Fang Chu recovered her wits at the same time Ben snapped out of his daze. He was now blushing fiercely and sweating nervously at the same time. Looking at his embarrassed and frantic appearance, Fang Chu gave a wide smile.

“You should be mindful of what you say in the future. Some commoners are executed just for talking to nobles without permission. You might lose your life just like that, so please be careful,” she said kindly.

Ben nodded and kept his head down. Liza thanked the gods this noble lady didn’t seem into killing peasants for fun. She gave a respectful curtsey and grabbed Eliot and Ben, dragging them into the crowd and away from the spotlight.

“Humph, you were too kind lady Fang Chu. This rabble only learns with their bodies. You should have lashed him a few times at least,” said Richard.

The rest of the crowd averted their eyes and backed away a few more meters from the trio. No one contested his claim. In fact, if one were to ask the people present, there would be a good part that agreed with Richard.

This was the truth of such strict class-based system. Only those with power could do as they wished. Those without strength were beaten down and indoctrinated since they were born to do as they were told. To accept the current situation as reality and never rise up.

“Enough, Richard! His comment was aimed at me. You have no grounds to interfere in how I deal with the situation. That’s it, I’m tired. I’ll be returning to my inn. You can keep your gifts, I’ll only accept the gesture,” said Fang Chu before rushing off.

“Wait, lady…”

Richard Melis didn’t have time to stop her as she walked away with astonishing speed. Albek on the other hand gave a relived sigh and massaged his shoulders, like he was finally rid of an annoyance.

“I’ll be going as well, see you later Richard.”

“Farewell, Albek,” said Richard through gnashed teeth.

The crowd soon dispersed, and Richard was left alone with his entourage. His entire face was red, and his complexion kept shifting between rage and lust.

[Fang Chu! You won’t escape me no matter what! I will pin you down and have my way with you one day!]

-

At this point Fang Chu had already rushed ahead and found a secluded alleyway. She extended her right hand in the air and her green jade ring sparkled in the sunlight. In the next moment, an old and tattered travel cloak appeared on her hand out of the blue, like magic.

She donned the cloak and put the hood over her head, hiding her beautiful red hair and voluptuous body. Dressed as such she could finally move about unhindered and without drawing attention.

This entire process didn’t take long, yet Fang Chu was already feeling nervous. She rushed back to the plaza where the incident had happened and began searching for the man with no mana. She finally found him and his friends having a heated discussion on a side street.

“What were you doing Ben?! You could have been killed! Even if Eliot, Boro and I tried our best to protect you it wouldn’t matter! We would all die!”

“I’m sorry! It just slipped! I didn’t mean to! She was just so beautiful that I blanked out and lost control.”

*Cough* *Cough*

Fang Chu turned her head away and crouched on the ground coughing. Liza and Ben looked at the back of that tattered old cloak and thought nothing of it. There were throngs of people with similar attire coming and going throughout the entire city. By the cape’s condition it was probably just a traveler that ended up choking on something. They lowered their voices and continued talking.

“All right, I admit, she was something else. Maybe you ought to keep the ring off for now,” said Liza begrudgingly.

“That way I wouldn’t be able to understand everything people are saying. I would probably draw more attention to myself and miss on interesting bits of information.”

“Okay, but you need to be careful. A slip like that could be fatal.”

“Now that I’ve seen her, beautiful women won’t surprise me anymore. It won’t happen again.”

*Cough* *Cough*

“Are you okay over there? Do you need some water or something?” asked Liza as she turned around to look at that cloaked figure crouched on the corner.

Fang Chu froze over for a split second when she was addressed, but she recovered quickly and shook her head. She got up and moved further away from the group before sitting on the ground. To anyone watching the scene, it just looked like she was a traveler (or a bum) that didn’t appreciate other peoples’ kindness.

“Wow, sorry I asked,” mumbled Liza.

“But man, she was something else… right, Eliot?”

“She was pretty, but I like Liza better.”

“HAHAHA! You’re the best Eliot!” exclaimed Liza happily. She put her arm around his shoulders and began leading them away. “Let’s go! Let’s find an inn to stay! We’ve five days to tour the capital while we wait for the guild’s result.”

Fang Chu waited for the group to depart, giving them a good head start before following after them. With her skill and the sheer number of people on the streets she was confident they wouldn’t find out.

[Damn, what’s wrong with me, I almost blew it! People praise my looks all the time, so why when he is the one doing it I keep getting caught off guard? And why is his voice so different now? What does a ring have to do with anything?]

She followed the group around the capital until they paid for a five day stay at the Flying Fish Inn. She calmed herself when she confirmed where they were staying and went to a restaurant a few streets away to plan her next move.

[Okay, how should I proceed? He’s different than those poor kids with no one to rely on and nothing to lose. I can’t entice him with some food and expect him to follow me. He’s not a kid, he’s not starving, and he has companions. I also don’t know how he’s like. If he is scum of the earth there will be no point to this. I need more information. They talked about waiting five days for something… Guess I’ll have to pester Albek again.]

-

Albek had just returned to his manor and was sitting on his study. Upon his desk were ink bottles, pens and tons of parchments containing all kinds of drawings. From large buildings like castles, city walls and mansions to more simple things like pillars, foundations and other architectural structures.

His sharp eyes were razor focused as he copied notes and sketches from a booklet handwritten by a famous mason. A smile danced on his lips whenever he understood something new or grasped a particular hard problem.

*knock* *knock*

“Come in,” said Albek.

“My lord, Miss Fang Chu has come to pay a visit. She’s waiting for you in the side hall,” said an old butler.

“I thought I’d gotten rid of her for the day,” he sighed. “What does she want now?”

The butler remained quiet as he understood that was a rhetorical question. Albek got up and went to see his guest straight away. He didn’t even bother to clean up the ink smudges on his hands.

The side hall was small and cosy, with a fireplace, two sofas and a tea table. Fang Chu was sitting on one of the sofas and enjoying some refreshments. Albek opened the door without announcing himself and went straight to the heart of the matter.

“All right, let’s hear it, what do you want this time? I’m sure Richard wouldn’t be so shameless to come looking for you again after you already indulged him for today. What do you need me for?”

“Ouch, that’s cold! Do you think I only come here to ask for things?” said Fang Chu pretending to feel hurt.

“I’m sure. I regret the day I got mixed up on your spat. Why didn’t you show your family’s crest sooner? Why the need to beat up his guards? Ah~, I really miscalculated… then again, how could I’ve guessed? In what world does a noble travel without an armed escort?” sighed Albek.

“Hahaha, I only bother you because you’re a good man. Who would’ve thought you would risk conflict with another noble house for a peasant woman. Or did you perhaps have ulterior motives as well?” asked Fang Chu coyly.

“Ahem, never mind that, it’s all in the past now. Are you going to tell me what you want or are you really here just to pass the time and piss Richard off?”

“Fine. Remember the fool that almost got killed by Richard today? I need to dig information about him and his friends. I want to know who they are, what are they doing in the capital and everything you can possibly find out.”

“Don’t tell me you plan to get back at them for just talking to you?” asked Albek in surprise.

“Please, don’t bundle me with that dunce. There are two reasons for it. First, I don’t want to see Richard taking his jealousy on the poor fellow and his friends. You would need to protect them if it came to happen. Second, it’s his voice. Didn’t you find it strange? It felt almost ghost like. That got me curious,” lied Fang Chu.

“Hum, now that you mentioned, his voice was indeed strange. What are you thinking? That he’s possessed or something? Maybe cursed?”

“I don’t think is anything that serious or dangerous. It just piqued my curiosity, so why not investigate? For that I’ll need your help. You’re the one with the contacts, being a local boy and all.”

“Okay, I guess. If it’s going to keep you out of my foot for a while I’ll gladly oblige. It might take some time though, we’ve no idea where they might be staying. For what we know they might leave the capital today even.”

“No worries, I got that part covered at least. They’re staying at the Flying Fish Inn and they’ll be in the capital for at least five days. Thanks a lot Albek, I’ll make sure to reward you for all your help so far,” said Fang Chu while getting up from the sofa.

Hearing this, Albek gaze drifted to her bosom. He knew this wasn’t what she meant by reward, but he couldn’t help it sometimes. It was a natural biological reaction. He quickly averted his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

“You keep saying that, but I’ve no idea how you plan to reward me.”

Fang Chu approached him and brought her mouth close to his ear.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it worth your while,” she blew into his ear.

Albek shuddered and cursed in his head. He knew she was just teasing him. He hadn’t known her for long, but he believed to have grasped her personality well enough. She might tease and use her looks for gaining and advantage sometimes, but she would never cross a certain line. As he looked at her disappearing figure, Albek couldn’t help but mumble softly.

“Ah~, what a woman…”