Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 30

Open your eyes, my beauty,

See the wildflowers in their blooming spree,

Hear the sweet songs the birdies all sing,

Tender grass blades, a fragrant spring fling.

Open your eyes, my love, don’t delay,

Gone is Winter’s cold grip, revival of day,

I’ll adorn your skirt with roses fair,

Weave your soft bed with herbs rare.

With the garden’s finest, I’ll composed,

A floral bouquet for your hair, enclosed.

In colors bright, where beauty showers,

Adorn your spirit with the loveliest flowers.

— “Lullaby, Chapter Five”

“Your leg—” Dwight said in a low, threatening voice.

“Please, the box is only so big. None of us are exactly delicate.” Oscar shifted awkwardly in the darkness.

“There’s always a way,” Shivers said in a pacifying tone, carefully pushing against the lid of the box.

“Can you turn that thing off?” The Duke was slightly annoyed. “Damn it, it’s jabbing me.”

There seemed to be a music box in one corner of the box. Its pleasant music filled the small, enclosed space—it was thanks to the sound of the music that they had confirmed the location of the secret chamber and squeezed in just before the lid automatically closed.

“It’s better not to,” Oscar said. “I think it might be part of the transport magic. Besides, the music is quite nice.”

Shivers said, “Transport magic… Does that mean something outside is moving this box?!”

Although no one could see his face in the dark, his tone said it all. The Knight Commander found this very absurd.

“Elves, eagles, or maybe the box itself can fly,” Dwight said wearily. “Rather than that, I’m more concerned about why there is such a thing in Tifa’s secret chamber. The first king of Mokwen was a cavalryman, long a warrior who despised magic, and there were no mages around Tifa.”

Clearly, the box was a magical creation.

Shivers coughed.

Oscar: “Oh.”

A sudden silence ensued, and in the darkness, the breathing of the three men became more noticeable.

“You two, spit it out,” the Duke said, slightly irritated.

“I guess it’s love magic,” Shivers suggested. “That woman who died mysteriously in the room… Wasn’t it said that no one had ever seen her in the palace?”

Tifa’s mistress was a mage?

It wasn’t a viable theory. Queen Christine wasn’t a robust woman. If the other party was a mage capable of creating a flying box, she wouldn’t have died silently at the hands of a noblewoman.

For a moment, no one spoke, and they couldn’t hear anything from outside in the box, but the slight movements made them feel that the box wasn’t in a stationary state.

“I still want to turn off that music box.” The Duke, who was the most prone to complaining, broke the silence again. “This soft music is making me sleepy.”

Oscar, who had already been dozing off, suddenly jolted awake at these words, and in the cramped space, his head collided with someone—

“Ouch!”

“What is wrong with you?!” Dwight cursed.

Oscar, too preoccupied to speak, strained to pull out his pocket watch.

“It’s been nine minutes since we entered this box.” Oscar squinted, feeling that despite the luminous material on the watch face, he was still having trouble seeing the numbers.

“So what?” Shivers’s voice was growing lower.

“Damn!” Dwight also suddenly thought of something, abruptly kicking the box, which dangled dangerously in the air.

“Hey!” Oscar was startled by his action.

“Turn—that—thing—off.” The Duke’s tone finally faltered. “It has a hypnotic effect.”

The Knight Commander immediately opened his eyes, feeling his eyelids were unusually heavy. He reached towards the source of the sound, quickly locating the pleasing sound of the piano even in the dark.

A wooden, small music box, smooth, without any engraved patterns.

Before Oscar could comment, a “snap” was heard.

The lid of the music box was forcefully closed, and the piano music stopped abruptly.

The box’s movement suddenly became erratic. Dwight raised his head, reaching out to feel the box walls.

Although he hadn’t thought much about turning off the music, Shivers suddenly thought of an inopportune question.

“If this is a flying box, are we now in mid-air?”

The rest of his question went unasked.

If the music from the music box was indeed controlling the flying box, could the box still fly after the music stopped?

Although he didn’t finish the question, the others in the box also immediately considered this, and their hearts sank.

The box again shook ominously, as if a giant outside was curiously flipping the box in his hands.

And then… for some reason, the giant decided to suddenly throw the box away.

Even though the box was lined with soft blankets, the three men felt that things were turning for the worse.

“Uh-oh,” Oscar said softly.

No sooner had he spoken than a terrifying sensation of weightlessness prevented him from saying another word—the box was plummeting rapidly! Even Dwight struggled to maintain his composure. If they were indeed falling from a great height, he might end up as the most embarrassingly deceased Dwight in history!

Shivers cried out, “My Lord—”

They fell so quickly that there wasn’t even time for Shivers to finish his sentence before a jolt made his head crash against the box wall.

Oscar’s cheek was grazed by something cold and hard, the stinging sensation snapping him out of his daze.

“…A soft landing?” he gasped.

Shivers was worthy of his title as a well-trained Knight Commander. He forced himself to recover his senses in the shortest time and then forcefully pushed open the lid of the box.

The box shook again, but this time Shivers saw clearly.

“Thank heavens.” He reached out to help Dwight up, letting the Duke see their current situation.

It seemed they were in a public spring, with a large stone-built pool and a narrow channel used by common women for washing clothes.

Oscar struggled to get up from the box, following Shivers and Dwight as they climbed out. It was still dark, but they could just make out the appearance of the large box.

Without magic, this box would look like any other wooden box, completely unremarkable, without even a hint of decoration.

The water in the pool barely reached their waists and was icy cold. Dwight initially wanted to head straight for the edge of the pool but, almost as if compelled, turned back to grab the wooden box.

Oscar also seemed interested in the box, reaching in to touch the blanket inside.

“Portillo’s high-quality cashmere blanket,” he commented with interest. “Hand-dyed, top-notch stuff.”

Dwight also felt around inside the box, tossing a small object to Shivers, who caught it and found it to be a small music box.

The Duke turned back to see Oscar pulling half of the blanket out, examining it closely as if trying to discern a pattern.

“Unless you’re a werewolf, you wouldn’t see any bloodstains in this light,” Dwight said coolly.

Oscar chuckled nervously and released the blanket. “I was just thinking—”

“Confirming whether that woman really died in Tifa’s room?”

Oscar shrugged.

“Gentlemen, this isn’t a good place for deductions,” the Knight Commander interjected. “We should still be within the royal city, and if we linger, we might encounter the night watch.”

Especially since so much had happened tonight, security in the royal city would be a prime topic of discussion at the council chambers for at least the next month.

His suggestion was sensible, and the three agreed, leaving the pool and quickly turning into an inconspicuous street.

“Where are we?” Oscar frowned, glancing up at the moon.

“North,” Shiver determined, recognizing the surrounding buildings. “If we keep going, we’ll leave the city, almost exactly opposite from the royal palace.”

“North is the trade district and a key area for checking foreigners,” Oscar quickly added. “West is the royal palace and the noble district, south is the military. Let’s head east.” East was the residential area, and conveniently, the inn they were staying at was in that direction.

Shiver couldn’t help but glance at Oscar.

After dawn, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and Oscar, with his golden-brown hair bouncing with his brisk steps, led the way. It was like the tips of grass dancing in the wind.

The Duke strode behind him, watching his figure. This man was well-built. Even in a cloak, it was apparent he was straight-shouldered, slim-waisted, and long-legged. Despite some anxiety, his steps were neither panicked nor sloppy, easily showing his good upbringing with almost no superfluous movements…

Almost.

Oscar wasn’t unaware of Dwight’s gaze on his back, which, frankly, was quite distracting at this time.

“What’s the rush?” The Duke quickened his pace to walk beside him through the deserted streets just before dawn. Mokwen’s royal city was built on a hill, and the terrain was uneven. Though there were no rivers, the city often used bridges to connect various elevations. If one wasn’t familiar with the routes, it was easy for outsiders to get lost among the intersecting roads and bridges. However, Oscar seemed to have no trouble navigating as he crossed a wide stone bridge leading to a quiet residential area, where beyond the dim streetlights at the corner, the end of the street was shrouded in impenetrable darkness.

The Duke noticed Oscar clutching the small golden pocket watch, glancing at it periodically as they walked.

“My time is short.” Oscar smiled and tucked the watch into his clothes. “A lot has happened tonight, and I’m a bit late.”

“Late?”

“To be honest, I had another appointment today.” Oscar quickened his pace nonchalantly. “But I didn’t expect so much to happen tonight…”

He had hardly finished speaking when he suddenly halted, stopping so abruptly that Dwight’s hand brushed his forearm in passing.

Oscar stepped back two paces, looking at him.

The temporary alliance formed under a common threat was fragile and insincere, and once the crisis was over, the caution and calculation between them resurfaced eagerly.

“Trying to run?” The Duke curled his lips, showing the first smile of the evening.

With his looks, his smile should have been quite captivating, but Oscar just shivered.

“I’m in a hurry.” Oscar conceded for once. “Maybe next time…”

Dwight glanced behind him, and Oscar didn’t need to look back to know that the tall Knight Commander had quietly blocked his path.

Loyalty was always paramount in a knight’s heart.

Oscar sighed, reaching into his pocket.

“Look,” he tried to negotiate with Dwight, “I haven’t done anything. We all escaped from the royal palace together. If not friends, then at least companions. Why suddenly turn hostile?”

“If you haven’t done anything, then what are you so nervous about?” Dwight, having failed in his sneak attack, seemed not inclined to further violence and crossed his arms leisurely. “You can explain slowly. I’m not in a hurry.”

…Good upbringing kept Oscar from uttering a curse.

“I need to leave.” His eyes, usually smiling, narrowed slightly. “My Lord, I can assure you I have no ill intentions towards you—”

“This matter has always been decided by me,” Dwight interrupted him, standing on the stone bridge with a bright morning star hanging behind him in the sky—a harbinger of the approaching dawn. The silent city was beginning to stir. Faint lights twinkled in the houses by the road, and in the distance, the sound of cartwheels rolling over small stones on the brick road could be heard.

Actually, Dwight wasn’t as confident as he appeared. He couldn’t forget that the greedy, foolish, and extremely lascivious Viscount was still eyeing his looks. In a sense, even if he was cleared of the palace drama, Dwight wasn’t exactly a free man in this royal city.

But for no reason, he wanted to trouble this man before him. He disliked the other’s careless yet effortless demeanor, as well as his habit of curling his lips in a smile that never truly reached his eyes, as if by doing so, no one could see through his hypocrisy and indifference.

All of this displeased him.

Oscar took a step back, leaning against the stone railing. He had far more experience with misfortune than the average person, often targeted by others, and it was easy to see that the Duke didn’t intend to maintain a superficial peace. Whether out of curiosity or suspicion, this arrogant nobleman wouldn’t rest until he had wrung out everything he wanted to know from him today.

Even without considering their physical disparity, being outnumbered two to one was a tricky situation.

“It seems you’re set on causing me discomfort,” Oscar said coldly.

Dwight nodded politely. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to oblige you.” Oscar smiled, then, with a swift move, he braced his hands on the railing and vaulted over it with a powerful kick, his body soaring over the barrier!

Dwight’s eyes widened as he watched him jump without hesitation. Even though the street was just below—if he landed headfirst…

Almost instantly, Shivers moved forward in a futile attempt to catch him, but soon straightened up and turned to look at his master.

Dwight quickly approached the railing, and that was when he saw it—a small flatbed cart appeared ghost-like from under the bridge, loaded with bundles of dry straw, providing a perfect landing spot for the leaping Oscar. The horse’s hooves seemed to be wrapped in cloth, making only a soft, muffled sound on the cobblestone road.

It seemed he was well-prepared.

Dwight couldn’t tell whether he should feel mocked or relieved. He turned around with a dark expression, facing his Knight Commander.

The handsome face was marked with an expression of utter disbelief.

“By the gods,” Shivers said, astounded. “Did you see that? There’s no coachman on that cart…”

How could the cart catch Oscar so precisely without a driver? Was it just a coincidence, or was the horse perhaps magically controlled?

Of course not.

This was a complete misunderstanding.

Oscar indeed practiced magic, but his skills were nowhere near that level.

What’s that old saying? The darkest hour is just before the dawn. The Knight Commander, deceived by the night, had failed to notice that the cart did indeed have a coachman.

“That was a close shave!” After the cart had traveled some distance, a small tin soldier standing on the footboard looked back. “But I knew we could do it! I knew what you were going to do the moment I saw you near the railing. We have a tacit understanding, right?”

Behind him, the straw was somewhat disheveled from the impact, and the person who had jumped from the bridge struggled a bit to free himself from the elaborate court robe he wore, his long fuzzy ears gently waving in the early morning breeze.

“You’re right.” He lay on the straw while magically producing a black top hat and placing it on his rabbit head, smiling at the little tin soldier. “Understanding is priceless, friendship is forever.”

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