Chapter 20: The first gear. (3)

After Leonardo and Alice left the room, the old man gave Gabriel a courteous nod and then guided them away, leaving only the bleeding child. Gabriel held the bedsheets that were now stained by his blood, they were white so trying to get the blood out would be a massive pain.

"Ah, I’ll have to buy new ones for her."

He muttered as he tore up the sheets and used them as makeshift bandages to cover the cuts left by the vines. This was Alice’s only blanket so if he didn’t buy new ones today then he would have to ask one of the servants to give him a new one. And looking at how even a chef treated Alice, he could already imagine the derision the other servants would show if she ruined such a ‘precious’ set of bedsheets.

There were a fair number of cuts on his face as well that he couldn’t cover with the sheets, but they were relatively shallow so they stopped bleeding by the time he had finished changing into a clean uniform. His face looked rather haggard and messed up as a result of the many scars, but they would heal eventually so he would just have to look a bit messed up today. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was planning on showing his face that much.

Properly dressed and cleaned up as best he could, he left the Vritara family’s mansion, leaving behind his sword, and followed the path to the entrance. The silver gates mimicking the Vritara crest weren’t pushed open for him, he was instead directed to a small door about a kilometre to the side of the gate. It was only natural, opening the main gates every time a servant wanted to leave would just be tiresome.

A small meadow that tilted downwards stretched out beyond the small door, and at the bottom was a city. Vairasta, the capital of the duchy. The Vritara family was the king here, their estate built atop a man-made hill that loomed over the city.

The buildings directly around the hill were mostly estates, mansions surrounded by gardens and patches of land that were neatly maintained. The noble district, home to the counts, marquises, and barons of the city, each one either trying to suck up to the Vritara or keeping an eye on them for the other families.

Beyond the noble district was the rest of the city. Houses that stretched out as far as they eye could see, streets like spiderwebs as they spread out, dots of green, yellow, and red adorning the ‘painting’ in the form of trees. A few parks and plazas were scattered about between the houses, small oases meant to provide a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.

"Alright, we’ll start with a bit of good old fashioned investigating."

Gabriel stretched a bit before he started to make his way down the hill. The land beyond the door didn’t even have a road to bring you down the hill, it was just grass and dirt. He could already imagine that more than a fair few of the estate’s servants had slipped here over the years during the colder or wetter seasons. Luckily, summer was just starting now so it was easy enough to get down.

Naturally, the path that awaited him at the bottom of the hill wasn’t the main road of the noble district but rather a small side road that would keep him out of the nobles eyes. He navigated the streets, occasionally stopping to inspect his surroundings. The show gave quite a few aerial shots of the cities, especially during their destruction, but shots that moved through the city were rarer. Most of them focused on the times the main characters went out on dates, and those would naturally not show these smaller alleys.

"Speaking of…"

The main characters… Alice was currently seven so the female lead, the Crown Princess of the Imperial Family, should be about the same age. In just two or three years she would have her Spirit Awakening ceremony, her magic affinity would be tested at the same time. Both would be events that would rock the empire.

And then there was the male lead… Looking at the seasons, he should arrive in this world through a World Fissure within the next 6-8 months and get picked up by the eastern family. He’d spend most of his time there, but would have to go to the capital for the Crown Princess’ awakening ceremony, that would be where they first met.

"…It’s probably impossible for them to not interact."

The Crown Princess, the one who would become the future leader of the eastern family, and the one Gabriel would help become the head of the Vritara family. Their positions were too high for them to never interact. In the show, Alice fell in love with the male lead during their first coincidental meeting and wanted to have him, but that male lead only had eyes for the Crown Princess. Alice, already twisted by the world, kicked off the downfall of the empire due to her envy.

"That last part… Should at least be able to avoid that."

Perhaps it would be impossible to stop Alice from falling in love with the male lead, but he could at least stop her from getting twisted by the world. Besides, he had already started to change the story so there was no telling if he couldn’t change it further. The Alice who grew up with some love and care, she may actually be able to move the male lead’s heart this time around.

"Oh, is it around here?"

After walking for a few hours, Gabriel’s feet finally stopped. A calm plaza spread out in front of him, a fountain with a spear-wielding statue serving as the centrepiece, water flowing out of the kneeling servant statues that surrounded it. A few maple trees were scattered about the plaza, gazebos set up so that people could sit down and enjoy a drink. As was natural with a place like this, street vendors had set up their shops here to sell their craft.

"Now… which one’s good?"

Gabriel muttered to himself as he walked around the plaza, inspecting the red-tinted trees one by one. He inspected each tree, examined their surroundings as he walked about, sometimes he even left the plaza and looked at the buildings around it. He took his time. Slow. Methodical. All the way until he found his target.

It was a tree like any other, a woodpecker having left more than a few holes in its trunk and branches. The branches were long and bent by the years, red leaves casting their shade as they almost formed a dome around the tree. His head moved about a little as he observed the surroundings. Yes, this one was situated quite nicely.

Having found what he was looking for, he left the plaza and started making his way through the city again. A kid wandering on his own, especially one dressed decently, was a somewhat rare sight so he received a few looks. But he walked confidently so none called out to him to stop him, he simply looked like he belonged.

He started to approach his actual target after a bit more walking so he dipped into one of the smaller alleys that occasionally cropped up between the buildings.

"Karas Veck."

His fingers moved in tune with the spell, his hands sinking into the darkness of the alley. There was more than just one thing stored in the darkness now, that was why the spell changed slightly. When he pulled back his hand, he held a new set of clothes that he had stolen in the last few days. They were much simpler than his uniform, just a hooded shirt and some loose pants.

He stripped and put on the new clothes, hiding his uniform among a bit of trash that had gathered up in the alley. He could store it in the darkness, but as it stood he could only cast about four low-grade spells before he ran out of mana. And for this day, he had already planned out which spells it would be and when.

"Karas Veras Takt."

He slid his hand along the wall after he finished changing, his fingers dancing along the cold stone, the darkness obeying his order and hardening into a mask in his grasp. The shape it took was reminiscent of a wolf, and when he slid it on it only revealed his eyes. Now, he only had to sweep back his hair and pull up the hood of his brown shirt to properly hide his features.

He stepped out on the other end of the alley and walked in a roundabout manner before finally ending up in front of a one-story building. The wooden door was open, merry noises and warmth flowing out as an inviting light flickered on the inside.