Thanks to Zhou Yiren's help, the group was able to reach the nearby town of Aster by sunset.
They went to find a place to stay for the night and they were able to rent two rooms, one for Blaze and Voldik, while the other was for Summer and Yiren.
"Summer, I'll go use the bathroom first."
"Sure. Voldik and I would go buy some food for dinner." She stretched out her arms, she really wanted to have a good rest soon.
"Oh. I thought that we're gonna go out and eat together?"
"We can do that tomorrow. I'm pretty sure my brother is fast asleep now that's why we'll take out the food, once he wakes up, he'll be hungry. Voldik doesn't like to be outside in the town for too long since he's an elf. We human tend to stare too long and admire his beauty so it's better if we eat them in our rooms." She giggled as she walked towards the door.
"Oh... okay." Yiren didn't mind eating in the room, although she was actually hoping that she can walk around the town later.
'I guess I'll have to tour this town by myself.'
She went in the bathroom and started undressing herself. Zhou Yiren was so happy that she could finally have a proper bath since she was not used to bathing in lakes and rivers without any soap or shampoo. She actually missed her life as a noble but despite missing it, she didn't want to return, she prefer going to an adventure like this.
She decided to wash her clothes too since she was wearing the same clothing ever since she went with them, it was so unhygienic for her but she didn't had a choice since it was the only clothing she have. There was no enough money to buy a new set of clothes, the money was only for food and room rents.
They were able to get some money by accepting small and easy missions from the towns and villages they passed by but it wasn't enough for the four of them that's why Summer is so strict when it comes on money.
She sat on the stool and started pouring water on her body before rubbing her body with the soap. She paused upon feeling the bite scar on her shoulder.
She faked her death and she knows that it will hurt the people that cared for her, she felt a bit guilty but her decision was firm. She didn't want to deal with the game plot of this world. She wants to control her own life and she won't be able to do it if the real Violet would keep on controlling her body just to stick on the game's plot.
She rinsed herself and continued to think about how her family was right now.
While she was in her deep thoughts, the black mist on her shoulder started growing.
Zhou Yiren was surprised upon seeing the black mist filling the bathroom, she quickly coated herself with light magic since she thought that Violet was going to control her again but that didn't happened, instead, a tall figure appeared in front of her.
Her eyes went wide upon seeing the man in front of her.
"It's nice to see you good and well, sister." A charming smile was plastered on Luke's lips as he looked down on her.
"L... Luke? H-how? This is... impossible..." He shouldn't know that she was alive. She was pretty sure that the fake body would be able to deceive them.
She stood up and took a step back. "W-why are you here?"
"Can't I be here?" He smirked as he stared at her from head to toe, but he returned his sight to her naked body.
Noticing where Luke was staring made her remember that she was naked, her face went red as a tomato. "Pervert! Stop looking!" She quickly grabbed her towel and used it to cover her body.
He chuckled, she didn't need to be shy about it, after all, he already saw everything. He walked toward her and ended up cornering her against the wall.
"W-what?" She felt her body shiver upon feeling the cold wall against her back. The way Luke was staring at her made her nervous.
"Did you thought that you can fool me by faking your death, Yiren?" His expression turned dark and his voice sent chills run down her spine. "Did you thought you can just leave me that easily?"
She clenched her towel tight as she was staring up at Luke. She felt so small because of his tall figure. She was like a rabbit caught by a lion.
"C-Can I explain?" Her voice was shaking, Luke was so scary right now. She felt like if she was going to act tough in front of him, he was going to eat her! So she decided to talk things nicely to him.
"I already know. I've been watching you everyday." He smirked. Seeing her like this made him want to tease her more. "You should have told me that you didn't liked being engaged with Spade, I could help you with breaking it off."
She gulped, she knew her engagement was going to be cancelled once they learn about her death but she rather have her freedom than being tied down by a guy. "I... want to be an adventurer..."
"I know." He touched her cheek gently. "Did you know how worried your father and I became upon seeing your fake body? Charles was in bed for days. If I didn't told him that you're actually alive, I bet he'll die early because of sadness and heartbreak. We are your family, Yiren. You should have at least told us about your plan."
She lowered her head, his words made her feel more guilty, especially about what happened to her father. "I'm sorry..."
"No. You're not sorry." He held her chin and made her look at him. "You could not replace the heartbreak we felt that day. It was not just me but everyone in the manor, even your friends. Everyone thinks you're dead. You are playing with our feelings, Yiren."
Tears were forming on the side of her eyes because of his hurtful words and when Luke saw this, he glared. "Don't you dare cry. Don't you dare use your tears to make me forgive you. You are a very selfish and horrible person, Yiren."
She bit her lower lip, she tried her best to stop herself from crying because of Luke's words but she couldn't. Her tears rolled down her cheeks. Her chest was aching so badly since Luke's words were like a knife, stabbing her continuously.
"Ah... what can I do with you?" He pulled her in his arms and smirked inwardly. "Since you're alive and well, I'll forgive you this once but you have to prepare yourself for our father's scolding."
She wrapped her arms around him and cried. "I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry!"
He was right, she should at least tell her father about this but what happened that day was something she didn't expected. She didn't expected that a Saber monster was going to attack them. She didn't expected that it was going to be the day where she will finally have her freedom from the game's plot. But it was her fault for thinking of such a horrible plan. She already knew that Charles cared for his daughter a lot, so why did she continued on with her plan? She was afraid that there wasn't going to be another chance for her to leave.
"I... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." She sobbed in his chest.
He stroked her hair gently and smiled. "Okay, okay, I accept your apology. You're forgiven. Don't worry, other than Charles and I, no one knows that you're actually alive. We will leave it at this and let everyone know that you're dead so don't worry, okay?"
Instead of feeling better, she felt her chest tightening. She really should have told her father and Luke. They were the people she trusts. She could still go on to an adventure and they will surely support her decision. They could have come up with a better plan for her but instead, she didn't do that. She regretted her decision since it hurted them.
When he pulled away from the hug, the towel fell on the ground since she was not holding it anymore. Deep in her thoughts of regrets, Yiren didn't noticed it fall or even how Luke's eyes darkened upon seeing her body again.
She raised her head and looked at him with her wet face, her heart was racing ever since he appeared and she couldn't calm herself down. She wanted to apologize more but what else could she say to make him believe that she regretted her decisions? "B... Brother."
His eyes narrowed upon hearing that word. "I'm not your brother."
She felt his warm touch on her waist and when she felt it, she snapped, realising that her towel was not on the ground. She slapped his hand away and covered her chest, she wanted to cover her womanhood too but she was so bothered on what to cover since she couldn't cover them both. "DON'T LOOK!"
He smirked . "Oh come on, have you forgotten that I already saw your beautiful body?"
She glared at him, her face red. She tried pushing him away but he wouldn't budge. "LUKE! STOP STARING!!"
"I'm just admiring an amazing piece of art." He chuckled. "You are so selfish. You already have that body for the rest of your life, can't you share it with me? I promise to take care of it and... be gentle with it, I can definitely help you feel good."
His hands moved down and touched her butt which made her punch him on the face. "YOU PERVERT!!!"