Every newspaper bore Leomaris Runerth's portrait, the Villain of Trinity, assassinator of the royal family. The world believed him dead, which was rather the problem. Someone walking about with those exact features wouldn't escape notice for long.
It got him wondering, though. What had become of his real body? He could feel his blood, his heart pounding, and his rage toward the Xanthus family as undying as ever, but what exactly had happened when he died?
He had no answers, but he knew better than to be careless. Before teleporting to the real world, he considered the possibilities. Day or night. That was rather the extent of it.
Under the cover of night, he could have teleported anywhere without drawing much attention. However, he was still in his torn straitjacket, and blindly teleporting only to find himself standing in broad daylight was a risk he couldn't afford.
He took the safest route and teleported into a cabin he'd once used during his early days as a Xanthus. The estate was seldom quiet, always bustling with plants and machinery, owing to Rosay's husband's occupation as an engineer.
Leo had built it himself just outside the estate, where the Marcus Forest began, and used it as his own private retreat whenever he needed peace of mind.
Teleporting into the cabin had its advantages, even if everything had been turned over. That was detectives picking through his things, no doubt. He changed his clothes and helped himself to the 120 pennies in his drawer. Equivalent to 12 shillings. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
He was in and out so quickly it was as though he'd never been there. The sun, unfortunately, shone brighter than he'd have liked. His golden hair was rather conspicuous, and his illusions were far too weak to do anything about it. He found a solution soon enough, though.
There was something rather useful about beggars that most people never considered. They could look as dreadful as they liked, and so long as they carried nothing of value, nobody gave them a second glance. That was precisely the appearance he adopted. Dirt rubbed into his golden hair, freshly acquired clothes tucked beneath his trousers.
"Five shillings should be enough to secure a one-star inn for at least five days. The rest can go on necessities, like proper hair dye and food."
Leo walked along St. Helena Street, which led into the city of St. Helena. His destination was only two streets away, but he was in no hurry to get too close. A street's distance, at the very least.
Unlit had mentioned Dr. Kanin Street. Dr. Kanin was a particularly religious man, known for taking matters concerning the Insight Goddess seriously, people admired that about him. It showed in his street, where nearly every shop held some fondness for the Insight Goddess.
'These people are no different. These are the eyes of people who loathe filth. I must hurry and make myself more presentable, or I will be reported as a thief. That would make things easier to handle. If I perform a few noble acts and attend church next Sunday, I might even be mistaken for a priest.'
The atmosphere was thick. St. Helena Street wasn't particularly known for commoners, and every pair of eyes seemed to know it. No one could keep their gaze off him, not even those seated in horse carriages rolling past.
Even so, he kept his head. One wrong move and he'd be a target for the rich. Leo endured, refining his act with every limping step he took.
Soon enough, he reached Gaston Street, purchased hair dye from a street vendor, and made straight for the nearest one-star inn.
The inn ran on a power plant and kerosene lamps, which gave the lobby a rather exhausted look, as though the owner had already thrown in the towel. It wasn't entirely hopeless; there was a gas pipe going for it. Leomaris would simply have preferred candles to kerosene lamps. But one couldn't be choosy.
"Hold on a moment, mate. I need to finish reading this. I might actually win the lottery today." He hadn't spared Leo a single glance. This man couldn't care less about customers.
Behind the counter sat a potbellied man whose shirt buttons were one deep breath away from popping clean off. He remained entirely lax in his seat, the lobby thick with his cigar smoke. He'd nearly burnt his registration book, quenching the flame with his bare hand as though it were nothing at all.
"Can you believe it, lad? I used the date that bastard Villain of Trinity was executed as my lottery pick… For the Goddess's sake, I should've known there was nothing good about a criminal."
Going by the innkeeper's words, the execution was still fairly recent, and that made Leo rather curious.
"You should have been more careful. What exactly was the date again?"
The innkeeper sighed, his eyes never leaving the newspapers.
"I guess you're right. Monday, 12th of August. An unfortunate number, really. That was the day my friend lost his cockroach wife. I should've gone with my birthday."
Between the imprisonment and the restraints leading up to his execution, Leo had long since lost track of time. Still 1857, by the looks of it. Everything in the cabin had been a testimony. His eyes drifted to the date on the innkeeper's newspaper. The 15th of August.
That was rather strange. He'd been out of this world for at least three days, and yet he'd only woken in the Realm of Illusion some ten hours ago. That left a considerable gap unaccounted for. Where had he been?
His mind was still wandering when the innkeeper finally looked up, caught sight of him, and frowned.
"A beggar? We don't give rooms out for free, you know. Two shillings a night."
Leomaris scowled.
"Two shillings?! You bloody theft. It was one shilling two days ago!"
The innkeeper shrugged his shoulders, none the wiser. Leo was burning with rage. Daylight robbery, that's what this was. Not even Weijka, the most expensive city, had prices like these.
"Don't blame me, lad. The newly appointed Royal Family hasn't fixed the economy yet. Inflation's a right bastard these days… May the Goddess have mercy on our souls."
Leo was just about to ask which family had been appointed as the new Royal Family when something he'd missed on his last read of the newspaper caught his eye. The Xanthus Family was now the royal family.
It wasn't difficult to imagine. Rosay Xanthus may have betrayed him, lied on his name, and gotten him killed, but she remained the biological sister of Emperor Marshal all the same. She just hadn't been fortunate enough to be born first or as a man, so her path to the throne was always going to be a bloody one, and it had cost Leo his life.
He wasn't quite himself after seeing it, so he hurried to settle the bill immediately, requesting no more than three days.
The innkeeper was well and truly stunned to see a beggar pull out so many pennies, but then again, the only reason he didn't act was that they were pennies. Had Leo so much as produced a shilling note, he'd have been accused of theft before he could blink.
Once his payment was sorted, he was shown to his room. Right now, he just wanted to rest. Rosay had used his life as a stepping stone to the throne, but if anything, that only made it more fun for Leo.
'At last… the moment has arrived. The Villain of Trinity will commit murder against the Royal Family.'