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The child thought and said, ‘He looks down on those below him, he has no respect for those above him, and lastly, his gaze was inappropriate when he met, Your Highness.’

Azula nodded, “Correct, now, let me tell you a few things, Valerian. You know that I am here to complete the trial for my freedom, right?”

Valerian nodded and the girl continued as she stepped out of her bed while putting on the robe, “In the recent investigations, it has been found that Causus, has been misusing his position as the City Lord. He is a stain that we need to clean, this is our duty to the citizen.”

The child nodded as Azula walked over to a table and beckoned him to her side. She said, “The freedom of this city from this tyrant is the price of my freedom. However, the conditions are that I cannot do anything without any evidence...”

Suddenly, she stopped and let out a sigh. Valerian gazed at the map and waved his hand, “A person can hide crimes, until a certain limit, but if he can be investigated as a criminal, that means his crimes cannot be hidden anymore. So, it will not be hard to find the evidence, we just need to know where to look for it.’

Azula was surprised but then she nodded after thinking, “The journal of an adjudicator?”

.....

Valerian smiled and the princess said, “Very well. You must not have yet eaten, go have breakfast and send a maid in. Also, do me a favor and wake up Rectus. I need to discuss things with him.”

The boy bowed to her and left the room. Azula gazed at his small back, vanishing out of the room and then back at the map of the city as she mumbled, “Where to look?”

Valerian came out of the room, and after bowing to the guard, he rushed through the corridor to find a maid. When he found the maid, she could not understand his signs. So, he could only lead the lady by her hand.

He decided to buy one more thing when he goes out to buy a pair of shoes, a notepad, and a pencil. Then he made his way to find Rectus. He knocked on the door and a groggy voice sounded, “Come in.”

Valerian pushed the door open and inside he found Rectus laying on his stomach, naked. The boy closed his eyes for a second, then with a sigh, he tugged on the latter’s leg.

Rectus groaned, but he did not wake up. Valerian tried again but no result. He looked around and spotted a jar of water placed on the table.

He brought the jar near Rectus and poured the water down on his face with a splash. Rectus turned around and fell off the bed with a thud. He exclaimed, “Flood, flood.”

Valerian did not speak, he placed the jar back at the table and grabbed the sheets from the bed then threw them over to cover this grown naked man.

Rectus woke up at this moment and looking around he realized what happened and asked, “What called for you to act in this manner?”

Valerian used his hands and said, “Her Highness has demanded your presence, I am just making sure you get the message. Farewell.”

Then he bowed and left the room with a dumbstruck Rectus. The Mage regained his senses and mumbled, “He really took after you, Sis.”

...

Valerian spent the rest of the day following the princess. As long as Azula made some gesture, which was not in line with what she was doing, he would appear by her side. In the evening, Azula had finished meeting with all the officials and rich merchants, she was walking in the garden, thinking about something she beckoned Valerian to keep her company.

She asked, “Are you feeling fine with the new pace of things?”

‘I am a bit tired, Your Highness. However, I can still go on.’, replied the boy.

Azula smiled and said, “Do not push yourself too much, Quies had asked me permission to take you to the City Bazaar, said you need new shoes and some clothes.”

‘I have clothes and shoes, Your Highness. Sir Quies just wants me to have something more appropriate since I follow you.’, Valerian did not want to look bad in front of her.

How could Azula not see this? She nodded and said, “Good, go out and shop for what you need. I will deduct it from your salary.”

Valerian stopped in surprise and asked her, ‘Do you mean I will be getting a salary?’

Azula was amused by his words and said, “Did you think I will exploit you?”

Valerian shook his head, at this moment he was happy, but suddenly he recalled how Diligentia suffered. The warmth in his heart was suddenly blocked out. He realized that he was too naive, trusting someone whom he had never met so quickly, foolish, scolded the young boy.

After regaining his senses, he bowed to Azula slightly. The princess sensed the change in his temperament and was surprised. However, unsure how to approach the issue, she said, “Go, Quies should be done with his work by now.”

Valerian bowed to her again and left the garden to find Quies. Azula stood there pondering over a lot of things. Suddenly she heard a goofy voice, “Do not think too much about him. We have bigger things to look into. He is wounded all over, and they have not yet scabbed, it will take a long time for him to recover.”

Azula turned around and found Rectus standing behind her in his blue robes. The princess nodded and the two began talking about the urgent matters at hand.

...

Quies took Valerian to the bazaar in the city. The place was crawling with vendors and buyers. Baked bread, fruits, ornaments, and decorations. A large variety of things were being sold and the place was loud.

Valerian has never been too crowded places. He did not have a good experience with the crowd. Subconsciously, he took a step and stood closer to Quies. The man did not push him away and said, “Get used to this feeling Valerian. Even if you are not in the mood, you should visit such places. Not only can you find things that you wish to buy, but also things that you should know. Follow me. Look around you, I will ask you later.”

Valerian did not understand the meaning but followed the man. His gaze was wandering all over the place, taking note of what was going around him, just like the man had told him. Soon they came and stopped in front of a door. Valerian was so engrossed in the things around him that he bumped into the back of the man.

Quies said, “It is good to be aware of what is going on around you, but you must also be aware of yourself.”

Valerian understood this one and nodded. Quies pushed the door inside, and the child raised his head to find himself looking at a huge sign saying Imperial Pavilion.

Stepping inside the store, Valerian heard a chiming sound. He looked in the direction and found it to be a doorbell. Quies stood in front of an empty counter and was about to say something, an old voice sounded, “Coming!”

Valerian came to stand next to Quies. Soon, they heard a set of footsteps accompanied by a knocking sound. An old lady holding a cane appeared in their sights. Quies bowed to the lady and Valerian followed the gesture.

The old lady smiled and said, “I apologize for the delay, welcome to the Imperial Pavilion, I am Pronoea. How can I help you?”

Quies said, “A set of black leather shoes for the child, please.”

Pronoea smiled and said, “Come this way, dear. Shoes are placed in the other section.”

The old lady beckoned Valerian with a smile, the latter looked at Quies, who nodded to him. Valerian followed the lady and came to a different section of the shop. The place had a lot of shelves filled with goods, and only one narrow alley to move around. Valerian thought the name was too grand for the stuffy shop.

Pronoea took him to an aisle and said, “Child you can find the design you like on one of these shelves, they all charge the same. Pick what you like and tell me. Okay?”

Valerian nodded and began to look at the shoes. He liked a few designs but then he choose the one closest to his current boot. He pointed at the design and the lady commented, “Freedom. I see you do have a good choice. This design was the first thing used by the palace staff back in the day. Take off your old shoes, let us see your size.”

Valerian took off his boots and placed his feet on the floor. The tips of his toes were all swollen, Pronoea raised her brows and said, “Waring tight shoes is not good. Be careful in the future.”

Valerian nodded and gently moved his toes. The lady looked over the shelf and picked up a pair of shoes with the design he had chosen, and gave it to him. She said, “You do not have socks, do you?”

The boy shook his head in embarrassment and the lady said, “I will give you two pairs for free. Wash them regularly, okay?”

Valerian bowed and shook his head. The lady was surprised, the boy raised his hands, and using his signs he said, ‘I will not take it for free.’

Pronoea nodded with a smile, “Good, come I will charge you fairly.”

The lady had Valerian come over to the counter, where she also gave him two pairs of socks. Valerian told Quies about what Azula said and asked if he can buy a notepad and a pencil. Quies nodded and told Pronoea.

The old shopkeeper said, “It is good to find ways to enhance your communication with others, but a notebook is costly and you will eventually run out of paper. How about a magic slate? You will be able to write what you want with a flick of your finger, just as a Mage at the palace to put some mana in the slate and it will last you a week.”

Valerian was surprised, his silver eyes blinked with curiosity. Quies said, “We will take the magic slate. The total should be three hundred teals?”

Pronoea nodded as she packed the things in a paper bag. Valerian, however, did not move forward to pick up the parcel, he looked at Quies and with a gulp, he asked, ‘Can you tell me how much my will be my salary?’

Quies smiled and said, “It should be a hundred teals. Why?”

The child sighed dejectedly and said, ‘I will have to go without any money for the next three months.’

Quies could not help but chuckle, after bidding farewell to the old lady, they came outside the shop. Then the stroll began. Valerian would notice things around him. However, sooner, he only began to focus on the things that stood out from the normal.

They were passing an alley when Valerian heard a whimpering voice. He patted Quies on his hand and pointed at the alley. Quies heard the voice but was surprised by Valerian being able to notice it too.

Entering the damp and dark alley, they located the source of the sound. It was a man, a grown man, who was sitting in a corner whimpering from pain. Valerian inched closer to the man and raised his finger, in his mind he said, ‘Luminare.’

This was a spell he had learned after the healing spell. The man was shocked by the sudden light around him. He tried to move but the wall blocked him. Quies asked, “Who are you, Sir?”

The man shook his head, Quies asked, “You do not need to be afraid, I am from the city lord palace, I can help you. Tell me, what happened.”

His words did not calm down the man but added to his dread. Valerian looked at the man very intently, Quies asked him repeatedly and the man finally said in a whimpering voice, “Please leave me alone, I am not causing any trouble.”

While the steward was surprised. He did not expect such a reaction. Valerian took out the magic slate from the paper bag and waved his finger at it. He showed the slate to the man.

The man did not want to look but Valerian did not push, he crouched there in front of the man. After a few minutes, the man calmed down and subconsciously peeked at the slate. He was frozen in shock, the slate stated, ‘The city palace is now ruled by the princess and not Causus, tell me, what is it that troubles you?’

The man looked at Valerian and asked, “Is what you said true?”

Quies nodded and said, “Yes.”

The man said, “You wait here, I will show you something. Just a minute.”

He stood up and rushed out of the alley with staggering steps. Quies asked, “How did you figure out he will tell us if you mentioned the princess?”

Valerian waved his hand, ‘We, the wounded can understand what caused the wound on someone else.’

They heard a set of footsteps and what they saw shocked them beyond their imaginations.