The Forgotten Field - Chapter 94

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 94
One of the attendants regarded her with a respectful expression. His name was Daren Dru Sierkan—a distant relative of Barcas, the man continued with careful deliberation.
“Should any merchandise catch your fancy, I shall arrange its purchase at once.”
“No need. I don’t require—”
Talia had begun to refuse out of habit when she abruptly fell silent. She was growing weary of sitting motionless like some ornamental fixture.
She cast a glance toward Barcas, surrounded by the Administrator Official and Council members, then pulled a hood over her head and rose from her seat.
“Very well. Lead the way.”
Upon exiting the Conference Hall through a rear entrance, a vast expanse teeming with hundreds of merchants revealed itself.
Talia positioned herself at the railing and surveyed the space below. Atop densely arranged stalls lay towering heaps of vibrant woolen fabrics and felt, while behind them stretched a long procession of carts and chests laden with goods.
“This way, if you please.”
The man guided her down the staircase. Talia descended carefully, gripping the railing with one hand. As her feet touched the final step, the bustling spectacle of the Auction House flooded her vision.
She moved along the crowded corridor, observing merchants engaged in heated bidding contests. While men dressed in garments befitting nobility haggled with animated fervor, brokers calculated commissions and taxes using scales and abacuses, and porters methodically loaded bolts of cloth onto carts for transport.
It felt as though she had been dropped into the very heart of a frenzied banquet.
She examined spices sold by foreign merchants before turning her steps toward a relatively quiet storefront.
Upon a somewhat shabby counter lay crudely crafted ornaments on display. As she surveyed them with indifferent eyes, the man who had been following quietly like a Guard spoke up.
“The jeweler’s section is located in the side corridor. Shall I guide you there?”
“No need. I wear nothing but dwarven-crafted jewelry anyway.”
“Ah… I see.”
The man scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Talia ignored him and ventured into an alley lined with smaller shops. Then, a tapestry hanging upon the wall captured her attention.
She approached it and gazed intently at the decorative cloth with its distinctive pattern. Upon the fabric, woven with threads of gold, crimson, and deep russet, were embroidered the forms of a young woman with pale white skin and a black beast bearing three heads.
As she examined the unsettling image with furrowed brow, an unfamiliar voice reached her ears from nearby.
“Does that tapestry appeal to you?”
Talia turned her head and discovered an Eastern Merchant Woman behind the counter, her expression becoming guarded.
The woman set down the ledger she had been holding and made a transaction proposal in courteous tones.
“It is priced at thirty soldem, but should you wish to purchase it, I would offer it for twenty-six soldem.”
“Who would buy such a strange tapestry?”
At her blunt remark, a faint curiosity flickered across the woman’s face. She tilted her head, studying Talia’s features intently.
“It appears you hail from another region, my lady.”
Talia fixed her with a wary gaze.
“How did you know that?”
“This tapestry depicts the most famous folk tale of the Eastern Territories. Since you did not recognize it, I assumed you must be from elsewhere.”
“A folk tale?”
Talia looked up at the cloth hanging on the wall once more. Pleased by her show of interest, the merchant began her tale at once.
“Long ago, in these lands, there dwelt a colossal beast that sought to devour even the stars of heaven itself. Consumed by greed, that creature attempted to swallow all life upon this earth.”
The woman paused after her compelling opening, observing Talia’s reaction.
Talia gestured with a nod for her to continue. The merchant’s clear voice, tinged with an enigmatic resonance, proceeded at a measured pace.
“Then one day, the spirit of the earth awakened to subdue the beast that threatened the world. She sang without rest for a hundred days and nights, taming the monster, and from their union was born a great warrior. The ancient peoples of the Eastern Territories believed themselves to be descendants of this warrior.”
Talia recalled hearing a similar tale from the Handmaidens at Laedgo Castle and drew her brows together.
The merchant, who had been rummaging through a pile of neatly folded fabrics, withdrew a handkerchief and spread it upon the counter.
“Even now, many among the Eastern peoples believe that bearing the mark of the black beast wards off misfortune. Would it not be fitting for you to purchase one as a memento?”
Upon the crimson cloth lay a monstrous creature with three heads, its form meticulously embroidered. The pattern stirred something familiar within me.
Narrowing my eyes, I soon recalled where I had seen this emblem—in the history texts I studied during my education on the Age of Divided Nations. It was the symbol once used by House Sierkan before their incorporation into the Roem Empire.
I found myself drawn to it, reaching out to lift the cloth.
It was hardly to my taste, yet I could not bring myself to dismiss the merchant’s enthusiasm so coldly.
I glanced over my shoulder with a subtle gesture.
“Why aren’t you settling the payment?”
In that instant, a sharp hand with prominent knuckles extended from beside me.
“This should suffice.”
With a cool voice, several gleaming gold coins were placed upon the counter.
I startled and turned. Barcas, draped in a deep indigo cloak, gazed down at me with an impassive expression. He leaned close against my back, his low voice brushing past my temple.
“Is there anything else you wish to acquire?”
I stared up at him blankly before slowly shaking my head. Barcas, whose gaze had been fixed upon my face, turned his attention toward the merchant.
“Is the payment sufficient?”
“Y-yes, absolutely sufficient. More than sufficient, in fact.”
As the merchant hastily gathered the coins, Barcas turned without hesitation.
Led by his hand through the narrow passage, the relatively quieter expanse of the Auction House came into view.
He stepped into the corridor running through the building’s center and spoke quietly.
“The jewelry shops are located that way. I’m told that major merchants from the Southern Continent have also established their presence there, so you should be able to find something to your liking, Your Highness.”
I gazed up at him in a daze. At that moment, a man who had been silently following us interjected tactlessly.
“Your Excellency, I understand that Her Highness the Princess wears only dwarven ornaments. Surely such heretical trinkets would not suit the Princess?”
I shot the man a glare from between the folds of my robe. I could not afford to lose this opportunity to receive jewelry from Barcas because of such a fool.
I spoke with some urgency.
“Come to think of it, perhaps it would be acceptable to possess one piece of something more distinctive.”
Barcas glanced down at me over his shoulder for a moment before turning his gaze forward once more.
We passed dozens of stalls and moved toward the side corridor of the building.
Soon, the entrance to the Precious Metals Exchange, guarded by stern-faced sentries, came into view. Barcas led me inside.
“Welcome.”
A merchant standing before a display case offered a stiff greeting without lifting his head. Despite his discourteous manner, Barcas showed little reaction and led me to the counter.
“Please let me know if anything catches your eye.”
I carefully examined the red velvet surface. An array of finely crafted gems, both large and small, lay arranged in neat rows.
Among them were pieces that even my eyes, accustomed to the rarest treasures, found remarkable. I reached for one without thinking, when the merchant, who had been examining the raw stone’s quality through a small magnifying glass, released a sharp voice.
“Customer! Please do not touch carelessly—!”
Only then recognizing Barcas, the merchant gasped and shot to his feet.
Barcas spoke in a flat tone.
“Purchase everything Her Highness has touched.”
“Ah, no, Your Excellency the Grand Duke! Please, think nothing of it and examine freely. I apologize for my rudeness in not recognizing you sooner.”
I paid no attention to the stammering merchant and turned my gaze to another gem.
Then I suddenly paused, having discovered a softly luminous blue mineral. Lifting it and holding it to the light, a mysterious silver sheen played across its smooth surface—a beautiful moonstone that reminded me of Barcas’s eyes.
“Does that one appeal to you?”
As I gazed at the gem as if entranced, Barcas spoke to me.
Talia flinched and set down the jewel, her neck flushing hot beneath the weight of his gaze—those eyes that seemed to see straight through to her innermost thoughts.
“No, I don’t like it.”
Talia reached for the crimson ruby beside it, snatching it up with decisive purpose.
“I’ll take this one instead.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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