Not A Small-Town Girl

----

Amanor house abroad.

The man had a small black snake in his hand. The snake

would occasionally flick out its tongue.

"Sir, Matthew Darling has disappeared this time. The

Darling family went to the last place he was seen. We sent

people to assassinate them on the way, but we failed

again."

Alan, the butler, stood aside, lowering his head, not daring

to meet his boss’s gaze.

----

"A bunch QPuseless trash. I don’t

keep idlepeople around me. If there

is a nexttime, ask them to go to>

hell." Fae man with dark eyes.féaned

backin his chair. He was calm and

composed.

----

"Yes."

Alan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"It’s time to visit an old friend in Aleria." The man stared at

the small viper coiled around his wrist.

"Sir, it would be better if you stayed here. I will go to Aleria

myself and put an end to the Darling family." Alan’s eyes

were firm.

The man’s eyes were deep and cold, like a bottomless

abyss, sending chills down one’s spine. "When do I need

your permission to do anything?"

Alan hurriedly said, "Sir, that’s not what I meant. I’m afraid

that if you go..."

“I’m just informing you." The man’s face darkened.

Knowing that he could not stop his boss’s decision, Alan

was determined to protect him.

"Yes."

----

Alan left the-study. The man smoked

one cigarette after another, closiag

his eyesyand leaning back in his

chair.His mind was blank, andé-his

entire body was enveloped i@the

smell of tobacco.

He thought, ‘Darling family, this is what you owe me. You

shouldn’t be living happily while I suffer. Only when you are

all dead will I feel at ease."

----

The next day at Blackpool Village.

Danielle and the others got up early in the morning. As they

were guests in the village, they felt uneasy. Hence, they

couldn’t sleep well.

Raina was a little surprised to see Danielle awake. "Did

you sleep well last night?”

"I slept very well. I used to live in the countryside. Are you

preparing meals? Is there anything I can help with?”

Danielle was surprised to see Raina chopping chicken.

These free-range chickens were usually kept for laying

eggs, and they were not eaten except on New Year and

special occasions.

----

Raina was verystraightforward and

said with ashe "It’s a bit messy

here, young lady. You don’t need te

help. Yorrean go back to your rom

and get some more sleep. I’ll Ietall

oe know when the meal is

rea y.”

----noveldrama

Danielle shook her head, "I’m well rested. I’ll help you add

firewood."

"You’re such a fair and gentle girl. I didn’t expect you to

know how to do these chores,” Raina praised.

“Why don’t you go out or turn on the lights at night, Raina?"

Danielle asked out of curiosity. She had many questions

and this seemed like a good time to ask Raina.

"It’s a long story. People in our village were cursed a long

time ago. If there are too many people out at night, there

will be serious consequences.”

Danielle wondered, ’A curse? Can a curse still come true in

this day and age?"

“What curse? Yesterday, I saw the village chief talking to

crows." Danielle was intrigued. This sounded a bit

superstitious.

----

Raina glanced at Danielle cautiously. "It’s not that I don’t

want to tell you, but you are not from our village, and

knowing these things will do you no good."

Raina continued, "The crows are the guardians of our

village. They circle over the village every night to protect

us. Only the village chief is able to communicate with the

crows.