out from the back door.

He looked to have a decent complexion, only some superficial wounds on his body were hastily bandaged.

“Uh… Miss, do you have some business?”

The young man blinked, looking at the uninvited guest before him who was staring at him with strange eyes, and revealed a puzzled expression.

I only then remembered that Nolan usually presented himself with this persona of an ordinary, harmless magic shop assistant.

‘Enough, he doesn’t recognize you at all. The forest was dark that night, and I didn’t expect this blockhead to figure it out himself,’ I urged silently in my heart.

“How should I address you?” Kritiya nodded for a moment, then said.

“Just call me Cyril; the neighbors all call me that. I’m the assistant here, as you can see—the shop suffered a fire last night, and we weren’t planning on doing business today.”

Nolan’s tone was polite yet distant.

“I am Kritiya.”

The young girl stated her name, her gaze still fixed tightly on his face, staring at him until he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Ah—your name, it truly is a good name.”

Nolan seemed creeped out by the staring and scratched his cheek. “Uh… so, what is it? Do I know you?”

“Wait! Tiya, what is going on!” I realized something was wrong and questioned Nolan loudly, but the link was once again arbitrarily cut off by Kritiya.

“It’s nothing…” Kritiya remained silent for a long while, as if some final fantasy had also been shattered.

Finally, she looked away:

“I just came to buy something.”

“But we are no longer open for business…”

Halfway through his sentence, Nolan looked up and vigilantly caught sight of the girl before him.

Although she dressed simply and elegantly, the complex patterns embroidered on the fabric clearly identified her status as someone either wealthy or noble.

He seemed unwilling to cause more trouble and hastily changed his tune:

“Of course—since Your Ladyship has graced us with your presence, please, feel free to choose.”

Kritiya seemed to casually lift her eyes, scanning the displays in the shop.

Wands, robes, crystal balls, scrolls—and some small props whose functions were unknown.

Her gaze stopped on a large sword inlaid with an aquamarine gemstone.

The price tag—five hundred gold coins.

Undoubtedly, anyone who knew the trade would understand at a glance that this was a valuable enchanted sword.

But it was worth a dozen or so gold coins at most; five hundred gold coins was undoubtedly an incredibly fanciful, astronomical price.

This price was enough to buy a manor, half a palace, or even, in certain illegal transactions, bribe for a noble title along with purchasing a territory.

No person in their right mind would pay that for it.

“What do you think of this necklace? It comes with a shiny magical effect.”

“Let me see.”

Kritiya glanced at Nolan’s expression, seemingly catching a trace of panic in it.

For some reason, faintly, it was as if some desire and instinct were craving something.

She stopped her footsteps from walking away and said:

“I want this.”

“You… please stop joking.”

Nolan frowned, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

This sword—was his grandfather’s knightly sword.

Back then, to raise tuition money for his sister, he sold it to his current magic teacher, Leyak.

Nolan knew that the reason his teacher put such an astronomical price that ordinary people couldn’t afford and hung it in a prominent place in the shop was to encourage him to study hard…

“I am not joking.”

“My Lady, what is going on?”

A muffled voice rang out from outside the house.

It turned out that the adjutant of the guard had finally arrived, leading over ten men to surround the shop.

How could they turn a blind eye when the Duke’s eldest daughter suddenly left alone?

“Is something happening inside?” The adjutant did not dare act rashly and merely asked.

Kritiya stood alone blocking the front of the shop and asked expressionlessly:

“Where is Sally?”

“My Lady, I am here.” Sally poked her head out from behind the plainclothes soldiers.

“Wait! This can’t…”

Nolan had just spoken and wanted to step forward to stop them, but suddenly caught sight of Sally’s face and immediately choked his words back into his throat.

That maid was clearly the person who had stumbled upon their infiltration at the Governor’s Mansion last night!

“Go—fetch my private funds.”

Kritiya gave the order, and Sally obeyed, immediately doing as she was told.

Not long after, she returned with a moderately sized embroidered pouch.

Kritiya signaled for them to wait outside, then took the embroidered pouch and turned back into the shop.

“Miss, this definitely isn’t enough for five hundred gold coins—you should stop joking.”

Nolan shrugged, pretending to be relaxed.

However, when Kritiya opened the coin pouch, his smile suddenly froze.

The visible gold and silver coins, along with the jewelry in the pouch, probably totaled no more than a hundred amethysts in value.

Yet, a gold-embossed voucher was pulled out by the maid.

Kritiya picked up the quill on the desk, swiftly wrote down the amount, and signed her mark on the paper printed with a black-and-gold olive pattern.

He had heard of this kind of thing; it was a check used by great nobles and large merchant guilds during trade.

Cash could be withdrawn with this voucher—backed by the credit of the noble.

The older the lineage of the great noble, the more they could withdraw.

To write a check for five hundred gold so easily—an Earl, a Marquis—or perhaps… a Duke?

“Now, this sword belongs to me.”

After Kritiya spoke, she turned and walked toward the sword rack.

“Please wait a moment, this really cannot be sold…”

“It has a clear price tag yet you say it’s not for sale—do you know this is an act that violates the law?”

Kritiya placed extra emphasis on the word “law,” then casually glanced at Sally and the soldiers outside the door:

“If it’s illegal, my guards are right outside; then I cannot guarantee what will happen.”

“Also, that little girl behind you, she doesn’t quite look like a human.”

Nolan’s eyes flickered violently a few times.

He gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning slightly white from exertion.

Ultimately, all his struggle turned into a nearly inaudible sigh:

“I… understand.”

He lowered his eyelids and chose silence.

But he understood, how was this behavior any different from forced buying and selling?

With the obstacle removed, Kritiya walked silently toward the sword rack.

She used both hands to somewhat strenuously lift that heavy large sword, dragged it out of the shop, and handed it over to the guards waiting outside.

Subsequently, she did not look back again, merely leading her retinue of attendants as she walked toward the caravan.