Chapter 484 - 321: Conversation

The courtyard was filled with ordinary flowers and plants, but one could still faintly discern an exquisite layout. A few rose bushes grew in a corner, their petals still holding the morning dew.

"Please, come in." Ashiru pushed the door open. Its hinges let out a soft creak, speaking to the two of them of its long history.

The room was dimly lit, and a faint, pleasant fragrance hung in the air—a mix of old wood and the scent of books.

The Lord followed her inside. The wooden floorboards under his feet let out a soft groan, as if reminding him to watch his every step.

The room’s furnishings were simple and rustic. A few yellowed oil paintings hung on the walls. Though the figures in them were blurry, one could just make out a woman holding a little girl, with another woman in a headscarf standing behind them.

An old oak table held a bronze candlestick, the candle on it burned down to nothing but a few hardened drops of wax. In a corner were several stacks of books with yellowed pages, clearly old tomes picked up from who knows where.

The little girl walked to the window, stood on her toes, and gently pulled back the heavy curtains. Sunlight streamed through the small wooden window, significantly brightening the somewhat dim room.

She turned around, a visibly happy expression on her face. "Ever since my mother passed away, we haven’t had visitors here in a very long time."

"Oh, right, I still don’t know your name."

"Liu Zhenhan," Levi replied succinctly. He lied without batting an eye, fiddling with the unresponsive Ring on his hand as he surveyed his surroundings.

’What a strange name,’ Ashiru couldn’t help but think. But she quickly realized that was a bit disrespectful and hastily changed the subject. "Please, have a seat. Make yourself at home. I’ll go prepare some food."

Getting the Lord to be polite was more difficult than making a Beastman Barbarian humble. The moment the words left her mouth, Levi had already found a random spot to sit and was pouring himself a glass of water.

This was clearly the servants’ quarters of the Royal Palace. There was nothing strange about this small building. However, he was certain that the places they had passed through were all on the outskirts of the palace grounds. If he wanted to find out whether the Bronze Dragon Sivia had mentioned was really here, he would probably have to venture deep into the Royal Palace.

The problem was... he didn’t know the way!

This magnificent Royal Palace was practically a synonym for ’maze’. It covered a vast area, and if he wandered around on his own, forgetting about whether he could even find his destination, the key issue was that he would easily arouse suspicion.

"Ashiru, do you know of any... unusual places in the Royal Palace?" Levi asked, choosing his words carefully. He then added, "As a Palace Guard, it is my duty to investigate any and all suspicious locations."

In reality, his statement was full of holes. Anyone else would have found it impossible to believe.

But whether a lie had holes or not depended on who you were telling it to.

Ashiru, having found a patched apron somewhere to put on, was now in the courtyard, energetically swinging a small hoe in a little plot of tilled earth.

"Unusual places?" Hearing his question, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her small hand, stopped what she was doing, and tilted her head in thought, a look of naive curiosity on her face.

Her little hand still gripped the small, dirt-caked hoe, and her apron was covered in grass clippings and soil. She didn’t look like a Princess at all—more like a common little maid.

"Hmm... As for unusual places, there are quite a few in the Royal Palace." She blinked, seemingly trying hard to remember. "For example, there’s the clock tower to the east. I heard that strange sounds come from it late at night, like someone crying inside. A lot of the older maids get scared to death when they pass by at night. They say there are Evil Spirits in there, wailing day and night about their tragic fates, trying to lure people in to kill them."

At this, she flinched, clearly quite afraid of such things.

"Then there’s the underground storage room to the west. They say it used to be a place where they locked up villains who had committed serious crimes. Very few people dare to go near it now."

"If you want to go, I suggest you find some companions. I read in a book that the more people there are, the less the Evil Spirits dare to come near."

Levi’s interest was piqued. The clock tower and the underground storage room... both sounded like places worth investigating. Especially the storage room. If the Bronze Dragon really was hidden in this Royal Palace, a secret place like that was undoubtedly the most likely hiding spot.

"Excellent. Ashiru, you’ve been a great help. I’ll go and get to the bottom of what’s happening in these places." The Lord snapped his fingers, his face a mask of righteousness. "And I will restore peace and order to the Royal Palace!"

Ashiru gave a small smile, happier than if she’d eaten a bag of candy. This feeling of helping someone else, she thought, was truly wonderful.

Although the little girl looked thin and frail, she was remarkably capable. She quickly dug up a basketful of sweet potatoes, though it was a pity they were rather small, likely not yet fully ripe.

She strained to carry the basket inside, then went into the back room and began rummaging through chests and cupboards, searching for something.

"My lord, may I ask who you are? And where is Princess Ashiru?"

Just then, a voice came from the doorway.

It was a woman with graying hair, dressed in an old maid’s uniform. She was sizing up Levi from the corner of her eye, thinking she was being subtle. Having survived for decades in a royal court that was like a den of wolves, she had long since developed an extraordinary eye for people.

That magnificent formal wear, that handsome face, that extraordinary air he exuded—he could only be a noble of high standing. Considering his youth, he was most likely the son of a great noble family.