Chapter 136

Although the chances were low that more enemies were hiding, this was still an incident where the second-in-command of Maindulante had been attacked alongside a valuable guest. A report had to be submitted as soon as possible, and she needed instructions on where to go next. It would be problematic if something like this happened again in another city along the way.

So Nerys decided to stay in Dreykum a few more days. She would write the report, send it via courier hawk, and wait for further instructions.

While she was here, she had to slowly listen to what the lord of Dreykum wanted to tell the capital, deal with matters brought from White Swan Castle in between, and make sure not to be remiss in treating her guest well. There simply wasn’t enough time. In the end, she didn’t make it to bed until dawn for several days.

“You’re barely getting any sleep.”

Dora spoke with concern, all while continuing to keep a vigilant watch for any further attacks. Nerys smiled.

“I’ll be able to rest once we get back to the capital. I’ll sleep comfortably, so you should rest too.”

Easier said than done. Nerys wouldn’t have said such a thing if she truly intended to rest deeply in someone else’s castle, surrounded by people she couldn’t fully trust.

Still, she used the word “rest” to show strength to Dora. Understanding her intentions, Dora gave a rare gentle smile.

“Yes. I’ll bring breakfast in late, so please get some rest.”

“Alright.”

Dora left the room. Nerys lay down on the bed and sighed.

Before long, someone knocked on the door.

It wasn’t proper etiquette to place guards conspicuously in front of her door in someone else’s castle. That didn’t mean there weren’t any hidden protectors, of course.

Trusting that Yaheon had identified the visitor, Nerys calmly asked,

“What is it?”

“Rii-iz—”

A whisper came from beyond the door. Jolted awake, Nerys quickly approached.

Just as expected, Diane was standing there wearing only a gown loosely draped over her pajamas. Nerys was alarmed and scolded her.

“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? What if something happens to you walking around alone?”

Sure, Yaheon was likely monitoring the entire hallway, not just her room, but still—shouldn’t people know fear?

But even as she asked, Nerys already knew the answer. Diane grinned happily even as she was being scolded.

‘Riz has the same expression as back then.’

Others claimed Nerys’s expression never changed and was always cold, but Diane knew. Nerys showed her emotions more openly around her—subtly, yes, but only Diane could read them.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“You still need to. How’s your body? Feeling better?”

“It’s been a while since I was treated by the priest. I’m fine.”

People in Maindulante weren’t particularly devout, but in most regions the size of where they were staying now, at least one temple could be found. Priests with strong divine power usually didn’t want to be assigned here, so they weren’t highly capable—but it was better than nothing.

“Can I sleep with you?”

Before Nerys could answer, Diane had already slipped into her arms. As Nerys reflexively let go of the door, Diane confidently stepped fully into the room—a habit honed over years of practice.

“Hehe.”

Seeing Diane’s bright smile made it hard to stay angry. Nerys let out a bitter smile and pointed at the bed.

“Alright.”

Diane scurried over like a squirrel and jumped into the bed. Nerys signaled outside the still-open door that everything was fine, just in case the MacKinnon family started looking for Diane so that Yaheon’s people could relay her safety through a few intermediaries.

Even with all the candles extinguished, the room remained fairly bright. As Nerys lay down, she found the situation incredibly strange. Diane’s side of the bed was already warm and heavy.

Just a few days ago, she had planned to send Diane away—even if it meant making her cry—because that seemed the proper thing to do for Diane and her family.

But now they were lying in the same bed, just like they had so many times during their school days.

And they’d just crossed a life-or-death situation together.

It wasn’t uncomfortable. Rather… her heart felt full. Even though she had more to protect now—her mother, Joan, Cledwyn—her heart didn’t feel heavier.

‘Why is that?’

“Why is that, Riz?”

At the same moment Nerys turned over the thought in her mind, Diane asked.

Diane was lying on her side, looking at Nerys, who was staring at the ceiling. Nerys turned to face her.

“What is?”

“Why would someone want to kill me?”

‘To hide my death behind yours.’

That was what Nerys suspected, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She realized now why Diane hadn’t fallen asleep.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t *tried*—she simply couldn’t. The large-scale attack and betrayal by a close maid had left her feeling uneasy and afraid.

Especially since Maindulante hadn’t given her a full explanation of what happened.

So Nerys tried to give an answer, albeit a vague one.

“I think they were trying to kill me, not you. If they wanted you dead, they had plenty of chances.”

The indirect methods—like trapping them in a burning building—made sense. If they killed with a weapon, traces would remain even after the fire. Rather than leave evidence that could come back to haunt the MacKinnon siblings, they must have figured it was better to rely on the likelihood that they wouldn’t survive.

For Nerys, they likely felt the traces didn’t matter—what mattered was ensuring her death. It was Camill’s style to lay complex traps to obscure the real target.

If things continued like this, Camill would no longer care about the siblings—assuming they didn’t dig too deeply. She hadn’t told them about “Silver Moon” to prevent the MacKinnon family, unfamiliar with the darker sides of noble society, from clumsily investigating and exposing themselves to greater danger.

The MacKinnons would naturally try to find the culprit on their own. Soon enough, they’d have a rough idea. But if Nerys were to tell them outright, it would only cause confusion.

“But Nora really did try to stab me. When did she become a spy? Could she have been sent by another merchant group? The Wells family maybe? They use methods like that… I was so careful choosing her too.”

Nora was the name of Diane’s temporary maid. Judging from evidence found on her body, she was definitely from Silver Moon.

‘She must’ve received orders to somehow infiltrate this group and took Betty’s spot.’

Seeing Diane’s sulking face, Nerys gently brushed her cheek.

It was warm.

Reassured by the warmth, Diane grumbled softly.

“Why do I have to face life-threatening danger twice when most people don’t even go through it once? Is our family that careless? Are we doing something weird compared to others?”

“That’s not it, Diane.”

Nerys gave a bitter smile. She’d visited the MacKinnon merchant group many times and knew their security was the best they could manage. They actually did a good job catching spies from other groups.

‘Silver Moon’ simply operated on a level beyond normal thinking.

“Nualan and Nora… it would’ve been strange *not* to trust them. It’s incredibly hard to hide your true nature for years when you’re close to someone.”

“But still…”

“Diane, do you think if you’d done better, you could’ve stopped Nora from attacking me?”

“Mm… I was really shocked you almost died instead of me.”

Was it just shock? Diane’s eyes, as she spoke, revealed she’d been deeply troubled. Nerys gave another bitter smile.

“Don’t blame yourself because a bad person did something evil and you couldn’t stop it.”

If not for this operation, that maid would’ve continued to live as a loyal servant, tenderly looking after Diane. The one who should feel sorry was Nerys. The situation was still too complicated to say that aloud.

‘Camill’s best cover story is probably that the MacKinnons were behind it.’

If all the targets died, there would be no one left to take responsibility. Camill likely manipulated information through the spy to make it look like the MacKinnons came with the intent to harm Nerys.

‘Even so, it’s hasty for Camill.’

Normally, Camill wouldn’t make a move until thoroughly researching the area and being certain of victory. If she’d had more time, this wouldn’t have happened. If she’d had time to learn that Yaheon was protecting Nerys.

What drove her to act so rashly?

As Nerys drifted into thought, Diane looked up and pouted slightly.

“From now on, don’t jump in yourself. Leave it to people stronger than you.”

“I didn’t have time to tell anyone.”

“It upsets me when you get hurt.”

“Would you feel the same if help had come late and you got hurt instead?”

“Yeah. I’d have been angry if I died and upset if I got hurt—but that wouldn’t make me any less upset about you being in the same danger.”

“Di.”

Diane’s eyes widened. It was the first time Nerys had used that nickname since their reunion.

“What?”

“I admit it was foolish. But I couldn’t think straight when you might be hurt.”

Tears welled in Diane’s eyes. They weren’t sad tears—her smile was as wide as a basin.

Nerys couldn’t help but smile too.

“You’re more precious than I am, Di. If I had to die ten times to save you once, I would.”

“Don’t say that. It makes me sad—because I care about you too.”

“I know it’s sad. But I really feel that way. A world that can’t even protect you isn’t worth existing.”

Nerys had so much she wanted to say to Diane.

I’m sorry.

Thank you.

It felt strange to be loved by someone I love. I couldn’t believe it.

Did you know?

People need to be loved by someone.

Loved by someone who knows exactly who they are.

Someone who doesn’t have a moral obligation to care for them, yet stays anyway.

With just that, one can survive anything this world throws at them.

If I’d had just that in my previous life, everything would’ve been different.

But none of that left her lips.

Diane watched Nerys lost in thought and smiled.

Because she loved seeing that look on her friend’s face too.

Her eyes closed naturally. Ever since the near-death incident, she hadn’t felt even a hint of sleepiness—but now, her world went dark in an instant.

Beside her, Nerys slowly closed her eyes too.

The two young ladies fell asleep at the exact same time, as if they had planned it.