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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Heroes in Print
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After eating, she explored the bustling streets. Interestingly, the capital's shopping district had quite a few galleries selling portraits. It seemed true that in the Auraria Empire, the arts were most developed in the capital.
Lellia savored her long-awaited freedom as she took in the sights.
Then, she stopped, noticing a crowd of women gathered on one side, murmuring excitedly.
From the looks of it, nobles and commoners alike were shoving and jostling for position.
‘What's going on?’
Curious, she drew closer and saw a merchant selling something from a stall. Nearby, men were shaking their heads in disbelief.
The moment a gap opened at the side of the stall, Lellia quickly moved in.
The stall was nearly empty, with only one item left.
Lellia snatched it up and handed a coin to the merchant who demanded payment.
‘What in the world is this?’
On the outside, it looked something like a newspaper.
Lellia sat on a nearby bench and opened the booklet she had bought.
“Huh…?”
Opening it, she saw it wasn't a newspaper. Well, it was sort of like one...
‘Is this a collection of interviews? Or a photo book? Or a book of profiles?’
With every turn of the page, a portrait of one of the heroes who had distinguished themselves in the war against the Mad Dragon appeared.
Lellia flipped through the pages with interest.
After passing pages of strangers, a familiar face appeared.
‘It's Uncle!’
It was her uncle, Carius. For a portrait hastily sketched on the battlefield, it was a remarkably good likeness.
Lellia traced the portrait with a longing touch, then looked at the profile written beside it.
It listed things about her uncle, like his height, favorite food, and favorite music.
Some of the details were completely different from what Lellia knew.
‘The reporter seems to have written a novel…’
Still, it certainly piqued one's interest. She had to laugh when she saw the word ‘Unmarried’ was heavily emphasized.
‘No wonder the young ladies of the capital were fighting to buy this.’
Lellia turned the pages, wondering if her friends' faces were in it too.
‘Oh!’
Then she found the familiar names.
Oscar Hresvelg
The moment she saw the name, her fingertips tingled and her nose prickled with emotion. The portrait was so blurry she couldn't make out his features properly.
But it didn't matter.
‘They all did so well.’
Lellia felt a swell of pride as she turned the page.
Next were Calix, Griffith, and Romeo.
After nine years, Lellia was reunited with her friends on a scrap of paper.
Unfortunately, none of their portraits showed their faces clearly. And their profiles were full of inaccuracies.
‘Still, I'm glad.’
Glad that her friends were safe, Lellia clutched the book of portraits to her chest and returned to her lodgings.
There, she began making a scrapbook in the notebook she had brought with her.
After neatly cutting and pasting the sections about her friends and uncle, she remembered another name she had glanced at earlier.
Lellia quickly opened the booklet and found the page.
‘Lute.’
Yuriana's partner and the male lead.
One of the reasons Lellia had come to the capital.
Lellia gazed at the smiling Lute in the portrait. He had a handsome face that made him look kind and sincere.
‘Hmm…’
Lellia's goal was, in its own way, quite specific.
First, she would wait for the Triumphant Return Ceremony for the heroes who saved the world from the Mad Dragon.
The capital would be at its most feverish, bustling, and chaotic then.
‘The Imperial Castle will be even more so. All the heroes of the Triumphant Return will be heading there.’
Lellia was aiming for the day a banquet would be held at the Imperial Castle after their arrival.
The final day of the banquet, the most extravagant and clamorous day, which was also the last day of the festival.
That was when she would infiltrate the Imperial Castle. She had already prepared the tools for infiltration.
After finding the last special ingredient and escaping safely, she planned to stay here for a few more days.
‘Then, I'll wait for the moment Lute loses the sacred relic while he's staying in the capital.’
It wasn't a plan calculated down to the hour, minute, and second, but she was confident.
