“I was wrong! I was wrong! Lady Lita! I was wrong!” Claire’s wails spread down the entire street, so pitiful that anyone who heard them would feel heartache and tears stream down their faces, causing passersby on both sides to quickly walk away. Parents with small children all covered their children’s eyes without exception, to keep them from seeing such a terrifying scene.
“What are you wrong about!”
Lita lifted her foot and kicked Claire hard in the butt, sending Claire tumbling several times in a row as she cried out.
“Stop hitting! Stop hitting!”
Claire barely managed to climb up from the ground, turned her head and saw Lita charging over menacingly, chasing her until Claire was crawling all over the floor like a twintailed little elf.
“Killing you would be too light! Stirring up trouble, huh! Causing me trouble, huh!”
It wasn’t until Claire collapsed face-up on the ground, panting like a bellows, that Lita finally stopped, hands on her hips.
Although she was still a bit unsatisfied, Lita knew she couldn’t continue. It wouldn’t be good if she actually beat Claire to death. But Claire’s stunt truly infuriated Lita.
However, Lita wasn’t the type to disregard other people’s lives. If Claire had actually been dragged into the Church, she would probably be in a far worse state than being taught a lesson by Lita.
But in reality, this little incident didn’t worsen the situation; instead, it actually raised Lita’s reputation a bit.
From the public’s perspective, a bard was almost captured by Church people, and then Lita happened to pass by, and out of kindness helped the bard escape imprisonment. Then, with a clear sense of rewards and punishments, she thoroughly beat up this bard who had been talking nonsense, making the bard repent and turn over a new leaf.
As for what the bard said about the Fourth Princess’s bread and escort, no one took it seriously. Her mouth had already said Lita fought a giant spider—who would believe that kind of talk?
But that was something for later.
“Learn your lesson! From now on, you’re not allowed to sing that song! Hear me?” Lita crouched down in front of Claire, softening her tone slightly.
A few people nearby poked their heads out, then quickly scurried away before meeting Lita’s gaze.
Claire rolled her eyes, her lips moving, muttering something.
“Muttering to yourself? Speak up.”
Claire took a few deep breaths, smoothing out her breathing just a tiny bit: “I was trying to repay the favor of a meal by singing your praises and Lady Fourth Princess’s…”
Seeing Lita raise her fist, Claire immediately curled up like a woodlouse.
“I was wrong! Wrong, wrong! Don’t hit! Don’t hit!”
“Alright, don’t do it again.”
Lita sighed, reached out and pulled Claire to her feet, then clapped her hands and strode away.
She hadn’t taken two steps before she felt someone tugging at her hem again. Unsurprisingly, it was Claire.
“What do you want now?”
“I want to thank you, Lady Lita. Would Lady Lita do me the honor?” Claire was still panting heavily, but she flashed a silly smile.
Claire might be a bit foolish, but she wasn’t a bad person—Lita could tell that much. Wait, did others see her the same way?
Seeing Lita hesitate, Claire immediately misunderstood.
‘Lady Lita saved me before! And now she’s saved me again!’
“Although I’m just a humble bard, I know how to repay kindness. No other intentions! It won’t take up too much of Lady Lita’s time.”
“Well, I’ll have to ask Lady Cecilia first.”
Later that evening, Lita pushed open the tavern door, and the bell above it jingled.
Getting Cecilia’s approval wasn’t too difficult. By the time Lita returned to the Royal Palace, the news of what she had done had already reached Cecilia’s ears. However, Cecilia didn’t criticize her for it. In other matters, Lita might have made mistakes, but in this case, she hadn’t really done anything; it was all Claire and the nuns’ fault.
In the end, Cecilia simply instructed, “Make sure to come back early. Don’t be late for tomorrow’s lessons.” And she let Lita go.
So Lita was able to move about at night for the first time in a while.
Although it wasn’t quite night yet, winter days were short, and the streetlights were already lit. People were gradually taking their seats in the tavern.
As soon as Claire, who was tuning her lute, saw Lita enter, she jumped down from her chair and scurried over, bumping into a table corner along the way.
“Lady Lita! You actually came!”
Lita scanned the tavern’s decor. Though it looked a bit old, it had a certain charm—average for the Royal City. The customers were a motley crowd: adventurers, commoners, guards, knights… Lita even spotted two officials who looked familiar.
“After I came to the Royal Capital, I found a job here. Now I perform every night. I don’t earn much, but if it weren’t for you, Lady Lita, I probably wouldn’t be living this kind of life!”
Claire guided Lita to a front table and sat down, chattering on about her experiences. Mostly about the stories she had written and the guests she had met.
Though it was a bit tedious, Lita had recently been either dealing with various teachers or accompanying Cecilia to meet nobles and officials. She rarely had a chance to chat like this, so listening to this pretty wild chicken talk was actually quite interesting.
Claire’s reason for inviting her was simple: first, she sincerely wanted to thank Lita for her help; second, she wanted Lita to hear a little tune she had recently composed.
“Claire!” A gruff shout came from inside, and a burly, bearded man stared at Claire before stomping over to Lita’s table in two or three steps. “Performance is about to start! What are you doing here? I didn’t hire you to chat!”
Then the man noticed Lita at the table. Even though Lita was now in casual clothes, the quality and demeanor of her outfit told the owner that this guest was no ordinary drinker. His tone became more respectful.
“And this is…”
“This is Lady Lita, Her Royal Highness the Fourth Princess’s personal knight. You must have heard of her, boss?” Claire quickly introduced.
“Oh!” The boss exclaimed, rubbing his hands on his pants as if wanting to shake hands but then pulling back the wiped hand. For a moment, he didn’t seem to know where to put his hands. “Esteemed Holy Knight, uh…”
“I’m just an ordinary guest here at Miss Claire’s invitation. Please don’t stand on ceremony.” Lita’s eyes curved.
“Really, ah.” The boss mumbled, then waved his hand grandly. “Esteemed Holy Knight, your tab for tonight is on the house! Just relax and enjoy! Oh, and we have some craft beer; I’ll bring some up for you to taste.”
On normal days, a few Holy Knights also visited this tavern. Even if the boss tried to charge them, they might not pay, so he might as well do them a favor.
“No need. Miss Claire has already said she’s treating me. Just deduct it from her wages.”
Claire nodded repeatedly. “Right, right. Deduct it from my wages.”
Soon, the boss brought cut fruit, grilled skewers, a plate of boiled beans, and of course, a large mug of beer.
Claire also sat down by the crackling fireplace, picked up her lute, and while tuning the strings, sang a pleasant little song.
The first one was a hymn about the Kingdom’s Four Borders, which Lita had heard before. Compared to Claire’s first performance, it was much better. It seemed that in the few months she had been in the Royal Capital, she had improved a lot.
After the song ended, applause rang out, and someone shouted for Claire to sing a love song. So Claire sang. It was about a little blacksmith and a young lady—roughly how the blacksmith met her, and the two tumbled in blankets, haystacks, and the woods. A Western fantasy version of “Exploring the Clear River,” basically. Though the lyrics weren’t too explicit, at the exciting parts, the patrons cheered and hooted, and the atmosphere in the tavern grew livelier.
Next came Claire’s own original ballad. How she single-handedly fought eighteen Holy Knights in the Twilight Hall, trading blows with Xingxian; how she held back the Alien Ghost army in the Everfrost Wasteland of the North and beheaded the Giant King.
Listening to a story starring herself—this feeling was really strange.
“What about that one! The one about fighting the spider monster!” someone shouted.
“What spider monster? It was an Eight-Claw Spider!”
“Close enough! Close enough!”
The crowd started clamoring, demanding to hear the story that had nearly gotten Claire arrested.
“Ladies and gentlemen, because of that story, I almost got caught by the Church today. I really can’t sing that song anymore.” Claire stood up from her chair, lute in hand, with an exaggerated posture that reminded Lita of the Twin Moon Knight.
A fully armed patron tossed a silver coin. “Oh, come on! That’s why we’re here!”
“Yeah! If you don’t sing it, what are we listening to?”
“Yeah, what are we listening to!”
Silver and copper coins clattered around the fireplace as people kept hooting.
Claire glanced longingly at the coins on the floor, then at Lita, whose face read “nuclear peace.” She seemed to recall being kicked around the floor, then shook her head repeatedly. “No, no. The Church people know. They really will take me away! If it weren’t for Lady Lita’s intervention, you wouldn’t be hearing my voice anymore!”
A disappointing atmosphere brewed for a moment, but then someone from somewhere shouted, “Hey, it’s true! That happened this afternoon!”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard about it too!”
Claire’s eyes shifted, and she hugged her lute. “To commemorate this meaningful story, I’ve turned it into a new song! I’ll sing it for you now!”
“Alright! Long live our poet for not being captured! Long live the new song!”
“Praise Lady Lita!”
The guests with raised glasses all raised them high, then gulped down their drinks. Then the clinking of glasses sounded one after another. Those who couldn’t find someone to clink with shouted on their own: “Praise Lady Lita!” “Praise Lita!”
Although these people were just looking for an excuse to toast, Lita felt the atmosphere wasn’t bad at all.
Claire’s voice rang out again. Though it wasn’t as good as the previous songs, a tavern wasn’t a theater—ambience was what mattered.
Just as Lita was enjoying this hard-won atmosphere, a dinner knife quietly pressed against Lita’s back.
“Don’t move!”
In this chaotic environment, Lita hadn’t noticed who had approached her in the commotion; such a small movement wouldn’t attract attention.
Lita tried to turn her head, but the knife pressed closer.
“Lita, Lita, you’re really bold.” Lita heard the person behind her say in a serious tone. The cold knife slid up her spine a bit and pressed against the back of her neck. “Not only did you fall out with Her Highness the Third Princess, but you also offended the Church. Tell me…”
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