The caravan had been traveling toward Seaside City for two days.
Inside the carriage, the two girls breathed in the crisp air drifting through the window.
Each day, they chatted about topics beyond books.
Slowly, Verlith steered every conversation.
This time, it wasn’t about feminine matters.
Instead, she shared thrilling adventures—tales that sounded like fiction to Alyssa but were true events Verlith had reshaped into stories.
As the mercenary caravan moved, Verlith quietly observed their every move through the carriage window.
Directly probing the mercenaries would raise suspicion.
So she chose this covert approach, reading their expressions for flaws—a method she excelled at.
Fifteen mercenaries in total. From subtle clues, Verlith confirmed they were disciplined soldiers.
Their leader was a burly man around forty, Horatu.
He posed as a captain of the Eagle Mercenary Group, leading this squad.
For days, they’d behaved perfectly—no suspicious actions.
Like any ordinary mercenary team, they guarded Alyssa en route to Seaside City.
Or perhaps they were waiting for the right moment to act.
Either way, they likely meant Alyssa no harm.
On this deserted forest road, attacking a lone girl would be effortless.
Yet they hadn’t. Instead, they stayed vigilant.
A team member always patrolled within ten meters of the carriage.
Maybe to protect their client from sudden threats—or to watch her.
But years of intelligence work told Verlith: Alyssa’s identity was genuine.
At most, she was a potion-maker girl with a strange illness.
No reason for the military to mobilize over her.
With insufficient intel, Verlith would wait and watch.
Like a beast hidden in tall grass, she waited for her prey’s mistake.
After lunch, the caravan prepared to move again.
Alyssa eagerly asked Verlith—their nominal maid—for another tale.
“…Let’s continue about Tree Spirit Forest. I mentioned its terrain is too rugged for carriages. So why do we travel smoothly here?” Verlith felt like a geography teacher.
“Because of the Eastward Path?” Alyssa played the student perfectly.
“Yes. Do you know its origin?”
“No idea.”
“A century ago, after the continent’s peace treaty, the Eastern Pearl Empire’s emperor downsized the army. Hundreds of thousands of retired soldiers built trade routes linking the world. This road we’re on is one of them—nearly a hundred years old. From Seaside City through Tree Spirit Forest to the Melam Bridge connecting Volthus, it’s the Eastward Path. The first trade route from the Eastern Pearl Empire to the Volthus Empire. Sadly, few use it now that motor trains run.”
Verlith sighed for this once-glorious road, recalling the Silk Road from mythological literature—a path fading with time yet forever etched in history.
“So that’s it! Vier, you know so many wonders! You must’ve read countless books.”
After days of chats, Alyssa admired Verlith’s knowledge more and more. She truly felt she’d found a treasure trove.
“Well, I have read quite a bit.”
Traveling ten thousand miles beats reading ten thousand books. Verlith had roamed the continent herself—her experiences far beyond ordinary people’s reach.
“I envy you! I want to read adventure journals, but Father says they’re corrupting stories. He won’t let me.”
“I can tell you more.”
“Really? Wonderful! At home, Father only allows mythological literature and potion books. Oh, and he makes me study the hated Four Books for Women!”
“The Eastern Pearl Empire values ancient Eastern rites from mythological texts. Your elders want you to learn history through those books,” Verlith smiled faintly.
“But now, men and women are equal! ‘A woman’s heaven is her husband’? Nonsense! Even studying potions earned Father’s scolding. To get this trip, I had to promise him…”
Alyssa trailed off, changing the subject.
“Vier, wasn’t the earliest of the Four Books—the Admonitions for Women—written by a man to control women?”
Verlith knew she was deflecting attention.
Since Alyssa wouldn’t share her promise, Verlith wouldn’t pry.
Recalling details, she answered seriously.
“Mythological literature spans ancient and modern times, painting a whole other world. In its ancient East, a female scholar named Ban Zhao existed—the first woman historian. She wrote the Admonitions for Women to organize her society’s values and realities.”
“A woman historian? Then why write that book? Didn’t she chain herself too?” Alyssa’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“You misunderstand her! Society was already like that before Ban Zhao. She merely compiled it. Now, male supremacists on the continent misuse her work.”
Verlith understood the Eastern Pearl Empire’s cultural evolution.
“Coincidentally, the empire reveres mythological literature. Ancient kings worshipped Confucianism, studied Zhou rituals, and built a culture where rites dominate and men lead. After the Admonitions, male supremacists pulled the Four Books for Women from mythological texts. That cemented male dominance for millennia. Every empire relies on mythological literature—trusting it like divine scripture. Some even call it the Book of Theology.”
Verlith explained like a scholar.
“Now I see where our empire’s rites come from!” Alyssa finally understood.
“Yes. Times change, though. Women’s status has risen in the Eastern Pearl Empire now. Your father wants you to read these to be gentle and obedient—mostly to make you listen.”
“After your explanation, I realize Father’s scolding me indirectly.”
“I think so too. What a dishonest father.”
Verlith confirmed with a light laugh.
“Vier, you know so much. Did you study mythological literature deeply?”
“Not intentionally. Just… absorbed it over time.”
As she spoke, Verlith’s expression dimmed slightly.
A black-haired girl flashed in her mind—always perched by the window, clutching mythological texts.
Every time she’d call “Brother! Brother! Brother!” repeatedly, Verlith knew a long lecture on her latest reading awaited.
Verlith would sigh, listening helplessly to those endless monologues.
Now, looking back, she missed that silver-bell voice terribly.
Verlith gazed out the carriage window at the sky.
*Cleia… are you well now?* she thought silently.
Seeing Verlith lost in thought, Alyssa stayed quiet. She simply picked up *The Travels of Marco Polo* and read engrossed.
