Chapter 14: Laziness

Outside the window, night cloaked the world.

Kritiya sat quietly by the bed, her eyes reflecting the flickering embers in the fireplace.

“Time to sleep,” Diya said.

She climbed onto the bed, gesturing for Kritiya to take the inner side.

I saw the girl’s dark silhouette in her cloth skirt slowly approach.

They pulled the heavy quilt over themselves, lying side by side.

The blanket felt like a block of ice, its chill making my hairs stand on end.

Kritiya tucked in her neck, turned to face the wall, and closed her eyes.

I was a bit concerned about Diya’s state.

How should I put it?

She returned home in the afternoon, tidying up, cooking, eating, chatting with Nolan and Kritiya, and washing up as if nothing had happened.

But I clearly saw that embarrassed expression she wore in the church.

If the original novel’s plot continued, Diya would head to the Knight Preparatory Academy.

Despite being close siblings, misunderstandings would drive them apart, ending with Diya’s mysterious death.

Warmth gathered under the quilt, warming my body.

In the darkness, I thought silently, a heavy stone weighing on my chest.

“Hey? I can’t sleep. Are you asleep?”

Around midnight, I heard a girl’s voice from behind.

“I’m already asleep.”

I turned over, seeing Diya’s blue eyes glinting in the dark.

“Little Tiya can joke…”

Diya’s head rested in the quilt, her voice dreamy.

It did sound like a joke— I thought.

Well, Kritiya was truly in a deep sleep, or I wouldn’t be talking here.

“Little Tiya—did my brother say anything to you during the day?”

Diya asked suddenly.

“Some idle talk, nothing memorable…”

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell Diya about Nolan’s thoughts.

From an outsider’s view, maybe airing things out would help.

But—Nolan had asked Kritiya not to tell anyone, especially Diya.

Even if I spoke, what then?

Could it stop Diya from entering the academy?

Tell her—‘Don’t try to be a knight, or you’ll die’—to a knight’s heir set on restoring family honor, that’d sound like a curse.

My hesitation must’ve shown.

Diya blinked, then said softly.

“We’ve only known each other a few days, but my brother really cares about you—hm, because you’re cute. Your manners and speech are like a real noble lady.

And—you saved my brother. The adults think it’s impossible, but I believe you did it.”

Not quite— I thought.

Rather than Nolan caring about Kritiya, he was probably shaken.

The bloody scene of me slaughtering jackals hardly screamed “cute.”

“Noble ladies aren’t always cute. Even if they look it, some have filthy hearts,” I said.

“That’s true—but I think, though I don’t know you well, you’re not like that.”

Diya chuckled, blinking.

“When Mr. Berly came back today, he told me he heard that a young lady from Baron Noron’s family in the next domain went missing. They say she ran away from home—”

Mr. Berly said he sent a letter to the baron. In a couple of days, they’ll send someone to check. Since it’s a runaway case, he told me not to tell you yet.

But I think it’s wrong to hide this, so listen carefully, okay?”

I see—so that’s the coincidence.

They mistook Kritiya for Baron Noron’s missing daughter?

I shook my head.

“You’re mistaken, I’m not—”

“But… running away from home… is wrong, you know? Your family who cares about you… they’d be heartbroken.”

Diya’s eyes half-closed, slipping into drowsiness, murmuring.

“Because family… is important. No matter what happens, you have to talk it out. Running away… isn’t okay…”

“I didn’t run away…”

Listening to Diya, I wanted to explain for Kritiya but fell silent.

Unnoticed, the blonde girl had fallen asleep, breathing evenly.

Yes, Kritiya left Airandil due to an unavoidable black sorcerer attack.

But since regaining consciousness, she’d never revealed her identity or asked about Airandil.

Did she really want to go back?

Recalling Kritiya’s mood these past days, a light feeling stirred in my heart.

The food here was coarse, the life simple, but compared to the suffocating lessons at the ducal mansion, this was clearly more relaxing.

Honestly, since Kritiya’s mood affected mine, these days were the most relaxed I’d felt in years.

But I knew this life couldn’t last forever.

As the novel’s villainous side character, I’d already interfered early with the protagonist’s life.

I couldn’t predict the consequences—Nolan was bound to get caught in all sorts of trouble.

“No matter what happens… talk it out”— I recalled Diya’s words.

Should I find a way to nudge Kritiya?

Honestly, I didn’t want to.

I didn’t even want her to know I existed.

Another consciousness in her body, sharing every moment and emotion since birth—wouldn’t that creep her out?

Like some slimy voyeur.

If they thought I was an evil spirit and dragged me to the church for an exorcism, that’d be bad news.

I didn’t know if the church’s divine arts could expel me.

I didn’t even know if I counted as alive.

But I didn’t want to vanish or be hated.

“So… let’s wait a bit… it’s not time yet.”

I knew I shouldn’t waste time.

I should use this chance to control the body and do something meaningful.

But laziness wrapped my mind and body.

The quilt was warm.

I tucked my neck in like Kritiya and fell asleep.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I was woken at dawn by frantic knocking.

Kritiya rubbed her eyes, half-sitting up.

Diya put a finger to her lips, shushing her.

“Strange—usually, brother rushes to open the door. Did he go out this morning?”

After waiting, the knocking didn’t stop.

Diya got out of bed, heading to the door, but heard someone shouting outside.

“Cyril sister—are you home? Urgent news!”

Diya vaguely recognized the voice—maybe the Village Chief’s grandson, someone Nolan hung out with.

She relaxed, opened the door, and saw a boy about fourteen or fifteen, face full of freckles, standing outside.

“So early… what’s this about…”

“Big trouble! It’s about Nolan!”

The boy said urgently.

“I’m here to warn you!”

“Trouble… what do you mean?”

Diya froze.

“Last night—Nolan snuck into Emo’s house to steal something, got caught, and then—”

“Then… what!”

“Ugh!”

The boy sighed loudly.

“He set a fire! Burned Emo’s house down!”

“Impossible!”

Diya, stunned, retorted fiercely.

“My brother would never do that!”

“Look, I can’t explain it clearly! Someone died in Emo’s house. My grandpa’s questioning Nolan now—go see for yourself!”

The Village Chief’s grandson, as if in a hurry, rushed off after delivering the news.

I noticed Diya’s face turn pale.

She didn’t even grab a coat, stood frozen for a moment, then stumbled out the door.

The room was left with just Kritiya.

What—happened?

My heart sank like a falling boulder, a vague unease creeping in.

Nolan went mad and burned Emo’s house?

But he was fine during the day—how could he snap for no reason?

If I had to guess a cause—the only thing that came to mind was what I told him that night.

“These corpses need to be burned, or they might attract more—”

Did Nolan sneak into Emo’s house at night to destroy the jackal corpses because of that?

Did he accidentally start a fire?

“It sounds like… someone died. He won’t get the death penalty, will he?”

I thought, feeling absurd, yet my gut told me it wasn’t that simple.

My mind swirled with wild guesses, but I knew they were just hearsay.

To know the truth, I had to see it myself.

I hoped Kritiya would satisfy my curiosity, but she showed no sign of moving.

She got out of bed silently, wandering the room aimlessly, as if clueless.

No—was she looking for something?

I realized she’d walked into Nolan’s room.

His bed was messy, sheets pulled aside—probably from sneaking out at night without time to tidy.

My gaze drifted to the headboard, where The Epic of the Dragon Hero lay by his pillow.

Kritiya picked up the book, flipping through it.

A dried poplar leaf fell from the pages.

Hm—the leaf’s smooth veins suggested it was pressed fresh as a bookmark.

Kritiya paused, her fingers holding the page with the leaf, reading the text slowly.

I looked at the florid script.

The true compass lies deep in the heart of stone.

Listen closely—it is not a vain echo;

It is the chisel striking the will in the soul’s depths—

I recalled the content.

The Epic of the Dragon Hero told of an ancient dragon-slaying hero’s quest to kill an evil dragon.

This passage was after he slew the beast, blamed as the root of all evil, only to find the promised peaceful world still absent.

Confused, he met a wise stonecutter who guided him on a journey for answers.

“Hm… does this matter?” I thought.

Since I listened during most of Kritiya’s lessons, I vaguely remembered this.

But Nolan, hesitant during the day, acted so decisively at night.

Did the ancient wisdom in the book inspire him to confront Emo?

While I mused, Kritiya paused, then bent to pick up the wilted leaf, carefully tucking it back into the book.

She hugged the book and walked slowly out of the cabin.