Villain's Will: Redemption

..෴✿۝CHAPTER 12۝✿෴..

Upon hearing it, the guard looked at Willow from head to toe.

"Can you show me your token?"

Willow held the house token and he examined it closely.

It's well known that Willow Liariaz was away from home so she deliberately didn't tell him her family name. Willow let him assume her identity.

It's been so long, there's no way he can remember some random Noble's scandal. I bet he thought of me as a servant of the house.

Willow still didn't made her existence officially be known so she let him be, it would be bothersome to prove her identity otherwise.

"Please wait a moment, I'll let my superior verify it."

Hmm, they must have been instructed to report every move of the house.

Without indicating her doubts, she waited patiently and let them have their way.

"Pardon the inconvenience ma'am" he let Willow sign the necessary documents. "You may now enter, welcome to the capital"

"Thank you" Willow said after he gave back the token. At the same time she also noticed a magic was casted on it.

Is it a for tracking my location? Or for eavesdropping?

Willow didn't dwell into it and acted normally to avoid suspicion. I'll throw it in a wagon if push comes to shove.

The capital didn't change much from her past life and Willow realized how incompetent she was as a ruler.

What do I expect, I'm an airhead during that time. I didn't even oversee the welfare of my people.

Compared to the other kingdom she visited, their capital thrived not only superficially but also internally. There was no forced labor that occured on the street and the people that gathered exudes a satisfied aura with their current living. Unlike here, slaves could be seen in the early morn, fixing the stalls of their owner.

Passerbys ignored the chained bodice like a natural occurrence. They say that you can see how rich a person is with the number of his slaves, but Willow felt revolted at this way of thinking.

She felt pitty for their misfortune but it was now out of her power. Just like the others, she turned a blind eye and focused on her goal.

With her knowledge, she managed to pass every nooks and crannies while avoiding the watchful stares of the ones that's been following her

Along the way, Willow threw the token on a moving wagon to keep them off her trails. But of course, she made sure to contort the token so that it won't be used against the house if ever it'll be found.

While waiting for the time, Willow went to the outskirt of the capital and entered a tavern for a meal. At her accumulated wealth, there's no reason to eat at a rundown tavern but this place is the perfect location to gather an intel.

Willow skillfully played her role and confidently strode inside the tavern, no one particularly noticed her appearance. Shady characters can freely go in and out of this place so she, who wears a hood inside a building, don't definitely stand out.

She went at the far end of the corner and scanned the menu handed by a servant. Nothing appetizing particularly caught her attention so she decided to go with anything edible.

"Then, I'll take a meal of your recommendation." She answered and casually leaned at the chair.

The servant took the menu and scurried to attend the other costumer. Willow, on the other hand, carefully gazed around the place and strained herself to listen. Unfortunately, nothing useful could be overheard so she gladly immersed herself at the appetizing meat.

In the midst of her meal, a guy slightly knocked her table, making the cup of water spill all over the table.

"What the-!" she exclaimed.

In reflex, she quickly stood, but to no avail, she's backed against the wall and the water continuously spilled on her trousers. She's ready to confront the guy, who didn't even bother apologizing, but stopped because he disappeared out of nowhere.

Instead of crying over spilt milk, Willow didn't waste time and wiped her lap with a handkerchief.

As she leaned forward to wipe herself, something shiny caught her peripheral vision. She bent to pick it up, but her heart skipped a beat with the familiar stone. An amplifier stone to be exact.

Without wasting time, she expanded her magic on the maximum, 100 meters radius.

Willow concentrated at any shadow with a fast movement and she felt one shadows moving frantically away from the tavern's direction, she hurriedly made her way out after tossing a single silver coin.

After marking the shadows, Willow chased on a pace that won't raise suspicion.

In her dismay, the marked shadow seemed to have boarded a horse and was quickly moving out her reach. When she saw a nearby alley, she didn't hesitate to go in and was about to glaze in the shadow but she bumped into a sturdy wall.

In the unexpected collision, Willow was knocked back and fell to her buttocks.

"Arrgh!-" she groaned, not on the impact but at the fact that she lost concentration. Due to this, the link between the marked shadow was cut off.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" she heard a casual voice talk to her.

At the sound of the voice, Willow lifted her head and was about to snap at the said person but stopped at her tracks. With mouth agape, she stared dumbfounded at the stunning knight towering above her.

*Sha la la*

She had traveled from kingdom to kingdom, meeting lots of people but this exotic beauty caught her off guard. If she was not mistaken, his jet black hair and golden irises are from the Caparkan Kingdom, far from the south, but his overall feature was a trait innate of the Azrian people. Emphasized with the neat uniform his wearing, his overall appearance would make anyone drool from fantasizing.

The man wore a familiar clothing, a crimson tailcoat with gold lines garnishing the collar and the hem, black tailcoat with black underdress, both decorated with gold threads, black pleated pants, and a shining leather shoes. Exactly the uniform of her father's Order.

He offered his hand to help Willow stand, but she ignored it. In shame, she accidentally clicked her tongue at the stupid reaction, gawking at a man like a desperate lady.

He, who misunderstood her, frowned at the act of rudeness. Realizing her offensive action, Willow tried to apologize, but the knight already turned his back.

Frustrated at the turn of events, Willow sighed in defeat. She tried locating the suspicious man, but to no avail, she could no longer distinguish him among the growing crowd. Sensing that her trip was wasted, she brought back Alekid from the stables and rode her way towards the palace.

Seing that he's a knight from the order, we're sure to meet again, I'll apologize by then.