Follow the Plot

Chapter 29

Estorea furrowed her eyebrows, she turned her head slightly to see Azura following her behind. He noticed her stare and gave an eye-closed smile and waved.

"Do you really have to follow me...?" She asked, exasperated.

He titled his head, and smiled. "Yup, so I can make sure you won't run away suddenly."

"I see..." She trailed off as she trotted. He instantly fastened his pace as well.

Soon, they reached the inn.

Estorea hurried inside, she then spotted Aelia and Yosa conversing at one of the tables. She walked over to them, with Azura standing behind her at the entrance.

Aelia noticed her and a smile erupted on her face, she waved her hand at Estorea, not noticing Azura.

However, Yosa did and he frowned slightly as his eyes flickered over to Azura, who instantly noticed his stare and gave an eye-closed smile.

He felt a chill run down his spine and he looked away instantly, focusing on Aelia's face instead.

Estorea noticed this, she bit her lip, 'Yosa can't handle the stare of that guy either... and he's an A rank Adventurer...'

She turned her attention back to Aelia, "Aelia, I have to go accompany someone." Aelia tilted her head, she was confused. Accompany who? This is Young Miss' first time coming here, isn't it?

Estorea signalled behind her, and Aelia moved her head slightly to see Azura. She looked at Estorea, "This guy, he isn't going to try to hurt you, right?"

Estorea nodded, "Yes."

It was a lie. She wasn't sure, but if she would try to bring Estorea along, she felt like things wouldn't go very well.

"I will probably be gone for a while. Go and do something or look around town while you wait for me." Estorea suggested. Aelia nodded, "Okay! Take your time, young miss!"

Estorea beamed, "Yes. I will get going now." And with that, she quickly heads off, going back to Azura.

"How was your conversation?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"It was okay, let's go." Estorea cut down his friendly chat and hurried outside the inn.

"You're so cold! That's mean, you know." He pouted as he rushed after her.

He eventually led Estorea to a popular cafe. It seems like he had already booked a table as they didn't need to wait for a table like the people who were queueing outside.

'...This guy, how did he already booked a table beforehand?'

Estorea had a suspicion, and it turned out to be right the moment they sat down, ordered some food and the first sentence that came out of his mouth was, "So... What is Estorea Trix doing here from Oscilar?" He mentioned it so casually.

Yet, clank!

Estorea trembled, she raised her head, her eyes glaring at Azura. "You... How did you find out...?"

The original Estorea hasn't been outside since she was young until the current Estorea had taken over her. Either way, she wasn't going out of the house until her step-sister had noticed her and decided she could be a useful tool for her.

The commoners nor the nobles knew her except for her parents. Even the servants didn't know of her true status or identity as it was kept a secret and they were tight lipped, not gossiping about Estorea unless it was in the mansion.

So how on earth... 'Does he know?'

Azura picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth, he placed down the utensils in his hands, "Ah, well I did memorize every single noble in Oscilar. It's just that, I never thought I would actually meet one! I'm wondering if you're actually stupid or courageous."

Estorea  gritted her teeth, hearing the word 'stupid' come out of his mouth. How dare he...! Calling her stupid.

Despite all the anger bubbling up within her, she took a deep breath and calmed down, forcing the creases between her forehead to smoothe.

She looked at Azura with a serious expression, opposite of his playful one.

"Straight to business, I never had my debut, so there's basically no nobles in Oscilar besides my family to know that I exist. How did you know who I am?"

"That's a secret I cannot reveal, I'm afraid." He responded.

She sighed,  "Fine, then who are you exactly?" She asked. Azura blinked and puckered his lips, "Why should I tell you?"

"My answer will depend on your status." Estorea answered.

Azura tilted his head slowly, his eyes losing his shine. A small smile appeared on his lips, "You do know I can just simply kill you right now?"

"You can. But isn't the curiosity of your cat preventing you?" Estorea retorted.

"..."

He let out a sigh of defeat and leaned back in his armchair. "I guess I lost..." In a sad tone, a forlorn expression appeared on his face to accompany it.

However, it changed quickly to a friendly one. He sat up, "I guess it wouldn't be of any harm to tell you! What could you do anyway? If you tried to even step outside this cafe, snap! There goes your neck!"

And nonchalantly, he said, "I'm the Crown Prince of this Kingdom! Wait- No, Empire! Or maybe a country?"

Estorea's eyes widened. She thought her plans were going to be ruined upon being found out. But instead... it was walking right to her! What... What luck..!

She quickly controlled her expression, "How lucky I am. It seems I have met the person that I needed to see."

"Your real name... It is Kieran, am I right?" She wasn't sure, after all, there weren't many banned books she could access about Gigara.

Azura - Now Kieran had a look of mocking shock on his face. "My, my! I didn't know our lovely noble even knew my name! I must be getting popular! Ah, I'm getting off track..."

His eyes darkened, "What did you mean by that just now? My name shouldn't be well-known outside of Gigara. In fact, even most of my citizens don't know my real name. But you do...? And if they tried to spread it,  I wonder what will happen to them... So, where did you get that information from?" From a cheery tone, it switched to a dark and dangerous one.

Estorea showed a pleased look. "Well, are you still willing to kill me? Is your curiosity not getting stronger? Let's not discuss here any longer. Do you have a more private area?"

"..."

"Strell, knock her out."

Estorea closed her eyes the moment she heard that sentence, and in the next moment, she felt her consciousness fade away.