Notorious Nightingale

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Given the circumstances, it has been agreed last night that I will only use my power when it is extremely necessary. Alam na ng lahat ng miyembro ng aking Night Court ang kapalit sa paggamit ng aking kapangyarihan. I lose a part of myself... Iniisip ko habang hinihintay ko sina Margaux, Wendy, Wynonah, at Enzo kung anong parte ng aking sarili na ba ang nawala ko mula sa mga buwang ginamit ko ito.

My magic is a double-edged sword... And every time I use it, I cut myself and bleed.

Matapos ang ilang minuto ng pagmumuni-muni ay nakita ko agad silang apat na bumungad mula sa entrada ng silid ng trono. Naglakad sila at ang apak ng kanilang mga paa ay umalingawngaw naman mula sa marmol na sahig. Tumayo ako mula sa aking trono at bumaba papunta sa malaking mapa ng mundo na nakapinta sa sahig.

May hinihila si Enzo na isang karitela kung saan makikita ang mga diyamanteng barya. Kasalukuyan akong nakasuot ng belo na nagtatakip sa aking puting buhok at may telang nagtatakip sa hati ng aking mukha. Nakasuot ako ng itim na bestida na may mga tatak ng ruwisenyor at bulaklak na may ginintuang kulay. I looked like a queen with all the jewelries that embodied my body as well. It was Marshall’s plan, that I should look rich while still in disguise so that Alexandro Belmonto will notice me.

Speaking of Marshall and the rest of the Night Court, they are probably busy right now with their ministries which I assigned them. I am so happy that I found the right people who will serve as my foundations and guidance in the kind of world I want to create. I am definitely not alone.

“Are you all ready?” I asked.

Tumango naman sila. Pagkatapos ay tinaas ni Margaux ang kaniyang mga kamay, and she started chanting a spell.

“Ignisio portalia Espania, il siudaderi islaveria.”

As she casted her magic, the cryptic symbols embedded unto her skin glowed along with her eyes. I still cannot get used to how beautiful Margaux was, she managed to cover her horns and her elf ears with a black cloak that has a hoodie on it. After all, magical creatures and beings were framed as evil beings associated by me. It will cause an uproar if the masters in Espania finds out that there is an elf with me.

On the other hand, Enzo was wearing a full knight armor with a helmet that covers his face. Wendy and Wynonah were also wearing cloaks in order to hide their identity. We were all still wearing our nightingale insignia inside the cloth that is covered by our capes. No one would be able to tell who we were... And it is best if we covered ourselves in mystery.

It was a good thing that Alexandro Belmonto allows for the privacy of his clients to make them more at ease to transact with them. So, I will use it to my advantage. He’ll never know it is me and he’ll never see me coming.

As much as I hate to admit this, we were also moving along with Veyrondale’s information. Still, I had things prepared in case of unexpected scenarios. After all, Veyrondale may have told the enemy that we plan to go to Espania and free all the slaves.

A black portal with purple glow appeared out of thin air, it was big enough for all of us to cross to the other side. For the last time, I looked at my Night Court and they all nodded encouragingly. With that, we finally walked towards the portal and teleported to the entrance of Espania City.

Halata ang gulat na naipinta sa mukha ng mga guwardiya nang makita nila kami. We walked towards the gate, but the guards blocked our way.

“Is this how you treat your clients?” I asked, my voice was cold and authoritative.

The guards were taken aback, and they looked at each other, as if thinking what to do next.

“Will you let me in or not? I have come here to purchase all of the slaves.” Matigas na sambit ko matapos ang ilang sandali. But it was all a lie, of course. I will not give the enemy a single of the penny that I brought with me. When everyone was finally in front of the city, the portal closed. Enzo who was in his full knight armor, came out and showed the cart that held enough diamonds to purchase the slaves.

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ng mga guwardiya at yumuko kay Enzo, “we are very sorry for blocking your way, Sir.”

They did not acknowledge me, rather, they acknowledged Enzo and thought I was only a part of his crew. This kingdom really reeks of patriarchy and I detested it.

It is high time for women to rise into power too.

Chapter 88

“Why are you apologizing to me? I am only a servant of hers.” Tinuro ako ni Enzo, halata naman ang gulat muli na naipinta sa mukha ng mga guwardiya dahil sa kanilang nalaman. They bowed their heads at me.

“Lead me the way to Alexandro Belmonto.” Utos ko sa kanila. At the sight of my wealth, they will probably do as I command them to. After all, wealth is everything to their master and they’ve seen a little of my wealth already.

Tumango naman sila at pumaharap ang isa sa mga guwardiya, “ako na po ang bahala.” Aniya at giniya na kami sa loob ng siyudad. I already told everyone to keep themselves on high alert given that we do not know what lies within and if Veyrondale has sold the information that we would be here.

“Unang beses po naming makita ang mahikang iyon.” Sabi ng guwardiya habang naglalakad kami. He must be pertaining to the portal magic of Margaux. Hindi kami nagsalita at mukhang nahiya agad ang guwardiya. Habang naglalakad kami ay nakikita ko ang mga alipin sa paligid. They looked sad and tired. And beaten up. May mga nakapako rin sa krus dahilan upang matigilan ako. The crucifixes were lined up around the place.

“Why are they crucified?” My voice was cold as I asked the guard.

Tumawa naman ito, “para madisiplina ang mga iyan. Mga nagtangkang tumakas ang mga iyan, o mga walang kuwentang alipin.”

I glared at the guard, good thing he wasn’t looking at me but looking at those slaves who were on the cross—he was even laughing at them as they struggled, some were even dead already, at pinagpipiyestahan ng mga itim na uwak. I kept myself calm or else I will ruin our coverup.

Naglakad muli kami. Lahat ng mga alipin sa paligid ay may mga taliwas sa kanilang mga leeg. I saw women being beaten up by their masters, and we passed by an army of slave soldiers. There were many of them and they stood still, as if waiting for their new masters. They covered the entire plains of the city. Their lines stretched up to where the eyes can see, like I am seeing a sea of soldiers.

Everyone of the slaves inside will soon be free from their leashes and it will be me and my Night Court who will make it happen. Soon, the city will fall under my hands.

Bahagya akong natigil nang makita ko ang mga Royal Knights at Holy Knights na nakapuwesto sa paligid, kasama ng isang Court Mage. I’ve only seen them once, but I know the girl. She was Flora. She is the twin of another Court Mage, Fauna. They were both Earth mages... And they were powerful.

“What are they doing here?” Tanong ko sa guwardiya.

“Ah, pinadala sila ng hari dito. Actually, sa lahat ng siyudad ay nagpadala siya ng mga salamangkero at iba pang mga kabalyero. Mukhang takot kay Zendaya, e ano naman ang magagawa ng babaeng iyon? Mukha namang mahina ang Zendaya na iyan.” Tumawa pa siya.

I rolled my eyes. But I was relieved to find out about this... It means that Veyrondale did not sold the information about me going after this dirty city.

“Kung mahina si Zendaya, e bakit mukhang takot ang hari at nagpadala pa siya ng mga magbabantay sa mga siyudad sa loob ng kaniyang kaharian?” Wynonah asked, hindi naman agad nakasagot ang guwardiya.

“Anyway, enough of this. I need to see the man behind all these already.” Saad ko at muli kaming naglakad. The state of the city was very bad. A lot of things were rotting and even the houses where the slaves live are old. Tila isang bagyo lang ay masisira ang mga ito. They were treated like pigs, maybe even worse than that. Hindi ko maiwasang mainis dahil sa kalagayan ng lugar na ito.

There were other nobles who were already here too, and they were all waiting for the grand trade. Tumingin lang silang lahat sa amin. Ah, a grand entrance it is. I let them be curious as to who I was and the company I was with, but our majestic clothes were enough for them to know that we were beyond ordinary people. Because we were not. I wasn’t.

Tumigil kami sa harap ng isang entablado kung saan nakaupo ang isang lalake. May bigote ito at nakakunot ang kaniyang noo habang naka de-kuwatro ang mga paa. “Mamaya pa magsisimula ang pagbili ng mga alipin.” Aniya. It was Alexandro Belmonto. How I hated this man and his smell. He smells of rotten money.

“Lord Belmonto, nais ng babaeng ito na bilhin ang lahat ng mga alipin.” Pahayag ng guwardiyang gumiya sa amin.