章 32: Causing a Stir
With Balanos' help, Sebastian got away from both the hawk and the fox and safely made it out of the burning forest in just a couple days. Before he got out of the forest, he covered his face with some cloth because his mask was washed away before he woke up.
Once Sebastian was out of the forest, he inhaled a deep breath and exhaled.
"I'm definitely not going to go to more forests anytime soon," Sebastian walked to the nearest settlement and bought some clothes before setting off towards Aurum by hitching a ride with a wagon for a fee.
Strangely enough, he was insanely calm. He'd normally be stressing himself out over what he would do right after getting out the forest but he didn't feel nervous at all.
None of the people in the wagon he rode recognized him because of the cloth covering half his face but if they had, there would be quite the commotion.
Sebastian didn't realize it but there were posters all over town and all of the nearby villages. Argenti had posters put up by the Wardes. Balanos, having her main body in Argenti knew but chose not to inform Sebastian.
His current state was too strange. Even when he faced the fox, he felt calm and collected. Did he really break free from the stigma's attack?
Sebastian closed his eyes and rested on the moving wagon. There wasn't any risk of bandits this close to town and even in the unlikely chance that there was, Balanos was enough to deal with them.
It took about two hours to get back to Aurum on the wagon. Sebastian hopped off and began to search for a good place to have a meal. He definitely wouldn't be able to rest if he were to go home.
He couldn't just walk into a famous restaurant with his face covered so he went to a bar and ordered food at the counter and ate there. His attention was focused on the food that was at least three person's worth of servings that he couldn't see the barkeep's eyes widen.
"Give me a drink too, no alcohol."
The barkeep unconsciously followed his words and gave him a glass of fruit juice. Only then did Sebastian notice his expression.
"Is there something on my face?"
The barkeep flinched before pointing at the nearby wall with a trembling hand.
Sebastian followed his hand and when his eyes landed on the wall, feeling surprised was an understatement. His face was plastered with the wanted posters but it didn't say he was a criminal, it said missing person. His identity was even disclosed.
Sebastian raised his index finger to his lips and gestured the barkeep to stay silent. Only when the barkeep nodded his head repeatedly did Sebastian calm down and continue his meal.
The barkeep definitely wasn't shocked because Sebastian was the missing person on the board, it was because one of the heirs of a major house was eating inside a bar like this. All of the other customers were rough-looking and most of them were even drunk even though it was only a little past midday.
"Oi lad," a drunken voice called out from behind Sebastian, "you best rein in your bloodlust—"
The man who spoke put his hand on Sebastian's shoulder. It was just a light tap but Sebastian moved faster than anyone could react. His stigma activated and his body became faster and more controlled.
Sebastian grabbed the man's hand, stood up, and locked his arm with the man before flipping his body over the shoulder. One of the basic techniques that Lyons had taught him that he couldn't execute in his normal state.
It took a few seconds for everyone to register the situation. The barkeep was trembling in fear while the other customers were looking at Sebastian in caution.
The man who had gotten flipped groaned. Sebastian hurriedly began to apologize.
"I'm sorry! I was surprised when you grabbed my shoulder!"
The man on the floor was evidently drunk but the shock from Sebastian's attack sobered him up. He sat down on the floor and rubbed his head.
"Lad, I was just tellin' you to rein in your bloodlust, the barkeep can barely stand straight. Still, you must be quite the fighter since you were able to flip me with that body of yours..."
The man was complimenting Sebastian's throw but when he saw Sebastian's face clearly, he froze and his mouth kept gaping and closing. He was even more shocked than the barkeep.
"I-I'm sorry!"
The man got down on his knees and lowered his head to the floor. He lowered his head so hard that the floor even made a bang. Maybe his forehead was even bleeding from that impact.
The sudden change in the situation caused all of the people in the bar whether they were drunk or sober turned their heads to check it out. Sebastian lowered his body to stop the man and his hood fell off in the process.
The ones who saw his features were insanely shocked but none dared to speak a word. If it was before, Sebastian would've been able to walk around these types of places without attracting any attention but now, his features were perfectly seen in the posters. Although the sketches weren't perfect, there was no mistaking it, the second son from the House of Sol was in their presence.
He wasn't done eating his meal but knew that he couldn't allow the situation to carry on any longer so Sebastian took the liberty of wrapping up his food and left money on the counter before leaving. Each and every person inside the bar looked at him as he left.
Once Sebastian got outside, he covered his face and began looking for a stall that sold masks. It didn't take him long to find one. He chose a rabbit mask with his reasoning being that it was Amy's favorite animal.
"...let's not mention how I ate a lot of them in the forest."
Just a few moments after he secured a mask, he heard the surrounding people whisper.
"Hey, I heard that the missing person from the House of Sol was seen in the bar earlier!"
"That's right! I think I saw him run outside!"
"Let's go check it out!"
There were varying areas they focused on but the topic was all about Sebastian.
"How did word travel so fast?!"
Did that bar have a crier?! No, even if there was, word wouldn't spread this fast! It's only been a little more than two minutes!
Little did he know, the city was practically in a state of high alert. Every house, every store, every nook and cranny was being searched by three of the major houses to find any clues about Sebastian's whereabouts.
Sebastian wanted to observe the situation for a few more minutes but then he saw several people from the Walt House run over. He lowered his hood further and walked away.
He needed to get back home to dissolve the situation first. And, he also needed to avoid the Walt House who might use the commotion to capture him. Although he didn't know the routes through the alleys, Balanos helped him and he was only a little bit further away as he could see the House of Sol in the distance.
It had been about half an hour since he left the bar. His legs weren't tired and his wound was already mostly healed but because of the severity of the wound and the time it was left untreated, it would probably become a scar.
I'm definitely going to hear more than an earful from Amy.
"Balanos, was there any hostility directed at me when the people from the Walt House appeared?"
—No, nobody managed to figure out your identity because you already had the mask on your face when the people in the bar left. Though, you better hurry.
"Why?"
As if it was on cue, the next street that Sebastian would enter from the alley had people running around. Sebastian stopped moving and began to listen in. It was simple to hide in the darkness of the alley with his clothing and even if he were spotted, he could just climb up the balconies and escape through the roof.
He would have to expend a lot of energy to get up there but he still had plenty to spare since he didn't use any energy for attacks.
"Did you confirm what the people at the bar said?" one of the people from the House of Luna asked someone from the Walt House.
"All of them gave the same testimonies and when his face was recognized, he left. I highly doubt that this was all done as a prank," the man from the Walt House answered back.
The man from the House of Luna scratched his head in frustration, "the young miss hasn't been resting at all this week and if this goes on any longer, she might really declare war on the Walt House!"
What?!
Sebastian internally yelled. What did he just say? The young miss definitely referred to Amy but when did she have the power to declare war?
"It's not just that, the House of Sol has also supports her decision! Do you have any idea how stressed our young master is to find the missing inept just to prove his innocence?!"
Gilbert was also trying to find him to prevent war? No, in the first place, who in the House of Sol would support such a crazy decision? Sebastian's mother definitely didn't have that much influence.
Sebastian knew that Amy hated Gilbert the most right now but he didn't think she was reckless enough to even talk about war! This wasn't just a minor conflict, it was a conflict between the major houses, the pillars of the kingdom!
"I really have to get back fast," Sebastian tightened the bindings on his mask and made sure his hood wouldn't fall of. He expended more of the stigma's energy and sped up.
He would reach his house in less than ten minutes. He had to diffuse the situation as soon as possible.
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