Liyakade certainly noticed.
She saw Alice and Field had left a middle seat open for her, as that was how they usually spent their time together.
They would habitually let Liyakade sit in the center so she could be close to both of them.
‘But today…’
Liyakade really did not want to sit in the middle again.
Whether it was because of the medicine or for some other reason, Liyakade truly did not want to be pressed right up against Alice.
Recalling the sensation of touching each other in the carriage that morning, and remembering the feeling of her own chest being pierced by that Rain of Light in her dream, Liyakade could not help but feel phantom pain.
She even began to tremble slightly.
To her, Alice’s soft, pale skin felt like a piece of iron forged in fire, something that would sear a burning Bloodline Mark onto her body.
‘It must be because of that dream. In a few days, once I forget the dream, everything will return to normal.’
‘So… please don’t notice.’
Liyakade silently walked to the other side and sat on a wooden stump next to Field.
She prayed in her heart, hoping that Field and Alice—especially Alice—would not notice that anything was wrong.
If Alice realized she was being avoided, she would surely be very sad…
But today, Liyakade really did not want, truly did not want, to be that close to Alice.
As Liyakade walked toward Field’s side, she caught a glimpse of Alice out of the corner of her eye.
Alice acted as if she had noticed nothing at all, appearing completely unaware of Liyakade’s slight change in behavior.
Liyakade finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed Alice had not noticed her acting strange.
“Liyakade? You…”
Field’s slightly puzzled voice sent Liyakade’s heart into her throat.
Alice had not noticed, so how did Field see it?
And she even asked about it!
Now Alice would notice too!
But there was nothing she could do now.
She could not exactly go back and sit in the middle, could she?
Not only would that mean being pressed against Alice, but it would also look far too intentional.
Sitting back now would definitely trigger Alice’s suspicion.
Thus, Liyakade could only feign composure, pretending nothing had happened as she sat there with a stiff upper lip.
“Hmm? Is something wrong?”
To be honest, if Field and Alice did not have the habit of sitting together and only making room once Liyakade arrived, she would not feel so awkward and unnatural right now.
After answering Field, Liyakade glanced at Alice again, pretending to be casual.
She saw that Alice still had no expression, nonchalantly holding her wooden bowl and sipping the mushroom soup inside.
Seeing that Alice still had not noticed, Liyakade relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
she plopped down onto the wooden stump and began to taste the caravan’s dinner.
However, were things truly as Liyakade thought?
If even Field sensed something was off, how could the more sensitive Alice not notice?
The moment Liyakade walked toward them, Alice had already been watching her.
she was waiting for Liyakade to sit by her side.
Yet, Liyakade’s unintentional turn and her steps toward Field seemed to plunge Alice’s mood to freezing point in an instant.
The self-soothing words she had told herself earlier, the comforting things Field had said to her, and all those false reassurances finally collapsed the moment Liyakade walked to the other side.
As she suspected, her doubts all along were not baseless.
But Alice’s expression and movements did not change.
It was not that she was holding it in, but rather a very strange feeling.
It was as if she were standing somewhere else, looking at herself sitting on the wooden stump.
For now, aside from being unable to speak, she felt no different than usual.
“Mmh, this is actually pretty delicious.”
Field’s voice drifted over from the side, but to Alice, it felt so distant.
‘No, that’s not right… Liyakade was still holding me while she slept in the carriage. How could she not want to be by my side?’
‘But… but why was she trembling? Why did she have a nightmare… but she also gripped me tightly. It definitely wasn’t because of me…’
‘But why change seats after waking up? Does she really just want some fresh air? Why… why do I feel like you’re distancing yourself from me…’
‘Is it because of that strange dream? Because Field died in the dream, she wants to be closer to her… is that it…’
‘Even now… right?’
Alice shook her head.
The more she thought, the more bitter it felt.
she wanted to find evidence that Liyakade was not distancing herself, but all she found was evidence that she was.
Even the steaming mushroom soup in her bowl seemed to have grown cold, and she could even taste a hint of bitterness in it.
Field sat in the middle, feeling more and more like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Liyakade and Alice seemed to have reached some sort of unspoken agreement as they both suddenly fell silent.
What made Field feel even more awkward was that because she and Alice had just made a space for Liyakade, but Liyakade had not taken it and sat on the other side instead, there was now a gap between herself and Alice.
It was almost as if the two sides were not even part of the same group.
What made it even harder to bear was that Alice showed no intention of moving closer.
What Field did not know was that Alice’s heart was currently in a state of total chaos.
If someone called her name right now, she might not even be able to react immediately.
Left with no choice, Field could only take the initiative to lean toward Alice’s side.
Field shifted her position toward Alice.
Alice did not resist, which relieved Field, but she soon noticed something wrong.
Alice seemed to have no reaction at all, as if she had not even noticed Field moving closer.
Field could not help but worry about Alice’s state.
From a brief observation, Liyakade’s state seemed much better than Alice’s.
She decided she would start by talking to Liyakade in a moment.
“Liyakade.”
Field called out to her after sitting down.
“Coming.”
Liyakade leaned toward Field without hesitation.
Watching Liyakade’s swift movement, the corner of Field’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
Looking at Liyakade, she clearly knew that the middle seat had been left for her.
Why did she insist on sitting on Field’s other side?
Field felt as if she were missing a segment of her memory, or perhaps a period of time had been deleted.
Had Liyakade and Alice had a massive argument during that non-existent time and fallen into a Cold War?
Otherwise, why would the atmosphere be so bizarre?