Leaving the palace was quite simple. As the residence of the most important leader of an empire, it naturally had secret passages known only to members of the royal family.
Alicia had not been blind since childhood. When she was young, she often used the palace's hidden passages to sneak outside and play, or to play hide-and-seek with the maids.
Fortunately, the pawnbroker had risen early, so she did not have to wait bitterly in the cold wind. This little old lady could not endure such hardship.
The brooch fetched quite a bit of money, as expected. There were plenty of pawnbrokers in the Imperial Capital who knew their goods. If this had been some rural place, such a large ruby would probably have been mistaken for a fake.
Though she could not see, as a member of the royal family, she still had a personal stylist.
Since the brooch did not look particularly good when worn, her stylist had permanently sealed it away in a drawer for several years. Hardly anyone had seen it, so there should not have been any problem.
After selling the brooch, Alicia bought some bread and water, wrapping them together in a gray bundle. Her luck was good; she did not encounter any hooligans or bandits on the road. In her current state, she would not have been able to scare such people away.
With money, everything became easier. She hired a carriage and had it take her to Romir Town.
Marquis Os's territory was not actually far from the Imperial Capital. By carriage, it took roughly eight hours to arrive, a distance of around one hundred kilometers.
Yes, the Imperial Capital lay at a very high latitude. It was only a little over a hundred kilometers from the frozen snowfields, making winters extremely cold, but the capital's location had not been chosen at random.
It was close to the sea, but not too close. Near the bay stood the empire's largest ice-free port, while to the northeast stretched two unbroken mountain ranges that formed a natural barrier against enemies from the east.
Behind it lay plains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Sea and land transportation were both convenient, and best of all, over the past several centuries, there had been virtually no major natural disasters. Aside from the cold, it was nearly a perfect capital.
There was actually a good location in the south as well, but the Britannia Empire had a mortal enemy there. Being too close to an enemy was simply too dangerous.
Though the town was small, it was beautiful. Romir Town stood at the only gap between the two mountain ranges. In other words, if an army from the east attacked Britannia, this place would become the front line. Thus, Marquis Os held a very important position.
She did not remain in town for long. She passed through the market, crossed a small bridge, and arrived on a country road. Along the way, she asked people about the Sorcerer. Almost all of them told Alicia the same thing: that man was on the northern snowfields.
The sun felt pleasant today. The warm spring sunlight gradually revived the land, and the grass beneath her feet was lush and thriving. Alicia discovered that although she had become a little old woman, her eyesight was still fairly good. She could admire the sights and scents of the hawthorn blossoms along the way.
She had not seen a colorful world for more than ten years since going blind. To her, everything felt fresh.
"That guy did do one good thing," Alicia muttered. "Hm, but I'll definitely settle the score with him later."
Once people grew old, they liked talking to themselves.
However, the growing pain in her back left her with little attention to spare for the beautiful scenery.
"I need a cane," Alicia said.
She continued onward, searching through the bushes in hopes of finding a branch that could serve as a cane. But suddenly, a sound came from the hedge behind her.
First came a few squeaking noises, followed by a heavy groan.
Sounds like a person, Alicia thought.
She reached out her bony hand and parted the bushes. Beyond them was a hilly plain, where many sheep grazed with their heads lowered. This appeared to be a pasture.
Not far away, an old man with white hair and beard lay on the ground groaning. His shepherd's crook had been tossed aside. He appeared to be the owner of the flock.
She hurried over and helped the old man up, letting him sit on a small rock nearby.
"Would you like some water, sir?" Alicia asked.
The shepherd rubbed his aching back and waved his hand. "No need. Thank you for your kindness, old mother."
"Old mother?" Alicia said unhappily. "Aren't you an old geezer too?"
The shepherd turned and looked Alicia up and down. "Oh, you misunderstand. Though I look old, I'm only in my sixties."
Alicia was about to argue that she was only in her twenties, but then she remembered what she looked like now.
Fine. She looked nearly ninety now. To him, she really was an "old mother."
Alicia snorted twice and said nothing more.
After a pause, she asked again, "How did you end up lying on the ground?"
"Ah, don't mention it. I picked up a lamb, and its mother rammed me. When these beasts start protecting their young, they're fiercer than people," the shepherd said.
"Then where is your son? Why not have him tend the sheep?" Alicia asked curiously.
The shepherd pounded his sore thigh and sighed. "Dead. He came down with a serious illness before the new year. I sold quite a few sheep, but I still couldn't save him."
Alicia fell silent for a moment, then sighed as well. "I may end up dying alone too."
The shepherd raised his head at her words and asked curiously, "Old mother, the sun will be setting soon. Where are you going? You aren't planning to reach the mountains before dark, are you?"
"Going to the mountaintop to watch the sunset. Isn't that interesting?" Alicia said, half-jokingly.
"You're not serious, are you?" the shepherd asked in surprise. Then he said, "I have a shepherd's hut on the mountain. If you cannot make it down in time, you can stay there."
As he spoke, he picked up a walking stick from the ground beside him and handed it to Alicia.
"You look like you need this more than I do."
The walking stick was finely made, with a bird's head carved on top. It felt comfortable in her hand, and its height was perfect, as though it had been custom-made for her.
"Thank you. This is a tremendous help."
The shepherd smiled, picked up his crook, and walked along the hedge toward his flock.
Watching the shepherd's departing back, then looking at the walking stick in her hand, Alicia mocked herself.
"The advantage of being old enough is that even a man in his sixties has to 'respect his elders' around me."
She continued up the mountain. Before long, the bushes vanished, revealing a bare ridgeline. Above it lay the Broom Heather Highlands, and farther up was a steep slope covered in wild yellow grass that clawed at the air.
Alicia continued onward expressionlessly. Before long, her old legs began to ache, followed by her back and knees.
She no longer had the strength to mutter complaints. She simply kept walking, panting heavily, yet she could not see the shepherd's hut the old man had mentioned. When the sun finally sank below the horizon, she collapsed onto a rock, completely unsure of what to do next.
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