The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness Chapter 428: Evildoer

"How about this set?"

In front of the ready-to-wear shop’s mirror, Ariel turned once; the ink-colored skirt hem with gold-thread trim leaped and fluttered with her nimble movent like lotus leaves stirred by wind.

The bright belt traced her waist so slender it could be held in one hand; as the deerskin long boots bounced, she seed brimming with youthful vigor.

"It truly suits you perfectly, honored custor."

The mustachioed proprietor bent at the waist, his face full of sincere admiration. "I also have a sun hat here; the pairing would be simply superb. Would the custor like to try it?"

"Get lost, get lost, I didn’t ask you."

Looking at that green sun hat, Ariel curled her lips.

Although the color was indeed very nice, she didn’t know why—just looking at that hat gave her a naless sense of displeasure.

As if sothing important had already left her forever.

So strange.

Could it be I dropped money?

But thinking carefully, recently she had not only not lost money, she had reaped quite a lot; that embarrassing plight of lacking money had left her forever, and there was no need to eat black bread every day anymore—adding a drumstick to every al was nothing but a trivial splash.

She had no idea where that feeling ca from; perhaps after a long journey, she was a bit tired.

"Is wearing a skirt a bit lacking in solemnity? How about changing into formalwear?"

Casting aside that wisp of inexplicable thought, Ariel continued happily trying on one garnt after another.

After a month of battle in the ruins, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) her clothing reserves were already stretched thin; the skirt when she first ca out of the ruins was even sowhat ragged. If not for Count Aile’s friendly sponsorship of a few maid outfits, she would have been too embarrassed to go out and et people.

And now she was about to see Liya; naturally she had to dress herself up beautifully and go see her in the best state. That, coupled with a month of separation, would surely, beneath this splendid sunshine, deliver a fatal blow to her maiden heart!

Just imagine it: the sunlight just right now, the sky just blue, under those eaves full of historical charm, the wind chis tinkling.

Everything so wonderful.

And at this mont, on both sides of the street, the long-parted girl stops and gazes; the beloved like this, brows and eyes flying high... with just a body wrapped in splendid clothes and a flower held in the mouth, how could the favorability not shoot up?

"Perhaps n’s formalwear would suit you better?"

Under Ariel’s repeated pressing, the teacher, who hadn’t wanted to bother over such a small matter, helplessly gave an answer.

"n’s formalwear..."

Ariel’s eyes lit up.

Right.

Compared to the already familiar maiden attire, that slightly androgynous n’s formalwear on her might more easily, in an unguarded instant, sway a maiden’s heart.

Especially after being apart so long—a suddenly changed style is even more likely to give soone a strong sense of contrast!

"This is it!"

Ariel was decisive in action; very quickly she picked out a close-fitting n’s formal set in the shop.

She was short in stature and not large in fra, hard-pressed to support clothing custom-made for n. But fortunately, for her there didn’t exist those inconvenient physiological differences; thus when the buttons clicked perfectly along the outline of her chest and lower abdon one by one, it actually looked rather decent.

Ariel looked with satisfaction at herself in the mirror; when she deliberately tucked her long hair into the top hat, she was completely a fair-faced, red-lipped little aristocratic pretty boy.

What big sister could refuse such a cute little pretty boy?

"This one, then."

After paying, Ariel stepped out the door with happy strides.

Pinning a bouquet of roses into the breast pocket, Ariel gave an evil-charming smile and was even more full of anticipation for the eting to co.

...

After leaving the ready-to-wear shop, Ariel strolled through several more stores, picking a eting gift for Liya.

In this special period, the Holy City’s foot traffic had increased a good deal; many shops were packed with people.

Only after much difficulty did Ariel choose a silver-white headpiece like a princess’s coronet, thinking it would certainly look beautiful sitting on Liya’s head.

She looked up at the sky and, seeing it was not late, stuffed the large and small bags into a storage device, satisfied, and headed toward the center of the Holy City.

As she went deeper, the flow of people around gradually thinned.

"Right."

Walking along, Ariel suddenly clapped her palm.

"I haven’t agreed with Liya on where to et yet. The Holy City is so big—blundering around would be a waste of ti, no?"

But then she smiled indifferently.

"Good thing we can communicate at any ti now. This ti Liya shouldn’t be busy and hang up my Transmission Stone, right?"

Ariel took out the Transmission Stone, cheerfully about to connect to that familiar frequency.

Her finger fell on the crystalline stone; streaks of magic symbols, following the ripple of her slender finger, were gradually entered into the Transmission Stone.

Everything went very smoothly, because she had dialed that frequency many tis.

Just one symbol short, and she could connect with Liya again and communicate without hindrance.

But right before it was about to connect...

Her movent ca to an abrupt halt.

So abrupt.

She did not lift her head; only the dark-brown pupils moved slightly upward.

The setting sun in the west seed to turn chill; the few figures around wavered in disorder.

The smile at Ariel’s lips slowly receded, and then a still, cold ruthlessness surfaced in her icy eyes.

She was being tailed.

Just now, a line of sight, from the shadows, fell upon her.

And this sa gaze—since leaving the ready-to-wear shop—she had felt it thirteen tis.

Absolutely not an illusion.

"Teacher, can you locate the trackers’ positions?"

Ariel asked inwardly.

The situation sudden, the usually indolent teacher of Ariel restrained their mind; a powerful soul-sense spread out.

"Three on the left, five on the right, one at the corner in the shadow of the street ahead."

So it wasn’t just one person?

Ariel’s pupils tightened.

"Their strength?"

"Don’t know. In the Holy City I dare not use too much soul power, but I can feel none of them are weak."

The teacher’s voice already carried a hint of gravity.

This was the Holy City.

Under the shining sun, humanity’s most exalted city.

Though there were shadows no ordinary person could glimpse, those shadows absolutely should not swagger so brazenly beneath the sun.

The ones coming were not simple.

"Well? Any leads?"

"...None."

Ariel pondered a mont and shook her head.

She did indeed have many enemies; even her half-brother by the sa father thought at all tis of killing her. But most of her enemies were in Belrand.

The Holy City was not her troublemaking turf!

"Then have you been targeted for so reason?"

"The things I obtained in the ruins?"

"Have you revealed them since entering the city?"

"No."

Doubt deepened in Ariel’s eyes.

"Perhaps it’s just an accident?"

"Whether it’s an accident or not, I felt hostility."

Ariel’s gaze sharpened, but there was not the slightest abnormality in her behavior.

That change in expression just now was also smoothly gathered away without a trace.

She lifted the still-unconnected Transmission Stone to her ear and spoke happily:

"Hello, I’m here. Where are you now? Canyang Avenue?"

"Oh, okay, okay, I’ll co find you right away..."

Ariel’s steps did not pause; she wound and curved along the streets, brushing past so believers not yet returned ho late.

For so reason, the pedestrians on the road beca fewer and fewer, and the target she was heading toward this ti—the Aimier Grand Cathedral at the center of the Holy City, its tall orange do beneath the sunset—suddenly turned ethereal.

As if the whole world were receding from her.

Ariel’s expression grew grave; she suddenly turned her body and slipped into a quiet alley.

Then she abruptly accelerated, her figure turning into an afterimage, darting and vaulting through the crisscrossing alleys.

Under the teacher’s guidance, she was gradually shaking off those trackers.

But...

"Careful!"

Ariel’s forward-lunging figure halted sharply; her thin body arched midair like a bow, both feet stepping onto one wall, unloading the forward montum with a strange motion.

Her face looked bad, for in the shadows not far ahead, a silver-white arc of light lay silently in wait.

It was a longsword, peerlessly sharp; had she not stopped in ti, she might have run herself onto it and been beheaded.

These fellows in the dark really dared to make a move?

Ariel frowned slightly and felt these ignorant rats were simply insane. This was the Holy City—daring to act here was simply—

"Heh... the Bugaard heir is truly living at ease..."

With the mocking words, the silhouette hidden in the dark actually walked straight out. Mixed with the scrape of tal, a suit of silver armor reflected a cold gleam beneath the distant sunset.

"You..."

Ariel’s eyes widened in astonishnt, because the person before her...

Was actually the very knight who stopped her at the city gate!

Why was he here? Was it because her illegal entry into the city had been discovered?

The rat was actually ?

"Ah... it’s you, haha... what a coincidence."

For a mont, Ariel both breathed a sigh of relief and scratched her head in embarrassnt, saying:

"If you know I’m from the Bugaard family, then you should know it was a misunderstanding earlier. I was only in a hurry to enter the city—I had no bad intentions."

"No... bad intentions?"

The knight sneered:

"Although I have yet to verify whether your identity as so-called count’s heir is true, you racked your brains to sneak into the Holy City, colluded with evildoers, scouted all the main thoroughfares, and even changed your attire and appearance, dressing a woman as a man... after doing all this, you still dare to claim you had no bad intentions?"

"Eh?"

Ariel froze at his words.

But before she could react, she saw the knight not far away suddenly step forward; the silver-white longsword in his hand chopped down rcilessly.

"Enough nonsense. Evildoer, are you not going to surrender at once!"

"Ha?"

Ariel hurriedly dodged, feeling utterly at sea.

Evildoer?

?

What the hell?

She had only gone shopping, changed clothes, and bought a gift—why did it sound like a heinous cri?

Sneaking into the Holy City—was that really such a heavy cri?

"Wait, have you people misunderstood sothing?"

"Your accomplices have already been put down. Do you still want to resist?"

"Accomplices? What accomplices?"

During this period, she had either been in the ruins or on the road to the Holy City. There wasn’t even a humanoid at her side—where would she have gotten accomplices?