Chapter 34
Chapter 34
[Translation By Divinity]
“Hey, Damian! Look at that! That’s the ceiling painting by the master Lucius! It’s amazing!”
“Damian! Look at this! It’s pottery from the East! The painting style on it is so unique!”
“Damian, Damian! This marble sculpture is so detailed, it looks even more real than the real thing. How could someone from a thousand years ago create something like this?”
Damian belatedly realized that it was natural for an art major to get excited when surrounded by all sorts of artwork.
Even Damian, who had no expertise in this area, was impressed by the royal collection, so Lilliana must have been even more so.
Damian followed Lilliana around with an indifferent expression, occasionally having to steer her back on track when she wandered off to some strange corner.
“This place is heaven! I should have been born a royal! Then I could see these things every day!”
It only took a few hours for someone who had just been sarcastically commenting on the royals sucking the blood of the people and facing the red hammer of revolution to start craving power.
“I’m glad you like it, Lilliana.”
Damian chuckled and watched Lilliana bustling around with a warm smile.
And as they toured the palace, neither of them realized they had forgotten something crucial related to them.
☆
“…Can you make it to the Central Park?”
Damian asked, and Lilliana, lying sideways on a bench in the plaza in front of the palace, shook her head.
“Can you make it to Oval Street for lunch?”
This time, it was Damian who shook his head, slumped against the backrest of the bench.
“That’s why I told you, Lilliana. You’re still a patient and shouldn’t overdo it…”
As Damian was about to launch into a lecture, Lilliana quickly cut him off.
“Hey, you’re a patient too. Don’t talk like that when you’re just as exhausted as me…”
They were paying the price for overestimating their physical condition.
Lilliana, whose heart couldn’t handle excitement, and Damian, who tired easily due to his missing quarter of a liver, were completely drained after touring Lomeltos Palace for about four hours.
“Seriously, even a normal person would die if they walked around for four hours without rest.”
“A former soldier is whining about this?”
“That’s why I said ‘former.’ Lilliana, was your plan even feasible in the first place? We spent four hours on just one place and missed lunch. I think your itinerary was flawed from the start.”
“Ugh… I thought we could do it…”
Lilliana gritted her teeth in frustration. Damian looked around and nudged Lilliana, who was still sprawled on the bench.
“Lilliana, we should get going.”
“Ugh… I can’t move yet…”
“People are staring.”
At his words, Lilliana reluctantly got up. She looked pale and asked Damian,
“Then shall we at least go grab some food?”
His stomach growled in agreement.
“All the restaurants around here are probably overpriced…”
Damian briefly considered his options but quickly decided he couldn’t go far in his current state. He started looking for restaurants nearby. To find a decent place in this expensive area, he resorted to the most classic method.
He went to the information center on one side of the square and asked a tourist guide for recommendations. The guide suggested a nearby restaurant, and Damian returned to Lilliana with the information.
“Lilliana, there seems to be a decent restaurant over there.”
But for some reason, Lilliana looked overly happy to see him.
“Oh, Damian! You found a place? Let’s go quickly!”
As Lilliana was about to head towards Damian, someone blocked her way.
He was dressed rather shabbily and was carrying a basket overflowing with keychains and bracelets adorned with the royal insignia. He rudely grabbed Lilliana’s arm and said cheekily,
“Hey, hey, why don’t you just buy one, Lady?”
Damian frowned and quickly approached the man. He was a typical illegal souvenir vendor. Selling royal souvenirs was prohibited in this area unless you had a proper permit.
He had thought there wouldn’t be any such incidents with so many guards around, but this vendor was shamelessly trying to force Lilliana to buy his souvenirs.
As Damian approached, Lilliana looked at him with a pleading expression. She had probably refused multiple times, but since the vendor was a persistent man, she couldn’t easily shake him off.
“Hey, you!”
Damian stepped forward with a stern expression, separating the persistent vendor from Lilliana and shielding her behind him.
“Are you alright?”
“He kept talking to me even after I said I didn’t want to buy anything…”
Lilliana had been a bit scared. No matter how many people were around or that they were in an open space, she couldn’t help but feel intimidated by a shady-looking man pestering her.
“Ignore him, Lilliana. You don’t have to buy anything from him. I know a shop that sells better quality souvenirs than this, so let’s go there.”
The vendor waved his hand at Damian and said,
“Hey, mister, don’t be like that. Honestly, souvenirs are all the same, aren’t they? And I don’t rip people off! My prices are cheaper. Just take a look.”
He stubbornly held out his basket full of goods. Annoyed by the vendor’s refusal to listen to reason, Damian frowned and said,
“Get lost while I’m still being nice.”
Lilliana flinched behind Damian. It was the first time she had heard him speak so harshly.
The vendor shrugged shamelessly at Damian’s threat.
“Why are you cursing? That’s not very nice.”
Just then, someone pushed past Lilliana. Distracted by the confrontation with the vendor, she couldn’t pay attention to her surroundings. She reflexively turned around and caught a glimpse of a small man in a straw hat passing by before focusing back on Damian.
But the push had caused her to bump lightly into Damian’s back, making him turn around to look at her.
“Lilliana, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Someone pushed me, but I’m okay.”
The person who had pushed her had already disappeared into the crowd without apologizing. As Damian was checking if Lilliana was hurt, the vendor suddenly changed his attitude and took a step back.
“Hehe, alright, I’ll give up since you don’t want to buy anything. Ah… These were really a steal…”
He smacked his lips and walked away quickly. Damian glared at him until he was out of sight.
“Damian, I’m fine, let’s just go.”
Lilliana tugged at Damian’s arm. Damian finally calmed down and sighed.
“There are a lot of people like that at tourist spots. It’s better to ignore them, so don’t pay attention to any solicitations in the future.”
“Okay. Then shall we go to the shop you mentioned after we eat?”
Lilliana smiled and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, but something felt off. She couldn’t be sure, but her bag seemed lighter.
“Huh?”
Feeling uneasy, she opened her bag and looked inside, her face hardening. She started frantically searching through it. Damian asked Lilliana, who had a serious expression,
“Lilliana? What’s wrong?”
“It’s gone…”
Lilliana looked at Damian with a vacant expression.
“My wallet is gone.”
At her words, Damian looked in the direction the souvenir vendor had disappeared. He couldn’t help but raise his voice.
“That bastard was working with a pickpocket!”
It was a common tactic to distract tourists with sales pitches while an accomplice picked their pockets. By the time the victim noticed, the thieves would have already fled.
This method was well-known among tourists and locals, but Damian had never experienced it himself, as he had never toured the local attractions while living in Nichio. The saying that you could get ripped off in broad daylight in Nichio wasn’t a lie.
“How much was in your wallet?”
“A thousand Hirks.”
Lilliana’s words made Damian’s face turn pale.