A few minutes earlier—at that time, Liyami had just returned to her own room.
On the way, Liyami had been pondering over the words Lavinia had said, but no matter how she thought about it, she just couldn’t figure out what Lavinia’s true intentions were.
So, when Liyami finally snapped out of her thoughts, she realized she had somehow made her way back to her room without even noticing.
Clearly, it wasn’t that late yet—she could have stayed outside a while longer. But since she was already here, she might as well stay.
With that in mind, Liyami made a small jump, landing steadily on her big, soft bed. Of course, she’d already taken her shoes off mid-jump and tossed them neatly to the side of the bed. She definitely wasn’t the kind of person to wear shoes onto the bed—how dirty would that be!
Liyami originally wanted to lie on her bed and continue pondering Lavinia’s intentions, or perhaps think about how to deal with Eleanor next.
But she’d barely been lying down for a few minutes, when the door she’d just closed was suddenly knocked on from the outside.
Could it be that Lavinia forgot to say something and came back? Liyami thought for a moment, then rejected this idea.
Though it would be just like Lavinia to do something like that, she’d just said so many cool things earlier—it would be odd for her to suddenly turn foolish now, wouldn’t it?
And if it wasn’t Lavinia, it could only be Eleanor. Why would she come looking for me? Did she already find out about the choice I just made?!
Soon, Liyami dismissed that suspicion as well. Although Eleanor was the Saintess, her abilities weren’t so strong that she could immediately sense the decision Liyami had just made. Eleanor did have some precognitive abilities, but unless it was related to the “Holy Light,” the accuracy wasn’t all that reliable. She probably wouldn’t use that ability so casually, right?
Even though Liyami thought so, she couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that Eleanor might do just that. After all, Eleanor had been acting a little out of it lately, probably due to her special relationship with Colin. So Liyami really didn’t know whether Eleanor might actually do something like that or not.
As the knocking grew louder, Liyami stopped speculating about all this nonsense.
No matter if it was the forgetful Lavinia, a forewarned Eleanor, or someone else entirely knocking at her door, Liyami was left with only one choice—to open it. She couldn’t hide forever, so she might as well meet whoever it was head-on.
Thinking this, Liyami rolled off the bed, slipped her shoes on in less than a second, and quickly went to the door. Before the knocking could grow loud enough to threaten breaking the door down, Liyami called out, “Coming!” Then, in the sudden silence, she opened her door.
Standing outside was the last person she expected—the person Liyami least wanted to see right now—Colin!!!
Back to the present, looking at Colin—who for some reason had appeared at her door—Liyami froze on the spot like she’d turned to stone, just staring blankly at him. It wasn’t until Colin spoke that she snapped out of it.
“Can I come in?”
Colin’s words were brief. After speaking, he glanced around, as if wary of something.
Liyami was a little confused, but right now, she had the exact same thought as Colin. She definitely didn’t want to have a conversation with the person she least wanted to see right now, right at her door.
So, Liyami casually made a gesture of invitation and flashed a very fake smile, welcoming Colin in.
“Of course, please come in!”
Colin seemed a bit puzzled by Liyami’s odd attitude—so different from usual—but he didn’t say anything else and walked straight into her room.
Whatever thoughts or words he might have, it was best to discuss them inside.
Once Colin entered, Liyami quickly closed the door. Because Colin had looked around outside before, Liyami also double-checked that there was no one else in the hallway before shutting her door.
After entering Liyami’s room, Colin glanced around. But he soon realized that this might be impolite, so he stopped looking and simply found a seat to sit down.
Liyami also came over to sit near Colin at this moment. She’d noticed his little attempts not to offend her, but her mind wasn’t on such details right now. What she really cared about was—why was Colin here to see her???
As for the answer to that question, Liyami couldn’t figure it out no matter how she tried. She hadn’t even exchanged a handful of words with Colin recently. Sure, she’d been thinking about him a lot—she’d even decided earlier that she was going to win Colin’s heart. But that was all in her head! There’s no way Colin could possibly sense what she was thinking, right?
The very idea was laughable to Liyami. If Colin really could read her mind, she would have “brought him to justice” long ago.
After all, the reason she’d approached Colin in the first place was certainly not to become friends with him. If he had known her original intentions, there’s no way Colin would get along with someone who once wanted to assassinate him.
So, Liyami really couldn’t figure out what Colin wanted with her now. She’d always kept her distance, didn’t want to talk to him, and he’d acted the same in return—showing no intention of talking to her. So why show up at her door all of a sudden?!
Thrown off by the sudden situation, Liyami stood there, dazed for several seconds. Only when Colin’s expression started to turn a little odd did she finally pick a random seat and sit down.
Maybe it was because she’d been thinking about Colin so much, but the seat she picked was directly across from him. The moment she sat down, Liyami’s nerves spiked and she almost stood up to switch places.
Luckily, some reason remained—she knew that would be far too weird. So, forcing herself to sit still, she just sat there, facing Colin directly, their eyes meeting.
Looking at the silent Colin in front of her, Liyami grew more and more nervous and confused. Why had Colin come in? What was he after?
So, she stared tensely at Colin’s silent face, while he sat perfectly still, silently gazing at Liyami’s beautiful face. The tension made cold sweat break out on Liyami’s back.
Now, Liyami realized—Colin was clearly building up to something. He must have something important to say. This long silence was just the prelude for what he was about to say.
But that only made her more anxious. She had no idea what Colin was about to say that required such tension!
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silence, Liyami couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to speak, when Colin finally opened his mouth.
But the words that came out made Liyami’s heart leap as if a storm had hit—she was at a loss for how to respond or even think.
“So, you… prefer the way you are now…?”