A few seconds later, Tales quickly came to his senses and instinctively moved to shield Shilai behind him, but she was faster—Lady Cavendil yanked her left arm out of Tales's grasp, then clamped her palm tightly beneath her right armpit, refusing to let anyone see it.
As if hiding her ugliest secret.
Or burying her most precious treasure.
Her movements were so fast and forceful that it was as though Tales's hand had been holding a red-hot branding iron.
But it wasn't over yet.
"Do you think her right hand is the same? I once heard a doctor say these things always came in pairs!"
The crowd's discussion grew louder and more brazen:
"What about her feet? Does she have six toes there too?"
"Maybe she's got a tail as well..."
"Eugh!"
"Heh heh, she wouldn't happen to have three breasts, would she? Like that freak-show circus we saw in Vine City back then..."
"The priest was right after all. Thieves have three hands, and magicians have six fingers!"
"Her parents must have done something wrong and been punished by Luori."
"It must have been some great sin committed by her ancestors or family!"
"I know, I know! They say only people who commit the great sin of incest give birth to freaks like that!"
As he listened to the crowd's increasingly numerous comments, Shilai looked fearfully at her left palm buried beneath her right armpit. Then she looked toward everyone's frightened yet fascinated gazes and listened to their hushed whispers. Her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"No, no, no..."
In that instant, Shilai seemed to suddenly find herself struggling to breathe. She sucked in great, panicked gulps of air as if she were drowning.
And one of the pair of gray gloves Shilai never removed was lying on