A Pale Moon Reverie: Volume 2 [Parts 1 to 6] by Kuji Furumiya

Author:Kuji Furumiya
Language: eng
Format: epub

3. Substitution

It was customary for coaches headed to the royal capital to spend the night on the road, most often camped out in a clearing alongside the highway. The service Xixu had selected for Sari, however, had an accommodation contract with a small lodge, so her journey would be completed without her having to sleep outdoors—an experience that would otherwise have been a first in her life.

Alone within her cramped room, Sari stared out through her window and up at the moon. It was just past full, and the cloudless night sky allowed it to cast its sharp, pale luminescence upon the world. She was still dressed in men’s clothing—Sari figured that even if the garments only obscured her gender from a cursory glance, it would certainly prove harder for pursuers to track her in them than if she dressed as a courtesan, in her kimono.

Sari pulled her bracelet out from her loose-fitting sleeve. “I wonder if Xixu’s okay...” she mumbled to herself.

Of Sari’s two bracelets, one had been her mother’s, left behind when she’d abandoned the family, and the other was Sari’s own, which she’d worn ever since she was a child. It was the latter she’d given to Xixu, and which had been the key to her escaping Pale Moon. As long as Xixu kept it in his possession, it should be able to tell her if he’d reached a time of need. Alas, that was the limit of Sari’s perception; she could not otherwise ascertain whether the young shadeslayer was safe and whole.

Unease whirled in Sari’s stomach, refusing to settle. “I wish I knew what any of this meant.”

She was scared. She had left Xixu behind, alone in the midst of an eerie set of circumstances with no clearly discernible cause. But, for now, all Sari could do was have faith in him. If she had stayed in Irede and fallen completely under Nerei’s influence, she’d have become Xixu’s most formidable opponent in returning the town to normal. Not to mention, if she lost her senses, it wouldn’t only be Irede that was at risk of being destroyed, but the entire country.

Whenever Sari was around Nerei, she found herself listening to whatever he said against her will. Each time, it felt like she had to seek Nerei’s favor, as though she were a child he was keeping under control with gentle affirmation and a pat on the head.

Even after experiencing it directly, Sari had no clue as to the sort of power it was that allowed Nerei to do such a thing. Since even Thoma had been affected, however, she came to the conclusion that perhaps mental tenacity was not a significant factor in resisting it. Actually, now that she thought of it, even though all of Pale Moon’s maidservants had fallen under Nerei’s influence, there were some guests who had not. Where did that difference originate from?

Sari returned to her room’s humble bed, laid down, and hugged her knees. “I wonder why Xixu was okay,” she muttered.

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