Chapter 136: An Encounter, a Filthy Heterochromatic Angel?

“This singing…

Willis looked around, finally locking her gaze on an old, dilapidated house near the alley behind her.

It seemed to be coming from that direction.

She was about to step forward when Anne suddenly grabbed her.

“Your Highness, we still have a lot to do. Let’s return to the Castle Lord’s Mansion first, okay?”

Anne looked at her, a hint of urgency and pleading in her eyes.

“And besides, Ushi City has just been settled. We don’t know how many spies might still be lurking here.”

“For safety’s sake, we should go back first…”

Willis thought for a moment and agreed with Anne’s reasoning.

“You’re right… There’s still much to be done.”

She pointed ahead.

“But there’s also something right in front of us.”

“To govern Ushi City well, we have to understand the lives of the people.”

Amid Anne’s puffed-up cheeks, Willis walked in the direction of the singing.

Victoria sighed helplessly beside them.

She thought, His Highness has changed a lot recently, but this fondness for women has only grown stronger.

Now, just hearing a voice makes her want to go over and check it out.

She really worried about what would become of her in the future.

Could a woman even marry another woman?

What about heirs?

Could there even be a way for women to have children with women in this world?

Thinking such things, Victoria followed behind, while Anne ran to the front.

“Your Highness, if you insist on going, then let me scout the way for you!”

Anne’s cautious and vigilant appearance was quite convincing.

But Willis muttered helplessly, “It’s not even an adventure. What’s there to scout…”

“Careful, there’s… on the ground…”

Anne pulled Willis away from a foul-smelling Mosaic of unknown origin.

A bit further ahead were several piles of disgusting things trampled by people, with flies feeding on them.

Willis’s eye twitched, and Anne looked like she wanted to pinch her nose and flee.

“Your Highness, maybe we really shouldn’t go over there?”

“Let’s go. We’re almost there.”

Willis urged, forming a preliminary impression of the living conditions here.

On both sides of the alley, mottled walls were covered in moss and vines.

Some sewage and cat or dog droppings were scattered across the path, with the occasional unbearable stench wafting by.

And the further in they walked, the more dilapidated the houses became.

Crumbling walls, shattered structures.

It was hard to imagine people actually lived in such a place.

As the angelic singing grew closer, the three of them left the noisy main street behind.

They entered a small world hidden within Ushi City.

Because of the moving song, the place felt even more peaceful.

If you ignored the filthy environment…

“Your Highness, that’s…”

Anne pointed at the girl singing in the morning sunlight.

A gentle breeze brushed her glossy purple hair, showing that the owner washed it often.

But that was the only praiseworthy thing about her.

Her exposed skin was covered in dirt, her body thin and emaciated.

It was as if she lived only for her hair.

From head to toe, only her hair seemed full of vitality.

Of course, there was one other thing.

That was the voice she used to hum.

The beautiful melody was hard to believe it came from such a girl.

At that moment, the girl stood in the center of a yard enclosed by broken, low walls.

The place was open to the wind, with a ditch running through the yard, filled with foul-smelling mud.

Looking closer, you’d see the ditch contained rotting plant stems, bones, and human waste.

It looked like a communal sewer for the street.

The water flowed slowly, with flies buzzing above it.

Beside it was the small yard where the girl stood.

The yard wasn’t big, and the girl stood at its center.

Next to her was a makeshift shed built from wood, torn cloth, and fragments of bricks and tiles.

Under the shed was a small bed padded with dry grass, surrounded by piles of ragged clothes.

A clothesline made from rope held more garments, and there were various household items nearby.

Simple pots and stoves, some withered vegetables hanging on the walls.

A few bowls and a bucket.

That was the entirety of the yard.

Anne, who had initially resisted coming, now looked at the scene with sympathy and whispered.

“Your Highness, does she really live here?”

“Looks like it.”

Willis nodded.

At that moment, the girl seemed to notice she was being watched and stopped singing.

She turned toward the three.

Willis frowned.

[Possesses a certain yet-unawakened power in her golden-blue Heterochromatic Eyes, but there’s no light in them.

Her singing contains a healing energy, but she has yet to awaken magic.

Thus, it’s inferred that the target has a strong affinity with Healing Magic.

But unfortunately, she’s blind.

Or do you prefer it this way?]

Screw you!

At the last line of the Real Eye’s prompt, Willis almost cursed out loud.

Power?

What power?

Willis tried to analyze further with the Real Eye, but with her current level, that was all she could see.

[This person holds unknown great potential. If properly utilized, she could bring unexpected surprises.

In various aspects, such as the chest.]

That last line was completely unnecessary. Willis’s eye twitched.

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, Victoria stepped in front of Willis, standing protectively before the girl.

Those exceptionally beautiful golden-blue heterochromatic eyes were rare across the entire continent.

And often, such eyes were thought to be the mark of demonic blood—a Demon hiding among humans.

Though centuries ago, some advocated for their justice, since then, those with heterochromatic eyes were no longer sent to the gallows.

Yet people still avoided them.

Because they were considered ominous.

So Victoria’s wariness was understandable.

It was a prejudice deeply rooted in her mind, instilled since childhood.

In many stories written by people of the Vistoria Continent, villains always had heterochromatic eyes.

Even if the person was a baby, they could possess the power to destroy others!

Thinking of the girl’s beautiful singing earlier, Victoria thought it must be one of her powers!

“You…”

The girl gazed at the air beside Willis.

“Is there something you need?”

“Your Highness, I think she can’t see.”

Anne noticed something was off too.

The girl’s gaze lacked the usual focus and was pointed in the wrong direction.

She wasn’t facing them as she spoke.

Unless she was cross-eyed.

Willis pulled the two aside and stepped forward.

“It’s like this. The Lord ordered everyone in Ushi City to register at the Castle Lord’s Mansion and receive An Ding Liang.”

“You can receive it for up to half a month, and all households must register their family situation.”

“We’re the inspection team. We heard someone singing here and came to check.”

“Who are you? Didn’t you receive the notice?”

Upon hearing this, the girl was clearly stunned.

She stood there in a daze for a while.

Then she spoke.

“My name is Becky. Didn’t the Lord always tell us to pay more taxes?”

“An Ding Liang? Does it cost money? As you can see, I don’t have much to give. Or any money…”

“So, is it okay if I don’t go?”

At her reply, the three exchanged glances.

Anne explained, “An Ding Liang is distributed for free. You don’t have to pay. Do you live alone?”

“…Yes, I live alone.”

The girl nodded.

“If you’re alone, you can collect a day’s ration each day. What, didn’t your neighbors tell you?”

The three stood outside the low wall, while in other parts of the alley, people were discussing the Lord’s notice as they walked.

All of them were technically the girl’s neighbors.

Households spreading the news, making their way to the main street in the noise.

But not a single person entered the girl’s yard.

“They…”

The girl smiled gently.

“They don’t come near me.”