Chapter 77 [Seviri Escapes]
"What's going on? Why are there so many people up ahead?"
Yuriel stopped in her tracks.
A long queue stretched along the flat road, with many people slowly moving forward under the scorching sun.
"You all wait here, I'll go find out what happened in the group," Mela decided in an instant.
Just then, at the very end of the line was an elderly woman with gray hair and wearing a headscarf. She looked very kind and seemed unlikely to refuse Mela's invitation to speak.
Of course, Mela didn't immediately strike up a conversation with the old woman; that would have been too deliberate.
So she waited in line for quite a while before pretending to complain, "It's so hot, I really want to get into the city as soon as possible."
As she spoke, Mela looked at the little girl next to the old woman, who was clutching her skirt tightly and looked timid. "Adults can bear it, but how can children bear it? Look at their faces, they're so sunburned, like they've been burned by charcoal."
Upon hearing this, the old woman looked at her granddaughter's face and saw the sunburnt marks on her cheeks. She immediately showed a distressed expression.
But all she could do was sigh and comfort the child, telling him to be patient.
"I wonder when these days will end," Mela continued, seizing the opportunity.
This finally piqued the old woman's interest in talking, "I think there's still a lot to come."
"That's right. Three days ago, they suddenly announced that the whole city would be under martial law, apparently because the noble lords were looking for someone. But three days have passed, and they still haven't found that person."
Hearing people chatting behind him, the middle-aged man in front of the old woman couldn't help but turn around and strike up a conversation with them, since standing under the scorching sun waiting was indeed incredibly boring.
He clicked his tongue. "If you ask me, the person they're looking for has probably already gone somewhere else. They're just wasting their time."
Looking for someone?
Mela lowered her eyes, a guess forming in her mind.
If nothing unexpected happens, the martial law is probably in order to find the whereabouts of Sevier.
If Severi hadn't met her and Yuriel, he probably would have been taken elsewhere three days later, just as the middle-aged man said. How could he still be in this city?
But then they brought Severi back.
This was truly a case of waiting patiently for a rabbit to run into a tree stump and succeeding.
"Speaking of which, I heard that a big shot came from the capital to search for someone," the middle-aged man said mysteriously in a low voice.
Knowing gossip that others don't is the most prestigious thing for ordinary people, and they naturally want to share it with everyone they meet, even if the middle-aged man is meeting Mela for the first time.
"Oh? Who is this important person?" Mela, equally adept at flattering him, chimed in.
"It seems to be some very important minister, right?" The middle-aged man scratched his head. How could he, a nobody who went to the city every day to help out at a grocery store, possibly find out the name of such an important person?
But fearing that Mela wouldn't believe him, he emphasized, "He comes from the famous Gardner family."
The closer one gets to the capital, the stronger one's faith in the church becomes. As a result, the Gardner family, known for their piety, is quite famous in the cities near the capital.
"He's actually from the Gardner family." Mela feigned surprise, then casually boasted a few words about the middle-aged man.
After a while, she pretended to have heatstroke and had no choice but to leave the group.
"You're back?"
Yuriel was resting under a tree when she saw Mela emerge from behind the bushes. Thinking that the group could enter the city, she stood up and casually brushed off the grass leaves that had accidentally gotten on her sleeve.
Mela hummed in agreement and recounted everything she had learned to Yuriel.
Immediately, Yuriel's gaze couldn't help but drift towards Severi beside her, clearly indicating that she had guessed the same thing as Mela.
"So, do we have to take a detour?" Yuriel asked.
Mela shook her head and told her that the journey ahead was not something that could be accomplished simply by taking a detour.
“If they are looking for someone, they can’t just put martial law in this one city.”
More likely, they will encounter similar situations in every city they go on to meet.
“What should we do? We are still at least four or five cities away from the king.” Realizing she had almost let something slip, Yuriel paused, barely managing to stay silent.
"Let me think about it some more. We'll have to stay in the wilderness for the time being tonight," Mela said.
“Okay.” Yuriel had no objection.
Little did they know that Sevier, who thought he was too tired and was dozing under the tree, was secretly listening under the cover of his cloak.
Despite his willful and capricious nature, and his seemingly spoiled and mindless behavior due to Elijah's indulgence, Siviri was not actually unintelligent. Therefore, even though Mela deliberately obscured many details during her conversation with Yuriel, he still managed to grasp the most crucial information.
There's a Gardner in the city right now!
The minister who came from the capital was undoubtedly Fursen, Severi's teacher.
Thinking of this, Sevier's spirits lifted.
The reason he hadn't tried to escape before, besides fearing Mela's tormenting spells and the fact that Mela was keeping a close eye on him, was also because Severi knew very well that running away alone might not be safe.
His most trusted servant betrayed him, but he didn't know who the servant's master was. What if the servant ran away and fell into the hands of the mastermind?
Therefore, Severi would rather swallow his anger and follow Mela and the others, since they were currently approaching the royal city.
But good fortune came so unexpectedly that Fusen actually left the capital to find him.
Foussen was the teacher his mother had personally chosen for him; surely he wouldn't betray him like that lowly servant? Sevier thought to himself.
He couldn't wait to see Fursen and have him send him back to his mother.
When his mother embraced him and wept with joy, he was determined to seize the opportunity to ask her to send someone to capture the two wicked witches, Mela and Yuriel, and then imprison them and torture them severely, in order to avenge the humiliation he had suffered at their hands.
When Severi recalled those agonizing moments, he gritted his teeth in fury, his eyes burning with even greater determination.
Soon, a plan quietly formed in his mind.
That evening, Mela gathered some branches and piled them together to start a campfire.
The surrounding area was all flat land, so the three of them could only make do by leaning against a tree and barely managing to fall asleep in a sitting position.
Occasionally, a spark would fly, creating a soft, crackling sound that reached Sevier's ears, causing him to open his eyes, which had been closed for a long time.
He deliberately made a huge movement and rolled over.
After a while, seeing that Mela and Yuriel did not react, he coughed a few more times on purpose.
Very well, they still haven't woken Mela and Yuriel.
It seems they are really fast asleep.
Severi was secretly delighted and immediately tiptoed to his feet, heading away from the fire.
At least fifteen minutes after he left, Yuriel opened her eyes and asked, "We just let him go like that?"
"There's nothing I can do, I can't think of any better ideas." Mela's eyes were also clear, showing that she hadn't really fallen asleep.
Since the martial law was imposed because of Severi, and they couldn't possibly sneak into the city with Severi through all the checkpoints, they might as well abandon Severi.
Ultimately, Mela and her companion are still harmless civilians, and no one will do anything to them for the time being.
Yuriel just didn't understand, "Then why don't we just leave him near the city gate and go? Why waste time putting on this show with him?"
"Just dump him at the city gate, aren't you afraid he'll immediately order the guards to arrest us both?"
Mela stood up, shook her skirt, and let the grass clippings and dust roll to the ground.
"Besides, his sudden appearance at this moment is just what draws the attention of those important figures in the city away from us, making it easier for us to take a detour overnight and get to the royal city ahead of us."
Mela didn't need Seviri to hold off the others for too long; even half a day would be enough for them. After all, this place was far too close to the royal city—so close that if they traveled by carriage for three days and three nights without sleep, they could successfully reach their destination.
As she spoke, Mela looked up and called to Silas, the only one who was fast asleep on the treetop, "Silas, Silas, wake up, we're leaving."
"Go? Go where?" Silas looked confused, thinking he was still dreaming.
“Of course, I’m going to find Erica,” Mela said matter-of-factly.
Isn't this exactly what they've been striving for all this time?
Seeing that Mela walked away without hesitation in the opposite direction from where Seviri had left, Yuriel followed her and asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time: "Did you foresee this happening beforehand, which is why you brought that brat along?"
“No, that’s not it,” Mela replied matter-of-factly. Any normal person who had just rescued a six-year-old child from several thugs wouldn’t let him leave alone.
Moreover, Severi is no ordinary child. His status as a prince is a double-edged sword. It may make some people fear the majesty of the royal family and dare not easily lay a hand on him, but it may also make some people harbor malicious intentions towards him out of greed.
Mela thought that since they were also going to the royal city, it wouldn't hurt to bring Seviri along.
Who knows, we might even get some unexpected surprises because of Sevier?
You should know that the royal city is currently under Elia's control.
If she doesn't want Mela to hurt Severi, she has to make some concessions, right? That's called being afraid to act rashly.
However, before even reaching the royal city, Seviri had already played his trump card. Although Mela didn't regret it, a faint unease lingered in her heart.
She glanced up at the night sky during a brief moment of respite; thick clouds obscured the stars. She wondered whether an accident or tomorrow would come first.
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