The rest of the day was spent walking on foot, but Dia had gotten closer to Risti with that short interlude. As expected, what Risti felt was boring was actually incredibly interesting to Dia — there was so much she learned from talking to her about wildlife, especially when it came to birds. Risti had indexed lots of wildlife animals, taking her time to sketch them as they gingerly approached any bait she left out.
Her home, apparently, had a garden that was designed to feed random wildlife that came by, especially birds. Nuts and seeds were Risti’s choice of feed; apparently, her garden would be full of birds during the colder parts of the year.
As they found a nice tree to rest on, Risti took out a small sketchbook. “There’s lots of wildlife here.”
“Nice, thanks!” Dia took the book eagerly and flipped it open, only to see a rather familiar dress drawn on it. It was a rather exquisite drawing, complete with a very familiar background…and the reason behind its familiarity was because that was her own room.
That dress that took centre stage in that drawing? That was the dress she wore to her debut hall.
“Oh, sorry!” Risti grabbed the book and took out another book instead. This time, she flipped through it, and then handed it over to Dia with both hands. It was dark, so Dia couldn’t quite see her face, but she had a feeling that Risti was probably blushing right now.
“That drawing…I’ve seen that dress before,” Dia said quietly.
“Well, of course you would. That was Princess Dia’s dress for her debut ball. Other than that, though, she also wore it three more times for very formal occasions,” Risti replied, her eyes somehow shimmering in the night. “It’s quite expensive; it went for around twelve platinum.”
Dia, as usual, was somewhat terrified at how Risti had memorised these details of her life, to the point that she could recite the relevant details without much preparation. However, since Dia had gotten some immunity to it, she could finally respond with a little chuckle, before flipping the sketchbook open.
Fortunately, that particular sketchbook was all about birds and tiny, furry critters. Dia smiled as she went through the pictures slowly. With Risti’s commentary, Dia could even imagine herself in the shoes of the Risti back then, as she laid down on grass and spied on little birds pecking at seeds.
In fact, Risti had even added some sound effects to them. The only thing lacking was the ambient temperature; Dia’s mind wasn’t so imaginative that it could conjure up a sunny day at night.
“Your memory’s really great, though.” Dia flipped to the last page, which had a drawing of an adorable little sparrow hopping around.
“That’s why I took up intelligence work,” Risti replied.
By now, the light of Plota was shining down on the world, casting the world into a mysterious shade of blue light. The blue moon of wisdom, when it hung in the sky alone, exerted an incredible amount of influence on one’s memory and cognitive capability. Legend had it that under the blue moon, skills could be forgotten, enhanced and evolved.
Unfortunately, Dia wasn’t in the possession of such knowledge. She was too unimportant to learn such crucial things. The general details had been spread out for one reason — it was to impress on those who did not know the details and causes of such an enhancement that the long-lived powerhouses of this world had strength far surpassing the norm.
After all, these powerhouses would have had the luxury of enhancing and evolving their skills for every full moon that passed by. They were true monsters, in every sense of that word…like…
“Like…” Dia murmured. “Tot. Right. I…”
“Dia?”
The hopelessness in her heart intensified. Tot, who was a monster from the Third Godsfall, had lived for at least six thousand years. How many blue moons occurred every year? Even if it was a number as low as five or six…
Her heart clenched up. Would she ever capture Tot? Would the Emperor ever pardon her for a crime she never committed? Why did her father—
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“What’s wrong, Dia? Why are you crying?” Risti swung up from the branch and sat in front of her. “What happened to you?”
“I’m not crying,” Dia replied, turning her face away. “Don’t look. Please. I beg of you. I—”
A small hand patted her shoulder, lending her cold body some warmth. All around her curled-up frame, blue light trickled through the leaves and the forest canopy. The blue moon was that of wisdom…and introspection.
Her rational will and her emotions had melded together in this blue night.
“It’s alright,” a gentle voice spoke. “We’re all together with you. You’re not alone. This night…is one for thoughts. It’s easy to lose yourself in emotions. Regulate your mind. I don’t know why you’re sad, but many people lose themselves in such nights. Don’t worry. Nothing’s happened.”
“You’re not affected?” Dia, despite herself, turned her head up to look Risti in the eye.
“This is my usual state of mind,” Risti replied, her eyes alight with a faint blue glow. “Call it a gift, or my talent. I know how it feels to be in introspection. Uncontrolled, your thoughts go wild, and you begin to extrapolate dark possibilities. But every shadow needs a source of light. Take a deep breath, and see for yourself what that light is.”
Risti’s words were uncharacteristically solemn, and it was for that very reason that Dia found herself following her instructions. As the former continued to issue small instructions, Dia distanced herself from her mind’s racing thoughts. Under Risti’s continued persuasion, she controlled her thoughts, and redirected them to productive deductions.
The moon continued to rise, and eventually, Risti herself dozed off. Dia, who had reinforced her conclusion that her father wanted to help her on the day of her escape, found her thoughts stalling. It was, as Risti explained, a sign that she didn’t have enough clues to piece together the person behind the murders.
As for Tot, she hadn’t quite forgotten how Zulan Patra had fallen from the sky, after botching his attempt to locate the Thief of Time. It was very possible that the legendary thief had a means to evade and retaliate against all forms of deductive and investigative skills…and perhaps even good old-fashioned brainwork. Therefore, as a puny one-folder who was twenty-four years away from becoming a bi-folder, Dia herself was not going to do anything at all.
That gap between her and the Thief of Time was never going to close. However, although she didn’t know who Tot was, Dia at least knew that the Thief of Time was probably meditating under the light of the blue moon, growing stronger every minute.
Letting out a small sigh, she made sure that Risti was nice and secure in her seated posture, before lying down on the branch. The cool night wind was nice, and before long, Dia nodded off.
Her dreams were muddled and messy, but in all of them, she could see an ever-silent figure, standing vigil and watching over her silently. Wrapped in a violet cloak, her father would always stand and watch over her, making sure that she was safe at all times.
When she was practicing in the fields.
In front of her mother’s gravestone.
During her debut.
And at the very end, when she was fleeing the Lustre Palace. He would stand and watch, no matter what. If she had a choice—
“It’s morning, Dia!”
A pair of hands shook her body gently, and she opened her eyes to see a bright and cheery Risti in front of her. Gripped in her hand was a telescope, and before Dia could say anything, Risti pushed the telescope into her hands and pointed in a certain direction.
“Take a good look there, Dia! There’s actually a red-billed hummingbird! It’s a tiny one, so make sure to take a good long look at it!”
Befuddled, Dia followed her instructions, and before long, the image of a tiny little bird hopping around a flower entered her eyes. She stared at it, mesmerised, and then turned to look at Risti.
“Isn’t it cute?” Risti asked. “These little fellows are very hard to draw, since they don’t stay for long. In fact, they’re rather rare; you normally see them in areas that have other seasons.”
“Not in Grandis, then?”
“It’s rare for them to appear in Grandis, yes.” Risti looked at her sketchbook, where a little bird had been drawn in it. “Since there’s no set pattern to flowers blooming, red-billed hummingbirds don’t like this continent all that much. In contrast, Nihal and Lacheln see them a lot more often.”
Dia stared at Risti. She hadn’t quite noticed earlier, but Risti’s words had just hinted at her true extent of knowledge…and the position that came with it. There were indeed other continents, other than Grandis, but few knew the official names for them. Even Dia herself had only learnt those names from her father after her debut, but…
Risti winked, a mischievous action that made the black-haired girl look a lot more sprightly. “Do you think the others know about Nihal and Lacheln?”
“I’m not sure, but I think not,” Dia replied. After all, she, the daughter of a duke, only knew about those names and practically nothing else. It was somewhat unbelievable that the others would know, save for Risti.
“Wait,” said Dia. “Maybe Schwarz. Right?”
Risti clicked her teeth. “Why did you think of him? I’m curious.”
“Well, he does seem quite knowledgeable, right?” Dia rubbed her nose. “Anyway, I’m going to freshen myself up. Won’t take too long.”
“Sure!”
Five minutes later, the two were on the road once more, ready to continue their long journey to Nachtville.