Wait, hey, wait!

No!

I hastily caught hold of Ashs clothes

As he looked at me, I hurriedly made an excuse .

I was coughing because of the dust . Its not a big deal, Im still healthy . The doctor gave me vitamins since the days have been getting colder so Im totally healthy .

. .

So you just need a change in scenery right? Lets leave early and go eat lunch outside tomorrow .

Okay

Shit

I cursed . I dont know how things ended up this way but I wanted to blame someone for it .

The same clock tower

Why did you have to be in the square? No, why do I even exist in the beginning? What the hell am I doing here?

I blamed the clock tower for everything .

Of course, I knew it wouldnt change anything .

Bessie stood beside us and exclaimed that we had such an amazing relationship .

It was a terrible night .

***

Since things had already ended up like this, I decided to stop bothering myself on things I couldnt change .

I was a bit bewildered that things hadnt gone the way I wanted but it wasnt like I had completely failed .

All I need to do is prevent Agritas death

Thats the ultimate goal .

I just have to make sure that the heroine doesnt die this time .

This might be better since the clock tower would definitely not be destroyed .

I wont say the clock tower is getting old even if someone threatens me with a knife .

Ah, actually, I might if that happens .

Anyways, I decided that I would only say good things about the clock tower when we see it .

Were only going to look at the clock tower and well avoid the heroine . No problem .

Phew .

Letting out a determined sigh, I looked at the mirror then turned away .

Oh, Miss . You look so beautiful .

Bessie was filled with excited energy as I finished getting ready .

I replied with smiles to all compliments thrown at me, even if it wasnt from her .

Just like Ash said, this was my first time going outside in a while .

I wasnt the type that enjoyed going outside, and I thought that I should stay in the house as long as possible since I would be leaving for good soon .

I should be optimistic . This will let me refresh my mind before running away .

Today, I put my red hair up and wore a green, outdoor dress that had buttons all the way up to the neck .

People said that I looked like a fully bloomed rose when I dressed up like this, and it was an expression I liked .

Because roses have thorns .

Its sort of a battle outfit .

Furthermore, I wore dark gloves that were almost black .

Good . This reinforced my decision .

Just then, peoples attention moved away from me .

Duke, youre here?

Oh my .

I turned my head .

In his outdoor clothing, I saw Ash walking down the stairs in a relaxed manner .

He had his white hair pulled back so his forehead was exposed and his dark navy clothing reminded me of a soldiers uniform .

Besides the fact that he was missing a cape, the design was very similar to a uniform .

Regardless, he knows exactly what looks good on him

Ash, who looked as if he just stepped out of a painting, came towards me .

It looked like he was walking slowly but his long legs made it easy for him to quickly close the distance between us .

Shall we go?

Ash, standing nearby, offered me his arm in an escort position .

I subtly breathed in and put my hand on his arm .

Yes .

Alright, lets go .

Have a safe trip . And come back before its too late, you havent forgotten what day today is right?

Dont worry .

After Bessie reminded us, Ash and I left the house .

Before we left, I had memorized the heroines entire schedule today, just in case .

11 AM . She should already be away from the clock tower, and should be with the charity group at this point .

After thinking through our planned path, I concluded that there wasnt really a high chance for us running into Agrita .

The square was huge . As long as we didnt go around trying to see everything it was very unlikely that we would run into her .

It bothered me a little that the charity group would be giving out free food at noon in the middle of the square, but it wouldnt be too hard to avoid the area if I could talk him out of going there .

Lets be on guard, just in case .

The fact that there was only a small chance of us running into the heroine eased my mind .

On top of that, this was my first time going out in a while, so I was a little excited .

On the way to the square with Ash, a store stand caught my eye .

Oh, that hair clip is pretty .

I wasnt the greedy type but I had a clear preference .

The jeweled hair clip at the store stand was one that clearly matched my tastes .

I thought I only took a quick glance at it but Ash immediately stopped in his tracks .

Do you like it?

What?

My rational side yelled at me that it was not the time to be looking at some hair clip, but I ignored it because I really did like it .

Besides, it wouldnt take long to buy it .

I rummaged through my bag, thinking that I could quickly buy it and then we would continue on our way .

Hm?

Then I paused .

Huh?

Wait, what is this?

Its not here!

My wallet is gone .

Im sure I brought it though?

I always took my wallet with me whenever I went out .

Whether I was alone with Ash, or with a servant, I always brought with me my wallet .

It wasnt because I shopped a lot, it was just a habit .

I assumed it was a habit from my past life, but really, Im getting distracted, why isnt it here?

Ash seemed to notice my frustration since I stopped looking for my wallet .

He threw the seller a gold coin, allowing me to take the hair clip as we continued to walk down the street .

Did I drop it on the way?

I shook my head immediately . There was no way .

Its not like I was waving my bag around, so how could it just fall out by itself?

Then

Pick-pocketing .

The word I had thought of came out of someone elses mouth .

I looked up at Ash .

Is it?

Probably .

He said it like that but his tone indicated he was certain .

Theres no way I could have left it somewhere . I had never taken it out since we left and I checked the house before we left so I was sure I brought it with me .

Trying to recall what happened earlier in the day, I remembered that I had it in the carriage as well .

Which means that it disappeared in the short time we walked from the carriage storage area to the shop stand .

Who did I bump into on the way?

You know that movie-esque scenario when someone pickpockets you?

You bump into a stranger while youre walking and they say oh, sorry,and you say its okay and your wallet is gone .

But I couldnt remember bumping into anyone .

On our way here, we passed by a crowd but Ash had been escorting me so we didnt encounter any difficulties .

When did they steal it?

I couldnt believe it . How could they take my wallet without me even noticing?

At this point shouldnt they be considered a living legend? Or the textbook example of pickpocketing?

Im not sure if I should be amazed or what . As I was about to give up, I saw Ash, who had his back towards me, take something out .

hm? Whats that?

A jewel?

No, thats not it . I got on my tiptoes to take a look .

It was a small sphere that I couldnt figure out what it was used for .

Then, a moment later I heard someones voice flow out of it . .

[You called?]

Find the person .

Ash commanded in his matter-of-fact voice .

My eyes widened .

With that demonstration, I could tell that the sphere was a tool that allowed you to communicate with people far away, just like a cellphone .

I remember hearing about it once . They said it was probably made using magic .

But who did he just command?

No way .

It was a little suspicious to say that it was one of our house servants . Then I remembered something .

A villain should not only have forces that everyone can see on the outside .

Ash also followed this rule .

I only knew this because I read the book, but Ash felt that he needed power ever since our parents passed away .

This wasnt the type of power a man could obtain through mastering some sort of martial art .

My younger brother wanted a group that he could use as his followers .

But such a group cant be created easily just because you want it .

It requires a lot of money and power, but the biggest problem was that it took time .

Which is why our villain Ash, simply took over an already existing group .

The Dark Streets

The Empire had something known as the Dark Streets .

To put it simply, its like the world opposite of this one .

City of night, the criminals area, the Empires darkness were all referring to this primitive Dark Street .

There, everything was based on power, and there was a large gang that acted as a ruler in those streets .

And Ash killed the leader of this gang and took it over .

He was fifteen at the time too .

It hadnt even been half a year since our parents funeral .

Theres no way to know exactly how my brother manages to control the gang because it isnt written in the book .

But since they are known to follow the rule of power, I can only assume that he used his overwhelming ability in martial arts to make them yield .

I dont know if I mentioned this but my brothers been using toy swords to break wooden statues ever since he was three . I used to think it was cute .