Ten details about herself gave her away as not being a commoner. If she wasn't your average commoner, she could either be someone slightly above them or royalty; her naivety regarding the park and her ignorance of Leonard suggested that she was new to the area.
And her cover name, "Elizabeth," was a name of royalty. Commoners wouldn't name their child a royal name—not because it wasn't allowed, as some commoners did name their children Elizabeth, but such cases were few. It was because it made them feel inferior to the nobles by naming their child after them. With the appearance of another noble—Melissa's sister—Leonard soon guessed that this "Elizabeth" person was royalty.
Once Leonard realized this, he started to feel pressured mentally. If Elizabeth had a Class, would she be able to sense his Qi? Did she already sense his Qi? Is she leading me to my capture? Such questions rang through his mind.
To make matters worse, Leonard himself knew he wasn't in the right state of mind. Ever since obtaining his Class, he had been scheming against others and pushing his body to the limits. He knew that having a healthy mental condition was crucial, but he had no choice but to overwork himself; the coronation was close by. The fact that he was tired mentally made him feel like he was forgetting crucial information and wasn't paying as much attention to his surroundings as he normally did.
He continued to walk with the girl as if he had not realized her status. While walking, greedy, envious, wrathful, and lustful glares were directed at the lady. She seemed to feign ignorance at the looks given to her, looking around at the people and their living conditions; looking at the life they lived, she felt pity for them.
---
Walking with Leonard by her side, Ariana looked at the common folk. She could see crimes happening around her, but no one intervened to help. She knew of the existence of Feathers, but she also knew the system the Feathers followed; they would not help unless they deemed intervention necessary.
"One day, your voice will be heard."
Looking at the surroundings, she thought of a voice. The voice was sweet and kind, like a mother caressing her child; it filled her with ambition as well as... sorrow.
"Sorry if this might inconvenience you, but do you mind if we look at other places before we go to the park?" Ariana asked the blonde boy close to her.
"No, it doesn't. I'm not busy for the day," Leonard replied to her.
Unlike the people she had met who wanted something and were unmannerly, throwing lustful compliments at her, Leonard was different. He carried himself as mannerly as a servant and didn't look at her with lustful eyes. He reminded her of her sister; they both had a certain air to them.
"I see. Thank you for your help, and sorry for inconveniencing you," Ariana said in her soft voice.
Leonard just gave a faint smile and nodded at her, not saying a word. The two continued to walk around the area. Seeing the people who lived here, Ariana felt a wave of emotion.
'She was right.'
She constantly thought of a person as she walked with Leonard. The saying "we belong to two different worlds" could be used to describe Leonard's and Ariana's living conditions. Ariana noticed that people gave her greedy looks; she thought that a mugger would have tried something by now, but strangely, they were tame. She knew how to defend herself and had a hidden weapon in case things got sour, but the people seemed to not want to express their greed.
Ariana looked at Leonard. Although he wasn't slim, he wasn't muscular either; to top it off, he had a gentle appearance. Ariana doubted that the people around here would be afraid of him; she herself found it hard to be intimidated by him.
"Do you know of the Reaper?" Ariana heard Leonard ask.
"No," she replied. She had never heard of the Reaper Leonard mentioned.
"I see. Would you like me to tell you about him?" Leonard asked. His tone shook a little when he said the word "Reaper." Ariana didn't think much of it.
"Okay," she answered, not understanding why Leonard would bring up such a tale. 'The Reaper,' she thought over the name, but couldn't think of who it was associated with.
"The Reaper was a crazed killer who once brought terror to this area. Those who saw him said he had short blonde hair with brown eyes and wore glasses, giving him a refined look. The Reaper's choice of victim was what made him such a known figure. His first victim was a Feather. Apparently, a Feather and the Reaper were in a disagreement; the Reaper, who was believed to have been on the verge of madness, was said to have stalked the Feather. After he was done studying him, the Reaper struck, killing the Feather as if it were a simple task.
"This kill was done in the open; it was done close by, actually. He left the Feather's corpse to rot for everyone to see and made a declaration: 'From today onwards, I abandon my human name and shall be known as the Reaper—a crazed killer who shall kill depending on how he feels. Mess with me, and I'll do more than kill your children.'
"Once this declaration was made, he killed three bystanders and then threatened the people not to report what had happened. Some of the people listened to this threat and didn't report him, while some did. Considering the fact that it was a Feather who had died, the other Feathers made it a big deal, but the Reaper pleaded self-defense, and a crowd of people supported this claim. He was tied at the top of the roof of the station for two days and two nights as punishment. On his last day there, he made a different declaration. In this declaration, he claimed to have repented and changed his ways."