"That's Lady Melissa's sister."
"Why is she here?"
"Is this related to the coronation?"
"It's my first time seeing royalty."
"My Lord, what I would give to spend a night with her."
Whispers spread around; a small crowd had gathered. However, they all left a path for the lady and her servant to pass.
'Leonard must be shaken right now. After all, wasn't it the royalty who killed his father?' The elderly woman had such a thought; thinking of Leonard panicking, she showed a grin on her face. She looked around, trying to see Leonard, but he was nowhere to be seen.
---
A youth with blonde hair could be seen walking on an uneven road, with people walking to see what was behind him.
'Shit, this is bad.'
Leonard's plan was to avoid the top royals until he accomplished his aims; however, now, a royal had appeared. Such an appearance shocked Leonard; he had not expected a royal member to appear in the slums. It was extremely unusual. The moment he recognized the girl as royalty, he made his way to a secluded area while trying to look as calm as possible. Leonard wasn't sure if the girl had a Class; if she did have a Class, who's to say she won't recognize Leonard as someone who has one?
Seeing someone of royalty, Leonard felt an urgency. The coronation was like a lingering time bomb above his head; if handled wrongly, it could explode, ending his life before he knew what hit him. Whether he was spotted or not, he didn't know, but he knew he had to leave the market for now. Groceries weren't worth the trouble.
He walked calmly until he reached an area he was used to. There, he could hear people whisper about someone of royalty appearing. Some rushed to go see her as if their savior had descended to help them, while Leonard could only hope that this savior left as soon as possible and shouldn't reach where he stays.
"Excuse me."
A feminine voice caught his attention. He looked at where this voice came from; the origin of the voice belonged to a lady who was close to Leonard's height. She had long brown hair with brown eyes. She wore a black dress which brought out her features; she had a pretty face which radiated with innocence.
'How can such a perfect being exist here?'
Leonard knew this place better than most. What made him have such a question was, firstly, such clean clothes were rarely seen, meaning she most likely came from a well-off family. Second, wearing such tempting clothes wouldn't end well for anyone; the best-case scenario is that they just steal them. Third, she seemed cheerful, or perhaps hopeful. And fourth, most would avoid Leonard, also known as the Reaper's son.
"Yes?" Leonard replied to her while being deep in thought.
"I would like to know where the park is," she asked. Her voice sounded gentle.
'Fifth, she's too polite.'
'Sixth, her voice is too gentle; did she grow up in a sheltered environment?'
'Seventh, she didn't know where the park was.'
"Walk in that direction until you see a green land filled with trees, flowers, and the like. That's the park," Leonard answered her.
"Umm, well, sorry to burden you," she spoke, her voice sounding flustered. She then added, finishing her sentence, "Could you escort me there?"
!!
"Sure," Leonard replied calmly, but he was anything but calm. He felt like a rabbit waiting to be eaten.
'This is bad.'
"Splendid! Shall we start walking?" she asked enthusiastically.
"Sure," Leonard replied. The two soon started to walk.
'What to do?'
"This might be rude of me to only ask now, but may I know your name?" she asked. Her voice was pleasing to the ear, but Leonard wasn't in the state of mind to appreciate it.
"Leonard," Leonard answered, then posed his own question. "And who might you be?"
Once she heard this question, she seemed uncomfortable for a while, then looked down and answered, "You can call me Elizabeth."
'Lie.'
Leonard was able to tell that she had lied when telling him her name. If her behavior before replying wasn't obvious enough, there was the fact that she used "Elizabeth" as her name.
'Eight, she obviously doesn't know me, or at least seems to not know me.'
'Nine, she doesn't know the difference between royalty and the commoners.'
"Pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth," Leonard said in a polite tone.
"The pleasure is all mine, Leonard," Elizabeth replied.
The two seemed like people of royalty when they talked, but it also wasn't exactly the way royalty talked. Leonard had basic knowledge in his arsenal; throwing in a few civilized words wasn't hard. Meanwhile, Elizabeth seemed to also possess basic knowledge which didn't seem inferior to Leonard's.
'Ten, she carries herself differently.'
Unlike most commoners who walked without worry, Elizabeth seemed to walk as if expecting glances to be thrown at her, which they were, by the people passing by. But the way she carried herself was too civilized. Although it might sound mean calling the common people uncivilized, it wasn't wrong. A civilized person would politely ask for directions; an uncivilized person will just ask for directions as if speaking to a friend. A civilized person uses exquisite words like "splendid" ever so often; an uncivilized person would be happy with the small words they know.
Leonard could be placed in the civilized category; the construction man could be placed in the civilized category. However, this Elizabeth would not fit in such a category despite doing things a civilized person may do.
"Do the people around here always live like this?" Leonard heard Elizabeth ask. She looked at the people committing crimes, sleeping on the ground, and begging for food with eyes that held deep remorse.
Hearing this filled Leonard with deeper despair. Whatever uncertainty he had about Elizabeth had been cleared.
"Yes, it's a pitiful sight, to be honest," Leonard replied to her, his eyes showing an emotion of pity as well.
'My luck keeps getting worse.'
Looking at the girl, Leonard had a question.
'What were the chances of meeting someone of royalty?'