The Wizarding World's Forbidden Book Administrator

Chapter 45 The mantis stalks the cicada

An army is approaching.

Bourne whispered in Natalie's ear:

"That's a unit from the plateau, miss."

Natalie nodded slightly and followed Bern to the side.

He lowered his head to avoid being seen by the leading knight.

But there's really no need to be so careful. Girls change a lot as they grow up, and Natalie has become even more beautiful, especially since she's now dyed her hair black.

In the past few days, Natalie and Byrne have been running into the team quite often.

Bourne guessed that something big must have happened in the kingdom again.

Natalie couldn't help but wonder where these soldiers were headed.

Natalie started from the Montero Hills; could that be the destination of these troops?

She shook her head, thinking it couldn't be such a coincidence.

The group disappeared on the main road, and the two continued on their way.

Byrne said, "Miss, the Lines Plateau is just ahead. We're home."

But what exactly constitutes a home?

Despite this thought, Natalie nodded.

She didn't want to waste her breath; Bourne would only say stubborn things and never understand her feelings.

Soon after, the two arrived at a village.

Byrne said that they were now wanted criminals of the kingdom, and even being on the Lines Plateau did not guarantee their safety.

They cannot venture into the high plateau without finding absolutely trustworthy supporters.

After all, most of the people who have seen Natalie and Bourne's faces are concentrated in this area.

Therefore, Bourne decided to venture into the highlands alone, leaving Natalie in the village.

That very night, Byrne reached an agreement with the village's owner and set off early the next morning.

Now even Byrne is leaving me, Natalie thought sadly. Am I destined to be alone?

But then I thought, without Bourne watching over her, wouldn't no one stop Natalie from going to the royal city to find her mother?

Despite having the idea, Natalie did not take any action.

She still owes Bourne a debt, and she cannot leave until it is paid off.

Natalie wandered alone through the village, her feet treading on the desolate, solid ground, her breath coming in the melancholy, cold air.

The stream flowing down from above the plateau is now frozen over.

A tall, pointed house stands by the river, its roof blades proclaiming its name as the Mill.

Natalie stood beneath the mill, where the fan blades were frozen solid by the damp, cold wind and were not turning at the moment.

The mill's doors were tightly shut; it was estimated that only when the weather warmed up would anyone open the heavy wooden doors.

As far as the eye can see, there is only endless farmland.

But out of every three plots, only one has rice seedlings growing inside.

"That's rye, little girl,"

Suddenly a voice came.

"They were planted last autumn and won't ripen until this summer."

Natalie turned her head and saw a woman.

So she said:

"I'm not a little girl, I'm fourteen years old, I'm a grown woman."

Natalie wasn't lying; she turned fourteen right after the New Year.

Although I've heard that in some countries, sixteen is considered the age of adulthood, in the Kingdom of Judian, girls are considered grown up at fourteen.

The woman smiled and said, "The difference between a girl and a woman sometimes isn't just about age."

Maybe.

The woman said again:

"The harvest is a very interesting thing. If you can stay here until summer, you might be able to witness it firsthand. Last autumn, the men in the village harvested a lot of barley and oats. In the past, I couldn't distinguish between crops, but as long as I observe with my own eyes, I can find that each crop has its own unique characteristics."

"I know pea shoots," said a pea plant, referring to the peas growing on the Lines Plateau.

Natalie used to eat peas from her father's estate every night; the peas were big and sweet.

At that moment, Natalie noticed that the woman in front of her was pregnant.

"Really? That's great," the woman said with a smile that crinkled her eyes.

Seemingly noticing Natalie's gaze, the woman also looked down at her stomach.

She asked, "Would you like to touch it?"

Natalie looked up: "Is it okay?"

"certainly!"

Natalie stepped forward, slipped her hand inside the other person's clothes, and gently placed it on their stomach.

The skin is plump and very firm.

Suddenly, Natalie trembled and looked at the woman in horror:

"It's moving!"

"Haha, the little guy kicked me."

Then they laughed.

The two found a place and sat down together.

Natalie asked, "How many months?"

"Eight months."

It was then that Natalie realized that the woman in front of her didn't look much older than herself, and was so beautiful that Natalie envied her.

"How old are you?" Natalie couldn't help but ask.

"It's impolite to ask a woman's age so abruptly," the woman said, pursing her lips.

"I'm sorry," Natalie said, bowing her head.

"Well, but the little girl doesn't need to blame herself for it."

"I said, I am a grown woman."

"Don't you want to know?"

"think."

Sixteen years old.

"Then you're only two years older than me!" Natalie exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes..." The woman's tone suddenly became wistful, "I'm still quite naive myself..."

Natalie didn't understand the meaning of that sentence, so she asked instead:

"Are you married?"

"Um."

Is marriage a happy thing?

Upon hearing this, the woman fell silent.

She lowered her head and said:

"My husband is the most handsome man I have ever seen. Everyone in the village says we are a perfect match, and his singing voice is also beautiful and moving."

"Isn't that great?"

"But he's a liar."

Upon hearing this, Natalie felt a sense of déjà vu, as she happened to know a handsome conman.

"I used to be like a princess, but now I'm just a village woman. Can you understand the resentment that comes with such a change?"

Faced with this question, Natalie really wanted to nod.

Isn't she the same?

Now, his family is destroyed and he has no one to rely on.

But she couldn't agree; the wanted criminal absolutely couldn't reveal any of his past experiences.

Well, a clever mermaid wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

The woman continued speaking to herself:

"Young lady, don't fall in love with a man easily, and never believe any sweet words they say."

"I won't," Natalie replied firmly.

"Oh! When you get a little older, I mean, when you become a real woman, it will become very difficult to control the flutter in your heart,"

The woman smiled bitterly, one hand supporting her belly, the other gently resting on Natalie's shoulder, her eyes gazing listlessly into the distance.

"But you must remain calm and make rational judgments."

The woman's tone, seemingly from someone with experience, made Natalie feel somewhat distant, but she understood that the woman in front of her was looking out for her.

Therefore, Natalie nodded slightly.

In the evening, the villagers gathered together for dinner.

Natalie was also involved.

She saw a handsome man standing in the center of the room during the banquet, displaying his melodious singing voice like a lark.

But in Natalie's eyes, her looks were really just average.

Henry was more handsome than him, and naturally, he was far less handsome than the curator.

Then, Natalie noticed that the man seemed to be behaving very intimately with the other women in the room.

I couldn't help but frown. So that's what the woman meant by "liar" during the day.

Natalie's comparison of the curator to this person is a tremendous insult to the curator.

As the dinner was drawing to a close, the man tried to strike up a conversation with Natalie.

However, Natalie ignored it and chose to disregard it.