The night was deep and silent.
At this moment, the Palace had already gone dark.
Liyakade had fallen asleep early; if she didn’t sleep, she wouldn’t be able to establish contact with Korim.
Alice was currently resting in the room next to Liyakade’s, but she kept tossing and turning on her bed, unable to fall asleep.
It was different from the time she learned that Darkness was going to set a trap for them during the Midterm Exam.
Back then, Alice had found it difficult to sleep because of fear.
But now, as Alice closed her eyes, her mind involuntarily replayed the scenes from earlier that day.
She saw the image of Liyakade pushing her away and looking at her with eyes full of terror.
Back then, when Alice could still go to Liyakade and sleep by her side, she felt completely safe.
But now, the very person who brought her that sense of security had been hurt because of her and was instinctively afraid of her.
That was a look Liyakade had never shown before.
Moreover, having been with Liyakade for so long, Alice could understand that her fear at that moment was completely real and born entirely of instinct.
This unconscious display of emotion felt like an arrow piercing through Alice’s heart.
“Sigh… Liyakade…”
Alice rolled over and sighed softly, whispering Liyakade’s name.
Knock, knock, knock—
Right then, a light knocking sound suddenly rang out.
Surprisingly, it was Field.
“Alice, are you asleep?”
Hearing Field’s voice, Alice was very surprised.
She immediately rolled off the bed and went to open the door for her.
“Field? It’s so late. Why did you suddenly come to see me?”
Alice was somewhat confused.
She didn’t quite understand why Field would seek her out in the middle of the night.
Although they were roommates before and had a very good relationship, they both liked Liyakade now.
In a sense, they were romantic rivals and competitors.
Coming to see her this late at night felt a bit inappropriate.
“I knew you weren’t asleep yet.”
Field seemed to have a perfect grasp of Alice’s situation.
She was certain that Alice hadn’t fallen asleep.
Furthermore, she had carefully noticed that something was wrong with Alice, which was why she sought her out late at night.
“Your mood seemed a bit off during the day, so I came to check on you now. I wanted to ask what’s going on.”
“Uh… I…”
Alice was startled.
She hadn’t expected Field to pick up on her emotions so keenly.
She stammered, unsure of whether she should tell Field about the worries in her heart.
“Sigh, there’s no need to hide things like this. Didn’t we have a great relationship before?”
Field saw Alice’s hesitation and tried to persuade her.
“Besides, we both like Liyakade now. We like the same person, so doesn’t that make us comrades-in-arms?”
“Pfft, comrades…?”
Alice was amused by Field’s words.
After pausing for a moment, she finally decided to tell Field what was on her mind.
“Then, come in and let’s talk.”
With that, Alice turned on the lights and invited Field inside.
The two of them sat on the chairs by the tea table in the room.
Field spoke first, questioning Alice.
“So, what exactly happened today? I felt like you were a bit restless. Was it because of Liyakade’s reaction?”
“Yes…”
Alice’s heart trembled because what Field mentioned was exactly what she feared.
She nodded gently, confirming Field’s suspicion.
“Liyakade… she seemed very afraid of me. I… I think I unintentionally hurt her.”
“Eh? She was very afraid?”
Field could see Liyakade’s resistance to the Light Element during the day, but it shouldn’t have reached the level of hatred or fear, right?
“How come I didn’t see it?”
Alice shook her head, disagreeing with Field’s point of view.
“It wasn’t while we were in her room. It was when we were in the courtyard. I used Holy Light because I wanted to perform an exorcism on her. You might not have noticed it at the time, Field.”
At this point, Alice’s tone became very depressed.
“I wanted to help her up, but… she pushed me away. And the look in her eyes when she looked at me was full of… fear. I… anyway, I can’t forget the way Liyakade looked at me then.”
“…I see.”
Field fell silent for a moment.
She truly hadn’t noticed that.
Because everything happened so suddenly, Field had only thought about supporting Liyakade.
Since she was on Liyakade’s other side, she hadn’t noticed the expression or the movements Liyakade made toward Alice.
However, Field could completely imagine Alice’s current frustration and gloom.
Since Alice loved Liyakade as deeply as she did, if Liyakade had looked at her with fear, she would probably have started overthinking things just like Alice was doing now.
“She has never been like that before…”
The more Alice spoke, the more uncomfortable she felt.
It was an indescribable feeling—not quite a grievance, but more of a sense of guilt and self-doubt.
“She didn’t show any fear when she fought Darkness or when she dealt with that strange Shadow Burial Magic… but today, she looked at me like that. I… I’m just very sad.”
“Sigh, Alice, you really don’t need to care too much about this.”
After hearing this, Field couldn’t help but sigh and began to console Alice.
“Liyakade has the Demon Bloodline in her body to begin with. Didn’t Darkness act very afraid of your attacks before? Liyakade isn’t afraid of you; she’s just afraid of the Magic you release. This is probably just the nature of the Demon Race.”
“So you don’t need to worry about it. Besides, Liyakade can use Regeneration on herself. She doesn’t need you to provide Healing. You don’t have to use Magic on her either. She’s just afraid of the Light Element; it’s not a big deal.”
“Yes…”
After hearing Field’s comfort, Alice’s mood calmed down significantly.
It was exactly as Field said: fearing the Light Element was the nature of the Demon Race.
Liyakade was only fearing the Light Element Alice released; she wasn’t afraid of Alice herself, nor did she have any issues with her.
They were still a close couple.
“Liyakade didn’t notice the change in your mood only because the Light Element made her panic a bit. She definitely cares about you more than I do. If it were any other time, she surely would have noticed and come to comfort you herself.”
Field didn’t forget to explain things for Liyakade.
However, the truth was exactly as Field thought; the fluctuations of the Light Element had indeed caused Liyakade to panic.
“Thank you, Field. I feel much better now.”
Alice smiled and thanked Field.
“Haha, it’s nothing.”
Seeing that Alice’s mood had improved, Field smiled gently.
“We are all family. How could I just watch you be so depressed and do nothing? I’m just glad you can be happy again.”
The conversation between the two ended in such a pleasant atmosphere.
Field left Alice’s room, and Alice, whose mood had improved, was finally able to sleep peacefully.
But just as Korim had said before, Liyakade wasn’t the only one changing.
As Alice’s Level continued to rise, the Magic Power and Light Element within her would only become denser and more obvious.
Eventually, even without using Magic, it would become difficult for Liyakade to ignore Alice’s presence…