Not Your Princess

Chapter Seventeen

This must be what it's like to chase after a ghost.

There have been dozens of reports about the Priestess and dozens of other incidents where she has visited people in an attempt to talk them into treason or murder. All of the descriptions of the Priestess are different. Some say that she is short. Some say she is tall. Some say that her face is disfigured. Some say that she does not have a face at all.

The only fortunate part of this situation is that no other incident has taken place since the attack in the library. Though the reports of the Priestess's presence have increased, the evidence has disappeared.

Perhaps after her two failed attempts, the Priestess has decided to give up on her assassination plot.

He'll only know for certain once he investigates the claim from a village on the outskirts of Weldain.

It's an impoverished village with starving, homeless people living in alleyways between homes and businesses. Most of the homes look like they are one storm away from caving in on themselves with slanted roofs and curved walls. There aren't very many businesses in this area, since people can barely afford to house themselves. The only exceptions are an inn, a bakery, and a butcher shop.

Asch's gaze sweeps the streets. Her grip on August's arm tightens when she spots the sickly thin children attempting to kick a ball between themselves.

Poverty is an unavoidable tragedy according to his father. There are no ways to avoid it so there is no need to aid people affected by it.

"If they work hard enough," he once told his advisors in a meeting to discuss the topic. "They can pull themselves out of this situation. It's no one else's fault but their own."

The king must have never taken a trip to the cities and towns living in poverty. He's never seen the sick, poor, homeless people stumbling over themselves as they wandered the street.

If he had, then he would have done something about it.

"Come on," August prompts Asch. "Let's not stare at them."

The recently turned twenty-year-old averts her gaze to the ground. The pair walk toward their informant's house, unsure of what they are about to face.

In order to remain inconspicuous, Asch and August are dressed in drab clothes and only brought two guards with them: Henrick and Phineas.

August has only seen Phineas a handful of times. He's typically patrolling the entranceways to the castle grounds, ranked just below interior guard and nowhere close to entourage.

He was handpicked by Henrick to accompany them on this journey, however. Henrick has great judgment when it comes to guard selection, so August did not question seeing the other guard.

If this trip goes well enough, Phineas could be promoted to being Asch's personal guard. Until this threat against her life is taken care of, she will need round the clock guarding.

The house looks more like a hut since it is made entirely of straw and sticks. It's not very spacious, likely only having room for four people. While Phineas knocks on the door, August wonders if the owner built it themselves. That would explain the poor structural design of the place.

As the door opens a sliver, it cries out with a loud moan. It's just enough so that none of them can see inside of the dark house. "Yes?" A raspy, deep voice questions.

From the corner of his eye, August can see Asch shuffle in discomfort. She shoots him a side eye, seemingly unsure of this woman.

"We're here to speak with Ms. Rispesset," Phineas states.