“Why are they taking so long? They’re not back yet?”
Time passed second by second.
Vidar paced anxiously inside the tent.
This was a golden opportunity.
If he missed it, who knew when he’d get another chance to make a move on Liyakade?
Just then, several dark figures in night cloaks slipped silently into the tent.
“Back? Where’s Liyakade? Did you bring her?”
Seeing Lei Ke Si return, Vidar eagerly stepped forward.
Lei Ke Si knelt on one knee and bowed.
“Master, Liyakade was alone, but she still had other guards with her. That guard was too strong. We couldn’t hold them off. We lost three or four brothers.”
“Idiot! Didn’t I give you plenty of Purple Mist Vine Grass? Why didn’t you use it?”
“That person was too powerful. We were discovered the moment we got close. There was no chance to set up a magic array… Your subordinate failed. Please punish me.”
After hearing Lei Ke Si’s report, Vidar’s rage flared.
He had thought he would enjoy Liyakade tonight, but instead he learned of his Dark Guards’ deaths.
What if Liyakade and her people traced the dead back to him?
“You… weren’t exposed, were you?”
“Reporting to you, Master. The brothers carried nothing that could link back to us. We definitely won’t be exposed.”
“Good… So she has other guards?”
Vidar stroked his chin, plotting some new scheme.
But he didn’t notice that Lei Ke Si’s body trembled slightly as he knelt.
That was because Lei Ke Si had just been castrated by Liyakade.
Standing at all was already a struggle.
It would take at least ten days or half a month before he could move normally again.
Though Lei Ke Si had been tortured to unconsciousness, he hadn’t actually died.
As the leader of the Dark Guards, if he simply vanished, Vidar might grow suspicious.
So Liyakade had spared him.
Now, all of Vidar’s Dark Guards had fallen into Liyakade’s hands, completely under her control.
Under the influence of the Purple Mist Vine Grass and the Demon Race’s power, these Dark Guards had utterly submitted to Liyakade.
On the surface, they still had their own thoughts, but with a single command from Liyakade, they would immediately serve her.
Their memories could also be fabricated through the Purple Mist Vine Grass and demonic abilities.
Liyakade’s current goal was more about extracting information from Vidar: where he had obtained the Purple Mist Vine Grass and what he had done with it.
“…What’s that smell?”
Vidar had noticed a stench in the tent for a while now.
He sniffed around and finally found the source.
The foul odor was coming from Lei Ke Si’s mouth.
“What did you eat? Why does your breath stink so badly?”
Vidar really knew how to touch a sore spot.
In Lei Ke Si’s memory, that thing had been cut off by Liyakade’s guard and stuffed into his mouth.
Vidar bringing it up now—if Lei Ke Si weren’t Vidar’s Dark Guard, he would have already pinned Vidar to the ground and ground his face into the dirt.
The subordinates behind Lei Ke Si wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.
“Alice, actually… the reason Liyakade was in a bad mood last night was because she was burned by the Light Element. That’s why she was sad.”
After Field and the others parted ways with Liyakade, they returned to their own tent.
Field and Alice had Natalia stand guard outside while they talked inside as agreed.
Field set up a magic barrier to block sound, then began explaining the reason to Alice.
“I see… so that’s it.”
Alice gave a bitter smile.
She had already guessed this outcome.
She only wanted a definite answer.
Now that the answer was clear, it was time for her to bow out.
“Field, take Liyakade back to the palace. We haven’t left the Royal City too far yet. I’ll just go back to my hometown alone.”
Hearing Alice’s seemingly self-defeating words, Field frowned in confusion.
She didn’t understand Alice’s reasoning.
She had explained the cause, so why was Alice not only not feeling better, but even heavier?
“Alice, what do you mean? I don’t follow.”
“Sigh…”
Alice let out a heavy sigh.
Since it had come to this, she might as well be blunt.
“Liyakade was hurt by my Light Element and felt sad. And she’s been avoiding me. When I ask why, she won’t tell me. Doesn’t that seem like she doesn’t like me anymore… So isn’t it time for me to bow out?”
“Huh? So you think Liyakade’s behavior means she doesn’t like you anymore?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Heh…”
Field let out a soft laugh.
Seeing Field unable to suppress a smile, Alice felt puzzled.
Field’s smile didn’t seem bitter or mocking; it looked more like a helpless chuckle.
“Who said Liyakade doesn’t like you? Didn’t I tell you before? Fear of the Light Element is just a physiological reaction of the Demon Race. If Liyakade really didn’t like you anymore, she definitely wouldn’t have followed you to your hometown in the first place.”
“…Huh? That… makes sense?”
Field’s words were like a wake-up call.
If Liyakade truly didn’t like her, why would she be willing to keep traveling with a giant Light Element body for so long?
She would want to avoid the source of discomfort and stay far away.
“Right. Maybe I didn’t explain clearly enough.”
Field nodded, then recounted the events of the previous night in detail.
“Liyakade just feels that she gets burned by the Light Element, and physical contact with you makes her uncomfortable. She really likes you but can’t get close, so that’s why she’s sad.”
“So that’s it… Then why did she keep avoiding me when I asked?”
After hearing Field’s explanation, Alice felt a pang of guilt.
She had misunderstood Liyakade.
Liyakade hadn’t stopped liking her, nor had she secretly plotted with Field to get rid of her.
She was just sad because she couldn’t get close.
“Because she thought you’d be hurt if you knew. If you knew that physical contact would hurt Liyakade, even burn her, you’d blame yourself. That’s what Liyakade believed.”
Field continued explaining to Alice.
“You’ve always been a very kind person. If she had told you, you’d have put the blame on yourself. She just didn’t want to make you sad.”
“As for later, her emotions had been running high these past two days. You kept pushing, which probably made her angry, so she stubbornly refused to talk, and wouldn’t let me tell you either. Liyakade throws little tantrums like that sometimes; you know that.”
“Liyakade’s plan was probably to hide it from you for a while, ask her Ancestor for a solution, and find a way to fix her issue without you finding out.”
“So… that’s how it is…”
After Field laid out her conversations with Liyakade over the past two days, Alice finally understood.
Liyakade had kept the truth from her only to spare her from self-blame.
But now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, Alice felt even more guilty.
“I’m going to find Liyakade right now. I’m going to bring her back.”
Alice stood up from the mattress and headed for the tent entrance, intending to chase after Liyakade who had left alone earlier.
“Alright, I’ll come with you. Now that the misunderstanding is out of the way, Liyakade really does still like you. She’s just sulking. Let’s bring her back, talk it out properly, and apologize to her.”
Seeing Alice’s spirits restored, Field felt relieved.
They just needed to find Liyakade.
Hopefully, she hadn’t gone too far.
With Liyakade’s abilities, if she ran far, Field and Alice would have a hard time finding her.
Also, they hoped Liyakade had cooled down by now.
“No need to look for me. I’m already back.”
Just as Field was getting up, the tent flap was pushed aside by a pair of slender, fair hands.
It was Liyakade.
“Liyakade! You’re back!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Alice hurried over to Liyakade.
She wanted to reach out and hug her, but then she remembered—physical contact would cause Liyakade a slight burning pain.
Reluctantly, she lowered her arms.
But before Alice’s pale arm could fall completely, a small figure suddenly dove into her embrace.
Liyakade had thrown herself into Alice’s arms.
“What’s wrong? You clearly wanted to hug me, so why did you stop?”
Liyakade’s tone was slightly reproachful.
Her small, fair arms tightly encircled Alice, and she buried her little head in Alice’s chest, nuzzling and greedily breathing in Alice’s scent.
“Huh? But… Liyakade, aren’t you…?”
The sudden hug left Alice flustered.
Even though Liyakade was holding her tightly, Alice still didn’t dare put her arms around Liyakade.
“It’s fine now. I’m hugging you like this, and you still won’t touch me? When did you become such a coward, Alice?”
“…Mm.”
Hearing Liyakade’s soft, reproachful words, Alice paused.
She let out a quiet “mm,” then wrapped her arms around Liyakade in return.
Alice could feel that this time Liyakade’s body wasn’t trembling.
She was genuinely enjoying the embrace.
She would not doubt Liyakade again.
She would trust Liyakade—trust that Liyakade liked her.
After a long moment, Liyakade finally pulled away from Alice.
“Hehe.”
After letting go of Alice, Liyakade kicked off her little leather shoes, tossed them aside, and lightly flopped onto the mattress.
She turned to face Alice, gave a soft laugh, then started teasing her.
“So you thought I didn’t like you anymore. No wonder you looked so pitiful when you were asking. Anyone would’ve thought I’d dumped you. It pissed me off.”
“I… I’m sorry…”
Hearing Liyakade bring it up, Alice felt a little embarrassed, but more than that, guilty.
Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, Alice felt she had been unreasonable.
She owed Liyakade an apology.
She had to do something to make it up.
“How can I make it up to Liyakade…”
“It’s fine. I forgive you. You don’t have to be so formal.”
Liyakade shook her head, cutting Alice off.
She didn’t need Alice to do anything for her, no compensation.
Because Liyakade liked Alice, a situation like this didn’t require a solemn apology.
For Liyakade, that was just how loving someone worked.
As long as it wasn’t a matter of principle, an apology was enough.
If it were a matter of principle, no compensation would help.
This conflict had only come from a misunderstanding.
Each of them had good intentions and thoughts; it was just a lack of communication that led to the misunderstanding.
“Actually, I owe you an apology too, Alice. I was just sulking earlier, so I kept refusing to tell you. The truth is, telling you wouldn’t have been a big deal. It was just me being stubborn. Sorry, Alice, for making you sad.”
Liyakade sat up on the mattress and apologized to Alice.
“Hah…”
Seeing Liyakade apologize so seriously, Alice couldn’t help but snicker.
“Wha… what’s wrong?”
Seeing Alice crack a smile, Liyakade’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Why are you laughing so much? Was my apology that funny?”
“Hahaha, no… no, it’s just…”
Liyakade’s question only made Alice laugh harder.
“It’s just—you said we don’t need to apologize so formally, and yet your apology is super formal! Hahaha!”
“Uh… I…”
Liyakade realized Alice was right.
Not only had she said all that, but she had also sat up properly on the mattress.
“Anyway! I don’t need you to be so serious when apologizing to me, but when I apologize, I have to be serious!”
“Alright, alright. Then I forgive you too, Liyakade.”
“Mm-hmm.”
With that, Liyakade, Alice, and Field finally resolved their misunderstanding.
Natalia, who was keeping watch outside the tent, felt very uneasy.
When Liyakade had returned earlier, Natalia sensed she was carrying killing intent.
When Liyakade wanted to enter the tent, she didn’t dare stop her—after all, it was their personal matter.
Field and Alice hadn’t said they didn’t want to see Liyakade, so Natalia certainly didn’t dare to block her.
Now, quite some time had passed since Liyakade entered the tent.
Natalia’s feelings were complicated.
On one hand, she hoped Liyakade would reconcile with Alice and Field.
Both Alice and Field were people Natalia admired.
If they could find happiness, she would be glad.
But on the other hand, she didn’t really want Liyakade to make up with them.
Once they reconciled, they might continue their elopement plan.
If that happened, the Kingdom of Calderra would be powerless against the Demon Race when the Prophecy came.
Moreover, Liyakade and the others had used their Magic Power to block sound, so she had no idea how their talk was going.
In short, Natalia’s heart was a tangle of mixed emotions.
If only they could reconcile and still stay in the Kingdom