LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 50: The Banished Young Girl, the Subject of Rumors
Meanwhile, in a dingy tavern in Bitterley, a group of men were once again drinking ale and gossiping about Olivia.
“So, by the way.”
“Hm?”
“Did you see the ceremony?”
“Yeah, I saw it. The young baroness, right? She really had black eyes and black hair.”
“Yeah. That’s probably why she got exiled.”
“Most likely. Apparently, a lot of nobles believe in curses.”
“Seems so. But, you know, black eyes and black hair aren’t all that rare.”
“Yeah, but they’re nobles, and especially since it’s the Southbury Marquis family we’re talking about.”
“No doubt about that.”
The men raised their mugs.
“By the way, any new rumors about the young baroness?”
“Oh, you bet there are.”
“Really? Spill it. What have you heard?”
“Once again, this one comes from Mortimer’s source.”
“Oh! A reliable one! So, what’s the scoop?”
“Lady Muriel held another tea party, it seems.”
“Go on.”
“Apparently, the young baroness grows stronger the more monsters she defeats. By the time she’s an adult, even an army of ten thousand might not be able to stand against her.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Hard to believe, right? But Lady Muriel and her friends were supposedly talking about it.”
“Seriously…? So, does that mean the Marquis of Southbury feared her talent?”
“Yeah, he must’ve tried to get rid of her by sending her into the cursed forest.”
“So, what you’re saying is…”
“Hm?”
“Maybe they sent an assassin along with her too?”
“Oh, makes sense.”
“Right?”
“Yeah, nobles can be scary like that.”
The men clinked their mugs again.
“But wait.”
“Hm?”
“If that’s true, then she must have fought off the assassin too, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it.”
“Right? Geniuses are something else, huh?”
“And there was that speech as well.”
“Exactly. It was like she wasn’t a kid at all—more like she was even greater than an adult.”
“Yeah. Especially compared to that long-winded one.”
“Totally.”
They nodded in agreement, taking another swig of their drinks.
“But man, the Marquis of Southbury really made a stupid move. If his daughter is such a genius, he should’ve had her inherit the family instead.”
“Yeah. To go as far as sending an assassin to kill his own daughter in the cursed forest—”
“Excuse me, may I have a word?”
A gentleman suddenly interrupted their conversation.
“Huh? Who the hell are you? Got a problem with something we said? Huh!?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. I was just intrigued by your conversation and wanted to hear more. Ah, of course, I’ll treat you to a drink as well.”
“Oh! Now you’re talking! Hey! Bring us the best white wine you’ve got over here!”
“Us too!”
The men eagerly ordered the tavern’s most expensive drinks. However, the gentleman kept smiling calmly, unfazed.
“So, what do you want to know?”
“I’d like to hear more about this young baroness. Is she truly the biological daughter of the Marquis of Southbury?”
“Oh, for sure. There’s no doubt about it. Lady Muriel of the Howard family even confirmed it.”
“Oh, how knowledgeable you are about these things.”
“Yeah, you bet.”
The man looked quite pleased with the flattery.
“And, you see, the young baroness is a total genius, but because of her black eyes and black hair, she was abandoned deep in the cursed forest, left to die. ‘No way I’m letting a cursed girl like that become the heir!’ or something like that.”
The man exaggerated his words dramatically and gave a sly grin. Right then, a middle-aged waitress brought over the glasses of white wine.
“Here you go! White wine. The cost is—”
“I’ll cover it.”
The gentleman handed her a small silver coin directly.
“Keep the change as a tip.”
“My! How generous! Thank you so much, sir! Come again!”
The waitress beamed with joy as she walked away.
By the way, one small silver coin is worth 1 shilling, which is more than twice the average monthly wage of a common worker in this town. The commoners mostly use copper or iron coins, called pennies, and 1 shilling is equivalent to 1,000 pennies.
“Whoa, how much did you just hand her?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. Anyway, your wine is here.”
“Oh, right.”
The men eagerly reached for their glasses.
“Ahhh, delicious. White wine is just the best.”
“Haha, glad you like it. Now, back to the story.”
“Oh? Right, where was I?”
“You were saying how they didn’t want a cursed girl with black eyes and black hair to become the heir, so they abandoned her in the cursed forest.”
“Yeah, that’s right. And you know, they didn’t just exile her. They planned to finish her off in the cursed forest. The idea was to let the monsters take care of her, but apparently, they secretly sent an assassin after her too.”
“Really? An assassin? So, the young baroness fought off the assassin as well?”
“Yeah, must’ve been. After all, she’s a genius. Plus, they say she gets stronger the more monsters she defeats.”
“Stronger the more she defeats? What does that mean?”
“Who knows? Lady Muriel mentioned it during a tea party with her friends, though. Since Lady Muriel is close with the young baroness, it’s gotta be true.”
“I see, I see. You sure know a lot.”
“Right?”
“You also mentioned something about her being able to defeat an army of ten thousand, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, that. There’s a rumor that she could easily crush that many.”
“And Lady Muriel said that too?”
“Yup.”
“Interesting. Anything else?”
“Huh? Nah, no new rumors lately. Anything else come to mind?”
“Can’t think of anything.”
“Something about slaying a ton of monsters?”
“That’s old news. She’s been killing monsters left and right ever since she was abandoned in the cursed forest. She even talked about it in her speech, didn’t she?”
“Oh, right. She did.”
“Well, that’s about it. Anything else you wanna know?”
The man swirled his glass.
“No, I’ve heard plenty. Thanks for sharing such an interesting story. It was quite enjoyable.”
“Hey, anytime you wanna chat, just come by.”
“Will do. Until next time.”
With that, the gentleman left the table.