Listening to Azerian’s explanation, Liami couldn’t shake the feeling that this scene was somehow familiar—she seemed to have experienced something similar before.
With that thought, Liami glanced back at Lavinia, but the latter’s expression showed nothing but surprise at Azerian’s words. It seemed this time it had nothing to do with her.
Liami turned her gaze back to Azerian, hoping for a reasonable explanation. How exactly was she connected to this matter?
It wasn’t just Liami who wanted to know. Colin was equally curious why Azerian said it was because of Liami. Although they had indeed slept together last night, was there some conflict between them in the middle of the night?
Colin sneaked a look at Liami and found her just as puzzled. If Liami herself didn’t know what had happened, then why would Azerian say it was her?
Seeing everyone gradually come out of their shock and look toward her one by one, hoping to learn the truth, Azerian stopped hiding the facts and recounted the events of last night in full.
“Last night, after saying goodnight to Liami, I went to sleep. But then a strange noise woke me up. When I opened my eyes to see what was going on, I found—”
Azerian paused and glanced again at Liami, making her feel restless. Impatiently, Liami interrupted, “So what did you find? Just say it already—I want to know what actually happened.”
Seeing this, Azerian continued with the latter half of her story.
“I found Miss Liami poking at my armor with her dagger, muttering things like, ‘Colin, you’re really dead meat! I’ll make sure you pay for this!’ I didn’t know how to react, so I just waited silently for Miss Liami to calm down. It wasn’t until morning that she finally stopped and fell asleep peacefully, which is why I’m a bit sleep-deprived now.”
The moment Azerian finished, the room fell into complete silence.
Liami didn’t know what to say. Azerian’s explanation reminded her of the dream she had last night, which did involve something similar—but she never imagined that her real self was doing such things!
Could it be that she was under too much stress lately, causing her to sleepwalk? Even so, why last night, and why that exact dream? What was going on?
Liami felt a strange sensation, as if the whole world was against her. Whenever things were going well, some terrible misfortune happened—almost as if the world refused to let her feel at ease.
With that thought, Liami lowered her head in discouragement. She didn’t dare meet anyone’s eyes, especially Colin’s and Azerian’s. Heaven only knew what they thought of her now.
Meanwhile, Colin’s mind was in turmoil. Upon hearing Azerian’s explanation, he briefly wondered if he had misheard or if Azerian was mistaken. He even considered the possibility that Azerian was fabricating a story.
But when he saw Azerian’s sincere, pity-tinged gaze and Liami’s silent, bowed head, he realized the truth: Azerian was telling the truth, and this was really something Liami had done!
Confused, Colin didn’t know what to do next. Should he ask Liami why she had done this, or just let the topic drop?
Whichever option he chose, he didn’t know how to bring it up. More than the act itself, he was concerned about why Liami had such a dream.
He had heard the saying: “What you think by day, you dream by night.” Did Liami really think about these things every day? But why? Had he done something wrong to deserve this?
Colin began recalling his past interactions with Liami, but the more he thought, the more the memory of last night’s tent incident crept back, twisting his feelings into something complicated.
Could there really be a reason for Liami’s actions?
But if that was the case, why hadn’t she just told him? He wasn’t the type to hold grudges over things like this.
Colin felt his mind gearing up for another free-for-all, unsure if his left brain or right brain would win this round.
Just as Colin’s confusion started to blur his thoughts, Lavinia suddenly shouted out.
“Ah! Liami! If you’re going to do that kind of thing, why didn’t you ask me to join? I’ve always wanted to try it too! If you ever want to do it again, you have to invite me!”
Lavinia’s words brought another hush over the room, this time including Azerian. Everyone was stunned by her wildly unexpected train of thought, unsure how to respond.
Finally, Azerian hesitated before saying, “…Um, Miss Lavinia, I think what you’re suggesting might be difficult. Collective sleepwalking is rare, and dreaming the same dream is even rarer. It just doesn’t seem realistic. You might want to let it go.”
After Azerian spoke, Sifni added her voice.
“She’s right. You should hold off on any silly ideas. Liami was just sleepwalking from stress, not doing this on purpose. As for why she had that dream, well, dreams aren’t something you can control. Most are just meaningless fragments. Worrying about it is just a waste of time.”
“You’re right,” Eireno chimed in, backing up Sifni’s words. “It’s just a dream. Liami and Colin, you don’t need to worry about it.”
With Sifni and Eireno’s support, Lavinia finally quieted down, though Liami sent her a grateful look.
She knew Lavinia’s outburst was meant to lighten the mood. Sifni and Eireno had quickly picked up on it and helped move the topic along.
Thinking this over, Liami felt genuinely touched. She hadn’t expected Lavinia to be so considerate! Once she returned, she vowed to give Lavinia a big surprise.
“By the way,” Colin suddenly said, “…can I ask why you said that?”
Lavinia nodded generously and smiled as she explained, “Why? What else could it be? It’s because you really deserve a beating! Every time I talk to you, you make me so mad I could die! Sometimes I wish I had a voodoo doll that looked like you, so I could stick pins into it one by one and make you feel the same pain!”
Colin was left speechless, unsure how to respond, and so he just remained silent. He had never imagined that was the impression he made on Lavinia.
Could he really be that bad? To make a comrade so angry?
Confused and troubled, Colin didn’t understand why. Suddenly, he glanced over at Sifni and Eireno.
Could they think the same way?
A deep sense of sorrow welled up from his heart. He resolved then and there that from now on, he would change the way his comrades saw him.
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