Eleanora’s lips trembled slightly, her heart beating faster and faster.
Lilian’s gently smiling gaze, and the warm feeling of her cheek nuzzling into her palm, replayed in her mind like an illusion.
Every detail magnified, then magnified again, until it filled her entire mind. Then suddenly, like a firework bursting open, everything went blank.
Eleanora was completely frozen.
Her eyes went vacant, her mind stopped working, even her breathing became shallow and erratic.
Thump, thump, thump…
She could hear the rapid, powerful beating of her own heart.
Her gaze refocused, and, almost involuntarily, landed on Lilian’s face.
Lilian’s eyes were half-closed, her long lashes trembling slightly, the corners of her lips carrying a faint smile.
“So gentle…”
Lilian’s voice echoed in her ear, every word crystal clear.
“……To better protect my Lady…”
Eleanora could feel her hand, wrapped in an irresistible, reassuring warmth.
“So warm…”
A thought started to bubble up from deep inside her.
“I wish… it could always be like this.”
Another voice arose.
“No, not just this… I want more, I want more than this.”
“I want her, I want to possess her.”
Eleanora’s gaze drifted down, landing on Lilian’s youthful lips.
“I want to taste her.”
“I want her… to belong only to me…”
“I want Lilian… to always stay by my side…”
These wild thoughts grew rampant in her heart like weeds, gnawing away at Eleanora’s reason.
A glint of madness, the hunger to possess, flickered in her eyes.
Eleanora closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to suppress that madness.
“But I can’t.”
“In the end, I still have to part ways with Lilian.”
“As long as I can keep Lilian away from me… away from everyone in the Hero’s Party…”
“As long as she doesn’t get involved in my affairs… doesn’t meddle in the Hero’s affairs…”
“If it’s like that, Lilian won’t get hurt…”
“So… I have to reject her.”
The weekly checkup—that was already the biggest compromise she could make.
“My Lady?”
Noticing Eleanora’s long silence, Lilian couldn’t help but speak up.
She saw Eleanora’s face flushed as red as a cooked shrimp, her gaze dazed and fixed on her.
Did I go too far…?
Lilian released Eleanora’s hand and used the back of her hand to feel Eleanora’s forehead.
At that moment, Eleanora subconsciously squeezed her hand.
“77…”
A burning heat radiated from her hand—like she was running a high fever.
And with that, Eleanora gently slumped into the chair.
Lilian couldn’t help but worry.
Maybe… it’s better to give up for now?
There’s no rush for today.
I can always go find Ophelia the day after tomorrow.
Lilian knew Eleanora was the kind of girl who got emotional easily.
Getting too worked up wasn’t good for her health.
“My Lady, let’s drop it for now, I’ll listen to you.”
Lilian compromised.
Sometimes, being honest isn’t always the best choice.
Everything Lilian did, Eleanora saw clearly.
The confusion about her own reaction.
The surprise at the heat of her forehead.
The concern in her eyes that she just couldn’t hide.
And… the helplessness, and that fleeting disappointment, when she had to give up.
“Say yes to her.” The voice returned.
“I was being unreasonable to begin with. Rejecting her like this… it’s not fair to Lilian.”
“And besides, Lilian’s already told me what she wants to do…”
“She only did this because she trusts me.”
In her mind, the determined voice from her previous life echoed:
“I, Lilian, will always trust Eleanora!”
The scales in Eleanora’s heart began to tip.
“Should I say no?” She watched as Lilian smoothed her hair, her face still wearing that gentle smile, “If I say no, she’ll be sad, right? Because my refusal… would mean I don’t trust her.”
Eleanora didn’t want Lilian to be sad, but…
She didn’t want Lilian to repeat the same mistakes as in her past life, either…
“Say yes…”
“Say no…”
“Say yes!”
“Say no…”
The two voices argued endlessly in her mind.
In the end, only one remained—“Say yes.”
The voices faded away.
Just this once, it doesn’t matter.
Lilian was here to discuss business.
Nothing would happen between them.
Just this once, it’s fine…
Eleanora, lost in self-deception, finally chose to compromise.
“PJ… PJLX…”
She murmured in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
Lilian heard her. Her eyes lit up and she looked into Eleanora’s eyes.
Eleanora’s gaze dodged, and like a child asking for permission, she mumbled, “Can I… come with you?”
Eleanora still couldn’t let go.
“This…” Lilian hesitated.
To be honest, the main point of this meeting with Ophelia was to talk about making money.
Bringing Eleanora along wasn’t very convenient.
But since she couldn’t find a good reason to refuse, she’d just have to bring her…
At worst, she’d play it by ear.
There are always more solutions than problems.
But Eleanora’s next words took Lilian by surprise.
“No, never mind,” she said.
She seemed to see through Lilian’s struggle.
“I won’t go.”
“Eh?” Lilian was a bit surprised.
“All that stuff you were talking about, I don’t really understand it anyway, and I wouldn’t be much help…,” Eleanora muttered in fragments.
“And, and…” she stammered, gently scratching her ear with a finger, “since you already said so much…”
She leaned down, using her slightly trembling hands to take Lilian’s right hand.
Just like Lilian had done before, she pressed Lilian’s right hand to her own cheek.
Maybe because Eleanora had gotten too emotional before, Lilian could feel her face burning hot.
“I…”
Eleanora closed her eyes and nuzzled into Lilian’s palm, utterly attached.
“I trust you.”
For a moment, Lilian felt as though something inside her had been struck.
Eleanora had made up her mind.
Even though she had compromised, she still wanted to make her own request.
Since there was no way to keep Lilian away from that woman Ophelia, at least she wanted them to keep some distance.
The rest could be dealt with later.
And she remembered what Lilian had told her during etiquette training that day.
So, she needed to say it.
She had to say it!
She opened her eyes, looking at Lilian with unwavering determination.
She gently pressed Lilian’s palm against her own cheek.
She liked this feeling…
Mimicking Lilian from that day, she spoke up:
“I know you and Ophelia have business together, so, I also know it’s impossible to keep you away from her.”
“But what happened at the banquet, that absolutely can’t happen again… even a lap pillow is out of the question.”
“Besides being a healer, you’re… you’re also my maid. Getting that close to someone else, I… I won’t be happy about it.”
“So, I hope from now on, you’ll keep your distance from her, okay?”