TGS - Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Kopal
Everyone in Wash City was preparing for the festival, and the shops specializing in cloth and finished garments were no exception. The main raw materials for producing gauze and cloth—flax and cotton—all came from agricultural activities, so the annual day of prayer to the Goddess of the Earth was also an important festival for them.
But this time, the proprietor of the most reputable clothing shop in the city wasn't focusing all her attention on praying to the gods like her peers.
Praying to the gods... as long as one was sincere enough, skipping a few steps in the procedure was acceptable... Right now, she had more important matters, such as negotiating a big deal with a caravan passing through Wash.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "It is truly our honor to be able to cooperate with your caravan."
The caravan master nodded happily. "I should be the one saying that. Your garments are so exquisitely and beautifully made; they will surely be loved by the nobles of Akhet. When that time comes, please don't look down on our humble little caravan."
"I'll take that as a good omen." The shopkeeper giggled, covering her mouth, clearly in a good mood. "It's not to boast, but my dressmaking skills are renowned in several nearby cities. The Lord's wife and daughters will only wear dresses from my shop; they won't even look at others!"
The caravan master offered some sincere compliments, then asked casually, "Are you familiar with the Lord's daughters?"
"We're on speaking terms, I suppose. After all, I have to deliver clothes to their door every so often."
"Ah, I've heard the Lord's daughters are all great beauties, but I've never had the chance to meet them. What a pity." The merchant sighed. "However, I did have the good fortune of seeing the Young Lord Kopal. His attire was very beautiful; I presume it was also from your shop?"
The shopkeeper froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting the topic to turn to Kopal. She hesitated, "Indeed, it was..."
The merchant said, "I knew it. What kind of person is that Young Lord?"
The shopkeeper's eyes flickered.
The merchant smiled, discreetly slipping a fine-quality agate into her hand.
The shopkeeper's face immediately lit up with a smile. "Young Master Kopal, well, strictly speaking, he isn't the Young Lord yet. But the Lord has no other sons, so even if he isn't now, he will be sooner or later."
"He doesn't talk much, dislikes strangers getting close, and doesn't even converse much with his own father. I've only exchanged a few words with him myself."
"No wonder the Lord's attitude toward him at the banquet was so peculiar."
"No, no, that's not the root of it." The shopkeeper thought for a moment, probably deciding it wouldn't hurt to say more, and lowered her voice. "It's not just the Lord; the other nobles aren't exactly warm toward Young Master Kopal either."
At this point, a look of contempt that she herself might not have noticed appeared on the shopkeeper's face. "It can't be helped. After all, Young Master Kopal's mother was a slave."
Kopal was the Lord's only "son," and also his eighth child.
The Lord of Wash City had one wife and many concubines. Besides them, his lovers also included female officials, dancers, and one or two promiscuous noble ladies, but none of them had borne him a son.
The Lord was extremely anxious about this and had made many efforts over the years, but even as he grew older, his wish remained unfulfilled. Helpless, he had no choice but to turn his attention to Kopal.
Kopal was the son of a female slave.
In this era, slaves were not seen as human. They were merely tools or animals, private property to be treated however their owners wished.
But to produce a child with half-slave blood was a disgraceful affair. Even if other nobles said nothing to his face, they would surely mock him endlessly in private.
For this reason, even though the Lord of Wash City had no choice but to keep Kopal by his side and educate him, he still never treated him with much kindness.
"Anyway, before Young Master Kopal turned ten, no one had even heard his name." The shopkeeper's mouth was dry from talking. She took a sip of water and continued enthusiastically, "If the Lord has another son in the future, I'm afraid this young master will lose favor immediately. How pitiful."
The merchant nodded, secretly committing her every word to memory.
Next, the merchant tried to steer the conversation toward the mountain bandits outside the city, but the shopkeeper seemed quite bewildered, knowing nothing about it.
After bidding farewell to the shopkeeper, the merchant visited several other shops in succession.
When asked about Kopal, most merchants knew only bits and pieces. The few who did know gave accounts largely similar to the shopkeeper's, with only minor differences in detail.
They knew even less about the mountain bandits.
Someone did mention casually, "I remember the year before last, someone tried to force their way into the Lord's manor, shouting and demanding that the Lord dispatch troops to eliminate bandits. Wasn't that just making something out of nothing?"
"You see, every caravan that has done business with us has praised Wash City for its safety and reliability. Not a single one has ever been plundered outside the city!"
The merchant: "..."
What a shame. We were just attacked two days ago.
But for various reasons, he did not say this out loud.
It was one thing for there to be no rumors of bandits before, but for the news of their caravan being attacked outside the city to not have spread here... it seemed the Lord of Wash City was intentionally suppressing the information.
On the surface, the merchant returned to his lodgings to rest after concluding his business, but in reality, as soon as he got back, he secretly relayed all the information he had gathered to the Princess.
After organizing the information, Alyuin closed her eyes in thought.
On the paper before her, a few simple lines and words clearly laid out the current situation.
Just then, Lotus entered from the door.
She sat down beside the Princess and placed a crumpled ball of paper on the table.
"Someone slipped this to me."
Lotus said concisely.
Whenever Lotus arrived in a city, she would go to see the local temples. Most of the time, she would float in as a spirit to observe, and this time was no exception.
Just as she returned, she saw a female attendant walk past their room, her gaze flicking imperceptibly toward the door. Sensing something was amiss, Lotus stopped to observe.
Less than a minute later, the attendant turned around and passed by again.
Lotus silently materialized in a secluded, deserted spot, intending to see what the attendant was up to.
Unexpectedly, the moment she appeared, the attendant's eyes lit up. With a steady pace, she brushed past Lotus, quickly slipping a ball of paper into her hand.
Alyuin latched onto the wrong detail. "Slipped?"
"Yes, the movement was very discreet."
The Princess felt her mind split in two. One half was calmly considering whether this was an opportunity or a trap, while the other half was grumbling unhappily, complaining about the audacity of the attendant she had never met.
Alyuin remembered very clearly that since the goddess had descended in her incarnation, she had never touched anyone other than herself, not even stood very close to them. But that was no longer the case.
Slipping a ball of paper... that action would inevitably involve some contact, wouldn't it?
Damn it.
The thought flashed through her mind for a moment before Alyuin suppressed it with reason, letting the thoughtful half of her mind get to work.
She opened the ball of paper. A line of neat letters was written on it:
"Tonight, at the third hour, I will come to call."
The ancient Solancians divided the day and night for timekeeping, with twelve hours for each. By this method, the third hour of the night was roughly equivalent to nine o'clock in the evening in modern times.
For an era without electric lights or electronic entertainment, this was quite late.
Alyuin stared at the note, the corner of her mouth twitching.
The note was signed at the end by Kopal, with a strange prefix added: "Your Highness's admirer."
Logically, she understood this was likely a little trick on the other party's part, disguising it as an invitation for a rendezvous. If the note were to fall into the hands of the Lord of Wash City, it could be explained away as a matter of a young boy's heart, thus deflecting suspicion.
But holding such a thing in front of Lotus still made the Princess feel a bit awkward, and she couldn't help but want to glance up and see the goddess's reaction.
Will you be surprised?
Or is it possible you might feel displeased, even just a little?
Lotus was completely oblivious. "Kopal is very cautious, but for her to be so eager to make contact is a bit strange... What's wrong?"
Alyuin: "...Nothing."
She sighed inwardly.
At the third hour that night, someone knocked on the window from outside.
Alyuin opened the window, and a figure deftly climbed inside.
"We meet again, Your Highness." Kopal's expression was composed. She then turned to greet Lotus. "And you as well, my lady attendant."
Kopal was indeed a cautious and observant person.
At the banquet, Alyuin had not shown any special attitude toward Lotus, yet Kopal had noticed. Otherwise, there would have been no need to greet an attendant responsible for the Princess's care.
The Princess nodded. "Young Lord."
Kopal shrugged. "You should know, I don't have the title of Young Lord yet."
"Being one in practice is enough."
"To receive Your Highness's affirmation truly makes me very happy."
The two of them were smiling... how to put it... very formally.
Lotus's gaze rested on Kopal. Up close, one could see that this girl, disguised as a boy, had done a very thorough job of her disguise in every aspect.
The bow of her cloak concealed her throat perfectly. It seemed she had deliberately used makeup to make her facial contours look more defined, with a slight angularity. Her darker complexion couldn't hide her delicate features.
At this moment, Kopal was completely unaware that her disguise had long been seen through, and was still speaking seriously in a feigned voice that leaned toward a boy's tone.
After a few words, the Princess cut straight to the point.
"You put on a play in front of my deputy commander. How did you anticipate that she would follow?"
Kopal hadn't expected her to be so direct. She paused before saying, "I couldn't be certain. I just felt it was a possibility."
Alyuin raised an eyebrow.
Kopal said calmly, "I'm rather sensitive to others' gazes. I sensed the extra attention from you and the lady attendant beside you, so I wanted to try and convey some information to you."
"Why me?" Alyuin's expression didn't change. "If I recall correctly, this should be the first time you've met me."
Regardless of Kopal's motives, conveying such information to someone she had just met seemed overly rash, especially since it exposed her connection to an advisor by her father's side. This was completely different from the caution she had displayed in the note.
"Before I answer, please allow me to ask a presumptuous question—is Your Highness truly injured?"
Alyuin smiled. The answer was obvious.
"Good, I believe you. Because I must seize this opportunity." Kopal gave a bitter smile. "You must have already inquired about me. That's right, my mother was a slave. My father does not value me; he sees me as his stain."
Alyuin asked, "You've been facing this situation for several years. Why the sudden urgency now?"
Kopal said frankly, "Because I received news that one of my father's concubines is pregnant, and he doesn't intend for me to know."
She paused, then sneered, "I know that if it's a boy this time, he will dispose of me without anyone ever knowing."
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment