Chapter 903

Chapter 903: The Last Monarch – King of Rime

In the eastern part of the Empire, in the province of Yue Sui.

This was a southern county in the eastern region, with rolling hills and wilderness alternating throughout the territory. Various noble fiefdoms were scattered across these hills and plains, where castles were built. These castles were surrounded by small cities and towns.

Compared to other regions, the various provinces and territories in the east were relatively peaceful and prosperous. They enjoyed a mild maritime climate. Even the inland provinces thrived due to their bustling commerce.

However, even in such a prosperous area, there were still people living in poverty.

In the mountain range covered with yellow leaves, a boy around fourteen years old was trekking through the hills. He wore rough linen clothes, colored a light yellow, blending with the dry earth and surroundings like dried mud.

Despite it being winter, snow had not yet fallen in the province of Yue Sui. The mountains were just a bit chilly. The boy’s thin clothing required him to move frequently to stay warm.

Elio jumped onto a large rock with thick rope sandals, his eyes scanning the grass and shadows for hidden tiny star fruits. These fruits matured late, usually in late autumn. Due to the local climate, he could still find them in the mountains during winter.

After spotting his target, he jumped down from the rock, using both hands to clear the dry, coarse grass and grasp the long branch of the shrub. He then carefully stripped off a row of small orange fruits, letting them fall into his palm.

These fruits were slightly smaller than grapes, with a semi-transparent, dry outer skin. At the tip of each fruit, there were small green sprouts. When piled together, they looked like a mix of orange and light green, providing a comforting visual effect.

Picking up a few fallen star fruits from among the dead branches and fallen leaves, the boy placed them in his cloth bag, tying the string securely around his waist before continuing his search for more.

Star fruits could be sold to some herbal workshops, but the demand was low. Thus, he mostly sold them to dyeing workshops, as they could extract pigments to dye yellow.

It was worth noting that his yellow linen clothes were dyed with star fruit. As an ordinary laborer, this color was durable and didn’t fade easily, making it quite common.

Walking through the dry grass and shrubs, Elio collected the tiny fruits, placing them in his bag. He tried to gather as many as possible to earn more money.

As time passed, it approached noon. The boy sat on a clean rock, taking out half a cold, hard biscuit from his pocket. His money was limited, so he could only afford something practical to fill his stomach.

With effort, he bit into the cold and hard biscuit, chewing slowly to moisten and soften the food, preventing himself from choking.

Even though his cheeks felt sore from chewing, after finishing half the biscuit, Elio still felt hungry. Licking the crumbs from his lips, he stood up again, walking with sore legs, continuing his search in the mountains.

By the time the sun began to tilt, it was around the afternoon.

Shaking off the tiny insects stuck to his bag, Elio glanced at the sun, which wasn’t particularly warm, estimating it was time to head down the mountain.

He dared not spend the night in the mountains. Even without wild beasts, the low temperatures could be fatal.

He opened his bag, feeling the small star fruits roll between his fingers. There were too many to hold in one hand. He felt a sense of satisfaction and joy.

With these, he might get a full meal tonight. No, he couldn’t eat all of it; he needed to save some money. Winter was coming.

He was already a grown-up. After his mother passed away, he had to rely on himself to survive.

Elio clutched his bag, moving quickly and skillfully through the rocks and dry yellow grass, sliding down the hillside, rushing forward.

In the distance, a large city stood by the flowing river, with wisps of smoke rising occasionally. This was the third-largest city in the province of Yue Sui, located in the Ku Yan County.

—

The streets at night were lit by sporadic lights, illuminating the path from the windows of wealthy households. Elio, carrying a pouch of copper coins, walked contentedly out of the workshop’s gate.

Looking around at the pedestrians, he carefully tucked the coins into his collar, running swiftly.

He needed to go to the back of that beautiful bakery. There, he might find some expired crumbs, which were considered luxurious delicacies among the poor.

The sweet cream mixed with cake crumbs was so sweet and delicious. He first tasted it when he was nine, when his mother was still alive, bringing him a little bit.

Approaching the bustling backyard door, the boy stood on tiptoe, peering inside. Seeing a busy maid, he waved happily.

“Anna sister.”

This was a very common name. In the eastern region, every tenth girl was named Anna. Hearing the boy’s call, the maid looked up, surprised, and came over. It was almost closing time, and the shop was quiet.

“It’s me. I want to buy something to eat,” the boy said excitedly.

Anna was someone he had known for a long time. She said his mother had helped her once, so they became familiar.

“But it will be expensive,” Anna worried, though she was a maid at the bakery, she couldn’t take things freely. This job was important to her, and she wouldn’t break the rules.

“I know,” the boy pulled out the bag of copper coins. For those living on the edge of subsistence, eating well was the greatest happiness.

“Where did you earn this money?” Anna asked, looking at the bulging bag, estimating there were dozens of copper coins. She glanced around, seeing no one paying attention, and helped him tuck the bag back into his pocket.

“Don’t learn bad habits from the thugs on the street. If you really need money, I can lend you some, although it’s not much.” Anna squatted down, stroking Elio’s hair, admiring his thin but handsome face, and thinking about his good mother.

“No, I picked some fruits in the mountains that workshops buy. I know where they grow. I’ve been running around those mountains since I was young, so I’m familiar with them,” the boy explained, seeing Anna smile.

“Alright, be careful in the future. While there are no demonic beasts in the mountains now, ordinary wild animals can be dangerous enough.”

“Yes, Anna sister,” Elio nodded.

“Okay, I’ll check the kitchen first. Mr. Andrew will pack up the unsold pastries today. I’ll get some for you later. Wait here for a moment.”

“Okay,” Elio agreed, watching the maid walk back into the courtyard.

Then, he squatted beside a stone on the street, wrapping his arms around himself to conserve heat. Looking up, he saw the darkening sky, with distant buildings blocking the view, revealing a faint purple hue, the color of the sunset.

Time passed, and occasionally, pedestrians walked by. They paid no attention to the ordinary boy, but

A few ruffian teenagers familiar to Elio whistled at him. Seeing he didn’t react, they laughed and walked past. It was so cold; bullying others wasn’t fun, even for them. They thought about returning to their warm nests.

Just as Elio was lost in thought, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Elio.”

“I’m here.” The youth quickly stood up but stumbled due to his frozen feet, steadying himself against the wall.

“Frozen through, huh?” Anna took small steps towards him, placing a wrapped item aside, then squatted down to check on Elio. Seeing his arms and body red with cold and his lips turning purple, she tenderly rubbed his hands.

“Go home early; it’s too cold outside.” She reminded the youth, then handed over the small package.

“This is what I got from Mr. Andrew. Most of it should be fine, though it shouldn’t be kept any longer.”

“Thank you!” Elio excitedly accepted it, quickly unwrapping it to reveal crumbled bread and cake, with some white cream still visible.

Ignoring the cold, Elio used his hands to scoop out the food and put it in his mouth. The sweetness was like soft cotton, melting in his mouth. One bite, and it was gone.

He continued grabbing more and eating, quickly finishing the limited scraps. Watching the youth devour the food, Anna smiled and patted his back to prevent choking.

“Right, money.” Elio took out the bag of copper coins from his pocket, ready to pay Anna.

“No need. Consider this a treat from your sister. With the cold weather, you should buy yourself some warm clothes,” Anna said.

“This—” Out of pride, Elio wanted to give the money to Anna, but thinking about how often he couldn’t sleep due to the cold, he hesitated.

“It’s fine. I work at the bakery; it’s not a big deal,” Anna noticed Elio’s hesitation and added.

“Then, I’ll repay Anna-sister someday,” Elio put the bag away and waved goodbye to Anna before running toward his usual dwelling.

This was a remote corner of the slums, dirty and chaotic, yet it was the only place he could stay. Before, he had considered building a small wooden house in the mountains, but the beasts and demonic creatures deterred him.

At least working here made earning money easier; it must be even colder outside.

The slums, covered in mud and garbage, were pitch-black at night. Without lights, people often had to move in darkness, sometimes avoiding those with ill intentions.

Fortunately, it was winter, and fewer people wandered outdoors. Elio ran through the alleyways, arriving at a dilapidated courtyard. Finding a spot to climb, he entered the yard.

“Is that Elio?” an old voice called out.

“Yes.” The youth responded, looking at the dilapidated house in the corner. An old man with gray hair peered out from a broken window, then disappeared into the shadows.

This elderly man had lost a leg and was half-blind, living here year-round. He survived by selling odd crafts, making him Elio’s neighbor.

Elio squeezed into his drafty, cramped room, blocking the door with stones to reduce the wind.

Wrapping himself in a tattered blanket, he curled up in the corner, enduring his still-empty stomach while dreaming of a better world where he could eat bread freely, have a mother, and live in a warm stone house.

Thus, Elio fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, he went to the street and found an old goods store, buying a poorly-fitting old coat despite its holes. With some mending, it would still be warm.

In the following week, before the frost covered the earth, he ventured up the mountain several times, searching for bayberries to sell. Finally, he accumulated a significant fortune of one silver coin.

This was the first time he had earned so much money in his life, enough to survive for a month without leaving the house.

With the money, Elio headed back to the bakery, intending to repay Anna and buy more food.

“Anna?” A strange maidservant blocked the back door, preventing Elio from entering.

“Oh, right. That maidservant. She’s no longer here.”

“Where did she go?” Elio asked anxiously.

“I don’t know. I heard she quit. She might have gotten married. You probably know, she’s not young anymore. In our village, women her age should already be mothers.”

The maidservant impatiently explained and then chased away the dirty youth.

“Don’t come here; customers will be disgusted seeing you,” she said dismissively.

“Sorry.” Elio apologized and ran off.

He vaguely remembered where Anna lived, somewhere in another part of the city, a common area for ordinary civilians. Though not wealthy, the houses and streets were intact.

“Sorry, I haven’t heard of anyone named Anna,” an old lady shook her head and told the youth to ask elsewhere.

“Huh, who? Get out of the way,” someone impatiently waved.

“Get lost, disgusting,” a girl covered her nose and waved.

“Anna? There are many people with that name,” a man carrying game shook his head.

“I don’t know,” a passerby hurried by.

“Who are you?” Some refused outright.

Thus, after asking all day, Elio gained nothing. He sat in a street corner, pondering for a long time until he had a new idea.

Another dusk arrived, and Elio intercepted Mr. Andrew, the pastry chef from the bakery, on his way home.

“Hello, I’d like to ask where Anna-sister has gone,” Elio looked seriously at the man.

“You are… Oh, right. Anna did take care of you,” Andrew looked at the skinny, dark-skinned boy.

“I advise you not to look for her. Anna has returned home.”

“Home, which home?”

“Her hometown is actually in a village in a neighboring county. She usually stays at her uncle’s house, paying rent.”

“Actually, you may not know, Anna works hard. Most of her earnings go to her uncle. Sometimes, she hides some money in the shop, asking me to keep it safe.”

“I heard recently that her uncle introduced her to a butcher, and she’s going to marry him.”

“But—” Elio wanted to ask many things: where she was going, what kind of person the butcher was, if Anna was happy or sad.

“Don’t dwell on it. It’s not good to bother them again,” Andrew shook his head.

“But I owe Anna-sister a lot, and I want to repay her,” Elio earnestly looked at Andrew.

“Sigh, this—” Andrew tried to leave, but Elio stopped him several times, finally telling him the direction.

“It’s in a small village not far from the city, probably east?” Andrew scratched his head.

“I’ll find her.” Elio ran off without looking back.

On the winter wilderness, the cold wind blew like tiny blades brushing against the face, although

Not as cold as the Northern Region, but it was still uncomfortable.

Elio carried several wrapped flatbreads and ran along the road on the wilderness. According to the simple inscriptions at the forks in the road, he guessed which path might lead to the village.

He took many wrong turns and spent nearly three days before finally finding the village Andrew had mentioned.

“The village head has a grove of birch trees,” the youth silently recited the village’s sign and then quickly walked inside.

Scattered houses were distributed among the hillsides. It was still deep winter, and every household had their doors tightly shut, with only circular rings made of frozen twigs hanging on the doors, a custom for winter blessings.

Elio had no choice but to knock on each door thick-skinned, asking if there was a new bride named Anna.

“I don’t know,” someone shook their head.

“Get lost, brat,” someone didn’t want to bother.

“There hasn’t been any news of anyone getting married recently.”

“Are you talking about the butcher? That’s simple. The house further inside the village, near the big stone and sheep pen, is it.”

“Thank you,” Elio gratefully bowed and then quickly ran over.

With tired steps, Elio finally stopped in front of a house. Inside came frightening curses.

“Can you serve people or not? I paid a lot to buy you, not to keep an idiot,” after which he could hear the sound of a basin being overturned, followed by a loud slap.

“Sorry, sorry,” Elio finally heard Anna’s voice again.

The door opened, and Anna, dressed as a woman, squatted down by the basin and walked out, splashing water outside. At this moment, she saw the child standing outside the house.

“Are you… Elio?” her voice filled with disbelief.

“It’s me, Anna sister,” the youth wanted to approach and speak, but Anna hurriedly signaled him away with her hand.

Then he stood in place, watching Anna put the basin back inside. After a while, she quietly slipped out from the back door, pulling him to a hidden spot under the shade of a tree.

“Why did you come?”

“I want to return your money.” Elio took out the warm purse from his pocket.

“No need, just keep it yourself,” Anna waved her hand.

Elio froze in place, at a loss, but eventually asked.

“How is Anna sister now?”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about me. Think more about yourself,” Anna hesitated, then continued.

“In fact, you don’t need to thank me specifically. Your mother helped me in the past, so I’m just repaying a favor.”

“Never come here again, it will raise suspicions, and it will affect your reputation,” she said slightly harshly, but then added,

“It’s not that I dislike it, it’s just better this way. If you have money, remember to learn a trade. You can find a place to settle down and live well. This way, you won’t let your mother down.”

Anna placed her hands in front of her, recalling over a decade ago. Back then, she was just a young girl who had grown up. The beautiful lady with her child passing through the village was a scene she would never forget.

After saying this, Anna waved her hand, bidding farewell to Elio and walking back into the house. Soon, another round of scolding and apologies came from inside.

Listening to these heart-wrenching sounds, Elio stood under the tree for a long time before silently leaving.

Winter festival celebrations arrived, and he grew another year older, yet life seemed even lonelier.

Two weeks later, the winter festival celebration began in the city. Many nearby villages also had people coming here to watch and participate. Shops of all sizes hung up wreaths woven from frozen twigs, with dark green branches and berries adorning the drab world, bringing rare smiles to the residents of the city.

During this period each year, due to the weather, it was hard to go out, making it a rare rest time. People would gather together to discuss recent events, such as harvests and interesting stories, then sit in bustling bars, roasting fires, drinking beer, and listening to wandering bards play various tales.

Swoosh—

Accompanied by the long, piercing sound, the nobility’s squires lit the fireworks crafted by alchemists. Then, the people in the city began to admire the magnificent night sky.

Boom! Red fireworks exploded in the sky, deep red meteors streaked like rain, followed by another yellow explosion, scattering a shower of stars.

In the midst of the crackling sounds, residents from nearby areas stood on the streets, some even applauding lightly.

“These mages are actually quite useful; no wonder those nobles protect these Rourna refugees,” someone said.

“But these things are only affordable for the nobles,” another replied.

“But looking at them is nice too, they really are beautiful,” someone else added.

“Haha, that’s right,” whispered the commoners in the city.

“Hello,” Elio saw a familiar face in the crowd, the person who had given him directions in Anna’s village not long ago.

“Oh, hello, it’s you,” he seemed to recognize Elio.

“Yes,” Elio nodded, then asked about Anna’s situation.

“Oh, well, I suggest you think positively,” he sighed and tried to avoid the topic.

“What happened?” Elio felt worried and scared.

“Nothing, that Anna… probably isn’t around anymore,” he said calmly.

The words struck Elio like a thunderbolt, and he didn’t hear anything else the man said afterward.

He ran in the darkness, his body burning like hot coals, breathing heavily, running toward the direction he remembered.

The small village outside the city was hazy under the clear night sky. He left the bustling city behind, diving into the cold night, feeling the biting winter air in his lungs, causing a sharp pain, but the shadow in his mind caused even more suffering.

Why?

Why?

Why did someone who was alive not long ago suddenly disappear, even though they had endured the difficult winter?

Why this time…

“That girl Anna committed suicide,” Uncle’s sighing words still echoed in his ears, making Elio unable to let go.

He ran madly to the village, barged into the house, and argued amidst curses and scuffles, then was beaten bloody with a thick wooden stick.

Warm blood gradually turned cold in the winter night, the pain in his head numb, his stiff body taking step after step towards the hill behind the village, where they said Anna was buried.

Walking through the dark forest, Elio’s limbs gradually turned cold. He felt his feet were someone else’s, cold and stiff, and touching the rough bark no longer hurt.

Is this winter? So cold.

Even with his lips cracked open, a painful sensation still stimulated his increasingly numb nerves, preventing him from collapsing.

In the darkness of night, he couldn’t see, and he couldn’t find where Anna was buried. He wandered through the forest, disappearing bit by bit into the darkness.

And behind this youth, in the distant city, splendid fireworks rose one by one, blooming with joyful light, these fragments of light sparking countless beautiful imaginations in people’s hearts.

(The End)