More than a day had passed. It was after noon.
More than half a month later, Lulunaka's — or rather, Romuona's — team finally left the forest.
After more than half a month, they left the gloomy Forest of the Dead.
The carriages filed out of the forest.
Julius drove the second carriage of the team. When his carriage followed Lulunaka's carriage out of the forest, he reached out his hand to cover his eyes.
Although the forest was not dark, under the cover of the dense forest, the light was not enough. Now that they were out of the forest, there were no branches and leaves to block the sunlight shining on his face.
This sunlight was something that he had not seen for more than half a month, so Julius was not used to it for a while. However, the light was mild and did not hurt his eyes.
Earlier, Julius vaguely felt that he was about to get out of the forest.
The salty wind and the trees that seemed to always be wet told him that he was not far from the sea.
When he saw the sea, Julius slightly widened his eyes and made a sound.
Living in an ordinary village, he never had the opportunity to leave the village and walk so far, let alone the opportunity to see the sea.
The sea that connected the sky and the earth appeared in front of Julius's eyes.
The sky was blue, the earth was made of sand, and between the two, there was the dark blue sea.
There was a horizontal line between the sea and the sky. It looked so close, but so far away. The close connection was just an illusion.
The sea and the sky were separated by a line, and they did not invade each other. Between the sea and the earth, there was a fierce attack and defense.
The waves crashed against the edge of the shore, tirelessly crashing against the sand, advancing, retreating, and so on. There was never a moment when it stopped. Under the crashing and corrosion of the sea, the shore had turned into a crescent shape.
Julius had never seen such a scene.
Ward, who was lying on the roof of the carriage, jumped down and ran on the sand. In the blink of an eye, it had run far away.
Other than the fact that it could kill people with a double-ended sword, it was no different from other dogs.
The convoy traveled between the coast and the jungle, heading north along the coastline.
The wheels and horses' hooves left lines and dots in the sand.
It wasn't the first time that Romuona had seen the sea, so she didn't look as surprised as Julius.
In the Sovereign King Castle, the sea and the Sovereign King Castle were closely connected.
To the east of the King's Castle was a narrow strait, separated from the Yilan Continent by a barrier that could be seen with the naked eye. To the north was Deepwater Bay, through which all the ships passed. To the south was the fierce waves, often bringing waves of storms as far as the eyes could see.
Every resident of the King's Castle, no matter if they were nobles or commoners, breathed the air with the smell of the sea breeze since they were born.
"We left the forest," Romuona said, looking back at the road.
The convoy left the forest on a completely deserted road. The narrow forest exit looked like a mouth that spat out the convoy to the seaside.
Lulunaka, who was sitting beside Romuona, replied, "We finally left the forest."
She sniffed hard, her face happy, "After living in the forest for a long time, sometimes you will get used to the rotten air and think that it is normal.
But after leaving the forest and breathing in the fresh air, you will immediately throw that ridiculous thought to the back of your head.
It is better that the air can move. "
"I thought you liked living in the forest," Romuona said.
"It can't be said that I like it, but I don't hate it either."
Lulunaka replied, the whip in her hand swung down, hitting the horse's butt, making the horse walk faster.
"I stayed here because I have some work to do.
Since it is work, then there is nothing to be picky about.
That's how work is. Most of the time, you can't just do whatever you want. "
"I thought you have always lived freely."
When Romuona heard Lulunaka's words, she chuckled. As for why Lulunaka's words made her laugh, only she knew.
"At this time, I have to go back to what you said before." Lulunaka also returned a smile to Romuona's smile.
Unlike Romuona's pale and melancholy smile, her smile was always as warm as the radiance of the sun.
"You and I are not free.
This matter will not change because of different identities. "
"I am bound because I am too weak, but why did you lose your freedom?" Romuona continued, "Is it really because of work, or because of other reasons?"
"You can guess." Lulunaka grinned, her white teeth looked shiny.
While Romuona and Lulunaka were talking, the convoy continued to move forward.
The sound of the wheels turning, the sound of the horse's hooves, and the sound of the sea breeze blowing from the sea swept away the conversation of the two, bringing it into the jungle and disappearing in the dim branches and leaves.
After a while, the convoy finally arrived at the destination mentioned by Lulunaka.
At a cape above the sea.
This cape was slender and sharp, like a sharp knife stabbed into the sea, never to be pulled out again.
The waves were washing this sharp knife, making the blade sharper.
The cliff of the cape was eroded by the sea for many years, becoming smooth and flat. A carefully forged knife was no better than this.
The high cape was like a knife, inserted into the sea; it was also like the bow of a ship, breaking the waves. But the ship would never sail, it would only stay between the land and the sea, like a nail that nailed the sea and the ground together.
On the raised bow of the ship, there was an inconspicuous building.
When the convoy approached the cape, Romuona saw the building clearly.
It was a chapel. The scale was not large, but it was not small to the extent that it could be ignored.
The chapel did not appear to have anything special on the outside, probably because it had been there for too long. Time had smoothed out everything, turning it into what it was today.
Everything was blurred, only the fresh vines climbing on the walls were alive.
The color of the bricks on the dome was not the same. It seemed that it had been repaired many times so that it could continue to shelter from the wind and rain.
The cross that should have been inserted on the top of the building was missing, leaving only the base. It was not suitable for a chapel.
This was a chapel that seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, but the patchwork told the visitors for the first time that this place was not abandoned. Someone was maintaining this place.
The person who was trying to keep this place from becoming a ruin should be the owner of this place.
The convoy stopped in an open space not far from the chapel.
When they were so close, Romuona could see the building more clearly.
Romuona had seen many church buildings in the King's Castle. There was the famous Church of the Holy Mother, and there was also a civilian chapel without a name. But she had never seen a chapel like this.
She was not an architectural expert, and she did not have a photographic memory. She only vaguely felt that this chapel was different from what she usually saw.
But there was one thing she knew. This chapel should have existed for a long time, so it looked very old.
In front of the chapel, there was a bent man sweeping the floor.
When the motorcade stopped, the people with their backs to the motorcade turned around and faced Lurunaka and the others.
This was a stooped old man with white hair and beard. His face was full of beard and hair that was not taken care of. It was left to grow, covering his mouth and chin. His messy hair was simply tied up and not taken care of. The bangs on his forehead blocked his eyes, and only a pair of tired eyes could be seen through the gap.
This old man was not thin and weak. Instead, he had the same build as Olga. But compared to Olga's straight waist, his waist that could not be straightened seemed to be broken and could no longer be straightened.
When he saw Lulunaka and the others, he did not seem surprised. He just stopped sweeping the floor and put his hands on the handle of the broom.
Lulunaka jumped down from the carriage and walked towards the old man.
She walked to the old man's side and patted his shoulder. "Long time no see, Apo." She was like an impolite child, doing something inappropriate to an old man.
The old man called Apo did not react to Lulunaka's rude behavior. He still let Lulunaka pat his shoulder.
"Long time no see … Lulunaka."
"Thank you so much for saying my name out loud."
When Lulunaka heard the old man's words, the smile on her face became wider. She lowered her voice and whispered to him. "There are outsiders here, so you can't be too casual, right?"