It was Xueli.
She had changed into a lighter dress, and her silver hair appeared to have been brushed again, looking meticulous once more.
She wasn’t carrying anything, just standing there quietly as if she were simply passing by. However, her position was clearly on the path Flora and the others had to take to leave.
Ilya did not stop. She only glanced at Xueli and gave a slight nod. The attendants also bowed shallowly in greeting upon seeing Xueli.
Flora, however, was stunned when she saw Xueli, and her footsteps slowed down involuntarily.
She hadn’t expected to see Xueli here again. She thought Xueli would be busy with her own affairs and wouldn’t come to see them off.
At the same time, Xueli’s gaze moved past Ilya and landed directly on Flora’s face.
In those crimson eyes, the panic from the hallway this morning was gone, replaced by her usual calm — yet there seemed to be something deeper within them.
The distance between them shortened as Flora approached, and the air seemed to grow thick.
Just as Flora was about to pass Xueli, Xueli’s lips moved almost imperceptibly.
Flora stopped instinctively and leaned in to listen.
Xueli’s voice was very low, audible only to the two of them, but every word fell clearly into Flora’s ears:
“… The road is long. I hope you… have a smooth journey.”
Flora’s heart trembled violently. She looked at Xueli, but the other woman didn’t look back. Xueli’s gaze was fixed on the wall, her profile appearing exceptionally sharp and lonely in the morning light.
In that instant, Lias’s warning from last night, the subtle trembling she had felt during their contact this morning, and Xueli’s current cryptic words suddenly connected in Flora’s heart.
‘She understood.’
This was different from her own experience; this wasn’t just a polite farewell.
“Xueli,” Flora said.
Xueli’s eyelashes flickered, but she still didn’t turn her head.
Looking at the tense lines of her profile, Flora’s voice was very gentle, like she was soothing a high-strung bird. “If you’re really tired… you can hold that Plush doll a little tighter.”
Xueli’s body jolted — not noticeably, but Flora, being so close, could see it.
Flora continued, “It will always be with you.”
Her voice was very slow and soft.
She paused for one second, seeing Xueli’s fingertips quietly tighten, before saying the final sentence:
“It won’t ask you to maintain anything, nor will it ask you to… hide your emotions.”
“I hope that with its company, you won’t have to be so… tired anymore.”
Flora didn’t wait for any reaction from Xueli. She didn’t even look at her again as she prepared to keep walking.
She was afraid that if she looked once more, she would see the emotions that might appear in the other’s eyes. Or… she might not be able to stop herself from doing something inappropriate.
She gave a slight nod with her back turned, as if it were just an ordinary goodbye, and quickened her pace to catch up with Ilya not far ahead.
She didn’t look back.
But she could feel a gaze following her back until she boarded the carriage and the door closed, isolating the inside from the outside.
The carriage slowly started moving.
Flora leaned against the seat and closed her eyes. Her palms seemed to feel that cool, soft sensation again, and the faint scent of early winter snow seemed to linger at the tip of her nose.
Outside the window, the castle in the morning light gradually receded into the distance.
In the shadows under the archway, Xueli remained standing there, motionless. It wasn’t until the carriage completely disappeared at the end of the road that she very slowly exhaled.
Her chest was trembling slightly.
There, something was vibrating subtly and continuously. It was both warm and painful.
***
It was already afternoon when the carriage stopped in front of the demon castle. The familiar dark stone walls gave Flora a sense of relief.
Lena had been waiting at the gate early on. Seeing Flora approach, she said, “Welcome back, your highness. The hot water is already prepared.”
After speaking, Lena led Flora to the familiar bath.
As she submerged into the hot water, Flora let out a long sigh of relief. This trip had indeed been somewhat exhausting for her.
The tension in her body gradually relaxed with the warmth of the steam wrapping around her.
She closed her eyes. The dazzling lights of the banquet, the interlacing gazes, and the feeling of spinning on the dance floor seemed to remain before her eyes.
“Your highness, you said before that you would tell me about the banquet when you returned. Would you like to talk about it now?” Lena asked from the side.
Because she was indeed quite tired after returning, Flora once again “made an exception” and let Lena stay by her side.
Flora thought for a moment. “Hmm… let’s talk about it then.”
She started from the speech at the beginning of the banquet, her tone carrying a bit of the embarrassment and shyness that came with looking back on it.
“I didn’t think too much at the time. I just felt… those words had to be said. Fortunately, Mother didn’t seem angry, and the reaction to what I said was quite good.”
Flora omitted the specific content of the speech, only briefly mentioning her feeling of “having to say it” at the time.
“After that, there was the dance with her highness Xueli.” Flora’s voice involuntarily became light for a moment.
“Her steps were very steady and reassuring, which in itself makes it very effortless to dance together. But… because of the somewhat ‘ridiculous’ height difference between us, it was a bit strenuous to dance together.”
“Of course, her highness Xueli’s own skills are very strong, and our cooperation was quite good at the time.” Flora said this with a hint of teasing.
Lena listened patiently and then asked, “Is the blood clan’s Banquet Hall very different from ours?”
“It’s about the same. Not much different from ours. It’s just that the decorations there have more of a ‘blood clan style.'”
“What is the blood clan style you’re talking about?”
“It’s the kind of… beauty that looks a bit dangerous.”
Flora chatted with Lena about some idle matters and then brought the topic back to the “main line,” which was some of the things she had actually experienced this time.
She spoke about the shock of the entire audience during the gift-giving and the private conversation with Lias on the terrace after the banquet.
It wasn’t too summarized, but she didn’t go into every single detail either.
When she thought of the accidental encounter with Xueli this morning again, her mouth suddenly froze.
‘Should I say it or not?’
From an emotional perspective, she really wanted to say it; however, from a rational perspective, this matter belonged to the private dealings between them.
From Xueli’s point of view, she certainly wouldn’t want others to know.
Flora felt very conflicted.
She closed her eyes again, letting the gentle steam smooth out her consciousness and thoughts, letting them slowly slow down and straighten out.
After a while, Flora finally spoke:
“Later… I encountered her highness Xueli alone one more time.”
Flora’s voice lowered, her fingers unconsciously flicking the surface of the water.
“It wasn’t in a formal setting. It was just this morning… and it was almost time to leave…”