The Devil's Disciple

Chapter 13: Curiosity Breeds Knowledge After All

Chapter 13

The next day, Ildra woke early in the morning. She was given enough time to practice a few self-defense moves with Victoria. It was also enough time for both Victoria and her to figure out that she had no talent for martial arts. Based on Victoria's prediction, it would probably take her an entire month to master the basic moves. So, for now she would have to trust and rely on Soren.

After having her morning meal, she set out with Soren into town. They did not take any of the manor's carriages as they were simply too extraordinary to house simply a merchant's daughter and her bodyguard. They, instead, hired a carriage to take them into town from the closest village to the manor.

What she had not anticipated, however, was that the carriage would make periodic stops along the way to pick up more people. Right now, the carriage was slowing down to make its first stop. She prayed that no one would be waiting at any of the stops. She wanted to be alone with her own thoughts.

Although she did not fidget in her seat or betray any expression on her face, Soren seemed to pick up on her discomfort as he leaned over to the coachman.

He whispered something in the coachman's ears. Whatever it was, it must've been something promising as the coachman's eyes lit up. She watched Soren take out a bundle. He took several stones from the bag, and handed them to the coachman. It must have been the devils' currency.

The stories of the Devil Continent she had listened to did not contain any information about their currency. She would need to ask Midas to teach her. She would need that knowledge in order to manage the fief.

The carriage continued on with no other disturbances. Once Ildra stepped onto the cobbled ground with Soren's help, she was greeted by the lively chatter and festive smiles of the townspeople. She noticed that on either side of her, stalls selling all kinds of goodies lined the streets.

She looked around her in confusion. The last time she had been here, there were definitely no stalls. The people hadn't been this lively either. What was happening here? Was there a festival going on that she didn't know about?

Although she didn't know a lot about the devils' culture, she did know their major festivals. There was one for each season. The Spring Festival comprised of admiring flowers, and giving flowers to lovers. The Summer Festival comprised of friendly competitions between the young. The Autumn Festival comprised of picking leaves and throwing them into a chosen well to make a wish. The Winter Festival comprised of snowball fights. Each festival lasts seven days. But from what she was informed, the Summer Festival had just finished two weeks ago, before her arrival.

"Princess, you must be confused. Today is Trade Day. It is a day where all the merchants from Illyria arrive in this town to sell exotic goods," Soren explained.

"From Illyria?" she asked, wondering if she heard correctly.

He nodded.

Ildra suddenly felt a sense of alarm. People from her country were here in this very town? Suddenly, she felt thankful that she was wearing a cape. Even if there was someone who knew her from her country, they hopefully wouldn't be able to recognize her with her hood.

"Don't worry, princess. If there really was any danger of you being recognized, the duke would have ordered you to stay inside," Soren comforted, seemingly sensing her worry.

Ildra didn't know what it was with both Wendy and Soren, but both always seemed to sense what she was feeling without any indication from her. It was the same with that person too.

"Soren, are you from this town?"

Soren quickly looked up. He was startled by her question. He expected the princess to ask some questions about the town. What had made her interested in him? Did he leave that much of an impression on her? No. When he had met her in the manor, she seemed as if she did not care about him, but only about what his arrival meant for her. He had even caught the slight mistrust in her eyes. Maybe she was interrogating him?

Ildra felt a little embarrassed inside. Why had she asked that question? It wasn't like it was a normal thing for her to ask questions about personal lives. She had never asked such a question to Victoria. Heck, she didn't even ask such a question to Wendy who had been with her for a long time.

With Soren, the words seemed to flow right out.

Ildra saw Soren staring at her blankly. She looked down at her feet, embarrassed. Really, why did she have to ask him that question? She could have asked about the specificities of the festival. She could have asked about the currency. She sighed. Just as she was about to ask a different question for both of them to get out of the awkward situation, Soren spoke up.

"I am not from here. I am from the capital."

"Then, what brought you here?" she asked, while hesitating.

She wondered if she was prying too much into his life when he was silent for a while. She could understand why he was hesitating to answer. To her understanding, both in her continent, and this continent there were qualities that they shared. For example, it was uncommon for anyone of higher rank to be interested in the private life of lower ranked people in both areas. So, she was the one who had acted unusual first.

"I've lived in the capital for almost my entire life. I was always shut up in my home due to my sick constitution. One day, a martial arts expert came across me. He saw my potential, so he taught me how to fight. My body became stronger, and with that strength I was able to overcome my illness. After getting better, the first thing I wanted to do was travel. That's how I ended up here," Soren explained.

"And why did you decide to become my bodyguard?"

From his explanation, Ildra could understand that Soren was a free spirit. He wanted to fly everywhere. He wanted to spread his wings. So, why would he want his wings to be clipped in order to protect her? She had no plans for travel ventures anytime soon.

"Well, I do need money in order to continue travelling," he chuckled.

"Oh," she didn't know why but she didn't expect the answer to be so simple. She wasn't going to accept this. She opened her mouth to ask another question.

"Ah, princess, please spare me from more questions about myself," Soren begged.

"I-I'm sorry."

She blushed. She had been much too engrossed into listening to his story. She had lost herself. She was too curious. How disgraceful.

"It's alright, princess. There's nothing wrong with curiosity. Curiosity breeds knowledge after all," he laughed.

Dear Readers,

I felt so relieved while writing this chapter. I finally got to do some world building! I finally got to reveal to you guys the uniqueness of the Devil Continent.

Please read, vote, and comment!

Sincerely,

Ms. Author