“Alright, alright… just don’t be so impulsive next time. Be careful about exposing yourself. It’s easy enough for me to get people like that to buzz off on my own, but it’s a huge deal if you get exposed.”
Field sighed helplessly.
She didn’t know what had been going on lately; not only had Alice become somewhat despondent, but even Liyakade’s temper had become rather volatile.
In the past, Liyakade wouldn’t have given someone like Vidar a pleasant look if he tried to offend them, but she wouldn’t have been so direct about it.
Take the situation with Eric, for example.
Back then, Liyakade was actually the one holding Field back, and they had worked together using a clever scheme to deal with him.
Even though Liyakade had used the power of the Demon Race then, it was only to secretly manipulate other animals to harass Eric, which carried absolutely no risk of exposing herself.
It was the same when facing Shadow Burial.
Sensing that Teacher Fianna was approaching, Liyakade would instantly cease her Demonization even if she was injured to prevent herself from being discovered.
If it ever reached the point where Liyakade voluntarily exposed her bloodline—as she had with the bandits who targeted them in the dungeon or with Darkness—it meant Liyakade considered it a life-or-death situation.
Any enemy who learned of Liyakade’s Demon bloodline had to die; only the dead can keep a secret.
As for friends, she simply had to trust them.
A person like Vidar was clearly the “potential enemy” type.
Yet, Liyakade had used the power of the Demon Race to scare him off, and she had done so in plain sight of the entire caravan.
This spoke volumes.
With Liyakade’s awareness of safety, it was impossible for her not to know that doing this carried a risk of people noticing something was wrong.
Yet she did it anyway.
This was why Field felt Liyakade had been irritable lately, and it was also the reason Natalia had grown more suspicious of them.
“Yeah, I know. I won’t do it again.”
Liyakade pouted and then decisively admitted her mistake.
In truth, she also knew that scaring Vidar off in front of so many people might tip others off that something wasn’t right.
But at that moment, she just couldn’t control herself.
she felt agitated and angry, so she simply followed her impulses.
“It’s fine. Just be more calm next time. It’s getting late, let’s sleep.”
Field dropped the subject and then spread out the bedding, lying down.
Actually, she didn’t lie in the middle of the bed; she lay on the right side.
However, the thing that made Field feel uneasy happened again.
She didn’t know what was going on with those two, but Alice and Liyakade seemed to have reached some sort of eerie, unspoken understanding.
Alice lay down on the left side, while Liyakade squeezed in on Field’s right.
A gap was left in the middle of the bed again.
This time, Field reacted quickly; as Liyakade lay down, Field shifted to the left, making the three-person arrangement look a little less awkward.
“Goodnight.”
Usually, if they were sleeping together, even if they didn’t “do that,” they would at least be a bit affectionate—hugging or giving each other a goodnight kiss.
But tonight, they did nothing of the sort.
They simply bid each other goodnight and ceased all interaction.
Field was now certain that some problem had arisen between Liyakade and Alice.
She decided to try and resolve it.
Naturally, she chose to start with Liyakade.
After all, Alice had already talked to Field once before they set out.
Field could sense that Alice’s state of mind was quite fragile right now, so it would be better to communicate with Liyakade first.
Therefore, after a short while had passed, Field turned on her side and gently took Liyakade’s hand.
Liyakade felt something soft and warm in her hand.
Opening her eyes, she found Field lying on her side next to her, looking at her.
Just as Liyakade was about to speak and ask Field what was wrong, Field raised the index finger of her other hand to her lips, signaling Liyakade to stay silent.
Liyakade understood Field’s meaning but was still confused.
she met Field’s gaze with a questioning look.
Field then opened Liyakade’s palm and traced a few words lightly onto the young girl’s hand, telling Liyakade to be patient and that she had something to say to her in a moment.
Thus, Field held Liyakade’s hand as they waited for a good while.
Once Field felt that Alice was likely asleep, she quietly rose from the bed with Liyakade.
She put on her gold silk mask again and slowly crept out of the tent.
Coming out of the tent, they saw that almost everyone else in the caravan who had been active was now back in their respective tents.
Only the guards remained outside.
Natalia was very dutifully standing guard in front of Liyakade and the others’ tent, protecting them.
“Fiel— mmm…”
Seeing that Natalia had almost blurted out her real name, Field quickly covered Natalia’s mouth.
Then, lowering her voice, she whispered into the woman’s ear.
“Shh… outside, you must call me Feide.”
“Mmm… Yes, Lord Feide…”
After hearing Natalia’s muffled, whimpered response, Field finally released the hand covering Natalia’s mouth.
Natalia wasn’t the only one around; there were other guards too.
Natalia’s slip-up had truly given Field a fright.
Just because she had revealed her identity to her didn’t mean she wouldn’t continue her disguise.
If she really let the name slip, her identity wouldn’t be hidden anymore, and she didn’t want to attract attention.
“Um… cough, cough. Lord Feide, what are you doing out so late?”
Natalia had finally learned her lesson and questioned Liyakade and Field with a perplexed look.
“We have some things to take care of. You stay here and protect Alice.”
“Yes, Lord Feide.”
Natalia nodded obediently, this time refraining from prying further.
After giving Natalia her instructions, Field pulled Liyakade toward the nearby woods.
Once there, Field felt it wasn’t quite secluded enough, so she led Liyakade a bit deeper.
She glanced around to ensure no one else was present before turning to question Liyakade.
“Liyakade, I feel like you haven’t been yourself lately. You aren’t usually this irritable or reckless. Did something happen?”
Field didn’t intend to throw the main question out immediately.
Instead, she decided to proceed step by step, asking gradually.
To ensure Liyakade didn’t feel uncomfortable, Field’s tone was exceptionally gentle.
“Irritable? Me?”
Liyakade’s eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Field with some confusion, not knowing exactly what Field was talking about.
“Field, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that today, when you used the power of the Demon Race to scare off Vidar, wasn’t that a bit impulsive?”
Field took a deep breath and slowed down her speech, explaining what she had just said.
“Didn’t I already apologize? Or is it that Field actually wanted to cooperate with him, thinking the bloodstone ore really was at the Kingdom border?”
Liyakade couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this, feeling a bit annoyed.
She didn’t know why Field was bringing this up again.
“Liyakade, don’t be so anxious. Calm down and listen to me, okay?”
Field could hear the agitation in Liyakade’s tone.
This only further confirmed to Field that Liyakade’s state of mind was off.
She gently stroked the back of Liyakade’s hand, comforting her and trying to get her to calm down.
“…I, sorry. It seems my tone was a bit poor.”
Feeling the touch on her hand, Liyakade gradually calmed down.
She apologized to Field and then asked:
“Then Field, what is it you actually want to say?”
“Liyakade, of course I was also very annoyed with that man, and I believe what you said. However, you don’t usually show your distaste like that.”
Field paused, giving Liyakade some time to process.
At the same time, she felt a bit vexed.
Originally, she had let Vidar return so he could act like a clown to lighten the mood between Liyakade and Alice.
She hadn’t expected Vidar to actually provoke Liyakade this much.
Besides Natalia, it was possible others had noticed the change in Liyakade.
She didn’t know if this development was good or bad.
Then, Field added:
“Under normal circumstances, you might have used a gesture or a look to warn me. You wouldn’t have contradicted him directly in front of so many people like you just did.”
“I know you definitely know where the bloodstone ore is, Liyakade. But don’t you understand? Almost no human can verify the location of ore found in the mountains of the Magic Domain. By saying that, won’t you arouse suspicion?”
“…… I see.”
Liyakade lowered her head, answering Field in a soft voice.
She certainly knew that such information was difficult to verify and that very few people knew it.
Anyone with that knowledge had to be a special existence.
And Liyakade knew her own specialness better than anyone.
She wasn’t just someone with a Demon bloodline; she was a transmigrator from another world.
Much of the information she possessed was simply impossible to explain.
For example, regarding the trap Darkness had set for them during the midterm exam—if it hadn’t been for Liyakade’s foreknowledge, they might have really fallen for it.
However, it was best not to go around blabbing this information unless it was absolutely necessary.
Facing Darkness was a necessary moment; if she hadn’t spoken up, they would have walked into a trap.
But just now, facing Vidar, it was an unnecessary moment.
She could have just explained it to Field afterward.
Yet, the choice Liyakade had made at the time was to speak out in public.
Now, while the others in the caravan didn’t know what secret Liyakade was hiding, they at least saw that Liyakade was quite knowledgeable and knew a great deal—even about things like bloodstone ore.
Liyakade’s actions would undoubtedly attract attention.
But that actually wasn’t the main issue.
The most critical point was that Liyakade had used the power of the Demon Race to scare Vidar off.