Crimson Karma - Chapter 18

“Tula-nim, the person is here.”

“Please come in.” He stood before the door. The voice that gave permission for him to enter certainly belonged to a young woman.

The young man opened the door. A splendid view of a sitting room filled her vision. The floor was adorned with a red carpet, plush sofas and a table with colourful patterns. The display cupboard was filled with silverware. Sitting obliquely on the large sofa was a red-haired voluminous beauty- looking at Kasia…..

Without greeting the red-haired woman, Kasia sat down on the sofa opposite her. The red-haired beauty was at a loss of words at Kasia’s forwardness, but a beautiful smile blossomed on her face.

“Why did you ask to see me?”

Still smiling, Tula slightly raised her chin towards the servant standing at a distance and soon, the servant returned with tea.

Tula calmly watched the servant pour tea. Right afterwards, she took a sip.

“I guarantee that there is no poison in the tea. Please don’t hesitate and drink it.” Her coquettish voice was like jade beads rolling on a smooth, silver platter. Though her timbre was ticklish, it was no doubt a clear and sonorous one.

Kasia raised the teacup near her lips, seemingly taking a sip. There was no numbing sensation or any strange taste to the tea. Only then did she drink the tea.

“Phew. You sure are very thorough. No wonder you are the Last Card.”

Hearing her words, Kasia was certain that the news of her arrival was passed over from Tasel’s side. After all, ‘The Last Card’ was a phrase spoken by Michael.

“How did you find out about me coming to this place?”

“I have connections.”

“Why did you want to meet with me?”

“To confirm whether the Shadow Walkers have a new member. It has been quite a while since they have had one.”

“You…seem like an executive of the Pien region.”

“There are no rankings within the Shadow Walkers. Every member works independently. Are you not also the same?”

“I have not heard much about the details, so I’m not sure. Anyways, did you call me just for small talk?”

Hearing the dry words from Kasia, Tula shrugged her shoulders. Tula gestured for the servant guard to leave. After that, she started talking in a relatively low voice, “How can I waste the time of such a busy person? Though, I am glad to be able to meet you in person.”

She took another sip of her tea and looked at Kasia thoroughly, then said, “There is a new piece of intel from Karina Palace. It is said that someone from the First Prince’s side is lurking around there. Also, the abode of Queen Elena was moved from West Star Palace to the Tower at the East End. She’s locked up at the top of the tower.”

“What a special way to treat a Queen who’s not even dethroned.”

Tula sighed, “Such bastards. Communicating with the enemy, persecuting His Highness the Second Prince and Her Majesty Elena without a break and laying the weight on the Second Prince to suppress the rebels. That is simply colluding with the rebel faction. The Emperor must be crazy.”

Tula’s expression of an enchanting fox just a while ago turned completely ugly in no time. It felt like her eyes were going to shoot flames.

“By any chance the rescue mission of Her Majesty Elena fails and you are pursued, you must flee towards the village. Not to Pien or any other region. If there is a black brick among the walls at any building entrances, knock on any of those buildings and say ‘I’m here to get some black wine’. They’ll let you hide right away.”

“I’ll try my best to not allow such things to happen.”

Tula was earnest towards Kasia’s indifferent response.

“Please succeed. Though the cities near the Imperial Palace are a bit better, the same cannot be said for the places furthest away from the capital. It is in a complete mess. The nobles of these regions exploited the citizens because of the Emperor’s inefficient governance. The cities touched by the Rebel Army were all reduced to people dying from starvation, women being raped, and even little boys being forced to be recruited as soldiers. That crazy Emperor must be dragged down along with that insane First Prince! He is just the same war maniac as his father. If we are able to rescue Queen Elena, the Second Prince will be able to rise up.”

Though she does not know about any specific details, Tula seemed to sincerely wish for Tasel to take over the country.

Kasia nodded and finished the remaining tea, “I came across an interesting rumour in the diner yesterday. Apparently, the Emperor is in possession of a legendary sword and he will never be defeated as long as he holds it. Have you heard anything about it?”

“Yes, that sword does exist. I have also heard about it from an old aristocratic customer- the sword emits a mysterious light when held by the Emperor and will provide him with an enormous amount of strength. It’s said that the Emperor has not suffered any losses whatsoever because of this sword. Strangely though, the sword had disappeared at some point.”

“So that’s the case. How….did you find my location? Are you really against disclosing it?”

Tula once again glanced at the door. She sat beside Kasia and whispered in her ear, “The Second Prince once told me: though few people know about his proficiency in magic, he can track your location from your tracking spell. Also, he is able to convey your location to me via the conscious transmission spell. If the Emperor came to know about the Second Prince’s outstanding magic abilities, he will never leave him alone. So, His Highness Prince Tasel had been forced to keep this secret from a young age.”

Tula trusted Kasia with this secret. It was a secret known only by Queen Elena and a few Shadow Walker members.

Kasia left the room after hearing Tula’s plea to safely rescue Queen Elena once again.

The youngster from before was waiting for her near the door. He courteously escorted Kasia to the entrance.

Kasia walked towards the busy city centre and had a hearty meal. After buying some more meat jerky, she set off for Karina Palace. She was rejuvenated after a night’s rest and she resumed with her mission, reaching the small town of Artevian in three days.

Artevian was many times smaller than Pien, but it was a quiet and beautiful town. The abundant trees infused the town with refreshing, fallen flowers everywhere. There were only a few passersby, but they all greeted one another with friendly smiles. In short, they were kind wherever she went.

The streets were tidy and clean whenever she roamed around buying bread or any other food items. However, she could not wander around as much as she did in Pien. She had to be cautious of the surveying guards.

Kasia soon went towards the stable instructed by Tasel.

Many owners were waiting for customers. Kasia browsed the owners for a ‘white-haired old man with a wooden leg and said to him: tonight, a woman needs to be delivered to the Karina Palace. At the time when the Ellon star rises, wait by the entrance of Asel Forest south of Karina Palace.

After conveying the message, she left to get lodging.

In contrast to Pien, the price could not even be bargained for a shabby inn on the outer side. Throwing her baggage onto the bed, she looked out from her window. She did not see any suspicious people lurking nearby the inn.

After locking the door, she opened her baggage and took out the weapons, poisons and explosives.

Now, she needed to get ready for the battle.

She took off all of her clothing and wrapped bandages around her ankle and wrist for protection. She then donned a black dress.

Though she could do nothing to soothe her longing for the stretchable battle outfit she wore in her previous life, the dress she brought was not baggy as it stuck to her body and was not uncomfortable to move in it.

Her pants had pockets to put a short sword or a dagger. Since it was made according to her design, the pockets could especially accommodate daggers and poisons.

She fastened her weapons and poison around her body, making it convenient for her hands to reach. She arranged her weapons similarly in her past life, so there would be no room for confusion. Still, it was disappointing that there were no guns.

Unless she used a bow and arrows, there were no alternatives for long-distance weapons. She could not carry a bow and arrows either. Hence, if any assassins were targeting her from a distance, she would be at a disadvantage.

I hope I’ll be lucky

From her previous life, if there was a situation where she could not prepare beforehand, she will just wish herself good luck. After all, it was something that could not be solved, so why does she still contemplate or worry about it? Who knows, perhaps it made her bolder.

When others were faced with unknown situations, they shrunk back. On the other hand, Kasia would face it head on to the point of being reckless. Of course, there were a few times when death almost knocked on her door, but during those times, she had not hesitated or wanted to give up. She had no choice.

Kasia finished her preparations and impassively waited for sunset.

She stuffed her remaining items in her bag, Since it was alright to just throw it out, she thought of discarding it somewhere after leaving the inn at dusk.

She sat on the wooden floor in an upright manner, heightening the environment around her, pulling up the sensitivity of her five senses. From the vibrations on the floor, she could feel the movement of the people in the inn, from the window gap of noises of the street to the drifting small penetrating into her olfactory and auditory senses.

She felt that soon, she would attain the state of selflessness. Though locating her enemies by hiding herself was something she did a few times in her previous life, she felt that she was able to focus more in this world for some reason.

From the vibrations, smells and sounds, she felt that she could comprehend all of the actions of the people in the inn.

Five people are sharing this corridor……three of them look bored and the other two are normal. On the first floor…are they preparing dinner? Seems like a stew is brewing….this doesn’t feel like vegetables. Ah yes, someone is chopping meat. The sound of the knife against the board isn’t gentle. Ah, just now, two, no three people came into the inn through the entrance. Dinner customers.

At that moment, she realised she could sense a lot more things than in her previous life.

She opened her eyes.