Three years.
That's how long it's been.
It's been three years since I survived that fateful night that almost took my life.
After realizing I was just a stepping character for someone else's happy ending, I was so pissed that I... Ahem. I may or may not have done some things. Let's forget the dark past.
Anyway, I was basically a death row prisoner in my so-called husband Edward Frost's mansion, who was also in a coma to boot the dramatization.
Although he had a handsome face that fit my tastes in every aspect. It was not worthy enough to pay with my life.
My life is precious compared to his sadistic ass.
Also, my dad is way more handsome compared to him.
And after a few failed attempts on my life, the enemies used the last essence of their brains and sent a whole lot of assassins to attack the carriage I was traveling in.
But there was one thing they had miscalculated.
I was not the heroine.
I was not someone that needed to be saved by knights in shining armor, who miraculously appeared at the last minute to save the day.
I was a 'Cannon Fodder'.
The kind that gives zero f*ucks about anything.
So, being the generous person I was. I beat them up into a pulp and escaped. Yay!
It wasn't time for celebration just yet.
Since the Frost knights saw me being thrown off the cliff, the world now believes that Angelica Frost is 'dead'.
It was the perfect escape anyone had ever done.
I even heard rumors that the funeral was eventful. The emperor and the rest of the nobility paid their respects to the deceased soul resting inside the empty coffin.
Pfft! Those morons.
After meeting my parents and barely convincing them, I took off into the sunset.
It wasn't easy though. Mom can practically see through all of my lies without batting an eyelid. So instead of answering, I skillfully dodged all of her questions like a professional dodgeball player.
Since there wasn't any response from my side. It's Clive's turn to suffer now. Hehe.
And Dad. He was ready to march to the capital so that he could turn Edward's head into a mantlepiece.
I saved that male lead's life for the sake of world peace.
Or else, I would have accompanied Dad in his crusade. Of course with a bag full of popcorn so that I could sit in a nice and cozy seat to spectate.
I traveled across the country with my newfound companion 'Beauty the wild horse' without having much of a destination.
I even visited Vocatus, the Sin City of Orion. It was Orion's version of Las Vegas, filled with casinos and bars in every street. After staying there for a few days, I continued traveling south till I reached the borders.
And now, thousands of miles away from Orion along the Northern borders of Velven. I'm having the time of my life!
I got a great job that allows a lot of stress relief activities like the one I just did and still get away with it scotch-free. And friends who are no different from family.
I have to say. It was one hell of a ride.
Taking into account the amount of time that has passed since my disappearance, the novel's timeline should be nearing its ending.
By now, Edward would have proposed to Helen at the site of my death. And after a few cliche romantic shenanigans, she would have accepted it. Which means, the announcements of war between Orion and Velven could come out any day.
But let's forget about it for now.
"Let's part-ty!" I shouted in a loud voice, opening a bottle of champagne and launching the bottles' cork into the air.
*pop*
Without wasting a second, I downed the bottle empty in one go and raised the bottle in the air.
"YEAH!" The crowd cheered.
Hah! One bottle is not enough to get me drunk. I jumped down the counter and safely landed on the floor.
"I'll take two spice beers!" With my back leaned on the counter, I ordered a jug of beer.
I scoped around my surroundings while waiting for my order to be brought out. The tavern was packed as always with a diversity of customers. Mercenaries, wizards, townspeople, beastmen, and even elves.
Elves are known for having beautiful jeweled eyes. It's my first time seeing one in person though.
Speaking of which, my ex-husband also had a rare eye color just like me.
Hmmm... I can't remember. What was the color again?
"Red"
A deep voice came from beside me. I turned to find a tall guy in a dark robe with a hood over his head was standing beside me.
"I'll take red wine" The hooded guy requested the bartender.
He's huge. But why the hood inside the tavern? Is he a mercenary too? Or a looney in loose?
Although it was a coincidence. The guy was right. Edward had blood-red eyes. Only a handful of people in the continent had red eyes. And he was one among the elites.
That sick b*stard. I'm still not over the magnificent proposal party he threw in the place I died.
"Here you go. Two special spice beers made especially for our favorite customer" Mrs.Wilbert placed her custom creation on the counter.
"Thank you, Mrs.Wilbert" I beamed. It was a drink she had specially designed with me in mind. My taste in spicy food has officially crossed borders.
"You're always welcome here child"
Mrs.Wilbert smiled happily. Of course, she would be welcome. I was her star customer. Not to mention, how I single-handedly raised sales today with our mini-event. But despite that, she is one of the few friends I considered close to me.
She and her husband Mr.Wilbert, own this tavern where most of the locals and traveling merchants gather. Their twenty-year-old son Sam takes care of the horses in the stable behind the tavern.
That's where Beauty is having a beauty nap at the moment.
They are good people by nature, compared to the sicko I had to fake my death for.
Ok. Let's not waste brain cells thinking about that male lead b*stard. It's YOLO time!
With a jug of beer in each hand, I scanned through the crowded tavern to locate a certain white fluff.
Where is my target? Hmmmm...
*ding*
Ah, there he is! Sitting right in the centermost table. So much for not attracting attention. Those pecked-up ears alone could be seen from a mile away.
I merrily made my way to the table with a bag full of gold coins hanging on my belt and beer in my hands. And what comes next is fluff.
But before I could reach the table, a hand dropped on each side of my shoulders. Behind me, two familiar men were standing with satisfied expressions on their faces.
"What took you so long?" I rolled my eyes and turned around.
"Unlike you. We had mathematics involved" Noah ruffled my hair.
"Yeah. Just look at this" Oliver opened a bag almost the same size as my prize money bag. It was filled with gold, silver, and copper coins.
"Woah! These Golden Lion mercenaries are loaded!" I exclaimed.
Noah and Oliver are identical twins. They are fox beastmen with acute agility and a keen sense of smell. They are tall and handsome too.
It was their beautiful blue-colored hair that inspired me to color mine. I changed my already dyed brown hair to blue after meeting them.
Also because waltzing around in platinum blonde hair was equivalent to screaming 'I'm a runaway noble'
Their green colored eyes were a different shade compared to mine. While mine was a clear emerald shade, their eyes had a darker tone. All three of us are part of the Nero mercenaries.
For onlookers, we looked like triplet fox beastmen. Not much of a difference since we are as close as siblings.
After Garren or Gargoyle or whatever that dude's name was picked on me it turned into a nasty argument pretty quick. And when the fighting ring was being set up, we huddled together and hatched a plan to milk the most out of the situation.
As per the plan, I provoked my opponent's pride as much as I could, while the twins mingled within the crowd. It was Noah who suggested the option of adding prize money and Oliver was the one taking all the bets.
And things panned out exactly as we foresaw. The Golden Lion mercenaries placed their bets on their colleague to win with gold, silver, and copper coins. While I had a single copper placed under Noah's name betting on me to win.
And voila! We made a ton of money and our opponents lost big time. They were still in the corner of the tavern contemplating over what went wrong.
Well, foxes are meant to be cunning. Hehe.
"You could've ended it quickly" Oliver closed the bag
"The audience needed a show. And I gave it to them" I shrugged
"So how much did we make?" I asked curiously
"Three hundred and three gold, one hundred silver, and seventy-three copper coins" answered Noah with a sly smile.
"We're rich"
I raised my hands for a three-way fist bump. But because I had beer in my hands, we fist-beer jug bumped instead.
"Someone looks grumpy"
"Just look at those pointy ears"
Oliver and Noah said, looking above my head in the direction I was headed to.
"Like a lighthouse to lost sailors...... pfft!" I commented.
"Pfft! Yeah that's a lighthouse alright!"
"Pfft! He's not going to like that"
We made a few more jokes as we headed towards the table.
A few steps before we reached our destination, I placed the beers in Oliver and Noah's hands and cleared my throat once.
"Baaabbbbyyyy. I'm back" I skipped forward and caught the white fluff in a bear hug.