When The Count’s Illegitimate Daughter Gets Married

Chapter 94

The market Laritte and Ian had planned to visit was to be held in Nikarkol Village. The village belonged to the Duke’s Decree, but it was quite far from the Duke’s residence. Since it was situated in the middle of various cities such as port cities and fishing villages, trade was active and there were many things to see. However, for that reason, it was also a village that received many outsiders.

Unlike other villages in the Duchy, the average security was not up to the mark. So it was natural for Ian to worry about going to the Nikarkol village alone. “Are you sure you want to go there?” In fact, since the execution of the Empress, no one sought out to assassinate them, so it was an excessive concern he had.

“Yes.”

Besides, Laritte made a surprise appearance wearing the winter clothes she borrowed from Alice, so he had no choice but to follow her. Laritte’s strikingly bright silver hair was hidden under a woolly hat. The clothes she wore reached exactly down to her ankles since it was a luxury inherent in nobility to wear long fabrics. Her brown top and gray skirt were layered warmly.

“I borrowed Alice’s clothes for a while since she was the same height as me. Do you like it?” she asked. Ian gazed lovingly at the girl, perfectly dressed in a commoner’s winter attire. He smiled contentedly with the look of a wolf looking at his only companion. He wanted to kiss her cute little lips.

The book said hugs and kisses were normal after the 30th day, right? It’d be fine, right? He had thought over and over about this for more than 10 minutes lately. However, the natural opportunity to kiss never came.

Ian was also dressed up as a commoner alongside his wife. The green leather vest he wore strongly held his pectoral muscles. And finished with a large robe and a hat, he looked like a hunter. Laritte’s

impression was simple, “I feel like I’m back in the villa. It was quite fun back then.”

Checking their perfect disguise, they hurried out of the mansion before being caught by Olivia. Ian asked Laritte while choosing a horse from the mansion’s stable. “Come to think of it, do you have the item I gave you earlier?” In response, Laritte exposed the belt wrapped around her waist through the winter cloak. She pulled out a compass from a bag smaller than her forearm.

Likewise, it had magical effects because it was made from the remains of a dragon, “I didn’t forget.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Having something expensive like this only makes you think about it.”

She followed Ian on the same horse. “What kind of rare ability does this compass have?” Of course, in just a few days in Laritte’s hand, the dragon’s magic would be lost and it would become a normal artifact. She wasn’t going to use the ability of the thing, but she was curious.

“I heard it links you emotionally,” replied Ian, driving the horse toward the Nikarkol village and telling her the story. This compass did not point to anything, including the north and south. But occasionally, it guided the owner with ‘directions’. It was not known on which criteria the path to be taken was selected.

“An ancient scholar discovered a new truth after following the compass. Some people were known to find the truth about something, while others found a water bottle they had forgotten in a warehouse. It is said that at the end of the guidance, whether there is a huge understanding or a small income varies from time to time.”

Laritte glanced to her waist where the compass was. Ian took hold of the reins and continued speaking. “There will be nothing anyway. The former owner hadn’t seen the compass move in ten years.”

Before long, the two arrived in the village of Nikarkol. Standing at the entrance to the village, Laritte looked up at the scenery under the bright sun. “Wow, there are so many people even though it’s cold.”

Leaving the horse in the barn, Ian stood next to her.

“Because it is a trading town. Be careful not to bump into other people.”

The couple looked around the village holding hands. Like newlyweds. Secretly, Ian looked up at the sky and smiled.

The Nikarkol Chapel in the center of the village was a narrow, pointed castle that also served as a clock tower. The streets were filled with shops everywhere, as they passed the houses with similar orange roofs. Their destination was the ‘largest marketplace’ they saw in the newspaper, which they reached by asking the residents for directions.

“Only 5 gil for ten salted apples!”

“We only sell dresses that seem to have been made yesterday on Old More Street. Enjoy the feeling of nobility.”

“Take a look at the prototype of a private ship company!”

The atmosphere was amazing according to Laritte. Of course, the back alley where she lived until she was eight was full of trams. And when she was at the County, she had rarely been to the market because she was busy with chores and getting scolded. She came here to de-stress Ian, but it was Laritte who felt excited.

“Wow, look at that!”

Ian’s stress left his shoulders as she watched the excited form of Laritte.

“Yes. It’s amazing.”

*** Olivia, who remained in the Duke’s mansion, searched for Ian and Laritte. ‘Where did they go?’ She couldn’t find them anywhere. She only received cold reactions when she asked about the whereabouts of the Duke and the Duchess. She was worried that Laritte was not in front of her.

‘Where the hell did they take her?’ The wounds she saw on Laritte last night kept coming back to her. She reached her daughter’s room after wandering from place to place. Through the crack of the door, she saw Alice and Irene cleaning the room.

“Madam said that she needed to borrow my clothes and promised to buy me a souvenir when she returns in the evening. Are you envious?”

“Even I can give Madam some clothes!” Irene yelled while dusting the window. “By the way, what would she want to give you? Nikarkol village gathers all kinds of specialties, so it’s difficult to choose.”

Nikarkol village!

Figuring out the purpose of Ian and Laritte, Olivia moved carefully. The knights guarding the mansion didn’t like Olivia, but they let her leave. She limped along the path before she got on her wagon running with old wheels. But she was looking for a needle in the desert when she arrived at the village.

Stumbling amidst the throng of crowds, she could barely take refuge in a narrow alley. “B*st*rds, I’m going to die of pain.” She cursed as she checked the palm of her hand as she fell. She stepped forward after dusting off her hands. She continued to walk down the dark alley before two men blocked her path from both sides.

“Auntie, you look like you have some money, don’t you?”

Olivia wore a long coat because of the cold weather, but it was luxurious since it was borrowed from the mansion. She knew how to walk in back alleys. However, she was so occupied with coming to look

for Laritte, and the fact that the Duchy generally had good security, that she completely forgot to take care of her attire. She used to live in the back alleys with different kinds of criminals. This time, it was time for her to think about how she could get rid of the men with all her might.

The man in front of her frowned as if he had seen Olivia, “…..Where did I meet this woman? Duncan, do you know?”

“I think I’ve seen her too.” Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

After a few seconds, they recalled her from her silver locks traveling down her face. “Ah! You’re the woman who used to visit the County every day! How many years has it been?”

They were once the knights who worked for Count Brumayer. When the Duke destroyed the reign of the Count, the employees were scattered. They all used to abuse Laritte, so they deserved to be abandoned. The maids did not receive a letter of introduction and were beaten for knocking on doors of other families. The knights became mercenaries or rogues doing only dangerous jobs.

They noticed Olivia as well. She grew older, but her beautiful features brought back memories of despair. One of the men who was named Duncan was still dubious, while the other laughed with his rotten teeth. “Why are you here? After you abandoned that illegitimate child in the mansion, you used to come every day to ask us to return your daughter because you changed your mind.”

But unfortunately, that truth never reached Laritte.

Olivia looked like she was frozen in ice. It was more than a decade ago. The days immediately after Laritte was abandoned by her at the house of Brumayer.

Meanwhile, Ian and Laritte were entering a theater.

“Ian, have you heard the name of the event?” Ian blinked at the poster on the wall when Laritte asked.

It was then that the hand of the compass in Laritte’s bag moved.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────