Chapter 43

Chapter Seventeen: Miss Peyalo?

The winter city was not as exotic and gentle as Nalangade. When one first laid eyes on this great city, the shock was unimaginable.

If I had to describe it with an apt image, it would be… a steel giant lurking in the midst of snow and wind, or Edinburgh hidden in the mist and clouds.

These two images are not contradictory because the winter city is a miracle that perfectly combines romantic and industrial elements that are radically different from each other. From afar, amidst many uniquely styled buildings, tall factory chimneys stood out, like unextinguished furnaces hidden in ice and snow.

This is the most industrially advanced city in the world, even though it is not the capital of the Valen Empire.

When the Church’s procession arrived at the southern outskirts of the city, it was noon. The sky was clear, but the weather remained cold. The knights, though already wearing shirts under their armor and wrapped in cloaks, were still shivering.

The rhinoceros carriage stopped at the southern gate. The captain of the knights stepped forward and began talking to the guards at the city gate.

I secretly lifted the curtain and curiously observed these men in high-collared thick leather armor, black coats, and round hats, exuding a strong Gothic style from head to toe. Their weapons were incredibly diverse—some carried saws with sharp teeth, others had large axes that could fold, and some wielded double swords curved like snakes. After looking for a while, I couldn’t find a single knight using a standard long sword.

“Carlos.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Carlos was still dressed in his small suit, seemingly not feeling cold, but he had already put on his iris cloak.

I pointed to the guards who were letting us through and said, “Those are cunning weapons?”

“Yes.” Carlos nodded. “The guards of the winter city are all core forces of the Duke’s family, known outside as the Workshop Hunters. They are famous for their powerful individual combat capabilities. The weapons they use are uniformly designed and manufactured by the Central Workshop, making them the finest cunning weapons in the world.”

“The Central Workshop is a weapons factory?”

“Oh, something like that. It’s complicated to explain, but you’ll understand soon enough.”

I nodded in agreement.

At first glance, it was clear that each weapon possessed extremely terrifying destructive power. Fighting against such enemies would be very daunting because it’s hard to predict their attack trajectories and follow-up moves, leaving no pattern to follow.

That’s why they’re called cunning weapons… Quite interesting.

I started to look forward to it.

After entering the outer walls of the city, we soon came to bustling streets.

“Mr. Carlos, Miss Silvija,” the captain of the knights approached our rhinoceros carriage and said, “We need to go to the parish area to hand over the goods and take the merchants to the underground prison. Would you two like to come along?”

“Go see the parish?” Carlos didn’t directly answer the captain but turned to ask me first.

“Where is the Ousmiru cake?”

“In the commercial district.” Carlos immediately understood my meaning, waved at the captain, and said, “We will visit Lord Duke at Santel Castle later, so we won’t be going with you. Please handle the business matters. If there’s any news, please inform me.”

“Yes, Mr. Carlos.” The captain bowed to us, his gaze lingering on me for a moment. “Well then, goodbye, see you both later.”

With that, he directed the procession away.

After parting ways with the knights, Carlos instructed the driver to head to the commercial district first.

The commercial district wasn’t far, and in less than half an hour, the rhinoceros carriage pulled up in front of a warmly decorated cake shop at the corner of the street.

Before we even got off, I could already smell the rich sweet scent.

“Slurp~ I’ll go check.”

I was so eager that I lifted the curtain, ready to jump out of the carriage, but Carlos held me back.

“What are you doing!” I glared at him.

Who gave you the nerve to stop me, Silvija, from eating!

Carlos ignored my fierce gaze.

“I’ll buy it. You stay in the carriage.”

“No.”

It was said that the sweets in the winter city were quite famous. Such a large cake shop must have lots of delicious treats. This was something I needed to see with my own eyes!

“Then put on your cloak,” Carlos said to me.

“I’m not cold,” I shook my head lightly.

“Fool, don’t you know I’m worried about you being cold? It’s your face. People might have trouble if they see it.”

“Trouble?” I frowned, puzzled.

“Well, who asked you to have black hair and black eyes.” Carlos shrugged indifferently, looking somewhat unconcerned. “If someone suspects you’re impersonating royalty, you’d have to explain yourself, which would be a hassle. Just put it on and go with me.”

“…Okay.”

Only then did I remember what Angel had said about the royal family of the Valen Empire having black hair and black eyes. Reluctantly, I took out my cloak and put it on, then pulled the hood over my head.

“Like this, okay?”

“Hmm~” Carlos looked at me, my entire face hidden in the shadow of the hood, and patted my head approvingly. “Not bad, not bad. You can take it off once we get to Shandler Castle.”

“Stop touching my head.” I pushed Carlos’s hand away and gave him another white eye before jumping down from the carriage quickly.

This cake shop seemed quite famous; there was a crowd outside, and the inside was packed with people. Desserts were luxury items, and the customers here didn’t seem to be ordinary commoners. Their clothes were generally fancy, and many wore the attire of servants or butlers.

“Please… please don’t crowd. Those who have already paid, please wait aside, don’t affect the guests behind you, thank you…”

A voice that sounded sweet yet slightly anxious echoed faintly among the crowd. I stood at the back, jumping up and down trying to see inside, but still couldn’t see anything, getting more and more anxious.

What should I do? Just push through.

I looked around and found a less crowded direction, struggling to push my way inside.

“Please, make way!”

“Pardon me, thank you!”

Finally squeezing to the counter, I looked up at the sweat-drenched female clerk.

“I want, Osmeru cake. Give me a lot, a lot.”

The noise around was too loud, and the clerk seemed not to have heard what I said. She looked at the crowded shop, her sweat had already wetted her auburn hair by her temples. Her freckled nose wrinkled, and her beautiful big eyes were full of grievance, tears welling up in them.

I unconsciously raised my voice.

“Osmeru cake!”

The soft and sweet voice was like a clear spring, instantly making the whole scene quiet.

The clerk finally reacted and hurriedly said to me, “Sorry, please wait a moment…”

But halfway through, she suddenly froze, staring at me with a dazed look on her face, then rubbed her eyes incredulously, looking rather cute.

“…Are you… Miss Peyelo?”

What?

After hearing her words, I first tilted my head, frowning and showing a puzzled expression. Then, I was startled and reached for my head.

Oh no, I was so focused on the delicious cake that I didn’t even notice the hood had been knocked off!

“Cough, cough.”

I quickly put the hood back on, pretending nothing happened as I lightly coughed and placed a gold coin on the counter.

“Cake.”

“Is… is it Miss Peyelo? Is it really you…”

The clerk continued to ask insistently, looking as if she wanted to confirm something but wasn’t quite sure.

Peyelo? I don’t know her, who is she?

Could it be that she mistook me for someone else?

“No, you’re mistaken.” I said softly.

Exposing my appearance due to carelessness, the atmosphere was strangely quiet. I couldn’t help but pull the hood down again.

“Hey, am I seeing things…?”

“Is it her?”

“It seems so.”

“She’s not already…”

As whispers spread through the crowd and curious glances swept over me, I seemed to become the center of attention. This made me feel restless, and I didn’t want to stay here any longer.

…Forget it, I’ll let Carlos buy it for me later.

Reluctantly looking at the tempting cakes displayed in the counter, I broke through the crowd and rushed into the carriage.

“What’s wrong!”

Carlos was startled when he saw me rush in.

“I was seen.”

I said casually.

“…Why are you so stupid?” Carlos covered his head.

“Less talk.”

I turned my head awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with him. I wasn’t sure how serious this matter was, feeling somewhat uneasy. Glancing over, I noticed Carlos didn’t seem too concerned, so I relaxed a little.

“Now, what should we do?”

“It’s fine, I’ll go buy it for you.”

Carlos said, just as he was about to get out of the carriage, he heard the clerk’s somewhat hesitant voice outside.

“That… Miss, I brought your cake over…”

I hurriedly opened the curtain. The girl held a large bag of cakes, panting as she handed it over.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, um…” She looked at the magnificent carriage representing the Holy Church, and at my half-exposed face in the curtain, hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage, “Excuse me, do you really not know Miss Peyelo?”

Looking at the girl’s sincere eyes, I thought for a moment, but I really hadn’t met such a person.

“I don’t know, who is she?”

Hearing this, the clerk showed a very disappointed look.

“N-nothing, just a guest, a girl who often came to our shop, and she also liked Osmeru cake very much.”

“She looks like me?”

“She’s as beautiful as you.”