Purpose

Adelyn listened as the sound of the horse carrying both the herald and Countess Elvita slowly abated, their figures swallowed up in the distance.

Once they were no longer in her sight, she turned around to look at the house she was forced to live in through an exile.

A week ago, her father had thrown her to this place due to a mistake that she was accused of committing. Adelyn had protested and cried out the injustices that she had just suffered. But as if she was already a death row convict, no one had listened to her. In the end, she was sent on a wagon to the northern part of the empire, the outskirts near the Mountain Grita.

During the week she was exiled to this place, she wondered whether there was even a reason for her to live anymore. Without her mother's comfort and assurance that everything would be alright, Adelyn had long lost hope for change.

Until that one night…

In only one night, the Lunarian Kingdom has been completely isolated from the world, completely controlled by the creatures of the night and the man who was now called the new ruler, the Blood King. The humans didn't want to yield to these barbaric people who possessed greater speed and strength than human beings without a fight. Thus, they fought back with all their might.

In contrast to the invaders who had come prepared, the humans' collective strength and effort to fight back were pitiable in their eyes.

A few days after the war had begun in the Lunarian Kingdom, the supply routes had been cut off, held hostage by their enemy. Eventually, the soldiers raised by the royal family as an army for emergency situations were all exhausted from fighting, many of those who fought are now burned or buried under a mass of piled corpses on the streets.

The mightiness of these creatures of the night were a thousand times stronger and powerful than humans.

There was no chance of winning this one-sided war from the very start.

Terror, fear, and helplessness filled the people's hearts. But no matter how much they prayed in front of their gods, only the victors will decide what their final outcome will be.

That was how it was supposed to be…

But this single piece of parchment paper written by the enemy king who had ravaged and plundered their kingdom, had placed the fate of all of her remaining people in her hands.

What a sadistic way to make her surrender. Adelyn imagined the face of the new ruler as he wrote this letter with eyes filled with delight at the sight of the humans suffering under his rule.

Even Adelyn, who now lived far away from the palace, could not escape from his grasp.

Tearing her eyes off the thin parchment paper, Adelyn walked to her closet which had a few of her simple clothes. As she was exiled without bringing all of her things in the palace, the dresses that were inside the closet were things that were handed to her by one of her deceased mother's maids.

She picked a simple white dress out of all the other plain-looking dresses. Suddenly becoming an exiled princess without a maid to help her, Adelyn couldn't possibly learn how to properly dress herself. Thankfully, Countess Elvita had hinted to her where the ribbons should go through. Otherwise, Adelyn would have gone outside with only her nightwear.

Approaching the head of the bed, Adelyn peeled off the mattress and took out the small pouch that her mother's maid had given to her before her departure. It was filled with silver and gold coins she could use in time of need.

Previously, Adelyn thought that she may never have the need to use it as she planned to grow and take care of the things she will eat in the future, but her current situation calls for it.

Ten gold coins and twenty-two silver coins. There were also a few bronze coins.

For every hundred common bronze coins, a silver coin is equal to it. A hundred silver coins can become a gold coin, as well. Gold is the highest currency in the entire continent. While silver and bronze coins are commonly used. Adelyn heard once from the minister of finances, Count Voltaine, that a family of four in the capital uses only a gold coin to live without fear of starving themselves for a year. And for those who lived outside the capital, a gold coin was the same as living without worry for three years.

With this money, Adelyn could have lived two or three decades without worry.

But this time, she could only use it for her plans.

After tying the pouch to her waist, Adelyn made her way towards the door. When she was certain that all the windows were closed, she finally locked the door behind her.

As soon as she stepped onto the uncemented road, Adelyn saw a passing two-wheeled ox-cart driven by an old man wearing a straw hat.

The old man saw her and kindly offered her a ride, saying, "Missy, where are you going in this warm weather?"

"I'm going to the next town, Mister. Do you reckon there's a county bar there?"

"A bar? Why would a young miss like you go there?" The old man looked at her face before looking her up and down as if assessing why such a clean-looking and beautiful girl's destination was a bar of all places.

"My brother likes to gamble. I heard from one of my neighbors that he lost again and if I don't hurry to his side, his gambling rival will cut off his hand. I'm merely delivering a few bronze coins to pay his debt," Adelyn lied to the old man without changing her face.

Hearing that she had an older brother who likes to gamble, the old man no longer doubted her and had her climb up the cart. His son was also a gambler who spent almost all of their fortunes. He could somewhat relate to her suffering.

"Your older brother is blessed to have a good sister like you," said the old man as he set his eyes ahead of the road again. "My son is also a gambler and it has been one of my problems. Unfortunately, he never listens to me ever since his mother died. But he is my only child, so I can only strive harder to keep our home intact."

Adelyn had lied to the old man. Though, it was in fact not completely a lie because she, too, has many half-brothers who liked to gamble and drink and are renowned womanizers.

The old man continued to share his troubles with her. On the other hand, Adelyn didn't have much to say to him, but she still listened carefully and uttered a single or two perfunctorily response.

It took almost an hour for them to arrive in the next town. At this moment, the sun had started setting.

The old man kept his hands on the reins around the ox pulling the car before turning his head to look at Adelyn. He said, "It's going to be late once you return, do you want me to wait for you here?"

Adelyn shook her head and thanked the old man, "Thank you for the offer, but I worry that my brother would be too drunk to travel. I can only rent a room in an inn here."

After she said this, she gave the old man a few bronze coins. "This is my fare."

The old man had wanted to refuse to receive her payment, but Adelyn didn't want to be indebted to the old man. Besides, it was only a few bronze coins. She first considered giving him a silver coin, but thinking it again, the gambling son will only benefit from it. Thus, she settled with the bronze coins and gave all of it to the old man.

"Thank you, Missy."

"You're welcome."

Adelyn stood alone there for a while, watching the ox-cart drive far before disappearing under the cloak of darkness. Then, she turned around to look at the bustling town.

Even at night, the market was never silent. A middle-aged woman selling her goods was yelling for customers to take a closer look and buy from her. A half-naked man with a white apron on his front butchered a freshly cut and sliced meat while three or four customers were standing in front of his stall. Several children were also selling some candies and other mysterious items in vials.

From this scene, Adelyn could still have some sense of peace. The war torn capital city Voltis and the terror that was widely spread across the kingdom has not yet touched this place. Perhaps, the news of the fall of the kingdom has spread here, but they only want to live in the present. As the war and the soldiers of the creatures of the night still haven't reached this place, why worry about them?

Adelyn liked this kind of environment. But it also showed her all the reasons why she couldn't escape the marriage between her and the king's brother.