"l... I did follow along out of instinct..." Lila hung her head, traversing through the steep slope. "Still... don’t you think this might’ve been too reckless?"
l, the one whose impulsiveness had set them on this path, chuckled softly, giving Lila’s head a playful pat.
As l and Lila bantered, Rosana eyed behind their group, ire crossing her gaze.
The steep terrain made large groups a liability, demanding tighter formations and careful pacing.
Besides Rosana, Lila, l, and Calina, they were accompanied by two other Royal Knights assigned by the Princess. And...
"Keeping your distance, are you?" She smiled at the elf, walking with them at a distance. "Do you fear us to so extent?"
l glanced over her shoulder, a little surprised at Rosana’s questioning.
"Oh, of course not." The elf waved off Rosana’s suspicion with a casual wave. "I just wasn’t expecting to be chosen. It’s a little awkward, that’s all."
"Heh..." Rosana’s eyes narrowed in an amused hostility. "How should I interpret your words? Fear for my authority? Or the people here in general?"
"Nothing much." The elf shrugged. "I’m just tagging along as an experience."
"Alright, hold up, everyone."
Sensing how her Partner avoided Rosana’s interrogation, l backed up with wobbly steps against the slope, careful not to stumble on large pebbles.
"Even the Princess and the Holy Knight Commander himself told us to get along," l smirked at Rosana. "Don’t tell even a dragoness can’t handle a little diplomacy?"
Rosana blinked at l’s tease, the innocent golden eyes shimring with a ’not-guilty’ look.
With a relieved smirk, she scooped her arm to halt l.
"Hic!"
l’s head inched away from the tree she almost crashed into, before mumbling. "Thanks."
"Don’t ntion it." Rosana released l’s arm, noticing the faint blush on l’s face. "It’s rare to see you so distracted."
l’s words choked her throat as their strides continued again.
"Hehe." l tapped her cheeks. "Cute?"
"Very much." Rosana humd. "Too distracted to defend the elf, that you were negligent?"
A breath caught in l’s throat as her eyes curved in mischievousness. "And what if I say I’m jealous of you chatting with a woman other than ?"
The Heiress tilted her head, intrigued by l’s little tease, or perhaps further dissuasion to pursue the elf matter further.
She grinned. "I would be surprised, yet I’ve a short attention span that you may find hard to grasp."
"Then I would occupy it again, until it expanded infinitely alone for ."
l traced a slow spiral in the air with her finger, her tone mock-serious. "I do like to think myself attractive enough for the tasks."
"That I cannot deny." Rosana nodded, a sneaking thought creeping into her mind.
She lifted her hand and let it trail along l’s back, her nail grazing the fabric of her uniform.
The Heiress murmured. "Your beauty can be compared to mine, sculpted, one might say carved by the Goddess herself."
"Oh?" l raised a brow. "I thank your praise, though I never would have guessed you would praise my beauty over yours."
"Heh." Rosana chortled. "Just a formality for you and you only, my prey. I always pay respect if others choose the sa for . And..."
Her amused gaze sharpened as it turned behind her once again. "I will return disrespect if that’s what others see fit. Ten tis fold."
The Heiress’s glare shook the Royal Knights from behind, their armoured hands lowering their helts to avoid the Heiress’s bloodlust.
l let out a teasing hum, unbothered by the Heiress’s threat to her back. "Thought you were never the type to take things personally?"
"Oh." The Heiress’s voice softened as she shifted to l. "It’s the opposite. My once-childish mind finds them an annoyance; now I’m rely tired of it."
Watching how Rosana’s brows twitched, l felt a pang of pity in her chest, as Rosana’s hand stayed firm on l’s back; quiet, steady, and fiercely protective.
A warm chuckle escaped her lips as l gently grasped the arm. "A tired person would never think to protect others like this."
She cupped the Heiress’s wrist and slid over the dress fabric, admiring how Rosana’s lips trembled at the tickly sensation.
Reaching the shoulder, her hand smoothed over to the other side before hugging Rosana, nestling her head beneath her armpit.
More trees surrounded them as they walked, thickening the shade while sunlight glistened along the edges of leaves.
"And I’m glad to be viewed as soone you need to protect, Rosana."
The Heiress’s pupils trembled slightly, her arm dangling loosely against l’s back.
Then, with a breath slipping out of her lips, her hand clutched around l’s shoulders. "Don’t ntion it."
[ Greed realised a sense of nostalgia within your grasp. ]
[ Greed favourability: 51 -> 53 ]
l nodded at this progression, fully ignoring the erald glare from in front of her.
Judging how Lila’s favourability didn’t drop, it was a subtle ’I will see how you explain later’ mont for l.
Yet l wouldn’t falter. She would rely pamper Lila that much more in return!
"So." Rosana sneezed. "Mind telling what’s up with that elf?"
l’s cheek burrowed into the Heiress. "What’s up with that elf?"
"It was too chaotic last ti, but now it was different." Rosana lightly pressed l’s cheek between her fingers.
"Your disappearance with the elf, and how the elf has yet to show her magic or abilities. Would you claim ignorance again?"
"Yep!" l’s face glead. "I was much too unaware of it."
"Then..." "Then..." Rosana’s expression tightened, a flicker of unease crossing her face. "What about those two Royal Knights behind us?"
l’s smile didn’t waver as the grass gave way to denser trees, the landscape shifting into woodland.
"Are you... Perhaps feeling discomfort?"
Rosana glanced at l, too light to be a glare, yet too heavy to be a glance.
"I’m protecting you, l." She uttered. "The entire incident... it wasn’t only Lila who worried for you."
A brief sentint flickered in l’s expression, a brief blush painting her face red.
Yet before her heartfelt gratitude ca, Rosana interrogated.
"Those two... are they spies for the enemy we’re about to face?"
A breath hitched in l’s throat, before an amazent washed over her slight shock.
"As expected." l chuckled. "There’s no hiding from you."
The grassland with clusters of trees stretched across l’s vision, and at the corner, her Partner’s notice lay clear.
[ 50m till we reach the Cult’s Headquarters, l! ]
Perfect.
The Witch of Lust’s grasp on the Heiress tightened, satisfaction blooming as the Saintess’s and her own plan began to bear fruit.
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