Countless thoughts bubbled up in Lita’s mind like foam, only to be popped one after another, leaving her unable to find a suitable answer. ‘I absolutely cannot say anything about myself.’
To be honest, speaking the truth had never been her choice in the first place. She had only let it slip by accident back then. Bringing that up in front of these people would be practically suicidal. Lita knew all too well what the Demon Race was like, but the atmosphere was just right now. If she dodged the topic, she might hide some important details, but it could also easily expose her problems.
So what about brushing off the topic with a joke? That seemed like the best solution, but it would only solve the immediate trouble. She still planned to stay in the Royal Capital, and planting seeds of unease in Cecilia’s heart would be bad. Now everyone was watching her. If she kept silent, that would also raise suspicion.
No matter what she thought, Lita knew she had to say something now.
“Actually, I don’t have any particularly special experiences. I used to live a very routine life.” Lita glossed over her own past and directly addressed Shirley’s question about why she wanted to become a Holy Knight. “What made me determined to become a Holy Knight… there’s really not a complicated reason for that. It must have been meeting Lady Cecilia, right?”
Everyone nodded slightly, waiting for Lita to continue.
“Honestly, at first I just didn’t know what to do with my future. I thought I could live a perfect life in the Royal Capital by becoming a Holy Knight, so I signed up for the exam. But that changed after I met Lady Cecilia.”
Although Lita’s words were a bit redundant, they weren’t lies. That really had been her original goal. Since the others weren’t detailing their entire life stories—like Cecilia, who only talked about her relationship with Rosalia—Lita could also pick and choose. What she could talk about, and which definitely weren’t lies, were only the past events between her and Cecilia. Whether that would pass the test in this situation depended on whether the others wanted to dig deeper.
Most of what Lita said was unknown to the others—for example, how she and Cecilia had met by accident, and how she had helped Cecilia clear up other people’s misunderstandings about them. Of course, she also mixed in a lot of her own subjective thoughts. Everyone already understood the facts; the only thing that could move them was emotion.
A few minutes later, Lita finished her part. There were a few supplementary questions and clarifications during that time, but overall it went fairly smoothly.
“So behind my back, Cecilia had already gotten this good?” Rosalia held her milk tea and couldn’t help sighing, but her gaze never left Lita, giving Lita a strong sense of foreboding.
“But there’s still one thing I don’t really understand. A Personal Knight is different from an ordinary Holy Knight. Unless there’s a special reason, Cecilia wouldn’t choose you, even when Doris had her cornered.” Rosalia straightened up and turned directly toward Lita. “Because I know Cecilia has a strong tendency toward self-destruction…”
“Sister.” Cecilia called out, but her tone was already displeased.
Even though Rosalia clearly heard Cecilia, she pressed on one step further. Even if this was still within the bounds of casual conversation, it still put tremendous pressure on Lita. “For Cecilia to choose you, and for you to take such a big risk to become her knight, there must be something else maintaining your relationship, right?”
Rosalia was worried about Cecilia—Lita knew that. Cecilia had suddenly brought Lita back to the Royal City and declared her as her chosen one, even though they had never known each other before. That was extremely suspicious—Lita knew that too. It might be a sister’s concern for her younger sister, or Rosalia’s distrust of Lita. More likely, the questions Lita had deliberately avoided were making Rosalia suspicious.
Even if the atmosphere was still harmonious, Rosalia’s words were starting to steer the conversation in an odd direction. Rosalia, like Aierteer, was worried that Lita might have ulterior motives. At this point, did she have any rebuttal?
“It’s the curse.” Cecilia said softly. “It’s not that Lita wants to stay by my side. It’s that I want Lita to stay by my side.”
Rosalia’s expression shifted. She had thought Cecilia might side with Lita, but she hadn’t expected Cecilia to bring up this matter.
“Lita can see the full extent of my Curse Pattern. Sister, do you understand what that means?”
Rosalia widened her eyes in surprise, then nodded lightly. She had found the answer she wanted. If it was this, that would indeed explain Cecilia’s change. But she couldn’t ask more. The curse was something that shouldn’t be mentioned in front of Cecilia—that was the biggest reason. As for the details—she had never seen Cecilia’s Curse Pattern, but she roughly knew where it was. Under what circumstances had Lita seen it, and why had Cecilia exposed that part of herself to Lita? Rosalia didn’t know and didn’t dare ask.
“Huh? What? I didn’t follow!” Shirley, completely out of the loop, asked with an innocent face, not sensing the subtle shift in the atmosphere.
“Nothing. It’s too complicated to explain, and tonight isn’t the time to discuss that.” Rosalia took the initiative to end the topic.
Although Lita only half understood the conversation, she understood one thing: Cecilia had helped her out. Unless something special happened later, Rosalia probably wouldn’t bring it up again. Rosalia’s suspicion of Lita was temporarily resolved—though it shouldn’t really be called suspicion, just Rosalia’s concern for Cecilia. Still, it served as a warning to Lita: as long as she stayed in the Royal Capital, things like this were unavoidable.
Back in the tent, Lita wanted to discuss the matter with Cecilia, or just thank her for helping her out. But before she could speak, Cecilia stopped her, reading the intention from her expression. It was better to be safe than sorry. Bringing it up at a time like this really wasn’t appropriate. If someone passing by overheard, the problem would be even bigger.
So Lita put the matter at the back of her mind for now.
The next morning, they set off as usual. Judging by everyone’s attitudes, last night had indeed been just a trivial interlude, something to be forgotten. It seemed only Lita was overly concerned about it.
After traveling for half a day, Lita finally felt something was off.
“We’ve been out for days now, but we haven’t seen a single Alien Ghost. What’s going on?”
Cecilia, riding the same horse as Lita, leaned against Lita’s chest and nodded. “True. Although this is my first time in the Everfrost Wasteland, I do find this situation strange.”
Shirley also shouted, “Exactly! The Everfrost Wasteland shouldn’t be like this! Normally, we’d walk around, find some beasts, fight them, then enjoy their meat. The smell would attract nearby Corpse Ghosts, and while fighting them, we’d catch the attention of the Alien Ghosts. Finally, we’d battle the Legion of the Wraiths, figure out their movements, and return to the fort to report. Not advance for nine days without finding anything! I won’t accept this!”
If it had been anyone else, Lita would have thought they’d lost their mind from staying too long in the Everfrost Wasteland. But Shirley’s mental state had always been… “beautiful,” so it was probably fine. Still, Shirley was right. Not seeing any other living creatures for so long—at most only some remains and feeding traces proving their existence—was indeed unusual.
“We’ve almost reached the deepest point we can get to. Going any further would make returning dangerous. I suggest we head back to the fort tonight.” Rosalia completely ignored Shirley’s rant and analyzed the situation seriously.
When it came to knowledge of the Everfrost Wasteland, Rosalia was definitely the deepest among them. Even Shirley, who grew up in Snowfall City, couldn’t compare. Since Rosalia suggested turning back, Lita felt that was indeed the most appropriate choice. But the mission she had been given couldn’t be accomplished just by returning.
Brownie caught the disappointment on Lita’s face. She knew Lita’s purpose for coming to the Everfrost Wasteland. Even though comforting people wasn’t her strong suit, Lita saving Promi weighed heavily on her mind. After thinking for a moment, she proposed a compromise:
“As Her Highness Rosalia said, continuing forward is indeed dangerous. I believe the Alien Ghosts have deliberately disappeared to prevent us from detecting their strategic intentions and secret plans.”
If both Rosalia and Brownie agreed to go back, then this trip might really end here. From the start, half their purpose was to gather intelligence, and the other half was to protect Cecilia. They had already done their best to get this far. Going deeper wouldn’t be rational and might even be reckless, possibly putting several people in danger.
“But that’s all just speculation! So far, we haven’t gotten any intelligence at all!” Lita complained.
“No intelligence is also intelligence.” Brownie said. “And you did very well in that battle outside the Great Wall. Besides, I can testify for you. Aierteer might not necessarily make things difficult for you.”
The logic was sound, but Lita still felt uneasy. At that moment, Cecilia, sitting in front of her, also spoke.
“Since the Alien Ghosts of the Everfrost Wasteland are being unified by someone, they are no longer a scattered mess. Strategically, it’s entirely possible for them to avoid the routes we might take to advance or scout. After that battle, they probably don’t want to fight us either.”
As an onlooker, Shirley could see clearly what each of the four was implying. Lita had accepted the mission and wanted to continue forward; the Second Princess Rosalia knew more but her stance was relatively aligned with Lita; as for Cecilia, she wanted to go back but couldn’t put it too bluntly. Both masters and subordinates rationally knew that returning was the best choice.
Shirley rolled her eyes. She was the only one without a specific goal—she would just follow whatever the others decided. But Lita had saved her elder brother, and the Snow family wouldn’t forget a debt of gratitude.
“Then how about this?” Shirley raised her index finger. “Since the Alien Ghosts are hiding from us, they won’t let us find them on purpose. But if they’re marching, they have to leave some traces. What if we just ask someone and find out where they’re going?”
“Ask someone? Who?” Lita was puzzled.
“No, no!” Shirley wagged her finger. “There are no our people in the Everfrost Wasteland for sure, but there are some neutral beings.”
“The Barbarians?”
Although Cecilia asked the question, the eyes of everyone except Lita turned strange. Lita was certain she had heard “Barbarians,” not “Demon Race.”
Lita had done some research on the Everfrost Wasteland. Most of her research had focused on the Alien Ghosts and Corpse Ghosts, but she knew a little about the other races. Naturally, there were Ice Plains Wolves, Giant Bears, Yaks, Reindeer, and smaller Ice Fish or Ice Birds. But those were all beasts or magical beasts. Living on the Everfrost Wasteland were also some humanoid beings with intelligence and their own unique civilization. These humanoids could be called the Barbarian tribes.
But it seemed everyone didn’t like the Barbarians very much.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t stupidly blow my cover last night,’ Lita thought. ‘Otherwise, I don’t know how they would treat me.’
“Right, the Barbarians. But don’t worry. Even the tribes on the Everfrost Wasteland aren’t all our enemies.” Shirley continued as if she hadn’t said anything wrong. “If anyone knows the Alien Ghosts’ movements best, it’s probably them.”