Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 156: Arc 4, Act I, - 1: You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost
The onlookers clapped and cheered for her arrival. Those brown eyes surveyed all her subjects as she gave a small wave, including the ones being detained and taken away.
Reporters nudged and shoved some of the audience aside, some relying on pencil and paper to sketch her likeness, whilst a minority of them had cameras they propped up on the spot.
The Royal Guards all kept their heads down, whilst one or two soothed some of the agitated steeds.
Another pair of brown eyes surveyed—not the people, but instead the princess. The blonde’s eyes could not open any wider—her jaw hung open faintly.
’There’s no way in hell... Ther-there’s...’ Jotou took in deeper breaths, almost like her throat just got clogged; her heart rate jumped a few pulses higher.
"Jotou!" a whisper broke the blonde out of it. Jotou shifted her gaze ever so slightly to Hotaru, who stared back with her brows furrowed. "Head, down."
’Since when did I follow stupid orders like these? These’re all unnecessary; a waste of hell-damn time! Also look who’s talking Aru, why did you even look up to see me?’
Jotou let out a soft grumble before bowing her head down again, though her pupils darted up, trying to catch a better glimpse of the princess from this distance.
"Citizens of Cravolta City, we must depart and continue our journey to Tamara Palace with our honoured guests. You presence and enthusiasm is appreciated by her majesty. Royal Guard, we may leave now," the elf boy instructed.
A woman in armour with dark hair and caramel skin spun her finger in the air and the Royal Guard took no time to stand up, causing the blonde to follow immediately.
Jotou watched as the princess stepped back into the carriage, though... her majesty’s gaze fell upon Jotou one last time before the stairs popped back in and the door to the carriage shut.
The cheers of the roaring audience did not fade, but some tried to push through the crowd to follow along with the carriages on route.
The coachmen followed a practiced routine no doubt, reversing their carriages with three-point turns.
The other three next to Jotou stood up, watching as the elf boy nearly dropped the scroll as he went to talk to the woman in armour—a Royal Guard.
Asobi peered only a second to her left before her eyes shined like stars; she pulled her wand out. "Hello! Hello! Your admiration, your wonder and your voices bring so much joy and niceness!"
The magician’s voice projected across the crowd. "Asobi!" Hotaru plucked the wand away from her grasp, "Don’t do that, please," her ears folded down.
"Why not? All this praise is nice; honestly, it should happen more often," Fumeko gave a smug grin as she waved to all the people.
"I mean..." Hotaru glanced around; they were not solely cheering for the princess after all... "Ohh, what the heck," Hotaru gave Asobi her wand back. "Go crazy," the wolf-girl blushed, her tail wagging.
Jotou watched the carriages reposition themselves, her eyes locked on the princess’s carriage.
"BlasT!" Multiple colours showered down from the bright sky in the form of fireworks, some even popping into confetti as Asobi shot the illusions out one by one; the crowd gazed to the display in cheers all the same.
Only then did Jotou glance back to her friends. "What’s wrong?" Hotaru had already noticed the trouble brewing in the blonde’s eyes.
"You remember me telling you my story, right? How I died?"
"Yeah! A car accident!" Asobi hopped back to chat as the carriages in front began to depart with the crack of whips.
"Yeah... I was with my friends. And I never actually told you any of their names..." Jotou took a deep breath to stave off the incoming panic.
Hotaru’s ear folded, "Where are you going with this?"
Fumeko crossed her arms before looking at Jotou with a squint, "One of their names had to be mentioned right now. Which means, the princess has the name as your friend?"
A grave face Jotou wore, "Right on the money detective... If I came to this world in that car crash, then, t-that must be Daiyu!"
Her brilliant blue eyes widened, "Slow down," Hotaru held Jotou’s shoulder. "We can’t really confirm that until we speak with her."
"There’s an easy answer," Fumeko glanced back at the carriages, "Jotou didn’t always have brown eyes and every strand of her blonde hair ends in black; if it’s the same case..."
"We... have to get closer to her to see!" Asobi added.
Jotou relaxed her brows, "I need to talk to her, right now."
"Oh, you seek audience with the princess?" the elf boy had made his way over to the four of them, their carriage preparing to leave.
Jotou turned to him, standing around the same height; she forced a pleasant smile and answered in a flowery voice, "Ah yes. If that is at all possible."
’Barely anyone knew Anastasia Princely; I could just say my actual name and it didn’t have many consequences. But if Daiyu’s here and is a princess, I don’t wanna ruin any cover she might potentially have. Patience is key here Jotou. You need to think this through.’
"Well the princess wishes to speak with you as well. I will be accompanying you in our journey back to the palace, I hope you do not mind," he politely smiled.
"Of course, not at all," Hotaru replied. Fumeko hummed in thought, but she then shook her head, thinking it would be better to be quiet for now.
"Then by all means, please step in," his voice high, but his speech, his poise, his demeanour—all remained polite and refined.
Jotou raised her eyebrows to the three of them as she turned around; the term ’play along’ never left her lips, but the mere gesture provided enough instruction.
"Farewell my grand audience! I hope to give you all a spectacular show some day! Till then, this has been the Amazing Asobi! The Thundering Blade! The, the uhm, Fantastical Detective and the Crimson Healer!"
"Really? Come on, I can do better than that; the GREATEST DETECTIVE IN THE WORLD!" Fumeko screamed out with her arms high.
"Enough!" Hotaru’s tail and ears spiked, "Come on," she tugged the brunette along as Asobi waved to the crowd while stepping backwards into the carriage.
The elf closed the door as he entered; the curtains once again shut. The elf boy turned around and noticed the four women taking up each seat, "Uh..." he blushed a little.
"Please, sit next to me," Jotou offered, making some room for him.
"Thank you." He unbuttoned the blazer as he sat upright, both hands on his lap and feet aligned together.
"You can, relax a little..." Jotou tilted her head.
He faced her, "Thank you Thundering Blade, but I will be fine."
"Just, Jotou will be fine."
"Oh, you are not fond of titles?"
"I mean, it’s nice to hear, but not necessarily." ’How much information can I get from him?’
His shoulders relaxed a smidgen, "Understood, Ms Howllett."
"I uh, I guess that works..."
"So, what’s with all the secrecy? Why can’t we even open the curtains to see the city?" Fumeko glared to him from his other side.
A nervous sweat formed above his brow, "Princess’s orders, I do not question them."
"It’s for privacy Fumeko. I assume it’s procedure so that we can have some safety and security too," Hotaru played along with Jotou.
"Ah yes, that’s exactly it," he gulped—a bullet dodged...
"What’s your name?" Asobi leaned forward.
The elf boy’s eyes widened as he stared at the floor. A hand slowly went to cover his lips, "I forgot to introduce myself! Oh no... I messed up everything!" he squeaked.
"Uh, no need to worry... You can tell us your name now, right?" Jotou shrugged. ’What’s the deal with him? He was with Daiyu in that carriage... Was he told something?’
"No! I was supposed to introduce myself as her majesty’s personal assistant to the crowd! I messed it up!" he covered his entire face with his hands.
"It’s okay! We all make mistakes sometimes! Right Meko?" Asobi stated.
"Why are you asking me? What mistake are you talking about? Why was that even directed at me...!?"
"I cannot believe I have done this, please forgive me. I am her majesty’s personal assistant, the princess’s right hand and royal advisor, Feyan Ishan Artevik of House Artevik.
Once again, I do deeply apologize for my mistake," he bowed his head with his eyes scrunched.
’Now might be my chance to ask more.’ "It’s completely alright. It’s like Asobi said, everyone makes mistakes. You don’t have to apologize to us."
"Right," he sat up straight again, "I will have to apologize to the princess for this."
"Speaking of which, could you tell us more about the princess?" Hotaru smiled to Feyan.
’Thank you~’
He looked at the redhead, "Of course," his voice became steady once more, "I am here to inform you of certain things," his tone no longer cracked or squeaked.
