CHAPTER 35

He couldn’t believe what he was looking at that moment. The place was filled with so much treasure even the royal treasury had nothing like that.
“Is this yours?” he asked her.
“It used to belong to my mother back then but she left it all for me. The mountain will never starve no matter what. Every year more silver and gold keeps accumulating and I put it here. One day it will come to good use.
Because of the war I waged back then against your family, I depleted a lot of resources but over the course of two decades it’s already like this again,” she said looking around.
To be honest, the cave was very full that if anyone was to raid the mountain one day and stumbled upon this treasure, they will leave very rich.
“But why are you showing me this?” he asked being curious.
“You will be my husband soon and I don’t want to be any secrets between the two of us,” she told him with an earnest look.
“I don’t want it to be like that either. I promise to not keep anything between us,” he said taking her hand in his again.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said even when he knew that she was keeping some from him.
“Even if it’s too much please don’t bear it alone,” he said.
“I won’t. I will tell you and we will settle it together,” she said.
“It’s getting late. Let’s leave the cave and return back to the palace,” he said leading her out of the cave.
He didn’t know how to ask her about the powder and what she was thinking about his mother. For now, he was going to sit and watch what she was up to.
*****
She looked at him one last time and boarded her carriage. Nora followed her inside and the carriage began to move. She was going to miss him but it was her duty as the mistress of the palace to take care of the matters concerning the palace.
Her first stop would be Willow City where she will stay for a day while looking around for a candidate. Willow city was closer to the mountain so it didn’t take a lot of time before they entered the city.
She didn’t need a lot of rooms since it was just the two of them and she didn’t want to draw too much attention by announcing her arrival.
Nora checked the rooms before she came back to pick her up. Valery entered the inn that they had reserved for the day and night. The room was well furnished and livable.
Nora came in holding a tray of warm citrus tea to ward off cold since winter was already approaching. There were some ginger biscuits too which she took while having her tea.
“Join me,” she said looking at Nora.
Nora sat opposite to her and poured her cup. It felt good being with someone who cares and knows you well. Being apart from her would make her very lonely.
“Thank you,” she said as she sipped her tea.
They had their snacks quietly and when they were done, they were ready to go. Valery covered her face with a black mask since she was wearing a black robe that day. She didn’t really like it when people look at her. Her face had never changed for decades and she didn’t want questions.
They left the inn and began to travel on foot. The city was huge and so many families. What she wanted was a child without any roots. Having one, who has a family to return back to, wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted a child that will devote her all to the palace.
She spent the whole day looking around and checking the children that were playing around and still no one interested her. She was very disappointed but somehow it was good since taking a child from a nearby city will just create havoc.
They returned back to the inn where they had their dinner in the inn’s restaurant. The restaurant was packed with customers. There were a lot of curious faces but that wasn’t the reason why she was there. Being around them allowed her to hear more of what was happening around her.
“Did you hear the news?” another man asked and she turned her head only to see that there was a table full of men having their meal and talking.
“What is it?” the other asked in response.
“You know that evil witch that lives in that mountain? The one they say she never ages and the one that waged a war with the royal family some years before?”
“Yes, I know her. They call her the Saintess, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that one. She is getting married.”
“Is that even possible? Who would marry such an evil witch? It is impossible to look at her and confess. I heard someone saying she is very ugly and old. Is that even true?”
“How can I know? Who can say that they have seen her face? We should probably ask the Grand prince. I heard that he is the one marrying her.”
“I can’t believe such a thing is happening. It’s a good thing that we are just passing by and we don’t live here. I wouldn’t want my child to grow up in such an environment. People should team up and get rid of her. I heard someone poisoned the mother back then. Why can’t someone do that to her too?” this arrogant man kept speaking rubbish and this caught her attention.
She was very angry and yet she couldn’t do anything at the moment.
“You need to keep it low. You never know who might be listening,” the other man warned his friend.
“I’m not afraid of anyone especially a woman. Does she even exist?”
“Keep it low. I heard there isn’t a place you will go in this city and don’t find a disciple of the Lotus palace,” the man aid.
“I’m not afraid of anyone. Even if she appears right in front of me, I will not be scared,” that man spouted more rubbish and she snickered.