"Hmm," the man wearing a long white gown and had a religious bearing looked at her with utter seriousness after she told him her what she wanted to consult."Lady Osbon, are you really telling me that somebody told you he is from another world? That one said you are the first high-born looking person he met so he asked you if there"s a way to go back to his time?"
The priest"s face was full of puzzlement and irritation.
Aliyah pretended she didn"t see that the irritation on the other"s face was directed at her seemingly nonsensical question. She answered, "Reverend, indeed. It"s someone I encountered in the town a few days ago. He said he"s from a place called Modern Earth. I initially thought it"s simply the world outside. But the place he described me seems somewhere at least five hundred years more forward-looking than our civilization…"
"That"s impossible!" Immediately retorted the priest. He looked agitated as he explained, "The outsiders are barbarians who are a thousand years behind our civilization! They are not well-favored by the G.o.ds because they have low intelligence and lack faith in the guardians and supreme beings of our world. There is no way there could be a place more advanced than our Mu continent!"
For Aliyah, it had been a challenge not to raise her eyebrow at the pa.s.sionate speech she just heard. It was okay to be proud. But did he really have to demean the Iron Age civilization outside this land?
"Hey, around this time, the Egyptians are already leading lives quite similar to modern people. They practice gender equality. They know how to make beers, perfumes, and other stuff. Healthcare is available to everyone. And hygiene awareness is a big deal. I haven"t explored much the Greeks" side and those other states of that age, but I"m they also have practices similar to those of the modern people of my era! How dare you boast so much?"
"Alright, if you"re really capable, just try to lead everyone here to colonize the other continents outside!", she almost replied, feeling a bit offended since her real ancestors were not from here.
Of course, these silly thoughts only lingered for some time.
Aware of what she should prioritize right now, the polite smile returned on her face.
"Then, is there a possibility, he came from the future? Is he describing our Mu continent in the future?"
The priest thought for a moment and frowned. "The feasibility cannot be ruled out. He might have received revelations from above and is a little confused so there are some discrepancies in his memories. As servants of the G.o.ddess of Wisdom, we have to confirm if the person is somebody sent by our G.o.ddess. Lady Osbon, can you tell me where the gentleman is?"
"In front of you. In the imagination of the lady talking to you right now?" inwardly she thought while making a helpless expression to him. "Pardon me, Reverend. That gentleman is merely someone I met in pa.s.sing. To be honest, I would have not listened to his story if not for getting a bit intrigued by it. So if he happens to be really from the future, is there a way for him to travel back to his time?"
"… I"ve yet to see any record about that kind of situation. Maybe if I learn more details from the gentleman, I would be able to recall something. May I know where you met him? I will send some people to invite him to our church."
"It"s near the circus, if I recall correctly. But I don"t remember much, Reverend... That happened when my beloved brother... has just returned to the G.o.ddess" embrace."
The priest who was about to interrogate her more about the weird person cast a sympathetic look at her. "I won"t force you to remember then. Anyways, if the gentleman is truly the G.o.ddess" messenger, he would definitely appear again. Young lady, I"m sorry and my deep condolences."
"Thank you, Reverend," she replied with a slight smile before curtsying and bidding her farewell to the priest.
Aliyah could swear that the redness of her eyes and the unnatural tone of her voice was not merely acting. It was her body"s instinct at the mention of her family"s deceased heir.
Marian must have loved her brother too much to the point that even though her spirit was already gone, her body still instinctively showed grief. Aliyah purposely did not control her emotions since she needed those drops of tears to distract the priest.
She had to be careful after all.
Her woman"s instinct told her that before she had mentioned her brother, the middle-aged guy was already planning to get some mystics to hypnotize her. What would happen once her lie was revealed? What would become of her once they learned that the one who came from another world was her?
It was a risk she had to bear for bringing up the G.o.ddess" name.
Still, she was thankful that the tears ran down so she would have an excuse to end their conversation.
Back to her carriage, since she essentially gained no useful information from the white-robed man from the Church of Wisdom, she had the coachman drove her towards the other churches. The results were the same.
"… I refuse to believe I have to stay in this era." For a couple of seconds, she hated that she was thrown to this place and that she didn"t read that e-book from beginning to end.
The woman clenched her teeth and worked her brain furiously. A moment later, her eyes went to the direction of the kingdom"s capital... It seemed if she wanted intel about time travel, she would have to consult higher-ranked clergymen, at least at the level of a bishop.
…
Half an hour later... when the young lady within the carriage was about to take her nap on her seat...
Without being informed beforehand of the reason why, the wheeled vehicle suddenly stopped! Following that, Aliyah just felt a sudden chill all over her body.
They were in the middle of a short bridge full of people when this happened. It became very noisy outside. Her eyes widened at the curtain to her left.
"The heavy metal noise which she initially a.s.sumed as something from a negligent man dropping some metals outside must have been something more undesirable to know."
"W-what happened?!" Her handmaiden Lotta shouted to the ones outside in a shaky voice.
"Danger!" replied one of the guards.
Hearing that, Aliyah only had one thought. Danger? That was exactly what her senses had just warned her about!
"Milady! Please don"t come out!" Sounds of horses neighing, shouts, and clanging of metals echoed after.
"We"ll resolve this quickly! Please don"t panic! Stay inside!"
The handmaiden"s hands which grabbed Aliyah"s were cold and trembling. Aliyah"s body also grew cold since the shouts and frightened yells never ceased while the sounds of sword fighting kept getting closer.
"a.s.sa.s.sination? Hah... Right. Of course, a lady who keeps poking her nose into a delicate business will be an eyesore to the royal family." Fear gripped her hearts.
Just then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind. Her eyes turned round before she pulled her personal maid down with her on the carriage"s flooring.
Thudding noises resounded after which was followed by something less noisy, yet more alarming.
"aah!!!"
Their shouts were not because they felt like the floor was dirty or that the impact of their actions was painful.
Arrows! Out of nowhere, there were several arrows that flew past their heads and struck the wall of the carriage! Had they not ducked on time, those arrows would have pierced through their bodies!
Aliyah felt numb for a moment, having a hard time believing what she just went through. It was her first near-death encounter. And it was not something she wanted to experience again.
When she recovered a bit from her reverie, she let her mind run wild to combat the fear and hopelessness in her chest.
"As expected, a.s.sa.s.sinations like this work in a way where some would be distracting the knights while the archers target those inside the vehicle. History might have been a liar, but it"s still really the best teacher!"
"... Now, I regret not reading more. Why the h.e.l.l did I stop at the part where Marian fell into a coma after seeking a medium?"
While regret was filling her heart, she secretly wondered whether the hidden enemies thought she was approaching the churches for help in investigating her brother"s case.
How she wished she could send them a messenger to tell them that she had long made up her mind not to involve herself in their matters!
"Ugh... This life... is really not something I want."
"Protect the young lady!"
"Finish them off quickly! Don"t let anyone get close to the vehicle!"
"Milady, are you alright!?"
Questions poured out from outside but no one truly opened even the windows to check on Aliyah and her female servant. The guards were being careful not to reveal any more opening in the carriage. One of the mounted knights cut through the panicky crowd to chase after the archers. The others were angered and suddenly became more aggressive.
However, the other party was more decisive and smart than they expected. Seeing that there was no blood dripping down from the floor, they already determined that the a.s.sa.s.sination failed. This was why after counterattacking one last blow and making the adversary fall back a bit, they took advantage of their opponents" stunned state and hurriedly ran back into the different alleys.
"Captain, what do we do? They"re escaping!"
"Do we give chase!?"
The captain of the guards, Adam, watched with dark eyes as the attackers disappear on sight. He thought for a moment and then with a frown on his face, he said, "No. The attackers are skilled fighters. Secure milady first!"
It was still chaotic outside. The driver was severely wounded on the right arm and would have difficulty driving so he would be brought to a physician by one of the guards. Adam, the captain, kept giving various orders, a.s.signing his men some tasks while declaring he would be the one to drive the young lady back.
A while later, the carriage did start to move and was gradually picking up pace, as if it was being madly fleeing from something terrible.
Within the vehicle, while the maid was still cowering, crying, and covering her ears as she continued lying on the floor, Aliyah slowly got up. As time pa.s.sed, she had confirmed that there was no more crisis. The guards had not yet announced that she was safe, probably thinking that there was a chance the offenders would come back and ambush them again. However, Aliyah was pretty positive that there would not be any more attacks.
Although the a.s.sa.s.sination failed, those people still seemed to have completed their mission... She could see a small piece of yellowish paper at the tip of one of the arrows embedded on the wooden surface.
The maid would have seen it too if she only raised her head. But the girl was still too terrified. Aliyah let her be since she was not good at comforting people. One more thing, she also actually needed to be comforted despite being twenty-two-years old in age!
As if it was the will of the heavens, the arrow that was supposed to be stuck deep into the wall slowly came off and fell down.
She hurriedly picked up the piece of paper. Of course, without forgetting to use a handkerchief in case it was poisoned.
"Curiosity kills." That was all written there.
Seeing this, although her expression did not change, deep down, she actually felt a bit depressed... and angry.
Who would want to be threatened?
How hateful… that the world was filled with people who loved to jump into conclusions without verifying the other party"s stance or situation.
Aliyah took a deep breath, but the stifling feeling in her chest did not go away.
Feeling like the anger in her heart was like a festering wound that needed to be cut off right away, the girl then made an impulsive decision...
"Detour. I will be going back to the church."