Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 33

[Translation By Divinity]

Although women in this era were actively participating in society, those who didn’t work often wore dresses as everyday attire. Lilliana, however, was wearing pants that revealed the lines of her legs and comfortable boots.

She wore a cutely designed vest over her shirt, adding a touch of flair to what could have been a plain outfit. A brown coat suitable for the transitional season completed the look, giving the overall impression of someone warmly dressed.

Although spring was approaching and the temperature was rising, the wind was still chilly, so she couldn’t let her guard down.

She wore light makeup, and her lips, usually pale, were now a healthy shade of red. Her fine blonde hair was neatly braided. Overall, she looked full of life.

In contrast, Damian’s attire was quite simple. He wore a blue shirt, beige pants, and brown shoes. Over that, he wore a thin jacket with a simple design. In short, his style was no different from when he went to the hospital for treatment.

As Damian observed Lilliana’s outfit with a surprised expression, she crossed her arms and looked him up and down.

“Oh, Damian! You got a haircut?”

As Lilliana pointed out, Damian’s hair was indeed a bit neater. He rubbed his hair with his fingertips, looking a bit shy.

“You told me to cut it.”

“Good. You did well! You look much more handsome now, don’t you?”

“Thank you.”

“Perfect timing, actually. I was planning to take pictures today. It’s better to look nice when you’re taking photos, right? Your clothes are… a bit disappointing, though. Too plain.”

Come to think of it, Lilliana had a large camera hanging around her neck. The camera reminded him of someone. ‘Did the puppies she took pictures of survive, or were they swept away by the flames?’ But he quickly shook off the thought.

“This is the best I could do. The camera is quite heavy. Please let me carry it.”

Lilliana’s neck was already starting to ache, so she quickly handed the camera to Damian. He slung it over his shoulder and asked,

“Where would you like to go?”

“Me, me! I want to go to Lomeltos Palace first!”

Lomeltos Palace was the royal palace where the royal family resided and conducted state affairs until a few decades ago. Now that it was a republic, only the direct descendants of the royal family remained, living in a separate palace, and parts of Lomeltos Palace were open to the public.

“If you’re in Nichio, you have to visit Lomeltos Palace first!”

“Alright. Then let’s go to Lomeltos Palace…”

“And then we’ll go to the Central Park to see the lake, have lunch at a restaurant on Oval Street, and appreciate Parnell’s ‘Woman Looking at Flowers’ at the Fern Art Museum. Next, we’ll visit the Nielson Museum, and for dinner, we’ll have a course meal at Grapold Restaurant, which has a five-star rating in Roshanty magazine. And finally, we’ll wrap it up by riding the Ferris wheel and enjoying the night view. Perfect.”

“…”

“What do you think? My plan.”

“You want to see all of Nichio in one day?”

Damian looked exhausted already, and Lilliana waved her hand, saying that was impossible.

“There’s still the Natural History Museum, Lucero Square, the Leather Craft Street… and more… There are so many places to go, of course it’ll take a few days!”

Damian had lived in Nichio for 19 years but had no idea there were so many tourist attractions.

“Well… um… Okay.”

He stammered for a moment, then decided to go along with Lilliana’s plan. He now understood why she was wearing pants.

They boarded the tram heading to the palace. As the tram entered the bustling downtown area, Lilliana pressed her face against the window and exclaimed,

“There are so many people!”

Perhaps because it was a weekday, the wide streets of the downtown area were packed with people. But Damian said nonchalantly,

“Isn’t this… normal?”

Lilliana let out a gasp of admiration.

“So this is normal for people in the capital. Wow… A scale that a country bumpkin from the east couldn’t even imagine… What happens if there are even more people here?”

“You can’t walk on your own. You can only go in the direction the crowd pushes you.”

“That sounds fun in its own way.”

“I can let you experience it if you want, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

While they were having such a trivial conversation, the tram arrived at Lomeltos Palace Station.

Most of the passengers seemed to be tourists, as they poured out of the tram. Damian and Lilliana also got off. Lilliana marveled at the spacious plaza in front of the palace.

“Wow, this place is huge! But I heard Lucero Square is the biggest in the capital. How big is Lucero Square then?”

“It’s… normal.”

Damian couldn’t understand why out-of-towners were so fascinated by squares. But it was fine as long as Lilliana seemed to be enjoying herself.

Lilliana gazed at the fountain in the center of the square with sparkling eyes.

In the fountain stood a statue of Oracis Shelbyr, the first king who founded the Kingdom of Istarica 500 years ago, in a dignified pose. Although it was now merely a remnant of the monarchy, it was still a significant symbol for the people of Istarica.

Istarica had a 500-year history as a kingdom. However, 50 years ago, it was invaded by Suvelz and became its vassal state for 30 years before finally gaining independence. Afterward, Istarica became a republic, and the Shelbyr monarchy’s reign came to an end.

During the time Istarica was a vassal state of the Empire, the statue of Oracis was nearly destroyed by the Suvelz Empire to break the spirit of the Istaricans. However, the people secretly removed and hid the statue before it could be destroyed, preserving it until independence, when it was reinstalled in its original location. It was such a meaningful statue that anyone visiting Nichio would come to see it at least once.

Around the statue were decorations of mythical beasts, spirits, and wizards, as if they were guarding Oracis.

The story goes that Oracis, who founded Istarica, established and revitalized the nation with the help of mythical creatures, demonstrating superhuman strength.

“Wow, it looks twice as big as I imagined.”

Lilliana, who had been exclaiming “Wow” since earlier, looked up at the statue of Oracis.

“I really wanted to see this statue in person.”

Damian stood beside Lilliana, staring blankly at the statue of Oracis.

To Damian, it was just a statue. Although it held symbolic significance, he wasn’t the type to be overflowing with national pride or patriotism, so he wasn’t interested in such things. But Lilliana carefully examined the statue from head to toe.

“Hmm…”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. I’ve seen it in photos many times, but seeing it in person is just… overwhelming. Oh, Damian, should we take a picture here?”

Lilliana remembered the camera hanging from Damian’s shoulder and pulled his arm. Damian said with a somewhat awkward expression,

“Here?”

“Why? Don’t you want to take a picture?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“Then it’s settled. Ah, excuse me, sir! Could you take a picture of us?”

Lilliana positioned Damian in front of the fountain and handed the camera to a passing man. Then she looked at Damian’s face and said playfully,

“You have to smile.”

At her words, Damian gave a stiff smile. Lilliana shook her head and smiled brightly, revealing her teeth.

“Okay, I’m taking the picture. One, two…”

Click, click.

The man pressed the shutter twice and then approached them.

“Thank you!”

Lilliana thanked the man as he handed back the camera.

“It seems there were only two shots left on the film. I can hear the film rewinding inside.”

“Oh, really.”

Lilliana bowed a few more times to the man while the film rewinding sound ended, and the back cover of the camera clicked open. Lilliana retrieved the used film, loaded a new one into the camera, and said,

“Let’s go to the palace now.”

Lilliana seemed satisfied with seeing the fountain and led the way towards the palace entrance.

The entrance for tourists was not the main gate on the south side but the west gate. The main gate was only opened for national events.

“They make us pay an entrance fee for a palace built with our taxes…”

Lilliana grumbled as she lined up at the ticket booth. Damian partly agreed with her.

“That’s true, but the royal family’s collection is quite impressive, so it’ll be fun to see.”

“But all those collections were amassed with the people’s blood and sweat, weren’t they?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

“So, the fall of the royal family wasn’t entirely a bad thing.”

Despite her words, Lilliana’s eyes were wide with excitement once they entered the palace.