Chapter 18 : Yes, we are communicating and learning in depth

Looking at the man asleep beside her, Nia felt as if her head was about to split in two.

If it had only happened once, she could have let it slide.

But twice—two times—and both were her own initiative.

What exactly had she done wrong?

Why was Yudia punishing her like this?

After cursing her fate in her heart, Nia glanced at the sun already rising outside the window.

As if realizing something, she scrambled up from the floor in a panic, hastily threw on her clothes, and ran out of the room.

But Nia had still overestimated her luck.

Almost simultaneously, the door to El’s room creaked open.

“Mr. El, are you awake?”

Mela’s voice came from the other side of the wooden door, like a hellish, deathly specter gripping Nia’s neck tightly.

“Mm, I just woke up.”

Behind her, El’s lazy voice followed closely.

Trapped between the two voices, Nia was caught in a dilemma.

“Mr. El, have you seen Nia? She didn’t come back to sleep last night, there’s no sign of her outside the courtyard, and she hasn’t left any message.”

“Miss Mela, don’t worry. She’s right here in my room.”

El, lying on the floor mat, showed no awareness at all and instantly exposed Nia.

“In your room?”

Mela’s voice turned curious as she called out once more.

“Nia, are you there?”

This time, Nia’s escape route was completely blocked.

Gritting her teeth, she opened the door.

Just as Mela tried to peek in, Nia’s tall figure blocked the doorway.

“Nia?”

Seeing her female knight walk out from El’s room, Mela was clearly surprised.

“Why are you coming out of Mr. El’s room? And Nia, you didn’t return to your room last night…”

“I was discussing swordsmanship with El all night, until just now.”

Seeing Mela’s mind starting to wander, Nia thought quickly on her feet.

“Is that so?”

Mela stared at her for a while before scolding, “Why couldn’t you rest first? Staying up late doesn’t help with recovery at all.”

“I got so absorbed in the discussion, I lost track of time. Miss Mela, I’m sure you’ve had moments like this too, right? When you research something you love, time just flies.”

Answering Mela was El, who followed closely behind Nia as she emerged.

His hair was tousled, but his spirit was high, showing no signs of fatigue from staying up all night.

Nia, meanwhile, looked even better—her cheeks flushed with a radiant glow.

If El hadn’t said they’d discussed swordsmanship all night, Mela would have thought Nia had rested very well.

Only a few days ago, she looked like she’d been up all night.

“That does happen.” Mela smiled and nodded. “Sometimes I get so absorbed in reading magic books, I forget the time too. Even if I’ve only read part of it, hours have already passed.”

“Exactly, we had a deep exchange for quite a while. I learned a lot from Nia and even showed her some of my own techniques.”

El said this as he placed a hand on Nia’s shoulder and teased, “Right, Nia? How’s my greatsword?”

Nia jumped in fright at his impudent touch, nearly leaping up.

Her heart raced wildly, but on the surface, she could only say the insincere words.

“Yes, Miss, Mr. El is quite talented in swordsmanship.”

“Is that so?” Mela covered her mouth and laughed softly. “Then next time, I want to see it for myself.”

“No way!”

Almost without thinking, Nia refused.

“Why not?”

Noticing Mela’s puzzled look, Nia realized she had said the wrong thing and her mind raced.

Before she could come up with an excuse, El spoke up to save her.

“Actually, this swordsmanship technique is a family secret. If Nia hadn’t kept asking me, and since she is my mentor, I would never have shown it to her.”

“For El to treat it so seriously, it must be a powerful technique.” Mela’s expression turned serious. “Sorry, Mr. El, I overstepped.”

Hearing the princess say that, Nia, who understood El’s meaning, was nearly mortified.

She wasn’t worthy of being a knight.

She had betrayed the princess’s trust.

“It’s nothing. We’re family, no need for formalities.”

El looked at Mela, who wore an apologetic expression, then glanced at the downcast Nia and quickly changed the subject.

“Actually, besides that, we discussed something else.”

“Really?”

Mela asked curiously. “What else did you discuss?”

“Nia said she wants to contribute to this household by taking on some chores.”

After saying this, El turned back into the room.

When he came out again, he was holding a set of clothes.

“Mela, look. This is the work uniform I prepared for Nia.”

Mela had no objections about the chores.

If anything, she had been meaning to bring up the topic herself.

Most chores done with magic are much faster than doing them by hand.

“Mr. El, do you have extra work uniforms?”

“Hm?”

El, holding the clothes, was momentarily taken aback by her words.

“I agree with Nia’s suggestion.” Mela explained to El, “Since we live here, we hope you’ll let us help with what we can.”

Have the princess wash his underwear?

Just the thought of that scene made Nia feel as if the sky was falling.

Before El could respond, she quickly spoke up to stop it.

“I can handle it alone. Miss Mela, your time shouldn’t be spent on this kind of thing.”

Let her bear these matters alone.

“It’s no trouble. Just some simple magic.”

“No!”

This was something Nia absolutely would not concede on, no matter what.

“Nia is right. She can help me by herself. No need to trouble you. From what I’ve heard, meditation should be important to you, Mela, right?”

El also chimed in at the right moment.

His goal was Nia from the start, and having Mela involved would only interfere with the bond he was trying to build with Nia.

If at first he had some special thoughts about Mela, after learning about the elves’ customs, he had completely given up on the idea.

With someone as pure as him by her side, Nia could secretly be happy.

Seeing both of them expressing opposing opinions, Mela hesitated but did not insist further.

“Then… I’ll leave it to you, Nia.”

“It’s my duty.”