Episode 267
“Ji, Jina! Look at this!”

Romandro called out to Jin awkwardly. The child sat on the park bench, expressionless, lips pressed tightly together. Anyone could tell she was in a bad mood. To cheer her up, he kept shaking the bread in his hand.

“Wow, there are so many pigeons here!”

“Romandro, your pant leg is torn.”

“Huh? Ah! Shia, catch this!”

“If you throw it, I’ll catch it.”

“Pigeons, you little rascals! Hey, stop flying around!”

Flap, flap!

Living in the city isn’t easy, is it? The pigeons pecked relentlessly at Romandro’s bread, flapping their wings and making cooing noises.

With the crowd swarming so thickly he couldn’t take a single step, Romandro realized something was going wrong.

“Oh, you little birds! Shia, help me!”

“Sorry, Ian told me not to leave Jin’s side.”

“You little—how far is it from there to here?”

“Throw the bread farther away.”

“Ah! Ah!”

Romandro was having a one-man show, being pecked from all sides. It was quite amusing to watch, but Jin just hugged her knees and sighed deeply. Just moments ago, she had been genuinely happy and joyful—how could her mood flip so quickly?

“When will Lord Ian come back?”

“He said he’d just take a quick look around, so he should be back soon.”

That was a mistake. Bringing up Timothy’s name here wasn’t the right move. The man’s presence was so striking that the thought came to mind immediately. Ian had taken only Beric with him to inspect the inner area and left.

“……”

“Cheer up.”

“I’m feeling great.”

“……”

Shiaoshi scratched his chin awkwardly. Though Jin said she was fine, she hadn’t even glanced at the pigeons since arriving at the park.

Jin crossed her arms and kept changing her expression—frowning, pressing her lips tight, then sighing again and again.

“Really. Lord Ian is too much.”

Honestly, she knew Ian’s reaction was textbook. Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, since the person in question was a key member of the foreign delegation, confirmation was necessary. And taking her to unfamiliar, crowded places would only increase the burden on his guards.

Still, she couldn’t help but grumble. It was a complaint, but a justified one.

Swish.

Jin stood up from the bench to take a short walk. At the same time, the nearby bushes rustled softly. The hidden knights were moving along, following her.

“Romandro, Lord Jin is moving.”

“Hey, where are you going? No, wait—Jin!”

“I want to walk a bit.”

“Let’s go together, come on! Hey! Get out of the way!”

“Did you throw away the bread?”

“I did, but the smell lingers. They keep swarming!”

Shiaoshi glanced back and forth between Romandro, under attack by pigeons, and Jin, then followed behind her. From behind, Romandro’s desperate cries could be heard.

Swish.

The child released her thoughts and looked around.

Lovers whispering sweet nothings side by side on benches, families napping on picnic mats, dogs chasing balls with wild abandon. Bariel’s peace protected all these varied scenes.

Jin was walking along a flowerbed when someone called out to her.

“Child.”

An old woman, draped in a tattered robe, had set up a small stall. Various miscellaneous items were neatly arranged, and behind her, a cart was piled high with more goods.

“Are you calling me?”

“Sorry, could you pick up that bead for me?”

A crystal bead was slowly rolling away a short distance from Jin. Shiaoshi moved first to catch it and handed it over.

“Thank you.”

“……”

Shiaoshi noticed beneath the robe that the old woman had no legs. Jin looked at the items on the stall and the crystal bead with curious eyes. It seemed as if the night sky was contained within it.

“Is it just a decorative bead?”

“Hmm. No, that can’t be. For gypsies, there’s no such thing as a mere decoration. We use these to see the past, read the present, and predict the future.”

Wow, gypsies. The ones she’d only heard about in stories.

She’d heard the leader of the Cheonryeo tribe was called a gypsy, but otherwise, they had no connection to Jin.

“Curious? Want me to show you?”

“Show me what?”

“Anything you desire.”

Jin crouched down and smiled slyly. What could a fortune teller see that even the empire’s prince couldn’t? And above all, she knew there was nothing more uncertain than predicting the future.

Her own life was proof of that. Even the oracle she had believed to be the voice of the gods had been a lie. What could a street gypsy possibly tell her?

“Sorry, but I don’t have any money right now.”

“I don’t take money.”

“Then what?”

As the breeze stirred, the old woman’s face briefly appeared beneath her robe. Her wrinkled features seemed to melt and flow, but her smile was gentle. Looking closely, it almost seemed as if she had gills on her cheeks—like a human with fish-like features.

“I feed on secrets. Tell me your secret aloud so I can hear it. Once spoken, it’s no longer a secret, and I consume it. Even the smallest one will do. Then I will tell you what I see of your past and future.”

Interesting. Was this how gypsies usually worked? Jin asked quietly.

“Even the smallest secret?”

“Good.”

“You won’t tell anyone else, right?”

“Of course not. Since I’ve consumed it, you can’t tell others either. If you shared it with someone else, theirs is consumed as well.”

Hmm. What should she reveal? Jin tapped her toes, thinking, then came up with one.

The old woman motioned for Shiaoshi to step back, as if not to hear, then leaned in close. Without legs, she supported herself on her elbows.

“Actually, when I read foreign languages.”

More precisely, when she read foreign languages in front of Lord Ian.

“Hmm.”

“It wasn’t the first time—I had practiced behind the scenes. I wanted to be praised.”

“Oh!”

What a delicious secret! The old woman chuckled with delight. The more she breathed heavily, the more the gills on her cheeks twitched.

“Good. This is a secret only you know. Very tasty. Delicious.”

She fondled the crystal bead with satisfaction. The sparkles inside began to move slowly, as if alive. Fascinating. It reminded Jin of the first time she saw Lord Ian’s magic.

“…That wound.”

The old woman murmured softly. Jin glanced around. Shiaoshi, seeing Romandro running over from afar, gestured to stay put. He hadn’t yet chased away all the pigeons.

“Good, child. If it weren’t for that, you would already be dead.”

Shiaoshi turned his head in surprise. Setting aside how suspicious that sounded, it was quite an insolent thing to say. He tried to intervene, but Jin lightly grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Remember, all your doubts began with that wound. And doubt—it will help you grow and protect you. You’re a lonely child. Pitiful, really.”

Jin unconsciously touched the scar on her chin. All her doubts started with this wound? Come to think of it…

“Lord Ian first reached out to me then.”

Since that day, he whispered that she was precious and comforted her tears. She thought he was just consoling a child caught in a civil war, but she clearly remembered that moment of change.

“And stay away from the light. You know well that you cannot shine brightest next to a greater light.”

“What exactly are you seeing?”

“What you show me.”

The crystal bead’s glow faded. Romandro arrived, brushing pigeon feathers off himself as he looked at Jin and the old gypsy woman. Was she suspicious? His eyes narrowed, but she smiled and continued fondling the bead.

“Welcome. Would you like a reading too?”

“No, I’m fine. But we shouldn’t be here.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“This is a no-stall zone. If you go around to the main gate, there’s a permitted spot. Better to move before the manager finds us.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t know since I just arrived. Thank you for telling me.”

The old woman slowly packed up, smiling sheepishly. As she did, her robe slipped fully away, revealing once again that she had no legs. Jin noticed this too.

“Need help?”

“Child, you’re kind. But it’s fine. If I couldn’t handle this much, wouldn’t that be sad? Now go on.”

Jin nodded and turned with her companions. Such a strange person—she kept looking back even as she walked away. Romandro noticed and asked them.

“Did something happen?”

“She gave me a reading. She said she feeds on secrets.”

“Oh my, what a setup. Old-fashioned, isn’t it?”

“Are there many like her?”

“They’re everywhere in the marketplace. From those who feed on souls to those who claim they came from the future, it’s all just sales tactics to survive.”

Whispering, Romandro and Jin forgot they were undercover and spoke as usual. Shiaoshi gave them a subtle warning—they’d attracted some attention by lingering at the stall and should be careful.

“What time is it, Romandro?”

“Hm? Just past four in the afternoon.”

“Ian hyung still has some time before he returns…”

The pigeon feeding at the park had fizzled out without much fanfare. Should we just wrap up the day and head back? Still, it felt a little disappointing.

“Hey, how about we go pick up Ian hyung?”

“Ian said not to come.”

“We won’t go all the way in the alley, just nearby.”

“Hmm. We can’t just stand around here forever anyway… Alright, let’s see if there’s a decent café nearby where we can rest.”

“Sounds good.”

“I wonder if that Beric guy is behaving himself.”

“Don’t worry. Beric usually listens to Ian hyung.”

Once we met up, the plan was to stop by Romandro’s mansion for dinner before returning to the palace.

Jin was about to leave the park when he glanced back. The legless beggar was nowhere to be seen, only crushed blades of grass left behind as evidence of the makeshift stall.

---

Meanwhile, in the back alley where Ian and Beric had gone—

The group’s worries weren’t unfounded.

Ian frowned, waving his hand to clear the thick cigarette smoke swirling around him. The acrid smell was mixed with faintly sour and sweet notes—definitely some kind of drugs or narcotics. He laid down his cards and tapped the remaining chips on the table.

“Oh, you’re playing pretty well.”

“Wait, wait! I’m not out yet.”

“Idiot! Just fold already. The only way you can beat this hand is with an ace—and that already came out.”

“Ahhh! Damn it! So frustrating!”

“Can’t even count your cards properly, and you’re getting mad?”

“Hey, save me a spot here. I want in too.”

More and more onlookers gathered around Ian’s table. As the atmosphere heated up, the clinking of beer glasses filled the air, along with cheers and shouts blending into the background music.

“Never seen this guy before. Is he local?”

“From out of town.”

“Don’t like the look of him.”

“You always say that about good-looking guys.”

Ian, annoyed at being the center of attention during a covert mission, rubbed his brow and glanced toward the opposite cage. Beric was locked inside, busily gnawing on some meat.

“Iaaan! Fighting! Keep it up, keep going!”

“You…”

Their eyes met, and Beric shook the bars enthusiastically in support. When a guard nearby jabbed him with a skewer, telling him to quiet down, Beric glared and cursed loudly.

“Ow! You wanna get me killed?”

“Hey, watch your mouth.”

“Yeah, you first. If I get out of here, you’re the first one I’m coming for.”

Ian thought to himself that maybe he really shouldn’t bring Beric along next time. Then he flipped his cards over. Cheers erupted from all around for the winner.