To the City

The village exit was in the opposite direction from the river. On the way there, Hanson shared more details about Noral Village.

"You've likely realised already, but this is a closed village."

Different from a village that was simply hard to find, closed villages intentionally stopped people from leaving or entering. Although she had been seriously wounded, Carolyn wouldn't have reached the village if Hanson didn't have questions for her. Similarly, it would have been impossible for her to leave if he didn't give her permission. While she could follow the river to find another village or city, Hanson's shadow soldiers would be more than enough to bring her back.

"I thought that was the case. Were you the one that made it into a closed village?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't have any hard evidence, but it's no secret that you're an outsider, and the same should be true for most of your subordinates as well. Even if you managed to be an exception like me, I find it hard to believe the previous village chief would allow an outsider to succeed him if this was a closed village. And there's also the villagers. They don't seem to have xenophobic ideas typical of closed villages."

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you've been to another closed village before. Is it your esteemed mother's teaching?"

"That's right."

"I see. I could pick apart your reasoning a little, but regardless, you're not mistaken. I arrived at this village in my search for your esteemed mother, and once I decided to settle here, I quietly closed the village and erased its existence from any written sources. Thankfully, this village had few visitors to begin with, so it wasn't hard to have them forget about its location."

"That reminds me of a question that I once had. On the day that my mother, passed, she mentioned you and this village. How did she know about this place if you two weren't in contact?"

"I can make a good guess for that, but—"

"It's not something you can tell me, right?"

Hanson chuckled and held back the remainder of his response. Although he was happy to lead her to take her first steps in discovering who she was, it was still too soon to share what he knew with her.

"There's still a bit of distance left, so let's review what you learnt about the neighbouring domains and local nobles."

It was a blatant attempt at changing the topic, but Carolyn merely shook her head and followed along.

"Currently we're within the domain of Count Walker, which borders the Falcon domain to the right, the Raven domain above, and the Amber domain below. The Walker domain is..."

In preparation for her departure, Carolyn reviewed the observation log and maps her mother left for her, along with the updated maps that Hanson lent her. Simple maps were easily accessible in cities, but the maps that Hanson and her mother had were detailed enough to get them in trouble with the military. Hanson told her this, so Carolyn decided to leave the originals and bring simple copies of the maps with appended notes written in her mother's code. They still weren't items she could display freely, but it would get her out of immediate execution at the very least.

"Alright, we're here."

The walk was almost an hour long, but eventually the two reached a wide prairie that was outside the forest. It was almost the end of summer, just before harvest season, making it one of the best times to traverse the grassland.

"There aren't any beaten paths from here, but if you go south, you'll eventually find the main road to Vernum City in the Amber domain."

Vernum City was a major city of the Amber domain, governed by Baron Lindsley Amber. The baron made little investment in technology, but the lives of his citizens were relatively peaceful. It would be a good place for a fresh start, but that wasn't the only reason why Hanson recommended that she head there. There were many angles she could take to investigate the truth behind her parents, but Carolyn had far too little experience living outside a village, so Hanson suggested that she start there and learn more about the kingdom and its citizens. Carolyn wanted to focus on unravelling the secrets of her parents, but she knew that she would need time to accustom herself to city life, so she agreed with Hanson's suggestion.

"Thank you, Mr. Hanson. Before I leave, what do you think about my appearance?"

Since she would be leaving the village, Carolyn ensured that she subtly hid her beauty using the disguise techniques she inherited from her mother. Thanks to these techniques, her hair lacked lustre, her face had patches of freckles, and her skin had a dull shade. Those who knew her could still recognise her up close, but at a distance she seemed like a different person. However, there were still some flaws in Carolyn's technique.

"Visually, I would give it a pass, but your mannerisms might give you away. I know it's hard to change yourself, but try to mimic the villagers as much as possible until you figure out how to fit in the city."

"Okay."

Carolyn had never experienced any such trouble herself, but she was warned from a young age about how dangerous it was for a beautiful woman to travel alone. Even an average-looking woman wasn't safe, but as long as she made herself appear as an ordinary villager, there was a much lower risk of anything untoward happening.

"I can't give you any guards for the journey, but once you arrive, you can head to the church that I told you about to meet one of my captains. He'll be of great assistance should you get into any trouble."

"Understood. I'll meet him after I enter the city."

"And make sure to keep yourself covered and hydrated. You can consider yourself dead if you pass out while travelling."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't forget to be casual with the way you speak; nothing good can come from people thinking that you have noble origins."

"Okay."

"And keep your weapons maintained. It's always best to be prepared for trouble."

"...Yes."

"Also, even if they seem kind, don't follow any strangers. There are lots of people out there that are good at hiding their intentions."

"..."

"Be careful about where you choose to stay. Even if it's expensive, it's best if you find a place with good security."

Carolyn could tell that Hanson wouldn't be done giving advice any time soon, but since his suggestions were actually valid, she didn't interrupt him. However, as he started to remind her to do basic things like eat three meals a day and clean her teeth, she became fed up.

"Okay! I understand! I'll remember to do all of that, so can I go now?"

"Are you sure? Maybe we should go over it one more time... or not."

Carolyn's glare made her thoughts on the matter quite clear, so Hanson reluctantly pulled back. Once she saw that he wouldn't drown her with any more reminders, Carolyn sighed and then gave Hanson a hug.

"I'll be going now."

Hanson was slightly surprised, but he was still able to give a good response.

"Have a safe trip."

Once she received his response, Carolyn let go of him and decisively walked off. He could only see her back, but Hanson was glad to watch her moving forward.

"That's your daughter, you two."