Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 220

Chapter 220

After wandering around for a while, Beili felt that she didn’t have anything in particular she needed to buy.

So, the two of them walked into an open-air restaurant.

Princess Theresa ordered the buttered snails.

Snails again. Although snails weren’t unpleasant to eat, Beili wasn’t keen on trying them a second time after having already sampled them once.

She chose a lentil soup.

Princess Theresa picked a spot with a wide view that caught the sun. Once the food was served, she began to enjoy her meal.

The restaurant’s wall clock pointed toward ten o’clock, and a gentle, warm sunlight filtered down.

A layer of warm golden light fell upon the hair and foreheads of the two young women.

Princess Theresa used a small fork to lift a piece of snail meat into her mouth, chewing as she narrowed her eyes slightly in enjoyment.

“The people of the Nauze Kingdom are very fond of snails, and of course, they love the sunlight even more.”

Princess Theresa explained with a smile, “Coming all the way from the town at the Border, Miss Bartholomew must have noticed that we have quite a lot of overcast and rainy days here.”

Beili nodded as she ate her lentil soup.

“However, those living in the capital are already quite lucky to enjoy good weather and bright sunshine,” Princess Theresa added.

After spending this time together, the relationship between Beili and Princess Theresa had become considerably closer than it was at the start.

“Is there anywhere else you’d like to go next?” Princess Theresa asked with a smile, elegantly dabbing the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

Beili was also full.

She looked up at the elegant girl sitting opposite her.

Looking at the poor Seventeenth Princess of the Nauze Kingdom, Beili noticed her dark eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, yet she had still been dragged out shopping.

Beili hesitated for a moment before saying, “Princess Theresa, I would like to go see the Cradle River.”

“It would be wonderful if we could board a cruise ship and take a tour of the Cradle River,” she added suggestively and tactfully.

According to Mr. Vulture’s description and what she had seen on the map, the capital of Nauze should be located in the upper-middle reaches of the Cradle River. Perhaps the sinful Mana in the water would be different from what she had sensed mid-stream.

Princess Theresa looked at the sky, estimated the time in her head, and then nodded readily. She gave the order regarding the cruise ship to the coachman who had been following them the whole way.

Fulfilling her duties as a host, Princess Theresa first led her toward the Cradle River.

The Cradle River flowed through the capital and wasn’t far from them. Before long, Beili saw the shimmering waters of the river.

As Mr. Vulture had described, long, solid stone walls had indeed been built along both banks of the river, and the gaps in the walls were heavily guarded.

“In the past, this river was filled with sightseeing boats. People would make beautiful water lanterns at night and set them afloat. It was a truly beautiful scene.”

Standing on the high ground of the riverbank, Princess Theresa gazed at the flowing water and sighed, saying with some emotion, “But ever since news of the Mana Crystal Water spread, my father had the river walled off and sealed overnight. No one outside of the Royal Family and the Nobles is allowed to approach it anymore.”

“The most beautiful and bustling part of the capital has become its most desolate.”

After a moment of lamentation, the cruise ship arranged by Princess Theresa arrived.

The two of them boarded, and the ship slowly drifted into the river.

Beili gripped the railing with both hands, lowering her eyes slightly as she carefully sensed the sinful Mana within the water.

Soon, she made a startling discovery-
The sinful Mana here was indeed much denser than in the middle reaches of the river.

“…”

Regret-

Beili felt a deep sense of regret for not bringing the Black Bone Scythe with her.

Of course, her main reason for leaving it behind was to create the illusion that she had been suddenly abducted, leaving her no time to even grab her weapon.

However, looking at the continuous, tempting flow of sinful Mana in the river, such an illusion seemed trivial in comparison.

On the boat, a gentle breeze blew, carrying the damp, cold scent of the river water. It ruffled the grey hair and brown hair of the two young girls.

Princess Theresa sat upright, her back resting lightly against the boat’s railing. She suddenly spoke up, taking the initiative to ask:

“I’ve heard that Prince Cyril of Sainthos is exceptionally handsome, possesses powerful Mana, and is outstanding in every way. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

On the other side, the grey-haired, red-eyed girl leaned over to stare at the river water, responding in a flat tone:

“But Your Highness, didn’t you skip studying magic at Holy Island Academy? Why are you interested in Prince Cyril?”

“When Holy Island Academy is on break, the person my sisters mention the most is Prince Cyril of Sainthos.”

Princess Theresa smiled slightly, a hint of longing in her eyes. “They even often fantasize that, as Princesses of Nauze Kingdom, they might one day enter a political marriage with the Santos Kingdom, just like in the storybooks, and marry Prince Cyril.”

Beili could understand this kind of adolescent fantasy.

After all, in the original story, it wasn’t just the female students of Sainthos who favored Cyril; female students from other kingdoms did as well. He was the perfect partner in the hearts of all young girls.

However, Beili’s attention was currently focused more on the water of the Cradle River.

As expected, the concentration of sinful Mana was extremely high, already rivaling that of the Graveyard.

And as the pleasure boat moved along, the sinful Mana grew even denser.

Until-

At a certain point in the river, that dense sinful Mana suddenly vanished without a trace.

Beili immediately looked back at the spot where the Mana had just disappeared.

Then she looked around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

What did this mean?

Clearly, the source of the sinful Mana was in the section of the river she had just passed, because beyond that point, no more sinful Mana appeared.

Beili furrowed her brows slightly, observing the river water thoughtfully.

Then, she turned to ask Princess Theresa:

“Your Highness, is there a drainage outlet or some kind of tunnel around here?”

Princess Theresa’s face showed a look of confusion, clearly not understanding why she would ask such a thing, but she answered nonetheless:

“I’m not quite sure. Perhaps only those who built the imperial city would know.”

“Does the Royal Library of the Nauze Kingdom have those records? I’d like to go take a look,” Beili asked again.

She was already planning to have Princess Theresa take her to the Royal Library to find blueprints or other documents related to the city’s construction, hoping to find clues regarding the source of the sinful Mana.

Suddenly, her gaze caught a familiar dark shadow on the shore.

The figure stood there silently, his skin pale and greyish, like a statue.

He seemed completely different from usual; his aura was eerie to the extreme, radiating a thick, bloodthirsty ferocity.