Er Mu - Release that Witch

But the real reason, even she did not know.

Irene grabbed the dagger and ferocious stabbed downward, Sam who was playing the role of her foster father released a miserable cry, “You actually…” Then his head fell to the side at a crooked angle, pretending to be gasping for air.

A little exaggerated, May shook her head, “The position she had stabbed you is your chest, how can you have the time to scream and then raise your hand to catch Irene; you will become weak at once. This is the most common form of death, so don’t tell me you had never heard anything about it in drama class!”.

Sam’s cheeks flushed red: “So-Sorry.”

“Again,” May stated expressionlessly.

But Irene’s performance was somewhat differently than May had expected, as long as she mentioned particular problems once, Irene would soon correct them. Whether it was her professional attitude towards the theater or her acting talent, both could be regarded as belong to the top-notch category; it seemed that the title “flower of the theater” was not entirely based on the mutual flattery of the actors at the lowest rung.

“This time it was superb, with this today’s practice will end here.” When the content of this scene was finally expressed smoothly and clear, May clapped her hands, “Ferlin Eltek should soon end his lecture, right? You should also go home and prepare the supper, after all, that something water… ”

“Tap water,” Irene added with a smile.

“Uh, that tap water will be installed before dusk, so if you eat too late, then there will no longer be any water to take a bath with.” May coughed twice.

“Miss May, isn’t the main point we end the rehearsal because Sir Knight does want to meet with you?” Rosia covered her mouth to hide her chuckle, “Currently it is still at least one hour until evening.”

“I heard that Sir Carter is the Prince’s trusted subordinate, he is often within the castle, and also frequently accompanies the Prince,” Tina also shouted, “Ah, ah… but as West Borders most dazzling star, you do not lose, wherever you are you attracts all eyes.”

“You, that’s enough,” Irene beckoned them with her hand to stop. “Miss May has not accepted Sir Carter yet.”

“…” May raised her brow, could it be that I wasn’t harsh enough in the recent performances? In the beginning, these two people didn’t even dare to breathe loudly in front of me, but now they unexpectedly dare to play a joke on me. It seems that during the following days’ next rehearsal, I will need to provide them with some bitterness to swallow. Otherwise, if it goes on like this, they really won’t match my acting on stage, “I will go first.”

“Many thanks for your instruction!” Irene and the rest of the group lowered their heads in salute.

Originally, only a theatrical instructor was eligible to enjoy such a courtesy, but May did not care. She only nodded in response then left the rehearsal room, suddenly feeling the scalding hot outdoor air surrounding her.

After going over to the tree at the community center, she sat in its shade and waited. It didn’t take long, before a man quickly walked towards her.

It was Carter Lannis, the Chief Knight of the Lord of Border Town.

“I hope you didn’t wait for long,” Carter siad, touching the back of his head.

“It wasn’t long,” May smiled faintly, “let’s go.”

At the first time, when he had invited me out, and I rejected him, he not only did not give up, but instead pensively paid me visits, which was completely inconsistent with the arrogance and indifference he displayed. In the end, he had me confused so much that I stayed.

What the other’s interest was, May knew very clearly in her heart, but the thought to settle down in this strange land confused and frightened her at the same time.

Even when she had first come to Border Town for Morning Light, she had never had the intention to live here with him for a long time.

In the stronghold, she was the moon that all the other drama stars surrounded, but here, there was no difference between her and the other members of the crew, quite the contrary, as Irene, also a teacher, was even more famous than she was.

Following the broad street covered in shade, the two walked into the direction of the convenience market in the town center.

This town, within one week had completely changed its appearance. Last week, the outside of the district was still bare, but nowadays, it is verdant and lush. As long as it does not rain, they are building almost everyday. If they aren’t repairing the roads, they are building those houses, normally they are even building both at the same time. Even in King’s City, it would be difficult to come across such a lively scene.

The convenience market was located in the northern part of the square, which itself was also divided into two regions, it was separated in the middle by a line of parasol trees. On the right was the inexpensive area, with a layout similar to that of other markets, and there were wooden sheds open on all sides, only offering a wooden roof. They were selling some affordable iron tools and agricultural products: The former were things like farm tools, hammers, drills, and nails, while the later were things like eggs, beef, grapes and other food she couldn’t name. They were ordered in different categories these goods were put in front of the stalls and each booth had a person appointed for looking after it.

On the left side was the boutique area, its sides was surrounded by brick walls, appearing more like a one-story house. There they sold all kinds of goods, but the prices were much higher so there were fewer people frequenting this area. On her second day at Border Town, she was dragged around by Irene once. If the knight had not said that today there was a new rare product sale, she would rather have gone to the pub to drink two cups of iced wine.

After their identity registration finished, the two of them stepped into the boutique area. Here the way of sale was also very strange, the whole market had only one entrance, and all the goods were placed on shelves from where you could freely choose them for yourself. They didn’t accept bargaining, and no one tried to boast about the products. Instead, the prices and commodity introductions were written down on a parchment stuck to their side, after picking their favored items, they had to pay at the door.

May noted that the first row on the left had dozens of colored cups, which had the same pattern as she had seen last time, indicating that within one month’s these cups have not been sold at all. In case they were ordinary businessmen, they would be making make a loss.

So, she asked, “Was this market truly opened by His Royal Highness?”

“Yes,” Carter nodded, “Because of this you can see some incredible merchandises.” While speaking, he went to the third row of shelves, “Such as this.”

“This… was the new rare commodity you were speaking about?” May followed the Knight and came to a stop at his side, only to see five or six light yellow boxes on top of the shelf, each was about palm-sized and she couldn’t see what use they had at this time.

“This, however, is something His Highness had created himself, and now the castle’s witches — cough, I mean attendants and personal guards, are all using it. Using it during the bath, you can easily remove the difficult to clean grease. After washing with it, you will experience a new kind of freshness. Furthermore, it will also give you a body the fragrance of roses. I dare to swear, that when taking a shower; there is nothing more magical than this. “The Knight solemnly vowed.

May turned her eyes aside to look at the parchment, only to see that on top of the tag stood two words: Perfumed Soap.

“Perfumed Soap?” She picked one block up and placed it near her nose to smell it, and indeed, she could make out the fragrance of roses.

“Yes, it is tough to imagine that to manufacture it, you begin with a thick paste, into which His Royal Highness also added perfume, to make it full of fragrance.

May once more subconsciously glanced at the price written on the parchment, with a selling price of 25 silver royals for one block it could be seen as a luxury product, but compared to even more expensive perfumes, the price was clearly set too low.

“Are you sure that it’s perfume? When I’d performed in King’s City, there was once a powerful nobleman who gave me three bottles of perfume. Each of those bottles of perfume was only the size of the thumb, but their price was still more than five gold royals. For such a large piece of soap, you have at least add half a bottle of it, right?”

“Is that so?” Carter got startled, “Perfume is actually so expensive?”

“Of course,” May gave him a look, “It is one of King’s City Alchemy Association proudest products, except for crystal glass, perfume is their best selling product. I’d heard from other people, that besides the tribute they paid the Royal Family, they were able to let nearly one thousand bottles flow into the market each year. Individuals who can afford such a luxury belong to the upper nobility or are wealthy merchants. In case I hadn’t gotten it as present, it would be absolutely unlikely that I would ever purchase a bottle of perfume which costing as much as my salary from several plays.”

“But I have seen how His Royal Highness has used the perfume, and it didn’t seem to be a rare material…ah… listening to him, it appeared to be made out of sugar cane?” Seeing the puzzled look on May’s face, Carter added, “A sugar cane is just like a sweet stick, it is a typical crop of the Fjords, which looks like a stick. When you bite into it, you get a mouthful of sweet water. Currently, it is only planted in the castle’s backyard, but next time when I see His Royal Highness, I will ask him if I can take one out.”

Once again, it was His Highness the Prince… Since May had come to this town, the name she had heard the most of was Ronald Wimbledon. Whether it was Irene or Cater, whenever they talked about the changes happening in Border Town, they would always mention him. It seemed that His Highness was omniscient and there was nothing he didn’t know. Furthermore, all of these new things had been created by him.

Does there really exist such a learned person in the world? She couldn’t believe it, after all, even if they were smart, learning all this knowledge would still require time. Whether it was in King’s City or Longsong Stronghold, the people that were recognized as scholars were all old men with white hair. The folk of the Western Territory even had the phrase: ‘The longer the beard, the broader the knowledge’. But the Prince was only twenty years old, so how could it be that he knew all these things?

Even when thinking this way, May’s face still showed her usual expression, “No, if it could be used to make perfume, it has to be a very rare crop. Especially the perfume formula, that could be sold to any Alchemicalworkshop for an incredibly high price. You must never make discreet inquiries about this to His Highness, even in case you see it, you shouldn’t speak about it.”

“All right,” Carter said and took a handkerchief, putting four pieces of soap into it.

“Will you really buy so many of them?”

“The most a person can buy are two of these. So we will pretend to buy them separately and when we leave I will give them all to you — let’s first leave before you start disagreeing.” The knight raised his hand to interrupt May who wanted to say something, “When I use mine up, I can still go to His Highness to ask for new ones, but when they are sold out here, you never know when they will get new goods. So, by taking these four, you can use them for a very long time.”

When May saw her counterpart’s serious expression, it seemed as if her heart suddenly started burning. And for a long time, she just pursed her lips, not saying another word, just silently watched how the knight wrap up the perfume soup.

“Since we are already here let’s look at some other commodities,” he laughingly said as he held the bundle.

…

When she returned to her “home” in Border Town, the outside skies had already become dim.

The last light of the day falling through the curtain decorated the room with a touch of orange.

Since she had stayed to perform the second drama, May had received the same set of rooms as Irene. Although it wasn’t very large, it was still fully furnished.