A Serpent's Tale
Chapter 228: The Duchess

Chapter 228: The Duchess

I was on the south side of the statue, which I found also doubled as a fountain which people were allowed to drink from and had guards stationed around it to keep anyone from desecrating the water.

And because of that, I couldn’t see what all the commotion was about.

I did manage to hear what a bunch of people were saying and apparently the Duchess had come out for... Something. I couldn’t quite hear with all the shouting going on.

But I knew that this was a special occasion by how rare it was for this to happen by the way the crowd reacted.

I tried to shuffle forwards to get a better look but it was just too crowded. And when I wanted to move back it was too late as too many people had already surrounded me from all sides, wanting to get a look at the duchess.

I kept on trying to shuffle back but the floor was filled to the brim with tails of other serpentine, meaning that if I wanted to get out of this situation, I would have to go over them, and that’s considered extremely rude.

So I had no choice but to sit there and wait for the crowd to disperse.

And it did, but not necessarily in the way that I wanted it to.

As it parted ways in front of me, I saw that everyone was giving way to the duchess.

She slithered along the ground with a noble grace and an air of authority that forced the rest of the crowd to part for her.

I didn’t want to cause any trouble as it might hamper my odds of getting into the orphanage, so I slide to the side with everyone else as she got closer.

And as she got closer, I could make out her appearance a lot better.

Like a lot of the other serpentine here, she had a set of red scales, which typically signalled one’s affinity for fire being the most powerful. At least at birth, as you can increase other affinities as you get older, but your scales will stay the same regardless unless you use magic or some other treatment process.

Her hair on the other hand was a vibrant shade of lavender and her eyes a dark shade of purple. Most likely indicating her affinity for poison if I had to guess. I could be wrong about that though as I don’t know much about her, not even her name.

The crowd around me also started to hush themselves as she got closer, allowing me to see the details on the clothes she was wearing.

And she was wearing a lavish and luxurious red dress embroidered with gold linings that depicted a serpent’s tail coiling around a tree. What did they mean? I had no idea.

But it was stunning craftsmanship, with the way it perfectly depicted the scales and how realistic and lifelike the tree looked.

And by this point, she had reached me, or more specifically, had gotten to where I was.

She hadn’t said anything the entire time as far as I was aware and I hadn’t seen her move her mouth at all. I’d only seen her give of a couple of waves here and there.

She had a perpetually kind smile that seemed to spread warmth to all who gazed upon it, but something about the way she smiled didn’t sit right with me.

And when she turned her head to gaze in my general direction, it quickly snapped onto me. I was at the front of this particular side of the parted crowd, but I didn’t think myself remarkable enough in any way to draw the Duchess’s attention.

I could feel gazes of animosity and confusion land on me seconds after. The former most likely coming from those that want to be in my position and the latter coming from people wondering why she’s staring at me specifically.

That’s when she started to move towards me. Everyone else backed off a little and I knew I couldn’t do that as the Duchess would keep coming towards me so I just stayed in place.

And when she reached me, I realised that she wasn’t that much taller than me if at all. In fact, she might be a little bit shorter than me by a centimetre or two.

"You, what’s your name?" She demanded to know with a powerful and authoritative tone that wouldn’t accept no for an answer.

Despite that, and despite the fact that I could probably supress her and everyone here with my bloodline, I was still a little bit intimidated by her dominant presence.

But, I steadied myself and answered her question stoically, "It’s Traytora, my lady." I even gave a small bow as a show of respect for her and her position.

And I held that position for a while, waiting for her to respond, yet she didn’t.

There was an awkward silence that fell on the area as she kept on staring at me without saying anything. I didn’t move and stayed in my current position as I didn’t want to come off as rude.

But I could feel the Duchess’s gaze on me intensify immensely. And we stayed like that for a few minutes. The whole city centre just stood there quietly, awaiting their leaders next move.

"Hmm... What’s your story?" The Duchess inquired.

"My... Story?" I repeated, as this wasn’t something I was expecting.

Why would the Duchess take such an interest in me? Just what did she see in me?

I wasn’t all that eye catching. Sure, my colours were a tad more vibrant than others, but that just pertains to the fact that I’m very healthy as of now.

Not to mention, I wasn’t wearing anything! Just like over half the population of this city, hell, maybe even the Empire itself. And even the rings that I was wearing weren’t all that eye catching when you look at the jewellery that the Duchess was wearing herself.

I could see that she was wearing several religious bracelets pertaining to the Serpentine Church as well as some finely decorated rings that were encrusted with precious jewels and the like.

"Yes, your story. Why are you here? How did you get here? And what do you intend to here?"

The first and last question were the same but I wasn’t going to say anything about that or risk coming off as rude for it.

I lifted myself up to answer her with my arms trembling slightly out of nervousness due to the pressure of everyone watching all of this unfold. "I’m here to get admitted into the orphanage you made. I crossed the dune seas surrounding the flatlands. And my ultimate goal is just to get a stable life here."

"I see..." She looked me up and down, observing my every movement as if she was going to critique me for my conduct or something.

She kept on staring at me and the atmosphere around us grew quite tense and rather awkward as well.

She eventually left, finally giving me room to breathe. But only for a second as soon after the crowd came and pestered me.

Thankfully the guards came and dispersed the crowd as it was causing a commotion and disrupting the flow of commerce and the rest of the populace.

With the crowd being dispersed, I quickly thanked the guards and left, heading back towards the guest villa that I was staying at.

I also stopped a long the way and bought some kebabs as it was around two o’ clock and I was getting hungry again even though I had a large breakfast this morning.

I had to wait a minute as they were cooked fresh to go. I specifically ordered a few liver and heart kebabs a couple of vegetables as well and it was really nice.

The heart came from a wild female cockatrice and the liver from a Dune Worm funnily enough. It wasn’t the whole heart or liver though, only chunks of it cut down into sizable portions.

As for the veg, I got tomatoes as well as raw peppers and onions. The tomatoes were cooked, it’s just that I don’t like peppers and onions and other similar produce cooked. Not a fan of their texture to be honest.

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable snack as I made my way back to the villa and took another look at the local businesses to see if they would catch my eye.

I know I looked over them earlier but I wasn’t really paying attention then as I had planned to have a look at the other cardinal roads, but after that fiasco earlier, I think I’d rather just stay inside today.

But when I got back, Alera was waiting for me. And as soon as she saw me coming, she immediately came over to talk.

"Ah, there you are Traytora."

"Is there something wrong?" I asked, unsure as to why she would be seeking me out at this time of day.

"No, nothing’s wrong. I just came to inform you that the auction will be ready the day after tomorrow and it will be taking place in the evening. That’s all." She informed me professionally before giving a bow and heading back over towards the gates, most likely to continue working on the auction.

And that left me with one thought.

What should I wear to the auction?