Stella nodded in the affirmative. Her expression remained calm, though her eyes briefly lingered on Albert as if weighing his words.
Albert said, "Then you have to ask Alma about it, she knows a lot. I only know a little."
The tone of his voice remained steady, as usual, giving nothing away beyond simple information.
"Well, I'll ask her when we're on the way, but now I'm feeling tired, and I'm going to go and rest, sir."
She slightly adjusted her posture, showing signs of fatigue from the long and eventful day.
"We're almost there."
Alma and John were waiting for them at the entrance to the Willow Forest.
The trees formed a dense green backdrop, their branches swaying slightly with the wind.
Alma was wearing a leather coat and a brown dress, practical clothing suited for travel and outdoor conditions.
She immediately shouted at Stella, "Where have you been, girl? Do you know what happened to me when I woke up and couldn't find you? I'm still shaking now!"
Her voice carried both relief and frustration, as if the fear of Stella's absence had only just settled.
"Oh my God! Who's going to get rid of this now?"
Stella replied with difficulty, trying to explain herself while feeling the pressure of the situation.
"Actually, I have…"
Before she could continue, Albert interrupted her, his tone calm and composed, "She went to relieve herself in the woods and got lost, because she was embarrassed to wake you up for that."
His explanation was delivered naturally, as if it were the most reasonable conclusion.
"Uh, how clumsy you are. Why the embarrassment if you could just wake me up?"
Alma's frustration eased slightly, though she still looked unconvinced, her attention shifting between Stella and Albert.
Albert then said, "Well, now that Alina is back, we should rest, because we still have a long way to go. Come on."
His words marked the end of the brief tension, signaling that the situation should now return to normal.
After that, everyone went to their places to rest.
The atmosphere gradually calmed, with the caravan settling back into its usual rhythm of preparation and pause.
In the carriage, Stella kept thinking about what had happened today and about Mr. Albert.
He looked completely different .
She took out the necklace and examined it again under the dim light inside the carriage. It was pure gold, reflecting a faint glow, the sun symbol engraved on it was simple but distinct.
Fortunately, the fire did not reach the well, otherwise, it would have been damaged.
She thought it might belong to one of the villagers who once lived there, turned it slightly in her hand before placing it back carefully.
"Anyway, I didn't go there in vain. If necessary, I will sell it to get some money."
After thinking for a while, her eyes slowly closed, and she eventually fell asleep as the motion of the carriage continued steadily.
Dawn came with light spreading across the sky in soft layers. One by one, everyone woke up and prepared to continue their journey.
The air was cooler in the morning, and the caravan slowly resumed movement.
They still had a day to reach the east, where they would present their goods in the eastern capital, "Plain Of The East."
A day later, without interruption, the caravan reached the city.
As they approached, the environment gradually changed from open roads and rural surroundings to structured buildings and distant signs of urban life.
The atmosphere was completely different from the villages. It was the largest city in the East and its capital, known for having the biggest trading markets on the continent, where merchants from different regions gathered.
That is what Stella had heard from Alma. Although expecting little, she did not want to be too excited as in the abandoned village.
But when they finally arrived, her impression changed completely, and she was genuinely impressed.
The scale of the city, the movement of people, and the organized chaos of the markets created an entirely different world compared to anything she had experienced before.
"I didn't expect it to be like this. It looks like a city from a fairy tale."