Chapter 28 [Mostly about Hall's storyline]
"An unexpected turn of events?" Mela raised an eyebrow slightly, looking interested.
“Yes, we never expected that Howard would get involved with one of the lord’s knights,” Hall said through gritted teeth, his expression grave.
If it's just a falling out with Howard, at worst Howard can shut himself off and refuse to see him, and then find a way to prevent him from making a move on Joanne.
But Hall never expected that he would hear the sound of rapid hoofbeats not long after he and Joanne had escaped.
For the sake of her position, Joanne was the first to see the knight sitting on the tall horse. He was not wearing a full suit of armor, only a breastplate that gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Two short, thick eyebrows framed a pair of stone-gray eyes that pressed downwards, giving him an unapproachable look.
Indeed, that is the case.
When his eyes met Joanne's, his eyes lit up without any attempt to hide it. "Found you!"
Then he spurred the horse on, urging it to speed up and gallop towards Joanne and Hall.
Joanne even saw him draw the sword from his waist!
In the vast darkness of the night, that silver sword tip, with its menacing sharpness, was impossible for her to ignore.
Although Hall didn't have time to turn around and see what was behind him, he still heard the threatening words, and in his haste, he quickened his pace and started running.
How could a person's two legs possibly outrun a horse's four legs?
In the blink of an eye, the knight's gleaming longsword nearly pierced Hall's back.
Hall was practically invisible to everyone else, but with Joanne on his shoulder, it was as if he was carrying a live target.
It was only when Joanne saw the sword coming that she shouted "Turn around!" and Hall managed to dodge it in time.
Meanwhile, a small section of Joanne's hair was cut off.
At such close range, it wouldn't matter if he missed. The knight looked at Hall and Joanne as if they were fish on a chopping board, with a condescending air, and then thrust out his second sword without hesitation.
He didn't intend to kill him outright; he just wanted to injure Hall so that he would have to stop.
However, because it was not clear, the long, narrow blade was about to pierce Hall's heart.
fortunately!
Luck smiled upon Hall once again.
Caught off guard, he slipped and rolled down the slope with Joanne, narrowly avoiding the fatal sword strike.
However, the slope was very high and steep, and Hall only had time to adjust his posture and use his body to protect Joanne as much as possible.
During the ordeal, barbed wooden sticks frequently pierced Hall's hands and face, but Joanne remained unharmed thanks to Hall's protection, only suffering some hair damage.
Fortunately, the two rolled away from the knight's sight, and the bushes effectively blocked the horses' progress.
Hearing a vicious curse and the neighing of a horse from above, Hall ignored his pain and quickly took out the half-bottle of invisibility potion he had kept in his pocket and made Joanne drink it.
The potion took effect very quickly; almost as soon as Joanne finished drinking the last drop, she suddenly saw Hall's expectant brown eyes.
"It's done!" Hall was overjoyed. Being able to see the other person in stealth mode meant that Joanne was now in the same state as him.
"Hurry up!" Joanne Bihall was the first to come to her senses, grabbing his arm and stumbling forward.
They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible before they were caught.
Joanne's original plan was to go back to the village; even if she were to run away, she would pack her things before she did.
Before they had run halfway, Hall realized they were heading back to the village, so he immediately grabbed Joanne, turned a corner, and took another road, focusing all his energy on getting to Mela's cabin.
Hall, though not usually particularly bright, was surprisingly quick-witted in situations like this. His intuition told him that going home might not be safe, and it would be better to seek Mela's protection at the cabin. At the very least, he could listen to Lex's advice.
He was able to rescue Joanne because he had listened to Lex's advice.
"You did the right thing."
Lex readily expressed his approval of Hall's choice.
He analyzed for Hall, "First of all, judging from how quickly the knight caught up with you, it's not hard to tell that he must have arrived at Howard's residence shortly after you left."
In other words, upon seeing the unconscious Howard, he immediately realized something was wrong and rode his horse, following the footprints, to catch up with Hall and Joanne.
This is not good news, because it means that the knight was definitely involved in kidnapping Joanne and taking her to the lord to demand a reward.
Otherwise, his first reaction should have been to find a doctor to revive the person.
“Maybe this was originally his idea for Howard,” Lex added logically.
Otherwise, given Howard's status, even if he brought Joanne to the manor, what right would he have to meet the lord?
He would probably be caught by the patrolling guards and thrown into the dungeon before he even got close to the lord's manor, where he would await the steward's disposal.
But with that knight's guidance, Howard could move freely throughout the manor.
"Secondly, assuming the facts are similar to my guess, that knight must be determined to have Joanne, that is, he must take Joanne to the lord."
As for why he did this, it must be related to the lord's attitude.
However, Lex glanced at Mela quite naturally during the pause, his gaze filled with curiosity as he wondered why the lord of this place would suddenly seek out someone connected to witches. He thought Mela might know something about it.
However, he was met with Mela tilting her head, blinking, and looking completely innocent.
“Since you managed to escape just now, there’s a good chance he’ll head to your village and wait for you there.” Regardless of whether Mela was feigning innocence or not, Lex had already looked away and continued.
After all, according to most people's thinking, the first reaction after surviving an accident is to return to a safe place, such as home.
Even if you've made up your mind to leave this place and lay low somewhere else for a while, you still have to pack up your valuables first.
It must be said that, to some extent, Lex's guess coincided with Joanne's original idea.
In other words, if Hall and Joanne really did go home just now, then they would be truly silly rabbits who delivered themselves to the door.
"Then..." Hall and Joanne exchanged a glance, "According to you, does that mean we can no longer live a normal life in the village?"
Although it was phrased as a question, the answer was clearly already in their minds.
My already heavy mood sank even further.
"Look at it from another angle, as long as you leave now, this matter will be over."
“After all, neither that knight nor Howard knows where you are for the time being. You should hurry up and move away, leave the village, or even leave Redcliff territory. At that time, the two of them alone will have no chance of finding your trail,” Lex said, raising an eyebrow.
If Hall were to look up now, he would see that Lex's expression was exactly the same as Mela's. But he had his head down, like a blade of grass wilted by the wind.
This is understandable. After all, it means suddenly leaving one's hometown where one has lived for more than 30 years, and it's all because of an unexpected disaster. Anyone would find it hard to accept in a short time.
But there's nothing we can do about it. If we don't move, are we really going to go back and be at their mercy?
“It’s all my fault,” Joanne suddenly said, blaming herself.
"If I hadn't cared so much about my face and couldn't live without the transformation serum, which made Howard notice something was wrong, I wouldn't have gotten into such trouble..."
Joanne looked at Hall, a few glistening tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Lex silently gave Mela a puzzled look. Actually, he had a question he hadn't figured out: how exactly Howard had noticed Joanne's strange behavior.
"Your face now must look like it did before you were burned in the fire when you were sixteen," Mela asked bluntly after receiving a look from Lex.
I'm not worried at all about poking fun at people's wounds.
“…You guessed right.” Joanne’s sadness was interrupted by Mela. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and touched the smooth, firm skin on her face.
Even though more than a decade has passed, the memory of the fire that burned her beyond recognition and made her afraid to go out still terrifies Joanne, causing her to immediately drop her hand as if the burning pain that had tormented her day and night was rising again on her face.
And the feeling of my hand stroking my face in the middle of the night, the rough, uneven texture.
Fire? With Mela's reminder, Lex finally noticed that Joanne's face was too smooth and delicate, like the skin of a teenage girl.
To be honest, he initially thought it was the result of Joanne's good skincare.
But he didn't think about it carefully. How could a peasant woman who toils day and night possibly spend so much money and energy to take care of her face like the noblewomen he had seen in the palace?
In particular, Joanne's hands were covered in calluses and the marks left by frostbite.
Therefore, when she puts her hands and face together, it's almost like putting the bodies of two people of different ages together.
Joanne's sensitivity to appearances made her notice the fleeting thoughtful expression on Lex's face, but for Joanne, who had experienced the hatred and disgust of others, this reaction was not enough to hurt her heart.
At that time, she had such a face, was kicked out of her home by her parents, and was hit by stones by her younger brother whom she had saved. She could only live in a dilapidated hut made of straw by the river. She gritted her teeth and endured it all, without losing heart and jumping into the river to end it all.
Later, she met Hall, who was willing to like her and marry her.
Now, even when the scars are reopened for others to see, Joanne is surprised to find that the wounds are not as painful as she remembers.
However, if Joanne had known beforehand that this would cause Hall trouble, she thought she would rather live with that ugly face for the rest of her life.
“I don’t blame you,” Hall said suddenly after a long silence.
"After drinking the transformation potion, you can live a normal life in the village and interact with other villagers. Isn't that good?"
Moreover, Hall felt very grateful to Mela for providing the transformation potion; otherwise, Joanne probably would never have agreed to be with him.
At that time, no matter how much Hall tried to prove that he didn't mind whether Joanne was disfigured or not, and that he liked Joanne's kindness and gentleness, Joanne repeatedly rejected his advances because of her inferiority complex. She even thought about secretly moving away and never seeing him again.
While stopping Joanne, Hall hardened his heart and went to the Dark Forest to find the witch he had helped, intending to get a way for Joanne to regain her appearance.
He had prepared enough money and was prepared to pay other prices.
Then the witch, Mela, suddenly appeared before him with Silas.
"Tell me, what do you need my help with?"
Mela rested her chin on her hand, looking eager to hear the story.
Hearing Hall stammering out his story with Joanne, Mela hummed in response, her tone amused, "Ah, I do have a way to restore your appearance."
"Come to this tree in three days, and I'll have Silas bring you what you want."
"Okay, okay, Miss Witch, should I come during the day or at night?" Hall asked, trying to overcome his fear of witches.
He suddenly remembered a story he heard as a child, in which witches liked to make deals in the dark because the things they brought out were often things that couldn't be seen in the light.
“This time will be fine.” Mela looked at Hall strangely, finding his question rather absurd.
Even Silas wouldn't want to go out so late at night. He's a crow, not an owl.
"Also, just call me Mela," Mela added.
“Yes, Miss Mela.” Hall nodded emphatically, indicating that he understood.
...What did he finally understand? Mela couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
However, the deal was eventually completed three days later.
Silas, carrying the basket in his mouth, gestured to Hall with his eyes to lift the cloth covering the basket and take away the two bottles of medicine inside.
"These are two bottles of transformation potion. Just drink them and imagine what you want to become."
While Hall was examining the bottle, Silas suddenly spoke up to introduce it.
This startled Hall.
Crows can talk!
But considering it's a witch's pet, it's not surprising that it can speak. Hall comforted himself.
Silas ignored Hall's fuss and relayed Mela's words to him, "By the way, the potion takes half a month to work, so come back to this tree next month and I will bring you a new potion."
"So there's no way to solve it all at once..." Hall looked somewhat disappointed.
"Come on, your face is burned, such a serious injury, and you still think a bottle of medicine can fix it? Isn't that a bit too wishful thinking?" Silas couldn't help but roll his eyes after hearing Hall's words.
"Of course, Mela said you can call off this deal anytime, since you're not the one who needs to drink this stuff. If you ever get tired of the woman you like now, you can just dump her now that she's become ugly and get a new wife."
With that, Silas cackled and flew up, circling once in the sky above Hall's head before carrying the empty basket away completely.
They didn't even stay to hear Hall's rebuttal.
Hall watched Silas's retreating figure, gripping the bottle of medicine tightly. He felt a surge of anger. He wanted to say that he would never be a heartless man, after all, he had never liked Joanne because of her face.
When Hall handed the transformation potion to Joanne and explained its effects, Joanne looked at the potion in the bottle with a suspicious gaze and asked Hall where it came from.
“…I bought it from the witch.” Hall figured he’d have to tell Joanne about it eventually anyway, so he might as well be honest from the start.
"A witch? You actually made a deal with a witch!" Joanne subconsciously raised her voice, staring at Hall with a look of utter disappointment.
She never imagined that the seemingly honest and unassuming Hall would be so bold as to make a deal with a witch.
“Actually… Miss Mela is a very good witch. She only charged me twelve silver coins for a bottle of transformation potion…” Hall scratched his head, trying to speak well of Mela in front of Joanne.
What surprised Joanne even more was, "This bottle of potion with unknown effects costs twelve silver coins? Are you crazy?"
She seemed eager to shove the potion back into Hall's hand so he could go find the witch and get the silver coins back.
"Whether it works or not, you'll know once you try it," Hall advised her sincerely.
Although in his heart, Hall felt that Mela, who could make crows speak, must be a very powerful witch, and it was impossible for her to trick him with a useless potion.
Besides, Hall needs to buy new potions from Mela next month, and if she lies, she'll be exposed soon.
Seeing that Hall stubbornly refused to take back the potion, Joanne thought she might as well try it on him. It would cost twelve silver coins, and she could always save up to pay him back later.
So Joanne uncorked the bottle, drank the potion in one gulp, and, as Hall had instructed, closed her eyes and imagined what she most wanted to become.
Joanne didn't want to become beautiful or a stunning beauty. She just wanted to go back to how she looked before the fire burned her face. That was the most unforgettable look in her life, so much so that she couldn't help but think about it every night.
"Joanne, you did it! You're back to normal!"
Hall's surprised voice rang in Joanne's ears.
This made her suddenly open her eyes.
It's back to normal?
Is that what she meant?
Filled with unknown anticipation, Joanne hurried to the riverbank not far away and observed her face in the reflection of the water.
It was a face as smooth as new.
It was also what she had always dreamed of: a face that wasn't burned.
Overjoyed, Joanne burst into tears.
"Don't cry, don't cry," Hall said anxiously, trying to comfort her.
He reached out to put his arm around Joanne's shoulder, but quickly pulled back.
Unexpectedly, Joanne saw his movements from the water's surface and actually leaned into his arms.
"Thank you," she said, her voice choked with emotion.
"So, would you marry me, even though I'm like this?"
This time, it was Joanne's turn to take the initiative.
"Of course, I, I absolutely, absolutely couldn't be happier!" Hall was so happy that he almost couldn't speak.
At that moment, Hall felt as if he were surrounded by an overwhelming sense of happiness, and even the air felt incredibly fresh.
"So, even if I were given another chance, I wouldn't regret it," Hall said.
Even now, because of this incident, he has to leave the village where he grew up for many years.
In the dim light, Hall's face, which was not exactly handsome, seemed to possess a strange charm.
Joanne threw herself into his arms without a second thought, once again feeling her heart pounding like a drum.
"If we have to blame someone, then blame Howard. If he hadn't had such insidious intentions, we wouldn't have been forced to leave."
Hall gently patted Joanne's shoulder and spoke frankly about her earlier self-blame. Of course, he genuinely meant it; it wasn't just to comfort Joanne.
“Darling…” Joanne’s eyes welled up with tears again, but this time it was because of joy and relief.
She completely let go of her guilt and self-blame.
"That's easy for you to say. Even the most honest man can easily charm a woman," Mela chuckled, as if she couldn't stand seeing others in such a sweet moment and had to pour cold water on it. "If you really didn't have any resentment in your heart, why were you silent just now?"
“Well… I was actually thinking that since we’re planning to move, why don’t we just move to the neighboring Bayard Territory?”
Although Lex said that unless something unexpected happens, they shouldn't be unlucky enough to run into Howard again, Hall couldn't help but worry, what if he was just really unlucky?
It would be better to simply move away from Radcliffe Territory to prevent future troubles.
However, Hall felt that if he said that, it would seem as if he didn't trust Lex.
He assured me that he really didn't mean it that way.
I don't know if Lex will believe it.
Hall glanced at Lex furtively, but couldn't glean anything from his expression.
However, now that things were out in the open, Hall simply laid out all his remaining thoughts: "Besides that, I'm also thinking about where in Bayard Territory I can move to so that it will be convenient for me to come and buy medicine from you, Miss Mela, in the future."
Donic is getting old, and Hall rarely uses it to pull the cart anymore. If the place they move to is too far from the Dark Forest, he probably won't be able to walk there by himself.
“Well, you should ask Lex instead of me. Nobody in this little cabin knows this kingdom better than him,” Mela tossed Hall’s question to Lex like a hot potato.
“In that case, there’s no place more suitable for you than Golden Wheat Town in Bayard Territory,” Lex said.
"The tax officials there are notoriously slick."
Being slick means that as long as you give him benefits, he can achieve his desired goals.
For example, give Hall and Joanne, who were brought over from the neighboring Radcliffe, a native Goldenwheat town identity.
"And the lord of Bayard territory is also notoriously lazy."
In other words, as long as it doesn't affect his eating, drinking, and having fun, he doesn't care what happens in his territory.
Not to mention he would proactively check if two more people had inexplicably appeared in his territory. It's likely that since he took over as lord, he hasn't paid much attention to the affairs within his territory.
"Furthermore, Jinmai Town is not far from the Dark Forest. Even with the rest time along the way, it will probably only take a day and a night to get there."
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, Golden Wheat Town perfectly met all of Hall's requirements.
“Great, let’s move to the place Lex mentioned!” Hall looked down at Joanne.
Under Hall's watchful gaze, Joanne nodded, agreeing to everything as he would, without any objection.
"It's a pity we couldn't take the land with us..."
And all the odds and ends of the house, including the spinning wheel that had cost a lot of money, had to be left behind.
“Your land probably wasn’t going to stay anyway,” Lex said.
His statement was not entirely unfounded.
"Don't you know any villagers who suddenly had their land taken back and are now heavily in debt to the lord?" Lex prompted, seeing Hall's puzzled expression.
"You mean him!" Hall suddenly realized.
He whispered a name in Joanne's ear, and Joanne immediately made the same expression.
“But I heard that he got into trouble with the lord because he sold spoiled grain to grain merchants as high-quality grain,” Hall said hesitantly.
"Why should a mere grain merchant be allowed to seek justice from the lord? This is undoubtedly a scheme orchestrated by Earl Redcliffe."
Lex emphasized, "In other words, even without Howard's actions, the land you own would have been targeted sooner or later."
Therefore, moving away from this troublesome place as soon as possible might actually be a good thing for Hall and Joanne.
So that's how it is! Joanne understood, and a sense of urgency welled up in her heart. She couldn't wait to move out with Hall.
As it happened, Hall had the same idea.
They hurriedly said goodbye to Mela, and while the night was still deep, they quietly went to retrieve the coins they had secretly hidden over the years.
With money, you can buy whatever you want in Jinmai Town.
After watching Hall and Joanne leave, Mela, who had been pondering Lex's words, suddenly asked, "Why do I feel like you know the lord and tax collector of Bayard territory very well?"
"Oh, that's probably because the current lord of Bayard territory, Earl Bayard, is my aunt's husband, and the tax collector of Golden Wheat Town is the youngest son of the previous Earl Bayard. Their family has caused quite a few laughs at the palace."
Lex answered casually.
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