Shadow Empress (GirlxGirl) (COMPLETED)

Chapter 19 | Puppets

ELPIS'S POV

It took us a whole day just to get to the village. Going on a journey with Bella has its ups and downs. The good thing about her when we're on a trip is that she's the type of person who knows how to keep the conversation going.

But the bad side of it is she likes to stop at every single road because she saw something she likes to call as a rare type of herbs. Because of this, we have to delay our schedule; thus when we arrived at the village, it's almost midnight.

"What are you two doing with the herbs?" I asked when I walked out of the bath.

"Sister Bella wanted to preserve the herbs since we're going to be here for several days. I'm here because I want to learn something from her. I hope your majesty don't mind this." I smiled at my concubine. I admire her passion.

"Of course not. Carry on." I went to the closet and put on my sleeping clothes that she had prepared beforehand. I walked to the windows and just admired the night sky. This inn wasn't that bad, after all. The price was a bit expensive, but it's quite comfortable.

"Would you like to buy some flowers? Please. I need to buy medicine for my mother. Good sir, would you like to buy some flowers? It's fresh."

A voice caught my attention. I looked around the road and saw a little boy trying to sell a basket of flowers to the people walking by.

"Would you like to buy some flowers, Miss?"

The boy was waving his hand at me.

"How much is it?" I shouted from the windows.

"1 copper," I asked the boy to wait for me downstairs. When I went back to the room, Bella noticed that I'm changing my clothes.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To buy some flowers. Wait for me here. It won't be too long." She was confused, but I gave both of them a kiss on the forehead before heading down to meet the little boy.

The boy sees me with a smile on his face. I wonder how old he is. He seemed a bit younger than Rose, Grace's adopted daughter.

"Ma'am, this is a gold coin." He was surprised when I gave him a gold coin.

"I don't have anything else than gold coins. That's okay. Take it. It should be enough for you to buy medicine for your mother." He thanked me and even offered to give every single flower that's inside his basket.

He was about to leave when something embarrassing happened. I could hear this boy's stomach grumbling from where I stand.

"Would you like to accompany me to dinner?" I asked while he blushed.

"That's okay. I need to go home quickly. My mother has been bedridden for several days now. I need to go home." He said that but his stomach telling me otherwise.

"It won't take that long. It's just dinner. Come on. Don't be shy." I invited him into the inn. When he entered the inn, he said that he's afraid that the owner would chase him out.

I assured him that the owner wouldn't do such a thing. After we find a place to sit, I ordered a couple of dishes for him. Since we have to wait, I decided to ask him about his mother.

"Mother was a maid at the duke's manor. My father died when I was a month old from a mining accident. I have two older brothers, but they're working as a woodworker, and they haven't been home for several weeks now. It's normal for them to do that because sometimes they didn't come home for months." I see.

"So you said you need to buy medicine for your mother?" He nodded while munching down the bread.

"Mother has been bedridden for several days. She said her head hurts and her body is hot to touch. But I heard from some old lady that lives next to us said there is this man who can cure anything using his medicine. But it's expensive." With the mysterious disease spreading like wildfire, this man is making a profit rather than helping the villagers? I would like to see this man myself.