Chapter 270: Departure from Lucerne Port

The morning sun filtered through the shutters of the hotel room, casting dappled shadows on the wooden floor.

Lia woke up to a sharp, throbbing headache.

She sat up, clutching her heavy head, and looked around to find herself lying on a soft bed.

She was wearing her nightgown, and the cotton quilt was neatly tucked around her.

What happened last night?

There was a massive gap in her memory.

She only remembered drinking the third glass of “Siren’s Tears” out of defiance on the square, and then…

Then the world began to spin, and everything after that was a blur.

She seemed to remember being held in a warm embrace, with a low voice speaking into her ear, but she couldn’t recall the words no matter how hard she tried.

‘Could it have been Klein?’

As soon as the thought emerged, Lia’s cheeks began to heat up uncontrollably.

She lifted the quilt and got out of bed, staggering once before steadying herself to walk to the mirror.

The girl in the mirror was a bit pale, but there seemed to be a lingering hint of a flush in the corners of her eyes.

She slapped her face hard, trying to clear her head.

This wouldn’t do; she had to go and ask for clarification.

‘What if I lost my composure after drinking and said something I shouldn’t have… the consequences would be unimaginable.’

Lia changed her clothes, took several deep breaths to mentally prepare herself, and finally pushed open the door and walked out.

Klein was sitting by a window in the downstairs dining room, the morning light falling on him and making his entire being appear much softer.

A simple breakfast was set before him, and he was reading a commercial newspaper from Lucerne Port.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, his blue eyes meeting Lia’s.

“You’re awake? Does your head still hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Lia pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, her gaze darting away.

“Um… last night, did I get drunk?”

Klein put down the newspaper and unhurriedly picked up a table knife to cut the fried egg on his plate.

“What do you think?”

His matter-of-fact tone made Lia a bit annoyed.

“I… I didn’t do anything strange, or say anything weird, did I?” she pressed nervously, her hands twisting together under the table.

Klein’s movements paused briefly.

He looked up at Lia, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny as if he were recalling something.

Lia’s heart leapt into her throat.

After a few seconds, Klein spoke again, his tone completely flat.

“You held onto me and wouldn’t let go.”

With a roar in her ears, Lia felt all the blood in her body rush to her head.

“Anything else?” Her voice was as faint as a mosquito.

“You kept crying.”

Lia’s face was now so red it looked ready to drip blood.

She wished she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into right now, or simply use an Oblivion Charm to wipe away all her memories from last night.

“And then?” She asked those two words almost through gritted teeth.

Klein wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, watching her extreme embarrassment, a very faint curve touching the corners of his lips.

“Then, while you were crying, you said you were a dummy.”

The air seemed to freeze.

Lia was stunned for a full three seconds before she suddenly stood up from her chair.

Because her movement was so abrupt, the legs of the chair scraped against the floor, creating a piercing screech.

“I would never say such a thing!” she retorted loudly, her cheeks flushed crimson.

“How could I possibly call myself a dummy! It’s absolutely impossible!”

Her reaction was so intense that the few scattered guests in the dining room all looked over.

Klein watched her leisurely, wearing an expression that said: ‘You said it, and now you won’t admit it.’

“You’re lying!” Lia pointed at him, her fingers trembling with anger.

“You’re definitely saying that on purpose just to tease me!”

“Whether I’m lying or not, you know the truth in your heart,” Klein said, his tone unchanging.

Lia was left completely speechless.

She didn’t remember a word she had said, so naturally, she couldn’t prove with any confidence that she hadn’t said it.

‘Dummy’—no matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem like a word she would use to describe herself.

She sat back down dejectedly, picked up the milk on the table, and drained it in one gulp, cursing Klein a thousand times in her heart.

‘He is such a wicked man!’

Seeing her huffing with anger, the amusement in Klein’s eyes deepened.

He naturally wouldn’t tell her that the drunken words she spoke last night were far more “lethal” than calling herself a dummy.

Those anxious pleas and her tearful dependence were something he wanted to keep all to himself.

***

The Harvest and Sea Festival officially came to a close after three days of revelry.

The streets of Lucerne Port returned to their daily bustle, and the scent of wine and roasted meat in the air was replaced by the salty sea breeze and the smell of fish.

After lunch, Lia and Klein took a walk along the harbor.

People were busy cleaning the square, and vendors were packing their stalls to leave; Lia suddenly felt a slight sense of emptiness.

“The Adriatic Federation seems very different from the Kingdom,” she said softly, watching the ships coming and going on the distant sea.

In the Heinrich Kingdom, everything was orderly. Nobles belonged with nobles, commoners with commoners, and the classes were clearly defined.

Here, the air smelled of gold coins and freedom.

“The rule here is trade,” Klein said beside her.

“As long as you can pay a sufficient price, you can buy anything, including status and respect.”

Lia nodded; she had deeply felt this over the past few days.

“I want to go see other places too.” She turned her head to look at Klein, a hint of expectation in her eyes.

She wanted to see what the capital of this merchant nation looked like.

She wanted to see how those massive merchant families, who drove the entire Federation, operated.

“Alright,” Klein’s answer was crisp and direct, without the slightest hesitation.

“Then we shall go to the capital, Gvas.”

Having received his affirmative answer, Lia’s mood instantly brightened.

“How do we get there? Are we using that spatial gate again?”

“No,” Klein shook his head. “This time we’ll go by carriage. From Lucerne Port to Gvas, we’ll pass through several important commercial towns along the way; you can see them in passing.”

He had brought her out specifically to broaden her horizons.

Using a spatial gate to jump directly would lose the meaning of the journey.

The two of them quickly reached an agreement.

Klein’s efficiency was extremely high; in less than an hour, he had rented a luxurious mana-driven carriage at the Lucerne Port station.

The interior of the carriage was spacious, with seats upholstered in soft leather.

The walls of the cabin were engraved with constant-temperature arrays and shock-absorption arrays, enough to ensure a comfortable journey.

The driver was an experienced middle-aged man who knew the roads within the Federation like the back of his hand.

As they sat in the carriage, slowly driving out of the Lucerne Port gates, Lia looked out the window and saw a familiar figure.

It was the preacher from the True God Religion.

He was wearing his simple grey robes, standing on a rock, preaching his doctrine to passing travelers and farmers preparing to enter the city.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a strange piercing quality.

“Look, that liar is still there,” Lia said to Klein inside the carriage.

Klein followed her gaze, his eyes growing deep.

The preacher seemed to have completely disregarded the eviction from a few days ago, still tirelessly spreading his oracle.

A few scattered people around him had stopped to listen, their faces wearing expressions of either curiosity or numbness.

“He really won’t give up,” Lia curled her lip.

Just then, a squad of defense guards in leather armor strode over from the direction of the city, heading straight for the preacher’s location with a clear objective.

Clearly, someone had reported him again.

However, facing the approaching guards, the preacher showed no panic, merely continuing his sermon calmly.

Lia withdrew her gaze and looked at Klein. “What exactly is he after? He’s been caught so many times yet he won’t quit.”

Klein didn’t answer immediately.

His gaze remained on the preacher until the carriage rounded a corner, completely blocking the view.

“True faith, or true profit, can make a person very persistent,” he spoke slowly, his voice devoid of emotion.

“But his rhetoric is full of holes,” Lia said, puzzled. “Anyone with a bit of magical common sense can see through it.”

“But in this world, people without magical common sense are the majority,” Klein said flatly.

“And what you see might not necessarily be the whole truth.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Your Highness, I Want to Eat You

BLFantasyTransmigration

Read Now →
Not interested