“Look… look over there…” Bohm’s finger pointed toward the other end of the corridor, in the direction of Tii’s room.
Su Ling looked closely and saw that the door wasn’t fully closed, a faint sliver of light leaking out. “What is it?”
Su Ling was a little confused. “Shh—Keep it down, listen carefully.” Bohm lowered her voice, gently tugging on Su Ling’s sleeve. Su Ling’s expression grew serious as she slowly crouched down, pressing her ear to the wall, even deliberately slowing her breathing.
From within the room came intermittent whispers, the voices as thin as gossamer, yet they faintly slipped into their ears. “Mmm… you came so late, is there something you want?” It was Tii’s voice.
She didn’t sound as playful as usual; instead, her tone was quite serious.
“I-I have to talk to you about the investigation…” Immediately after came another girl’s reply, deeper, tinged with a trace of barely perceptible worry. Su Ling closed her eyes, listening carefully, but her mind turned up nothing, she had no impression of this voice.
“That’s Marentia talking to Tii,” Bohm whispered close to her ear, “She’s Her Highness Nori’s personal maid.”
Nori? Su Ling remembered now, the little Blood Clan Princess she’d seen in the dining hall that day, young, with a temperamental and willful personality, and seemed to get along well with Moria.
“I haven’t seen her in the Court before,” Su Ling said.
“That’s right,” Bohm continued, “Twelve years ago, when Nori was six, she had a falling out with the other royals. Since then, she’s locked herself in her bedroom all year round, never attending any banquets or ceremonies, so her personal maid hardly ever shows up either.”
“T-Twelve years ago?” Su Ling was a bit muddled. Twelve years ago, six years old? She started to wonder if her math was off. “Eh? You didn’t know… The Blood Clan’s age is different from humans.
They grow more slowly, two years equals one,” Bohm said, putting her finger to her lips. “Shh, let’s talk about this some other time.” The two of them kept listening intently. At that moment, from the room at the end, Tii spoke up. “…Mm, investigation? I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you investigating the royal family’s preferences?”
“No, it’s the investigation I mentioned before.”
“Ah, I really am forgetful. Miss Tia mentioned wanting to investigate the popular clothing styles in the market before, then make something for Her Highness Nori, right?”
“What are you talking about? I’m not here to talk about that!” Marentia suddenly grew angry, her voice especially clear in the corridor.
“What is wrong with you today?”
“After all, we’re just maids. The only investigations we’d do are things like that… I really can’t think of anything else…” Tii, however, remained calm, completely unfazed. Her voice was still gentle, yet not weak.
“Miss Tia, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. If I’ve done anything to make you angry, I apologize. But I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so if there’s nothing else, please leave.” At that moment, Su Ling heard Bohm beside her let out a long sigh.
“So… so she went to Tii’s room just to give her a hard time,” Bohm looked relieved, pressing a hand to her chest. “That woman is awful! She did it on purpose… I’ll never forgive her.”
“Wait, so Bohm, you came here just to eavesdrop?” Su Ling finally blurted out what she’d been thinking.
“Eavesdrop! I’m not that kind of bored person… I-I just…” Bohm’s face turned slightly embarrassed, “T-today, when I was heading back to the dorm after work, I saw that woman going toward Tii’s room.
It was already so late, and she was in her nightgown… I started thinking, could she and Tii… have that kind of relationship? You know, a late-night relationship?” Tii… I was the first one to get to know her, I can’t let someone else get ahead of me! So I followed them… I want to see what her relationship with Miss Tii really is.
Bohm, aren’t you getting a bit too attached to Tii?
Su Ling frowned slightly, pondering in her heart. The feelings this girl has for Tii have clearly surpassed friendship, rising to the level of love.
I’ll support you, you know.
She wanted to say that, but after hesitating a moment, she stayed silent. For some reason, Su Ling felt a strange discomfort in her heart.
It seemed she didn’t really want Bohm and Tii to develop that kind of relationship either. If they did, wouldn’t there be an invisible distance between herself and Tii?
“Tii, you really—”
“Ah, the air is so stuffy, I’ll open the door.”
Tii’s voice suddenly interrupted Marentia, then Su Ling heard the sound of footsteps, followed by the soft creak of the wooden door opening.
No, I can’t let her find me! Su Ling felt very uneasy about eavesdropping on her friend’s conversation. She didn’t want to see Tii’s disappointed face.
So, she instinctively shrank back, hiding herself behind a pile of clutter. The next second, the light from the room spilled out, and the corridor became bright.
“Ugh—” Bohm, who was still in place, didn’t have time to hide and was immediately exposed to Tii’s view.
“Bohm? What are you doing here?” Tii looked at her in surprise. “It’s so late, you should be heading back to your room.” Bohm shook her head frantically, turning around to look for Su Ling, only to find nothing behind her.
“Can’t sleep? That’s perfect, I can’t sleep either. I was just chatting with a friend,” Tii smiled gently, coming forward to take Bohm’s hand.
“You always work so hard, but you don’t rest properly. It makes me worry.”
“I-I…” Bohm’s face blushed bright red. She looked up at Tii, stammering for a long time, unable to say a word, feeling her whole body grow hot.
Suddenly, she shook off Tii’s hand and turned to flee. “Ah, heading back already? Good night, Bohm. Sweet dreams.” Tii waved after her, but the only reply was the sound of hurried, jumbled footsteps.
The corridor fell silent again. Marentia slowly stepped out, her face full of shock, standing beside Tii, at a loss. Meanwhile, hiding behind the clutter, Su Ling held her breath.
The surroundings were so quiet, only the occasional soft whisper of the night wind could be heard. She bit her lip gently, her fingers unconsciously twisting her sleeve, wondering how she could slip away unnoticed.
“You… already knew someone was here, didn’t you?” Suddenly, Marentia spoke, her voice trembling slightly. *Someone?* Su Ling was startled, finally catching on.
So that’s it… Tii’s conversation just now was so strange. Even though she kept insisting she didn’t know what Marentia was talking about, Marentia never followed her lead.* *She wasn’t being given a hard time by Marentia at all—it was because she knew someone was eavesdropping, so she deliberately steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Something that simple—of course I did.” It was the first time Su Ling had ever heard Tii speak in such a cold tone. The red-haired girl’s face was shrouded in shadow, seeming almost sinister.
For a moment, Su Ling even felt that the girl before her and the Tii she knew were two different people.
“With skills like yours, if we’re to cooperate after all…” Suddenly, Tii stopped talking. She raised her head warily, her gaze sweeping toward the other end of the corridor.
Su Ling’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t dare peek out, but her instincts told her that sharp gaze was fixed exactly where she was hiding.
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