[20] Chapter 4. The Land of Angels (1)
– So you’re saying you didn’t have a plan at first?
– Well, I figured, ‘What does it matter?’ and thought I might just publish a magazine in the private sector.
– That means you could’ve become a competitor to our magazine.
– Haha, hardly.
– What made you change your mind? Was it…
– You know what they say, when you fall in love, you lose your composure.
– Oh my.
– I never even considered that if I wanted to meet someone who entered the palace, I’d have to enter the palace myself.
From the interview column “Love Lives of the Famous” in issue #128 of Rozentic, the magazine awarded 1st place on the palace’s “Most Entertaining Reads” list.
“This really doesn’t seem like the place, does it?”
“……”
Ilias looked around the area and spoke. Fernsiana silently agreed. And no wonder—right in front of them was a hinge store.
Hinges of every kind were lined up on the stall, and passersby would occasionally pick one up to inspect it.
Fernsiana, a bit flustered, looked around, but the street was just an ordinary village scene. There wasn’t even a hint of the vague sense of kinship or connection she had imagined.
On the contrary, it seemed the area was used to outsiders—no one paid any attention to the two strangers who clearly didn’t belong.
“The shopkeeper didn’t seem like he was lying, though…”
Ilias muttered as he glanced at Fernsiana. The two, having wandered off the main road, were now in a quiet alley to avoid the crowd.
Fernsiana, clearly flustered, kept tucking her short blue hair behind her ear. The locks fluttered lightly at her touch.
‘Did she originally have long hair?’
Her blue hair looked hastily and unevenly cut—as if she’d chopped it off to pass as a boy. If so, it must’ve been longer before.
“Give me that ointment for a second.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t think the shopkeeper lied, but this doesn’t seem like the right place. If we show someone the item, maybe we can get more information.”
When Fernsiana looked up at him with her sparkling golden eyes, Ilias unconsciously straightened his posture—then coughed awkwardly. She quickly opened her bag and handed him the ointment.
“You apply it first.”
But Ilias didn’t leave the alley. Instead, he opened the lid of the ointment. Fernsiana looked startled, but he didn’t hesitate. Defeated, she applied the ointment to her neck and hands. Ilias applied it to the back of her neck, where she couldn’t reach.
“I didn’t expect it to feel this unfamiliar… I was caught off guard.”
Straightening her collar after applying the ointment, Fernsiana murmured as they stepped back onto the main road. Ilias shrugged.
“If it were that easy to access, the place wouldn’t stay so secretive.”
“Secretive?”
“Did I ever tell you I’ve only seen someone ruin their hand from holding a fork wrong once—and that was you?”
“……”
“And for the record, I’ve never even seen it mentioned in any literature. So, a whole village full of people with such a rare trait, and there’s no record or public knowledge about them? That means it’s a heavily closed-off place. If you could just ‘head slightly south and find it,’ that would be the weird part.”
“Aha.”
Fernsiana nodded like she understood perfectly. Ilias briefly felt like an encyclopedia with a push-button answer system—but quickly shook off the thought.
“Let’s try over there.”
“The inn?”
Ilias pointed at an old sign in the distance. It looked like a rundown inn. Fernsiana nodded.
An inn that had operated for many years and seen many travelers might be a better place to find information.
“Ah yes… some passersby did bring in something like this. Are you looking for that place?”
The elderly innkeeper wore round glasses that made you dizzy just looking at them. He stared at the ointment Ilias offered for a long moment, then nodded.
He let out a dry chuckle.
“You’re looking for Desidiera, but the place is actually Desidie. You got the name wrong.”
“Excuse me?”
“They sound similar, and they’re not too far apart, so the confusion makes sense.”
The innkeeper pulled out a heavy notebook from under the counter. It had a leather cover and looked well-used. He carefully opened it and flipped through several pages.
“What you’re probably looking for is right here. Desidie.”
“Not Desidiera?”
“This area is near Desidie, so people used to call it Desidiera. But no one uses that name anymore.”
He showed them a worn piece of paper with an old map attached. It was a detailed sketch of a small area, with a tiny dot labeled “Desidie” farther south.
“But I’ve never heard of any outsider actually reaching that village. A few young and reckless types have wandered that way, but they always came back empty-handed.”
Ilias and Fernsiana studied the map intently. The old man turned it toward them to make it easier to see.
“Is Desidie far from here?”
“Not too far. On horseback, it’s about two days.”
“…And on foot…?”
“Well, probably about six days, give or take.”
Two days on horseback—or six on foot. An exhausting journey just imagining it.
Ilias was about to ask about transportation between the two places, but the innkeeper’s wife was faster.
“Even if someone wanted to go, no one actually does. So of course, there’s no regular transport. The only reason we know how long it takes is from the few villagers who’ve come this way.”
The innkeeper kindly answered all their questions. With nothing more to ask, the two bought a couple of chocolate cookies from the counter and left the old inn.
They walked for a long time in silence.
“……”
“……”
The cookies had nuts in them and gave off a rich, crunchy taste. Fernsiana finally broke the silence after finishing her palm-sized cookie.
“Didn’t you say you sold the horse?”
“…Yeah…”
Ilias muttered blankly, staring at his half-eaten cookie. Fernsiana split the rest of his cookie in half, shoved one piece in her mouth and the other in his, then dusted her hands.
“Too bad, but we can’t afford to buy another one.”
“I don’t have money either.”
“Then we’ll walk.”
Fernsiana said this firmly. Ilias gave her a look like he was about to cry, but she didn’t budge.
“We’re really walking?”
“Yup.”
“It’ll take six days.”
“But what choice do we have? No wagons are going that way, and we don’t have a horse.”
She was right. After saying that, Fernsiana scratched her cheek as she looked at Ilias’s clearly tired face.
He might be an expert with information, but physically, he was every bit the academic. She couldn’t force him through a grueling six-day walk. It would be a lonely journey, but she was grateful that Ilias had come with her this far.
Just that much gave her the strength to go on alone. She was about to tell him he could turn back now—when Ilias suddenly wiped his face dry and took a deep breath.
“There’s a way we could make the money.”
“Huh?”
“Money. Enough to buy a horse.”
Fernsiana’s eyes widened.
Ilias bit his lip hard, then pointed toward a flat, barely visible sign in the distance. It was carved into a wooden board and marked the entrance to a staircase leading underground.
You’d easily miss it walking by.
Fernsiana blinked.
“There? What is it?”
“A gambling den.”
Ilias said.
And Fernsiana promptly slapped him on the back.
