Chapter 82 - Such a lovely song

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 - Such a lovely song "Lily? Is that really you??" "Linde! It’s so good to see you again. And at the same time it feels so bad to be spotted right away." As expected, Linde came to deliver the dinner we ordered. "Your disguise is actually perfect. But there’s no way I could not recognize your voice." "Mom, who is she?" "Oh, I’m sorry; let me do the introductions. Linde is an old friend of mine, from when I used to roam this city undercover as a teenager." "Yeah, that little brat used to cause a huge commotion every time she fled the palace. But ’Mom’? You had children? What were you doing all those years? Levinna was madly looking for you everywhere!" "Yes, this is my daughter, Aurea. And I was a bit busy being a slave, hidden underground in Amapytu." "... Oh. I’m sorry, Lily. I was mean right now. I’m sorry. And Aurea, I’m pleased to meet you. Your mother is a very dear friend of mine." "It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Linde. "No, no, it’s understandable. Anyway, the other girl is Lovelace, who is accompanying us on this journey and was a key element of my rescue." "Thank you for helping in rescuing Lily. I’m glad that I’m able to meet you." "The pleasure is mine, Linde." Lovelace gently bows her head. How can she be so cute? "Talking about Levinna, I’ve already met her, the night I fled, but we didn’t manage to talk properly. Do you still have contact with her?" "Of course. We’ve been in contact through letters occasionally. She also visits me when she comes to the capital every now and then." "That’s great. Could you send her a letter with information about me? It would be less suspicious than me sending it myself." "Of course. Are you being pursued? Is that the reason for the disguise?" "Indeed. There’s a bounty on my head through the Network. The one responsible for my captivity is Duke Addlington, and that’s another reason to come to the capital under this disguise." "I see... Duke Addlington, huh? I remember that worm’s lecherous gaze. I know that he is powerful in the palace, but I know barely anything about politics myself, so I can’t help you much in that regard." "Don’t worry, Linde. Just keeping silent about this and addressing me as Rose and my daughter as Dior." "Rose... and Dior. Right. No word about this will ever come from my lips. And don’t you worry about paying for the lodging. I couldn’t charge my own friend, could I?" "Thank you, Linde." "You’re welcome. Now, I think that you’re probably hungry, and your dinner might be getting cold already. So I’ll leave you for now. See ya, Rose." "See ya." ::: After we finish eating our dinner, we go through the night routine that has already become familiar to me. We are each bathed and wearing nightgowns, sitting on the floor in the center of the room, talking, when I hear something weird. "Where does that song come from?" "Song?" I hear some weird noises from the outside, very faint, forming almost like a melody, but my mother doesn’t seem to have caught it. I close my eyes and expand my senses. It doesn’t take long for me to pinpoint it. It’s a chant, like a choir. It seems to come from somewhere underground or another closed space, as the sound is very muffled. I don’t recognize the language, but the song sounds macabre. I feel a shiver down my spine as the chant reaches its climax. As it finishes, it is followed by simple silence. I keep focusing my attention, trying to catch any other sound from there. After some time, I can hear people talking, but I can’t really distinguish any words that are being said. Damn. Now I’m curious. I come back to focus on my surroundings. My mother is looking at me and Lovelace with a puzzled face, while Lovelace is paler than her usual self. "Did you hear it as well?" "Yes. That was a chant used for the worship of demons. It’s in demonic language, but the pronunciation of the words by the singers was flawless." "You recognize it?" "Yes, it’s still the same song that was sung before my... well, at that time. I busted some of those cults back in the day." "I’m baffled that the same song survived so long without changes." "Demons are immortal, after all. And they are probably the ones who teach the songs to the cults." "Would you two please tell me exactly what you heard?" "Sorry, Mom." I explain to her what I heard, while Lovelace explains the meaning of it. There’s a demon-worshipping cult somewhere in this city’s underground. But we weren’t able to catch anything that was said in a normal voice. And given the way sound travels underground, it might be hard finding the place to bust it, unless we do it in the exact moment that they are singing. "There is a sewer system under the city, and cave finding has been reported a couple of times, but the king always ordered the entrance to the cave to be blocked." "I see." But I don’t want to chase demonic cults right now. That is a side quest, and we have a main quest objective to push for. "Are those cults actually dangerous, Mom? Or Lovelace?" "Some are, but most aren’t. More often than not, they’re worshipping a low-level demon who is just too bored. It’s often easy to dispatch those." "Lillian is right. But sometimes they end up summoning some real troublemakers. Or even causing problems themselves by killing people in their sacrifices." "Yeah, I never encountered an actually powerful demon. It’s often the cultists themselves, and their sacrifices to the demon, who do the actual harm." I see; it makes sense. Humans are the real monsters, after all. Not all humans, but always a human. "Let’s keep tabs on them while we focus on the main objective, then. We need to deal with our situation first." "You’re right, Aurea. And it will be easier to hunt them down as the princess than as a random commoner." "I agree with Lovelace. Though it pains my heart to have those disgusting people in my city. But it will indeed be easier to dispatch them when working in an official capacity." Good, we’re back on track. Now, I need to stop stalling and do something important myself. I need to tell Mom about my past life before we approach the palace. I’m not managing to sustain child-appropriate behavior. And I also feel very uncomfortable with the situation. The idea of living while hiding something from my mother is painful. Also, the longer I delay it, the worse I feel about it. And it isn’t a bomb that I can drop while we are in the middle of the ’returning to the palace’ development. It has to be now. "Mom... there’s something I need to tell you."