Chapter 147: Lyana and her Miss

"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 merely what she could have once been. "My time...

must be nearing its end," she murmured, placing her hands on her hair, the tips of which had already begun to turn gray. "Time... yes, time is passing," she whispered, as if seeing something 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 blame 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 some 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 immediately. I assume 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 means we're dealing with someone 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 means facing these strange spirits."

Her mistress smiled weakly. "I know you will, Lyana. I have always trusted you. But remember, we must reach Eldoria soon. Time is not on our side."

"Yes, my lady," Lyana replied, determination filling her voice. "We will get there, no matter what."

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 mean, we are already at a hidden, even illegal, auction, but... having someone inside... means 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 mean? I need to speak with him immediately, 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 some problems still being resolved. Please wait a bit, okay?" Lyana said, trying to contain the woman who seemed 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 me. Even if it requires staining my hands with blood, I will do everything to survive," she said, and the atmosphere became slightly cold and tense. Lyana knew what those words meant.

"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 came to me, this will indeed be easier," she said while Lyana looked at her still worried. "Come on, help me up."

"Yes, my lady."