Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 646 - 10 Meddlesome Catherine_1

Chapter 646: Chapter 10 Meddlesome Catherine_1

"Hahaha, did we disturb everyone?" The mayor poured himself a large bowl of strong liquor, laughing loudly, "Last night, Old Dak discovered his daughter was missing. Everyone helped look for her all night. We tried to avoid this place while searching, didn’t expect we would still disturb you. I’m really sorry about that, hahaha, I’ll scold them later."

"We weren’t disturbed by the noise, but the light woke us up." Catherine frowned, puzzled at the mayor’s nonchalant demeanor. Considering the concern the mayor usually showed for the townspeople, if it was a serious lapse, he wouldn’t be reacting like this, but if she was easily found in the town, they wouldn’t have been searching all night. Catherine asked earnestly, "Why did she go missing? Was she found?"

"Haha, we haven’t found her, but we got a clue." The mayor gave an embarrassed smile, gulped down the liquor in the bowl, shaking his head: "Little Betty left on her own, she should be fine, which is why everyone isn’t too worried."

"She left on her own?" Catherine repeated in surprise, looking at the snow outside: "It was blizzarding at that time, in this freezing weather, a little girl left on her own? How old is she, and you aren’t worried?"

"The explanation for that is a bit complex." The mayor scratched his head saying: "Are you interested? If you are, I can tell you the story. Once you hear it, you’ll understand why everyone’s reacting this way."

"Sure, over the next few days while we’re waiting, one thing we have plenty of is time." Catherine gestured towards the room invitingly, nodding: "If the mayor doesn’t mind, please come in and tell us the story."

"Alright then." The bearded mayor jumped down from the sledge, patting the heads of a group of dogs. The white giant dog barked a few times, whimpering and huddling together, obediently waiting for the mayor to mount the sledge again. Everyone went back into the house. Catherine added a few logs to the fireplace, making the flames more vigorous before she and the girls sat around the fire. Catherine reached out to take the red tea Freya handed to her and put it on the coffee table. The mayor also sat down, taking out a flask from his bosom, he took a mouthful and started reminiscing: "Little Betty is Old Dak’s girl. She’s seventeen this year and is considered the prettiest in our town. She decided she wasn’t feeling well when the village’s lady priest was healing everyone two days ago and stayed home instead. After the healing was done, everyone went about preparing for the evening banquet, Old Dak didn’t return home. Late at night he came home drunk, fell asleep, and didn’t notice his daughter was missing. The next morning, he couldn’t see his daughter, but he thought she must have run out to play like before and didn’t worry. It wasn’t till after dinner and she still hadn’t come home that he realized something was wrong. After some commotion, he found a note left by his daughter saying she wanted to venture north, but since Old Dak has always disagreed with this idea, she seized the opportunity and ran off to the north with someone."

"With someone else?" Catherine raised an eyebrow, sharply asking "She didn’t go alone, someone went with her?"

"Yes, I should start from the beginning." The mayor sighed, stroking his shaggy beard, "I mentioned before that Little Betty is the prettiest girl in town, all the young boys in town are mesmerized by her. But this little girl is somewhat cold to other boys, except for Neil and Chester. Their relationship is very good since they played together as children. Everyone was curious about who Little Betty would choose to marry, and who between Neil and Chester would be the lucky one. But everyone favored Chester because Betty spent more time with him."

"Hmph, it’s a cliche love story." Lina huffed coldly, patting the book in her hand: "There are too many stories like this in books. I’ve heard enough and find it dull."

"Yes, quite dull." Pannis nodded in agreement. "That’s why I’m just all ears, right?"

"Looks like you’ve developed a fondness for being buried in the snow." Lina glared sideways at Pannis and sneered: "Right, isn’t it?"

"I’m sorry, I was wrong." Pannis immediately bowed his head in apology: "Please forgive my mistake."

The bearded mayor chuckled, not thrown off by their interruption, and continued: "When Old Dak found out Betty wasn’t home yesterday during the day, he thought she was out with Chester, it often happened and Chester, even though he lived alone, was a sensible kid and could take care of Betty. So, Old Dak didn’t worry. But when dinnertime came and Betty hadn’t returned, Old Dak started getting anxious. Betty had never been out this late before. So, he ran to Chester’s house, but only Chester was home and Betty hadn’t been there all day."

"By then, Old Dak started panicking, looking everywhere in town, stirring many neighbors." The mayor said with a sigh, "In the end, I was also roused and joined the search throughout the town."

"Didn’t they look for him at Neil’s house?" Freya clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes sparkling with emotion as she passionately said, "What a beautiful love story. The girl is surrounded by two handsome and strong boys, one gentle, the other romantic. Each is so charming, each is so hard to part with. On one hand, there’s the considerate big brother, on the other hand, there’s the amorous lover. Oh, young and beautiful girl, whom will you choose ... oops."

Vivian expressionlessly withdrew her magic staff, blew on the end where it had collided with Freya’s, and continued to gaze absently at the ceiling as if nothing had happened. Catherine apologised to the mayor with a smile and continued, "I’m sorry, we all got a bit ... uh, please continue, we are listening seriously."

"Actually, what this young lady Mage said is not wrong, we only thought about searching at Neil’s house after scouring half the town," the mayor continued, "So we all ran to Neil’s house. Neil and young Chester are both orphans, supporting themselves before the age of twenty. However, Neil is a little better off than Chester; he has a plot of farmland and doesn’t rely solely on hunting and selling furs for survival. Upon arriving at Neil’s house, we found that Neil was not home. This really alarmed everyone, causing us to search the town again, but we couldn’t find either of them."

"Eventually, everyone saw how panicked Old Dak was getting and forced him to go home and rest a while before continuing the search," said, the mayor, recalling the events. "Upon being sent home, he ran into Betty’s room and broke down crying. Thankfully, sharp-eyed villagers found a note left by Betty on her vanity, which revealed that she had sneaked off north during the communal healing session."

"Huh?" asked Catherine in surprise. "Did the note not mention Neil?"

"She probably felt shy and didn’t mention Neil. She just wrote that they had gone north together. At first, I found it quite strange," explained the mayor. "However, later, Chester cleared up our confusion. He remembered that a few days ago, when Betty had invited him to play, she mentioned wanting to travel north for some sightseeing. But her father, always worried about her, forbade her from going. Therefore, she planned to sneak off and even asked Chester if he would go with her. When Chester scolded her, saying she shouldn’t disobey her father and run off, she claimed she wouldn’t go after all. But now it seems, that although Chester didn’t agree to accompany her, Neil probably did. His sled and both sledge deers were missing from his home. They must’ve set off together."

"Despite the heavy snowfall, the two of them just left?" Catherine asked doubtfully. "Doesn’t that seem unlikely?"

"They must’ve set off yesterday morning," the mayor explained. "By then, the blizzard had decreased considerably and travel was possible. Plus, they were probably worried that Old Dak would be angry and drag them back if he found them. So, they sped off in the snow, which would cover their tracks and help them avoid Old Dak’s pursuit. Actually, knowing that Neil—who had always pampered Betty, even potentially choosing to suffer for her sake—is with her, Old Dak feels somewhat relieved. Compared to Chester, Old Dak prefers Neil."

"Something feels off," Catherine exchanged glances with Pannis. Pannis nodded, and Catherine frowned, "Something is very off. Neil and Chester, did both of them attend the communal healing session and the banquet the day before yesterday?"

"Neil only showed his face during the healing session and then left," the mayor replied. "Chester, on the other hand, was present for the entire duration and returned home only late at night after helping with everything."

"I feel like something isn’t adding up" Catherine pondered, pacing back and forth on the spot. After a while, she asked, "Aren’t you planning to go after them today? Two youngsters, one of them merely a seventeen-year-old girl, venturing north in such harsh weather seems extremely dangerous."

"Of course, we are." The mayor replied, "At the moment, a few young men are helping Old Dak to prepare. As soon as they’re ready, they’ll set off. But with all this snow, it won’t be easy to find them."

Catherine pondered for a moment, made a sign to Pannis. Pannis sighed, smiling bitterly, and agreed, "When you are ready, call for us. We will accompany you; after all, when it comes to tracking skills, I have some confidence."

The bearded mayor was startled but then said joyfully, "I can’t thank you enough. Everyone is concerned for the safety of those two children. If professionals like you can help, we would be much relieved."(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote for recommend votes,monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users can read at m.qidian.com.)