Translator: HH Editor: HH

Now it was completely quiet outside, perhaps because they had all gone out to the square.

This town was a rural one far away from the palace so it was comfortable.

What a shame.

Lastly, I gulped down the juice on the table and carried my things from the bed.

Whew. Apple juice is definitely best hand-squeezed!

Actually, my things were just a few outfits that I purchased and some money in my pocket, but this was enough for me right now.

I just flicked my finger and put the cape that was on the hangers on my shoulders.

Whoosh!

A moment later, I was on a breezy field.

Here again.

I momentarily looked around and didnt feel any presences around me today either.

Looking at the softly waving trees, I tossed my bag anywhere and plopped down.

This was the place where Lucas and I came during that secret escape from the palace.

The grass field I ended up in after running away from Ezekiel.

Grunt. Actually I didnt know if this was grass or grains, but I just called them grass.

This was the first place I ended up after leaving the rose garden where Claude tried to kill me.

When I opened my eyes from the shining lights, I was standing right in the middle of the field.

There wasnt a single rose blowing around, just the grass swifting with the breeze.

It seemed like I had teleported unconsciously.

My magic had suddenly been activated after not working for a while to protect me from danger.

People always had a way to live.

After that, I didnt return to the palace and just drifted around here and there. Because my leave was unplanned, I didnt have a single cent on me, but I wasnt homeless.

Because I! Had become the counterfeit creator of the century! Bwahaha!not. I really didnt want to do this, but there was no other way.

That day, I hadnt even been able to carry my pretties out. Sob, my pretties! I worked so hard to gather them! My funds to help me during an escape like this!

But it wasnt like I could go back. Actually, getting caught by Claude wasnt that big of a problem since I could just enter into one of my treasuries, but my teleportation wasnt that stable yet, so I gave up.

I remembered seeing something about coordinates in the magic book back at the Emerald Palace, but calculating the coordinates was so hard..i, if I attempted it and appeared right in front of Claude instead of my treasury, what was I supposed to do?

So I decided to become the master of counterfeit.

After I left the palace I was able to use magic again, so it was easy to make money.

I left like my conscience was being pricked everytime I made money, but..since Im not like Lucas!

Oops, Your Honor! This money wasnt made by me but by the cat in my house! So please judge me as not guilty! Of course, I dont raise a cat.

I didnt know if it was a good thing or a bad thing but the money I made from magic never failed me.

But I didnt know when my magic would stop working again, so I made some in advance and traveled with some simple outfits.

I wouldnt have to be like this if I could use magic anytime like Lucas. But I was definitely doing better than just living a homeless lifestyle. To be honest, I wasnt even suffering.

But if I got caught, everything would be taken. From counterfeit to mocking the Emperor, I would be charged with this and that. And I was a wanted person right now.

I shivered thinking of the viewing stone I heard about before teleporting from the inn.

It was a good decision to not stay in one place for too long after leaving the Palace.

Honestly, at first, it was so hard because teleporting was such high magic that the destinations were almost random.

But continuing to do it somewhat trained me and I was able to control it a bit.

People thought that the Emperor was searching for his cherished daughter, but this was almost like being on a wanted criminal list. Because he was trying to find me to kill me!

Am I not gonna be able to stay in Obelia for too long now?

Until now, I had only stayed within the empire, but since Claudes touch reached all the way to rural towns now, staying in Obelia was too much.

Then where should I go?

I blankly thought looking at the blue sky.

Actually in this situation, I didnt think of anything. Claude searching everywhere for me was just another obstacle I had to overcome..So I wasnt particularly worried or scared.

Honestly, I didnt know how long I would be able to live like this, but if I really wanted to, there wasnt anything stopping me.

Now I could use teleportation without too much difficulty and I was successful in other magic that I did because I was bored.

I didnt know before, but it seemed like I was really talented in it. I, It wasnt an unfounded confidence. There probably wasnt a single kid who came this far self-studying!

Anyway, so I didnt feel despair like before although I knew Claude was looking to kill me.

Also, even if I was caught again, I could just escape like I had in the rose garden. And I didnt plan on letting him kill me.

That was what I thought that day. That I wouldnt die by Claudes hand, at the very least.

A light breeze shifted my hair. The grass around me also shook.

Looking back, a lot of time had passed.

I thought of what happened in the rose garden again. Blankly staring at the sky, I remembered everything that had happened from the Garnet Palace and his birthday.

And the calm eyes staring at me. Ezekiel who had silently stayed by my side when I was crying.

I abruptly decided my next destination.

Atlanta it is.

* * *

Im planning on staying for one night.

Alright, the cost depends on the room. The rooms we have left are..

I listened to the man explaining things with interest.

Wow, it was a foreign language. I guess this really was Atlanta. What I just said wasnt weird, right? Im not sure, but Ill keep the speaking to a minimum.

I was in the biggest room in this lodge. They said it was a lodge, but in actuality, it was more like a hotel, seeing the large lobby and multiple-floored building. Its definitely different from the lodge in the rural town!

Meals arent included in the rate, but if you pay and tell them in advance, you can eat in your room. This is your key. Youll see the stairs as soon as you go straight and turn left. Then please enjoy your stay.

I thought it would be too immoral to use the best rooms with counterfeit, so I settled for a medium room and left the counter.

The fact that I was inside a hotel-like lodge with fake money in the first place was immoral, but I wanted to stay here. B, But, Im still sorry! Ill pay you back with real money next time!

I elegantly drank tea in the first floor cafeteria and passed some priestesses up the stairs.

As soon as I entered my room, I flicked my finger and relased the magic I had been keeping up.

Lets see. My eyes and hair, did they come back to normal?

I carefully observed the mirror in the corner of the room. Thankfully, the magic was properly released.

Until just now, I had changed the color of my eyes and hair with magic power. At first, I didnt know if I would be successful, but I didnt think it would be safe to walk around normally so I tried it and it worked.

But I thought I might still be caught if I wasnt able to control my magic power.

So I just hid my eyes. However, after listening to what the owner of the inn said about blonde haired girls being taken to the Palace, I even changed my hair to another color.

Of course, this was Obelia and not Atlanta, but it was ok to be careful, right?

In a way, it was even more dangerous to be caught in this foreign land instead. Because if Claude was able to reach here, then it might turn into a problem between lands.

Gasp. Technically, didnt I crossover illegally? And I was a runaway criminal from Obelia!

I only had those worries for a moment, and I thought whatever right away. Why would I worry about political problems when I was living like this? Sigh, when did I become a fugitive? This was unbelievable.

It was really a relief that I could use magic. If not, I wouldve been caught by Claude already.

N, no. Then I wouldnt even have been able to leave the palace. Then would I have died in the garden?

Like the Athanasia in the book. Without being able to fight back once.

Thinking those thoughts, my head started to hurt and I gripped the side of it.

Wahaha! Catch me if you can!

Ugh! Kabel, stay still!

Hearing the sudden catch me if you can, I looked out the window. A tree was blooming with light pink cherry blossom-like flowers.

Ah, it was the middle of spring in Atlanta too. Unlike Obelia, Atlanta had all four seasons, so I thought I might be able to see snow for the first time in a while.

Looking out the window, I changed my hair and eyes again with magic power and left the room.

Flicking my finger to control magic was like a switch. I didnt know if it was just me, but I felt like I was wasting less of it.

Anyway, since magic occurred whenever the user desired something, it was honestly uncomfortable sometimes because even if I didnt want to, sometimes money fell from the sky or I was immediately teleported.

No, actually, other than discomfort, it was actually dangerous. Last time, after waking up from a nightmare about Claude chasing me in the mountains, I woke up to find myself not in the inn, but actually in the mountains.

Ugh. I didnt even want to think about what might have happened if I teleported to a cliff or the ocean.

So after reading that a beginner should choose a signal for when magic is used in the magic book, I tried copying Lucas.

And interestingly, after that, magic didnt appear randomly and I became a lot more relieved.

Did Lucas flick his finger all this time to control his magic? Mm. Of course, Lucas wasnt a beginner, but he kept on complaining to me that it was uncomfortable because the amount of his magic power had disappeared.

Ah, it looks like its snowing.

Thinking this and that, I left the building and walked by myself down the flower-covered path. But the flower petals that fell on my head as I walked looked like snow.