Chapter 48: Night Raid

The next morning, when His walked to the gates of the royal capital, he found a familiar figure already waiting for him there.

Ai Lin had changed back into the knight’s light armor she usually wore, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the stone pillar beside the gate. It looked like she had been waiting for a while.

“Morning.”

His quickened his pace.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“I just got here.”

Ai Lin still wore that same icy expression.

“About last night… thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it.”

His waved his hand.

“I don’t like being surrounded by people either. It was no trouble at all.”

“It’s not about that…”

Though Ai Lin’s voice was somewhat stiff, His could still hear the sincerity beneath the Sword Maiden of the Kingdom’s words.

“What I mean is… what you said gave me a lot to think about. No one has ever told me those things before.”

A morning breeze blew past, gently lifting Ai Lin’s silver hair.

For a moment, His found himself at a loss for words.

Fortunately, the carriage had already arrived before him, and the driver had jumped down to open the door.

“Uh… I should get going.”

“Yeah.”

Ai Lin nodded and took a step back to make room.

As His stepped up into the carriage, he couldn’t help but glance back at Ai Lin.

“Hey… if you ever run short on weapons later… feel free to write to me anytime.”

Ai Lin was briefly taken aback, then a faint smile spread across her face.

“Okay.”

The carriage slowly pulled away from the royal capital.

His leaned against the window, watching until Ai Lin’s figure had completely disappeared from view before settling back into his seat.

‘Somehow, it feels like the script is heading in a direction I can’t quite control anymore…’

***

When the carriage arrived at the Duke’s Mansion, His had barely jumped down and taken a step toward the gate when a small figure came darting out from the courtyard.

“You’re finally back!”

Ni Wei stood at the entrance with her hands on her hips, her golden hair slightly ruffled.

“You have no idea! While you were gone, I’ve fully mastered controlling the Dark Element!”

With that, she stretched out her right hand, and a violet glow instantly appeared in her palm. It was still a bit unstable, but compared to the flickering candle-flame state it had been in before, it was a vast improvement.

“See?! I wasn’t lying to you, was I?!”

Ni Wei raised her chin, proudly waving her hand at His.

“Hmm… you have made quite a lot of progress.”

His squinted, carefully examining the Dark Element the girl had condensed, and nodded seriously.

“Your stability is much better than before.”

“Of course! I’ve been practicing every—”

Ni Wei seemed to realize she was about to let something slip, and quickly swallowed the rest of her sentence.

“Hmph, just admit it—I’m a genius!”

“Yes, yes, you’re a genius.”

His reached out and ruffled Ni Wei’s head.

“Hey! I told you not to…”

Though Ni Wei protested verbally, her body obediently stayed put, making no attempt to dodge.

‘This girl just keeps getting cuter.’

‘Yeah, better keep that thought to myself.’

“Was the banquet in the royal capital fun?”

“Not fun at all. You definitely wouldn’t have liked it.”

“So did you meet your fiancée?”

“Of course I did. She was the main one being honored.”

“So did you two—”

“Hey hey, don’t ask too many questions about your master’s private life.”

“I wasn’t asking about that!”

The two walked into the Duke’s Mansion hall one after another, Ni Wei still chattering away like a sputtering kitten.

‘As expected, being in my own domain feels the best.’

***

After a brief rest, His returned to the Study to organize the latest reports from his businesses.

Before long, the door to the Study was gently pushed open.

“Young Master, have some tea.”

Rafina walked in carrying a tray, her face still wearing that gentle, composed smile.

“Oh, thanks for that.”

“It’s my duty.”

Rafina poured the tea into a cup and set it softly beside His.

“Young Master, did your trip to the royal capital go smoothly?”

“Pretty smooth. Nothing major happened—just went through the motions.”

His picked up the teacup and took a sip.

‘Yeah, Rafina’s tea is still the one that hits the spot.’

“That’s good to hear.”

Rafina nodded, but showed no sign of leaving the Study, as if she wanted to say something more.

“What’s the matter?”

His noticed quickly and took the initiative to ask.

“It’s nothing… it’s just that, without you here, the mansion seemed to go quiet all of a sudden.”

“Oh? So you’re saying I’m usually noisy?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand, Young Master.”

Rafina hurriedly waved her hands, a flustered look crossing her face.

“I’m just teasing you.”

His chuckled.

“Where’s Ni Wei? I noticed she’s usually pretty loud and rowdy.”

“She is… still just as lively as ever.”

When talking about her younger sister, Rafina’s gaze softened considerably.

“She’s been practicing very hard lately on controlling the Dark Element in her body. She trains for hours every day.”

“I can tell. She’s improved a lot.”

‘Sure enough, judging by her progress, she must have been secretly practicing a ton while I was away.’

‘And she calls herself a genius…’

“Young Master.”

“Hm?”

“When you were in the royal capital, did you happen to see Miss Ai Lin?”

Rafina’s sudden change of topic nearly made His choke on his tea.

“You’re curious about that too?”

“I…”

Rafina lowered her eyes, her lashes trembling slightly.

“Young Master, let me go refill your hot water.”

With that, Rafina picked up the tray and quickly left the Study.

Watching Rafina’s retreating figure, His shook his head.

‘Why do both sisters want to know whether I met Ai Lin?’

‘Is this what they call girls’ gossip?

‘Tsk tsk.’

***

At dinnertime, the three of them sat around the dining table.

“Young Master, how is tonight’s dinner?”

Rafina spoke up first, apparently having fully returned to her usual self.

“It’s good. Why?”

“Heh heh!”

Ni Wei, seated nearby, couldn’t help but let out a proud hum.

“I made today’s dishes! See, you couldn’t even tell, could you?”

“You made this?”

His could hardly believe it. He sampled a few more dishes.

‘This… is almost no different from what Rafina makes.’

“Are you sure you two aren’t in cahoots to trick me?”

His turned sideways with a skeptical look and asked Rafina.

“I would never deceive you, Young Master. Rest assured, this was indeed made by Ni Wei.”

Ni Wei still had her head raised high, her face brimming with pride, as if saying, “Praise me, praise me.”

“Ni Wei, you…”

His searched for words for a moment.

“Well done.”

“Hehe.”

Having received the praise she wanted, Ni Wei finally lowered her head and focused on devouring her meal.

Looking at her sister before her, Rafina suddenly felt a warmth in her heart.

There was a time when they had been struggling just to survive.

She had dragged her sickly body along to care for her sister, while Ni Wei had turned all her anxiety and fear into hostility toward the outside world.

But now, they could sit together like this, finding joy in the smallest things.

No more living in fear. No more gritting their teeth and holding on.

That was enough.

What could be better than the life they had now?

And the one who had made all of this possible…

“Hey, don’t space out—eat your food properly.”

His’s voice pulled Rafina back from her thoughts.

***

That night, after washing up, His had just walked back to his bed when he noticed that his blanket seemed… raised up in one spot.

‘Wait, don’t tell me…’

His yanked the blanket open.

Sure enough, the expressionless girl was curled up quietly on his bed, blinking up at him.

“Li Nuo Er…”

His could feel a vein bulging on his forehead.

“I believe I’ve told you many times. Don’t appear in front of me out of nowhere, and don’t sneak into my Bedroom without permission.”

“Young Master, you’re back?”

“What do you mean, ‘you’re back’?”

His was so exasperated by Li Nuo Er’s response that he nearly laughed.

Then, suddenly, he realized something.

“Wait… have you been sleeping in my bed this whole time?!”

“Mmm…”

“Why?!”

“Because the Young Master’s bed is more comfortable…”

“Is comfort really the issue here?!”

His felt lightheaded and quickly pressed a hand to his forehead.

“What? Is your resting place not comfortable enough?”

“Thanks to the Young Master’s kindness, I slept in the Mine for a very long time before.”

The expressionless girl’s reasoning shut down every argument His had been about to make.

“This… ugh, fine.”

His let out a sigh.

“You don’t need to keep watch at the mine every day from tomorrow on. It’s not like the Dawn Trading Company people have all pulled out already.”

“Okay.”

“Tomorrow I’ll have someone bring a better bed to where you rest.”

“Thank you, Young Master Xisi.”

The expressionless girl thought for a moment.

“What about tonight?”

“No!”

His refused without hesitation.

“Aren’t there plenty of empty rooms outside? The beds aren’t as big, but they’re more than enough for you to rest. Go pick any one you like. I’ve been out for days, and I’m exhausted from all that traveling. I need a good night’s sleep.”

“Mmm…”

Though the expressionless girl’s face remained blank, His could swear he saw a flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

“Good night, Young Master Xisi.”

With that, Li Nuo Er climbed off the bed and dragged herself out of His’s Bedroom.

‘This Li Nuo Er is getting more and more out of hand.’

His picked up the pillow Li Nuo Er had just been using and gave it a few vigorous whacks.

Just then, the Bedroom door opened again.

“I said no means no. Li Nuo Er, you—”

His turned around, ready to let loose, only to find that the person who walked in was Ni Wei.

“Li Nuo Er?”

Ni Wei tilted her head, trying to figure out who that was.

Then the look in her eyes as she regarded His shifted to one of mild disgust.

“She was just in your room?”

“Huh? No—”

“Then why did you call her name?”

“I… wait, it’s the middle of the night. What are you doing here? And without even knocking.”

His had no idea how to explain himself to Ni Wei, so he could only resort to his authority as master to forcibly shut down the conversation.