Chapter 109: The Heroine Knows (VII).
"I think…" Her voice came out quieter than she expected. "It might be better if I… leave Lady Evelyn's side for a while."
Liara's hand paused just as she reached for the bowl on the tray. The infirmary curtain swayed faintly beside them.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Analissa forced herself to continue, even though every word felt painful.
"It might be my fault that danger keeps finding her." Her fingers tightened around the blanket. "Ever since I got close to Lady Evelyn, things have been changing. The events are different now. The people around her are different. The danger is worse."
Liara's smile slowly disappeared, oh what a sweet, innocent little girl. It's nice of her to think so considerately towards Lady Evelyn Alarie but she has forgotten how much out of touch a commoner could be.
Evelyn Alarie is an ALARIE.
She's from a noble family who's known to attract danger even if she doesn't want to. Sure, getting burned to death isn't a normal occassion but for her family there has been more worse cases they could brag about.
Her father the Duke was literally imprisoned and got out because of their influence and power in the kingdom's military.
The villainess is just lucky she has someone like Analissa Blanchet on her side.
"Miss Blanchet…"
"It's my fault," (Analissa) whispered.
Her shoulders trembled beneath the blanket.
"Everything… all the bad things that keep happening around her… maybe it's because of me." She tried to laugh, but the sound came out weak. "I keep telling myself I'm saving her, but what if I'm the reason she needs saving in the first place?"
Liara's hand remained frozen over the tray.
Analissa stared at the white sheets, her vision beginning to blur.
"Lady Evelyn almost got hurt because of me. She was worried because of me. She cried because of me." Her voice cracked. "And if something worse happens next time, what am I supposed to do? Stay beside her and pretend I'm not dragging her closer to danger?"
The silence that followed was heavy. Then Liara withdrew her hand from the tray, this girl must've seen things that she couldn't bear.
Instead of picking up the bowl, she stepped closer to the bed.
Analissa looked up through her tears.
Then Liara flicked her forehead.
"Ah!"
Analissa grabbed her forehead with both hands, her teary eyes widening in pure disbelief.
For a moment, all she could do was stare at the maid.
She had been crying. Confessing. Falling apart.
And Liara had flicked her.
"W-Why did you do that?!" (Analissa) cried, rubbing the spot. She couldn't even help but whisper ouch in her native tongue. "Itai…"
Liara lowered her hand with perfect elegance, as if she had not just attacked an emotionally vulnerable patient.
"Because you are being…"
She paused.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, as though she was trying to choose the gentlest possible word.
Then she gave up.
"I wanted to phrase this delicately, but perhaps a touch of reality would be more effective." (Liara) leaned closer, her expression calm but merciless. "Miss Blanchet, you were being stupid just now."
"Stupid?!" Analissa's voice cracked. "I was being serious!"
"That is precisely the problem."
Liara's voice did not rise, but it carried enough weight to silence her.
"You are taking every terrible thing that happened and placing it on your own shoulders, as if the world revolves around your mistakes alone. Do you think Lady Evelyn is so weak that merely standing beside her will destroy her?" (Liara) straightened, her expression softening only slightly.
Analissa froze.
"That's not what I meant…"
"Then what did you mean?" (Liara) asked. "That you will leave her for her own good? That you will decide, all by yourself, what is best for her? That you will disappear because you believe your absence will hurt less than your presence?"
Analissa's lips parted, but no answer came.
Liara leaned closer.
"How naive of you. Oh, but you are a young adult, I suppose that's to be expected." Liara's hands clenched at her sides.
The word struck harder than Analissa expected because only Liara knew that she's not a young adult. She's a responsible full adult in her mid twenties who's job was streaming and reviewing games to survive.
"You saved her. You protected her. You changed her." Her voice lowered. "And now that she has finally begun to reach for someone, you want to pull your hand away?"
Analissa's chest tightened. It's not like she wants to… but she believes that it would put the villainess on a much safer path. The crown prince won't hurt her… the Japanese streamer won't…
"I don't want to hurt her…"
"Then do not hurt her by leaving without giving her a choice."
Analissa fell silent. Liara looked away for a moment, her jaw tense. When she spoke again, her voice was softer. "Lady Evelyn has been alone for a very long time. She might have a few close friends but she has never experienced a bond like yours."
Analissa looked at her.
"She has servants, tutors, guards, admirers, and people who fear her. But that is not the same as having someone who stays." Liara's gaze returned to her. "You should understand that better than anyone."
Analissa could not answer. Liara's expression softened, just slightly.
"You are afraid. That much is obvious. And perhaps danger truly does follow you." She reached out and gently adjusted the blanket around Analissa's shoulders. "But Miss Blanchet, danger has always been around Lady Evelyn. Long before you came. Her father has been the source of that danger since she was young… every day was hell around that house."
Analissa's eyes widened. Liara smiled faintly, but it was sad.
"The only difference is that now, someone like you is finally trying to protect her from it."
Analissa lowered her head.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, her voice trembling. "I don't know what to do. I'm a little lost. Overwhelmed, even."
She tried to breathe, but the memory returned too clearly.
That horrible stench. That horrible scene.
Lady Evelyn Alarie's face, burnt and blistered beyond recognition, her usually sharp eyes growing distant as life slowly slipped away from them.
Analissa's hands trembled beneath the blanket.
The professors had surrounded them back then, speaking in hurried voices, calling it an accident, a tragic mishap, a mistake caused by unstable magic. They said it with serious faces and careful words, as if naming it anything else would cause the entire academy to collapse into panic.
But everyone knew. Deep down, everyone knew.
That was no accident. It was attempted murder. And Analissa had seen it happen with her own eyes. She had smelled the burnt flesh, heard the chaos, watched Lady Evelyn's body go limp as if the world had already decided to take her away.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"I saw her, Liara…" she whispered, her voice breaking. "I saw Lady Evelyn like that. Her face… her eyes… I thought she was already gone."
Her tears fell faster.
"And the worst part is… everyone kept pretending it was just an accident."
Her hands clenched around the blanket.
"I saw her get burned to a crisp." Analissa's voice cracked as she continued to describe the details of Lady Evelyn's state when she had arrived at the arena. "The smell… I can still remember it. I can't… I thought Lady Evelyn was going to die. I really thought she was going to die right in front of me, and I…"
Her words collapsed into a broken breath.
'I thought living here would be easy, I knew that saving villainess won't be easy and I'm proving myself right… what if I fail the next time something happens?' (Analissa) pressed a hand against her mouth, as if that could stop the panic rising in her throat.
"I was so scared."
Liara's expression changed.
The sharpness in her eyes disappeared, replaced by something quieter. Something pained.
Analissa's adoring small figure resembled that of a crying helpless child.
"Miss Blanchet…"
"I keep acting like I know what I'm doing," (Analissa) continued, tears falling faster now. "Like I can just fix everything if I try hard enough. Like this is still some story I can clear if I choose the right option. But it's not."
She lowered her head.
"It's real. She's real. Her pain is real. And I'm terrified that one day, I'll make one wrong choice and lose her anyway." The Japanese streamer was crying. It was for the first time in her life, did she see someone get burned to the point of nearing death.
She is familiar with death, as in her past life her sickness already follows…
But for Lady Evelyn?
A sudden attack, an unexpected move by a love interest scared her. What else will they do that she can't anticipate?
What if her next careless move will be the reason why the villainess dies?
For once, Liara did not interrupt. She only stood there, silent, watching the girl who had saved her lady fall apart beneath the infirmary sheets.
Then, slowly, Liara reached out.
Her hand hovered for a moment, uncertain. Finally, she placed it gently on Analissa's shoulder and gave her a hug.
"You are not wrong for being afraid," (Liara) said softly. "But do not mistake fear for guilt. What happened to Lady Evelyn was not your fault."
Analissa looked up through her tears. Liara's voice remained composed, but it had lost its usual teasing edge.
"You are a kind girl, Miss Blanchet. Reckless, foolish, and unbearably troublesome, yes, but kind." Her gaze softened. "You did your best. Look at what your bravery accomplished."
Analissa's lips trembled, what her bravery and reckless accomplished many things but-
"But if I had been faster-"
"If you had not been there," (Liara) cut in, "we might be mourning her right now."
Analissa froze. The words struck her harder than any scolding could have.
Liara's fingers tightened slightly on her shoulder.
"You saw something terrible. You were frightened. You are still frightened." Her expression softened further. "That does not make you the cause of her suffering. It makes you someone who cares enough to break herself trying to stop it."
Analissa lowered her gaze, clutching the blanket against her chest.
"I don't know how to face her."
"Then face her while afraid."
"That sounds impossible."
"It is not impossible," (Liara) said quietly. "I have faced someone before while my fear remained perfectly alive inside me. I did not overcome it. I simply carried it with me."
Her smile turned faint.
"It is simply unpleasant."
Despite her tears, Analissa almost laughed.
Liara exhaled quietly, then continued. "Do not decide everything alone, Miss Blanchet. Speak to her. Tell her what you can. Tell her what you fear. Even if you cannot tell her the whole truth, do not insult Lady Evelyn's feelings by vanishing for her sake."
Analissa wiped her eyes with the edge of the blanket. "But what if I stay, and something worse happens?"
Her voice was small. Fragile. Almost childlike in the way it trembled.
Liara opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. For a brief moment, all she could do was look at her.
Analissa Blanchet, usually noisy, foolish, and annoyingly bright, looked nothing like the troublesome girl who always charged into danger with a smile. Her golden blonde hair was messy from sleep, falling over her flushed cheeks in soft, tangled waves. Her blue eyes, still wet with tears, shimmered beneath the infirmary light like tiny pieces of the sky after rain.
She looked pitiful. She looked frightened. She looked unbearably cute.
Liara's heart gave a sudden, traitorous thump.
Thump-!
"..."
The maid quickly turned her face away.
How unfair. Even crying, this girl still managed to look like someone who needed to be protected. Liara pressed a hand lightly against her chest, forcing her expression back into its usual composure.
"Then become strong enough to protect her from it," she said, though her voice came out softer than she intended. "And if you are still foolish enough to believe you bring trouble wherever you go, then at least have the decency to stand your ground and fight the trouble properly."
Analissa stared at her.
"And if she still wants me beside her?"
For a moment, Liara's expression became unreadable.
Then she smiled.
Small.
Bittersweet.
"Then you stay." (Liara) quickly looked away, as if she had said too much. She turned toward the tray and reached for the bowl of soup.
Analissa's breath caught. The answer… was just so simple. It was so simple yet so… complex.
Growl-!
Analissa's stomach growled, leaving Liara chuckling as she forgot the whole reason she was there anyways. "Now eat, you haven't had anything good for days now. I bet you're famished, please enjoy this soup that I made before it gets cold."
Analissa sniffled.
"I'm sorry for getting your soup cold."
Despite herself, Analissa let out a small laugh.
Liara lifted the bowl and held it out to her. "Here. Slowly. Do not spill it on yourself. If you need me, can I spoon feed you?
Analissa accepted the bowl with both hands, shaking her head, there was no need to spoon feed her like a child unable to take care of herself. And honestly, it's a little embarrassing because it'll just make her remember the days she used to call Liara the scary lady with the spoon or something.
"Thank you, Liara."
Liara's fingers paused for only a moment.
It was brief. So brief that anyone else might have missed it.
But in that tiny silence, something flickered across her face. Her gaze lingered on Analissa's tear-stained cheeks, on the way the girl held the bowl with both hands, on the small, sincere gratitude in those blue eyes.
Liara's heart gave another quiet, foolish thump.
Then she looked away.
Her ears were faintly red.
No.
She drew in a slow breath and forced herself to stand properly again. Shoulders straight. Chin level. Hands folded neatly before her apron.
A maid must know her place.
Lady Evelyn was her mistress. Analissa Blanchet was the person Lady Evelyn treasured. Whatever warmth had stirred inside Liara's chest had no right to grow beyond that. She was merely a servant of House Alarie.
Nothing more.
Nothing else.
Her expression settled back into its usual calm mask.
"I am only doing my duty," (Liara) said.
"Liara," (Analissa) said softly. "I think… you were exactly the person I needed to see first. If Lady Evelyn had come instead, I probably would have panicked and said something terrible."
She let out a weak, embarrassed laugh, then lowered her gaze to the bowl in her hands.
The soup was still warm, steam curling gently from its surface. It was a pale golden broth, clear but rich, with thin slices of tender vegetables, small pieces of chicken, and herbs floating between them. The scent was mild and comforting, nothing too strong for someone who had just woken up after exhausting her mana. It smelled like something prepared not only to fill the stomach, but to calm the heart.
Analissa held the bowl carefully with both hands, letting its warmth seep into her trembling fingers.
Liara's words remained with her.
Do not decide everything alone.
Speak to her.
And if she still wants you beside her…
Then stay.
Analissa stared at the soup, her reflection faintly wavering on the surface.
"I needed this," she whispered. "More than I thought."