While the atmosphere on Liyakade’s side had softened considerably today, Vidar’s heart was filled with venom.
He glared coldly from his carriage toward theirs.
Initially, Vidar had assumed Liyakade’s distressed expression was because she was being coerced by a noble.
He had planned to “rescue” her by using Purple Mist Vine Grass to drug that noble and then take Liyakade for himself.
He imagined that after he led her out of her misery and into the arms of a “real man,” she would be filled with nothing but gratitude toward him.
But to his surprise, things weren’t at all what he had imagined.
Liyakade turned out to be nothing but a status-climbing, power-tripping bitch.
She was clearly using her body to seduce a noble for wealth and then using that noble’s influence to bully others.
Vidar was now using his most malicious and filthy thoughts to speculate about Liyakade.
He felt she was a shameless hypocrite.
Not only did he despise her, but he also wanted to replace that Masked Man and possess both Liyakade and Alice.
He was already plotting in his mind to use the Purple Mist Vine Grass to attack them and bring them under his total domination.
He wanted to make Liyakade and the others taste the humiliation he had felt last night when he was shamed in front of so many people.
In truth, it was simply that Vidar was too cowardly; he had been scared off by a single look from Liyakade.
Yet, he insisted on blaming everything on her.
It was utterly irrational.
The only person Vidar was slightly concerned about was the nun accompanying them.
According to his subordinates, Liyakade’s group had hired this nun as a personal guard yesterday.
The only thing the Purple Mist Vine Grass might fear was the Light Element.
Whether it was the scent, the smoke, or even the water sources containing the herb, the Light Element could purify it and render it ineffective.
However, with only the cross on that nun’s body, the purification effect should be negligible.
As for the plan, Vidar had finalized it last night and sent men to carry it out.
“I’m a bit thirsty. Field, give me your water bag. Let me have a drink.”
“Sure.”
Upon hearing Liyakade’s request, Field took a water bag from her storage ring, took a sip herself first, and then handed it to Liyakade.
“Hey, Field, you really had to take a sip first, didn’t you?”
“I just happened to be a bit thirsty too. You shouldn’t mind, right, Liyakade?”
“Heh, actually, I do mind.”
Though Liyakade was complaining, she still took the water bag.
For them, an indirect kiss was nothing; after all, they had shared direct kisses many times.
Liyakade was just teasing Field.
The water in the bag had been collected from the caravan’s water source this morning, making it safe and reliable to drink.
As the cool water flowed down her throat, Liyakade felt a wave of refreshment.
Alice also drank a bit to moisten her throat.
But Liyakade found it strange; she felt the water was excessively sweet.
Does ordinary fresh water or spring water usually taste this sweet?
Or… was this just the unique taste of spring water in this world?
Even the water in the Royal City didn’t taste as good as the caravan’s.
Logically, the caravan’s water source was indeed safe.
However… last night, Vidar had sent men to use the Purple Mist Vine Grass to knock out the guards watching the water source.
They then added a large amount of the grass into the water, polluting it.
Because the guards were under the herb’s influence, they had no memory of what had happened.
Consequently, the water the entire caravan was now drinking contained Purple Mist Vine Grass.
Of course, the dosage Vidar added wasn’t enough to make people completely addicted instantly, but symptoms like weakened limbs and a blurred consciousness were almost inevitable.
Furthermore, the symptoms produced by this dosage weren’t much different from those of hallucinogenic mushrooms; people might suspect they were drugged, but few would guess it was specifically Purple Mist Vine Grass.
As for Vidar, he frequently traveled between the Royal City and the border transporting Purple Mist Vine Grass cargo.
This wasn’t the first time he had done something like this.
His personal guards had their own private water supply.
When the entire caravan fell into chaos, only his guards would be sober, allowing him to take advantage of the opportunity to commit crimes.
Vidar’s plan was to wait for the caravan to fall into disarray, find Liyakade and the others, and forcibly feed them high concentrations of the herb.
This would damage their nerves and make them completely addicted, turning them into slaves of the Purple Mist Vine Grass.
After that, they would be at his beck and call, and he could play with them however he wished.
Of course, the plan wasn’t perfect.
After all, within half a day, some people might not drink any water.
However, Vidar didn’t expect to capture Liyakade and the others in one go; this was merely a first attempt.
In fact, Vidar believed that as long as the Masked Man drank the water, he could start his operation.
Since the Masked Man was the leader of the group and had a high level, while Liyakade and Alice were just “trophy women,” it would be easy to confuse them with the Purple Mist Vine Grass.
He just needed to observe their behavior for a while.
If the Masked Man hadn’t drunk it, he would wait for the next opportunity.
If the Masked Man had, he would immediately strike with his men.
“…So sleepy. Why do I feel… so lightheaded?”
Sitting in the carriage, Field suddenly felt overcome by drowsiness.
The map in her hands began to blur.
She set down the sheepskin paper, wanting to sleep for a bit.
“Liyakade… lend me your shoulder… eh? Two Liyakades?”
Field frowned.
She clearly remembered Liyakade was sitting on her right, so why was she now on her left too?
No, that wasn’t right.
There were two Liyakades; one was sitting on each side of her.
“Field? What are you talking about?”
The Liyakade on the left pulled at her arm.
Her voice sounded incredibly distant.
Field blinked, and suddenly found that the “Liyakade” had turned back into Alice.
“Eh? Alice? Wasn’t Liyakade sitting here just now?”
“Hey, Field, what on earth are you talking about?”
Liyakade found Field’s behavior baffling.
Pouting, she stood up from Field’s right side, walked over to Alice, and grabbed Alice’s wrist.
“Li—Liyakade? You…?”
Seeing Liyakade’s hand reaching for her, Alice instinctively tried to dodge.
Based on yesterday’s behavior, Liyakade was clearly unwilling to have any physical contact with her—she didn’t even want to be near her.
Therefore, seeing Liyakade grab for her, Alice wanted to pull away.
But Liyakade’s hand suddenly accelerated, firmly catching Alice’s wrist.
“What are you hiding for?”
Hearing Liyakade’s words, Alice was struck by confusion.
Yesterday Liyakade was avoiding her at all costs; why had her attitude suddenly changed?
Moreover, judging by the sensation from Liyakade’s hand, even the stiffness and slight trembling from when she had held her yesterday had vanished.
Alice looked into Liyakade’s eyes and realized they had once again turned pink.
Not only that, but they were a much more vibrant, bright pink than before.
“Hey, Field, look closely. I’m Liyakade, and she’s Alice. Where are you getting ‘two’ of me?”
After grabbing Alice’s wrist, Liyakade patted Field’s thigh, making Field look at her to see the difference between her and Alice.
“Oh… I see. One is Alice, one is Liyakade. Mmm…”
Listening to this bizarre exchange between Liyakade and Field, Alice frowned.
Their conversation was too strange.
Even Liyakade’s attitude toward her had shifted again.
Just a moment ago in the carriage, she had clearly intended to communicate with her only through Field.
Thump—
Suddenly, the three of them felt a jolt.
The standing Liyakade even stumbled slightly.
The carriage seemed to have come to a halt.
‘Wait, did the carriage stop? Let me go out and take a look.’
With that, Liyakade released Alice’s wrist, intending to jump down from the carriage to see what was happening outside.
“No, you’re not allowed to leave the carriage!”
Alice grabbed Liyakade’s wrist in return, stopping her.
“Why not? The carriage suddenly stopped moving. It’s weird.”
“Liyakade, look at… look at what you’re saying!”
Alice’s tone was urgent.
Field’s state was obviously wrong, the caravan had suddenly stopped, and something was definitely happening.
Stepping out of the carriage blindly was dangerous.
If Liyakade and Alice were to investigate the situation, she at least had to make them snap out of it first.
So, Alice decided to take an extreme measure to restore Liyakade’s senses, even if only a little.
With that thought, Alice opened her other hand, and a tiny ball of light slowly coalesced within her palm.
“Ah! You—what are you doing? I… I’m most afraid of that thing! No! I’ll listen, just take that thing away!”
Initially, Alice wanted to see how Liyakade would react to the Light Element in this state, and also to scare her into staying in the carriage.
But the result was somewhat beyond Alice’s expectations.
The fear Liyakade showed toward the Light Element was far less than before.
At most, it was a bit of resistance.
For some reason, there was even a strange sense of bashfulness in her voice that left Alice completely bewildered.
Ssh—
What left Alice even more stunned was Liyakade’s next move.
Liyakade’s tail suddenly shot out from behind her, piercing through the ball of light with incredible speed.
“Ah… It—it hurts… What an intense feeling…”
“Liyakade! You… are you okay?”
Alice was startled by Liyakade’s action.
After seeing how miserably she had reacted to being purified by the Light Element before, Alice had feared she had hurt Liyakade again.
But Liyakade’s reaction was far less violent than Alice had imagined.
In fact, Liyakade was saying it was… intense?
Alice gently took hold of Liyakade’s tail.
The tip that had pierced the light was currently slightly red, as if it had been scorched.
Alice’s heart ached immediately.
She had hurt Liyakade again.
But… judging by Liyakade’s attitude, she didn’t seem to feel that she had been harmed.
“Ah… don’t hold my tail like that.”
Liyakade manipulated her tail to pull it from Alice’s hand back to her own.
Looking at the slightly red mark on her tail, Liyakade didn’t just ignore it; she even showed a trace of secret delight.
“Heh, it’s a mark left by Alice. Not bad, not bad at all.”
Alice felt both happy and distressed.
She was happy because Liyakade had finally accepted her again—even her Light Element had been accepted.
Liyakade was actually treating this minor wound, which her power couldn’t easily heal, as a “mark” left by her.
But she was distressed because this clearly wasn’t Liyakade’s normal state, and she had indeed left a Light Element scar on her tail, even if Liyakade didn’t view it as an injury.
“Why are you suddenly spacing out? Fine, I won’t get off the carriage. Honestly.”
Liyakade’s voice pulled Alice back to reality.
Liyakade sat back down on the seat, crossing her arms over her chest, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
Alice then realized another problem.
Liyakade was using her Demon Race powers so easily, just like when she scared off Vidar yesterday.
This state was completely wrong.
“Field.”
While softly calling Field’s name, Alice grabbed Field’s shoulder and began purifying her body with the Light Element.
Though she didn’t know what kind of spell or poison Liyakade and Field were under, the Light Element could counter many curses and toxins.
Alice only hoped she could wake Field up first.
“Whoa… so scary. If I were treated like that… I can’t imagine.”
Liyakade watched the golden light emerging from Field’s body and quickly shifted aside.
While moving away, she continued to grumble, making Alice feel a bit awkward.
But at least Liyakade was still grumbling now.
Before, she hadn’t even dared to complain about Light Element things to Alice.
Slowly, the golden light faded, and Field’s eyes regained their clarity.
“…Where am I?”
The awakened Field’s pupils shrank.
The memories of just now were still in her mind, as were those bizarre sights.
She felt very confused by it all.
“Liyakade?”
“What are you calling me for now? And don’t go mistaking Alice for me again, you dummy Field!”
“Wait, what?”