"Lyana..." The girl groaned, her voice barely more than a whisper as her mind swam between the beginning and the end, caught in a whirlwind of confused thoughts. She felt like both a still pond and a stormy ocean, buffeted by a great tempest.
The murmurs of the girl, who had just woken from her faint, drifted on the wind. The woman whose lap her head was resting on turned gently to help her sit up. "H-How long was I... ah ~ my head hurts," she groaned in pain, placing her hand on her head. It did little to ease the pain, but she did it anyway.
"Two hours have passed, my mistress," Lyana replied, looking at the woman's thin and weary body. Slowly, she was wasting away. She was no longer the beautiful woman Lyana once knew. She was a shadow of herself... or worse, she was rely what she could have once been. "My ti...
must be nearing its end," she murmured, placing her hands on her hair, the tips of which had already begun to turn gray. "Ti... yes, ti is passing," she whispered, as if seeing sothing Lyana couldn't understand.
"We're almost to Eldoria, but we've encountered problems..." Lyana said hesitantly, knowing they couldn't afford much delay. Her mistress's life was slipping away, and they needed a solution quickly. "We're fine, but... we've lost part of our forces," she revealed, trying to soften the blow.
She didn't want to simply say their soldiers were killed, although part of the bla lay with her for not leaving the carriage and staying by her lady's side.
"Duty above all, isn't it, Lyana?" her mistress asked as she sat up properly, as if reading her thoughts. "My lady... I..." Lyana began, but her mistress raised a hand, signaling her to stop. "I understand your thoughts, and I agree with them to so extent," she said as she examined her arms. Her skin was pale and dry, almost translucent, revealing her veins prominently.
"An assassin... he killed many of the enemies and invaded the carriage. He said his group had been attacked by these people earlier, and he wanted to settle the score..." Lyana murmured, feeling as if she had failed. "Good job," her mistress said, stretching her arms and yawning. "Knowing you, you would have killed him imdiately. I assu you didn't because..." "Spirit Swords...
strong ones, likely Rank 5 or higher... but the spirits within them... were strange," Lyana said, struggling to find the right words to describe what she had felt.
Her mistress nodded thoughtfully. "Strange spirits, you say... that complicates things. But it also ans we're dealing with soone who commands significant power. We must be cautious."
Lyana bowed her head. "I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety, my lady. Even if it ans facing these strange spirits."
Her mistress smiled weakly. "I know you will, Lyana. I have always trusted you. But rember, we must reach Eldoria soon. Ti is not on our side."
"Yes, my lady," Lyana replied, determination filling her voice. "We will get there, no matter what."
"It was as if... they weren't inside the sword, but used it as a..." she murmured, "a bridge between the user and the sword. That's why I feel these two imnse auras," she said while adjusting her kimono. "Could you tie my hair, please?" she asked, and Lyana nodded, stepping forward and sitting behind her.
"Two n, three won, two spirits," she said as she concentrated. "You shouldn't be using mana... you know you're dying, right?" Lyana said, worried, as she helped form a perfect bun with a thick needle. "Don't treat like a fragile girl. We both know it's not the mana that's killing ," she replied with a smile, as if this were all a ga.
"Life has been playing tricks on lately..." she murmured.
"What do you an by that, my lady?" Lyana continued to ask as her steady hands worked on the hairstyle, smoothing the remaining hair that fell back gently.
"What was your first impression of this man?" she asked, looking out the carriage window in the direction of the different auras that had caught her attention.
"Shaless," Lyana said, completely breaking her train of thought. "Can you believe it, my lady? He helped us and still invaded our carriage! He wanted profit; he's no different from the thieves who attacked us!" Lyana said, without holding back, letting her dissatisfaction pour out with all the force she had.
"Hahaha," the woman laughed at Lyana's reaction. "That said?" she questioned, and Lyana huffed, "He's strong, despite being so shaless," she said, pouting. If those knights saw her now, they'd all be stunned to see the woman who appeared so cold making such faces.
"Strong, huh... it's been a while since I've heard you call a man strong. It's quite amusing, you know?" she said, placing her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Lyana felt a bit embarrassed. "My lady! Don't make fun of !" Lyana said, finally finishing the small hairstyle and placing the veil back over her mistress's face.
"All done," Lyana said as she adjusted the back of the white kimono her lady wore. "You've improved a lot. I thought those rough hands were only for fighting, but you've changed a lot in recent months."
Lyana looked at her for a mont but couldn't help but smile. "That's your fault, you know? You give so much trouble. It's like I'm taking care of a daughter I don't even have," she said, smiling, clearly showing the strong bond of friendship between them.
"Then, let's get back to business. What exactly is this man, and what does he want with this deal? I presu he knows his own value, considering the value of those swords... this could end up costing more than we can offer." She questioned Lyana, who shrugged. "The scoundrel said it's up to you to decide what you want to negotiate," Lyana said, leaving the woman a bit confused.
"How is that?" she asked, and Lyana repeated, "He said money would be good, but that you probably have sothing better to offer. He said to ask you what you would negotiate, knowing that one of his subordinates is in charge of the periter security at the auction." Lyana explained, and the woman's expression changed drastically.
"He... has a subordinate? Inside an event like this?..." she murmured. "Yes, I found it strange. How does a man like that have subordinates? I an, co on, he was looting bandit corpses.
What kind of impression is that?" Lyana said nonchalantly while her mistress tried to make sense of it. "Lyana, calm down first, let ask sothing..." she said, and Lyana nodded.
A few seconds passed in silence. Lyana noticed that her mistress was deep in thought. "My lady?" Lyana questioned.
"Lyana... you know that the security for these places is exclusively handled by black market personnel, right? I an, we are already at a hidden, even illegal, auction, but... having soone inside... ans that... this man...
he is either with an Assassin's Guild or, at least, a dark guild..."
"Wait, you believe him? He's a fraud!" Lyana said, but the look she received from her mistress... "W-What?" Lyana thought as she saw those eyes... like two orbits that saw everything. "Let's go see him," she said and stood up, as if not thinking about anything else. She just wanted proof.
"Wait, my lady! You can't go out like this!" Lyana quickly stood up, stopping the woman. "What do you an? I need to speak with him imdiately, I need to know if this is true! Damn it, if he has an assassin's guild with him, at least we have a chance to get what we need, if it's true..." she murmured, sounding possessed. "Yes, my lady, I understand, but rushing out like this won't help.
Out there... well, out there are so problems still being resolved. Please wait a bit, okay?" Lyana said, trying to contain the woman who seed possessed.
Lyana saw the sudden change in her mistress. She had never heard her curse like that. "Besides... you need to get another veil, maybe a black one... I feel that man has a much darker gaze than usual, and he can see through this one..." she murmured. "My face is not untouchable, Lyana.
Soon, I will have to reveal it, even though it is not even a shadow of what it once was," she murmured. "I understand, my lady, but the tradition... I don't want you to get into trouble... Especially after what happened, I am sure you will be judged when you return," Lyana said.
"I have my own goals. A traditionalist family will not stop . Even if it requires staining my hands with blood, I will do everything to survive," she said, and the atmosphere beca slightly cold and tense. Lyana knew what those words ant.
"My lady... calm down. Stressing too much with these thoughts will only speed up the progression of the disease," Lyana said worriedly. "It's okay, I'm fine," she said, but Lyana didn't believe any of it. Damn... she was almost skin and bones.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Yes?" Lyana asked, hearing the knock on the door, and on the other side, a male voice reported, "That guy is joining us. It seems he wants to speak with you," the knight said, stepping away from the door. "Well, he ca to , this will indeed be easier," she said while Lyana looked at her still worried. "Co on, help up."
"Yes, my lady."
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