Ch. 4
Chapter 4
Luo En lifted the teacup and glanced left and right.
The place gave him zero sense of safety; he half-expected the entire city to burst in and arrest him at any second.
And the one most likely to turn him in was the woman in front of him—who called herself Lady Mercury.
He hesitated a long, long time before finally drinking the water. After all, not everyone had the guts to swallow something that had appeared out of thin air.
“Mr. Luo En, there’s no need to worry,” Lady Mercury said, folding her hands. “The water comes from a spring called Clear Spring.”
Luo En sniffed it cautiously, then said, “Give her a cup too.”
The witch had trudged after him through every upheaval without a single sip of water.
Back at the tavern she hadn’t even managed a mouthful of hot soup; she looked pitiful.
Granted, the witch rarely reacted to anything in the outside world, but she still got thirsty and hungry like anyone else.
Lady Mercury smiled and handed the witch a cup. “Of course.”
The usually wooden-faced witch lapped at the water like a kitten, every motion driven by pure instinct.
When the hood slipped back, her appearance finally registered with Lady Mercury.
She had shoulder-length aqua hair and a delicately sculpted face, a teardrop mole just below the outer corner of her left eye.
Beneath long lashes, her eyes were dull—voids that looked like bottomless pits.
Ever since she’d reverted from that blob of Black Slime, the witch had worn that same vacant stare.
While the witch drank, Luo En remarked offhand, “Lady Mercury? Sounds like an alias.”
“It is,” Lady Mercury replied softly.
“Good. Long names are impossible to remember.” Luo En actually found the alias user-friendly.
If she’d introduced herself with a fifteen-character tongue-twister, he’d need a bigger brain just to file it away.
Lady Mercury answered with a smile that was polite and just a little awkward.
“Why are you helping us?” Luo En cut straight to the point.
“Mr. Luo En, do you know who you really are?” Lady Mercury’s eyes glinted with meaning.
“My identity? No idea.” He sidestepped the question.
He wasn’t sure whether she meant the original owner of this body or the fact that he was an Otherworlder.
Either way, playing dumb was safest; no matter how wild her guesses, she couldn’t possibly know about the System.
Lady Mercury gave a small warning: “Let me be clear—I can read your thoughts, to a degree.”
Luo En’s face fell as he scrambled to empty his mind.
“But it’s obvious you’ve forgotten,” she said softly. “Mr. Luo En, you are the Hero’s Son of a Fallen Kingdom.”
Luo En raised an eyebrow. Hero’s Son of a Fallen Kingdom? Sounded impressive—what on earth did it mean?
“You’ll have to find out the details yourself,” Lady Mercury added, clearly enjoying the suspense.
Luo En silently cursed her. Riddlers popped up everywhere, no matter the world.
Lady Mercury narrowed her eyes. “I’m withholding the full story so you can explore this world on your own.”
Luo En mulled it over, then let the identity issue drop and pointed at the witch still lapping water. “What’s wrong with her?”
“The child spent too long as mindless Black Slime; her consciousness hasn’t caught up yet.”
“Imagine living as sludge for ages—of course adapting back to a human shape takes time.”
“By the way, the child’s name is Moruna.”
“How do you know that?” Suspicion crept into Luo En’s eyes.
He’d never heard the witch utter the name; why would a stranger know it first?
“You forgot again, Mr. Luo En. I can read thoughts—somewhat.” Lady Mercury’s maternal stare made him itch.
She turned a gentle gaze on the witch. “Allow me to thank you on her behalf.”
“Let’s get to the point, Mr. Luo En.” Lady Mercury laced her fingers together. “Open the door behind me, and you can leave this city.”
Luo En noticed the door for the first time and craned his neck for a better look.
“No rush. Without my permission, you’ll just find a blank wall on the other side,” Lady Mercury said patiently.
So her earlier promise of help hadn’t been an empty boast.
“Why rescue me?” Luo En sat across from her, face blank.
“Because you are that hero’s son. Everyone has expectations of you.” Lady Mercury hesitated before answering.
Luo En had zero memories of this body. “Free lunches cost the most. Name your price.”
Lady Mercury didn’t answer immediately. Instead she asked, “Mr. Luo En, you like witches, don’t you?”
“Nope.” Luo En was blunt; he didn’t even know what a witch was, so how could he like them?
To be precise, he simply liked cute girls—witch or otherwise.
“Then why—” Lady Mercury began, meaning to ask why he’d saved this witch.
But she thought better of it and cleared her throat.
“What were you going to say?” Luo En noticed her hesitation.
Lady Mercury waved a hand. “Nothing important.”
“Setting your identity aside,” she said, rising, “the combat you displayed on the execution platform—and the words you spoke—were enough to earn my help.”
“The words I spoke?” Luo En had already forgotten what he’d said up there.
Lady Mercury shot him a sideways glance. “You declared yourself the Enemy of Vandall.”
Luo En suddenly remembered. To activate the System he’d blurted that line.
Truth be told, he still had no idea what Vandall even looked like.
Lady Mercury stepped toward him, reaching out to pat his shoulder.
In that very instant, Moruna—who had been quietly sipping water off to the side—suddenly seized Lady Mercury’s wrist.
“It seems the child isn’t completely cut off from the outside world after all,” Lady Mercury said with a knowing smile.
“Mr. Luo En, would you like to make a deal with me?” She withdrew her hand. “Consider the fact that I just saved your life as the down payment.”
With that, she pulled open the door behind the writing desk.
The moment it swung wide, a gale roared through, flipping the books on the desk with a frantic rustle.
Beyond lay open countryside. The wind never stopped howling, carrying flurries of snow.
“This place used to be a thriving territory,” Lady Mercury said, regret shading her voice. “Then, one day, it froze solid.”
She stood with her back to the icy blast. “We don’t know who encased the land in ice, but one thing is certain—the culprit is still somewhere inside.”
“I want to find whoever did this. If we can thaw the territory, all the better.”
Luo En lifted his cup, glanced up at her. “Why does this territory matter so much to you?”
“Because,” she answered, holding her wind-whipped hair in place, “it just so happens to be one of mine.”
A silent question mark popped over Luo En’s head.
“My apologies—I forgot to mention.” Lady Mercury dipped her chin. “I am a duchess of the Normar Empire.”
She tilted her body, letting the wind catch her cloak. “When this is over, I might grant you a territory of your own.”