Brother Laje pressed the blade against my throat.
What… was going on? Was he joking? I couldn't see his expression—I could only look toward Shien—but the way he barked orders didn't sound like a joke at all.
Then it hit me. This wasn't a joke.
Shien shot to his feet, his voice rising in panic as he demanded,
"Bro Laje, what are you doing?! Where did that knife even come from?! Let Lixia go!"
"The commoner no taught you storage magic?" Brother Laje scoffed. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Go bring that commoner here. And if you alert anyone outside, I'll kill Lixia on the spot."
So everything Mr. Karen had said was true. Brother Laje really was the one behind it.
I never imagined that someone I'd known for so many years could speak so casually about killing me. How heartless… how cruel.
"Brother Laje… why are you doing this to me?"
"Why?" His voice twisted with anger, resentment, and bitterness. "That damn Golendo cast me aside so easily—didn't even try to defend me. After everything, after how much I admired him since I was a child. But he's stronger than me. I can't kill him… so I'll make him suffer instead."
His words were soaked in hatred. Negative emotions spilled out of him without restraint.
So I was nothing more than a substitute—a tool for revenge against my father.
And now I understood why his touch earlier had felt so wrong. When he patted my head, there had been no sincerity in it. Just lies.
I used to truly like Brother Laje. I had even dreamed of becoming his wife. But Father would never allow me to marry someone below the rank of count, so I gave up.
I never regretted liking him… until now.
Why did I ever fall for someone like this?
It hurt. The happiest memories of my childhood shattered in an instant.
"Bro Laje… we just talking about the past," Shien said, his voice trembling. "We even planned to go boating and fishing together… Were all of those words lies?"
Stop, Shien. Don't ask anymore. I already suspected everything he said was just part of a trap.
"You fool," Brother Laje sneered. "Didn't I just tell you to protect Lixia? Not to let her be deceived?"
"Then… everything you said was for this moment?"
"Exactly. I didn't expect you to be acquainted with that commoner. Saves me the trouble of pretending to be the kind older brother. Hahaha!"
"Damn it…!"
"Shien, what are you waiting for? Go bring him here. And listen carefully—only him. If you bring anyone else, I'll take it as you abandoning Lixia."
The "commoner" he kept referring to had to be Mr. Karen. He hadn't been granted a noble title.
I could feel how deeply Brother Laje hated him. There were probably many things he still hadn't said.
(Mr. Karen… I'm sorry for speaking badly about you. You must have had your reasons for treating Laje the way you did.)
Mr. Karen wasn't the type to go after someone just because of a few harsh words. If he were, Shien would've died ten times over by now.
"Brother Laje, let Lixia go," Shien pleaded desperately. "We can pretend none of this ever happened. Just… let her go, okay?"
Idiot… he still didn't know when to give up.
But maybe that was his strength. Unlike me—I had already given up on Brother Laje. Even if he suddenly came to his senses now, I would never forgive him.
The cold blade against my throat had shattered everything I once felt for him. No matter what he did from here on out, no matter what he said, I could never forget this moment.
The gentle brother I remembered was gone.
The man before me was nothing more than a villain.
And Brother Laje had no intention of turning back. He was already growing impatient with Shien's pleading.
"Move. If you don't bring him here before sunset, you can come back and collect the corpse of the girl you love."
"Okay! I'll go get him right now—just don't hurt Lixia!"
Shien turned and bolted out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang.
I didn't want to rely on him… but this wasn't the time to be picky.
Please… just find Mr. Karen quickly.
It was now 3:43 PM, and we had returned to the train station.
Not because we were too lazy to ride bicycles… okay, maybe a little—but more importantly, cycling would take us through the forest, and monsters could appear at any time. It wasn't exactly safe.
Taking the train was much safer. We could even rest a bit and enjoy the scenery along the way… though hopefully we wouldn't get attacked again.
After buying our tickets, the train would depart at 5 PM. That left us with over an hour to spare. We could've gone somewhere else to explore, but none of us felt like it, so we just sat on a bench, watching people hurry back and forth.
Before long, boredom crept in.
I decided to take a look around the station. Last time, we'd arrived just before departure and didn't have the chance to explore—but now, I finally could.
"I'm going for a walk."
After letting the others know, I stood up and headed off.
Ever since my first visit, I'd been fascinated by this place. The station was massive—about the width of a football field and three times its length. A semi-circular glass roof arched overhead, rising nearly four stories high. A giant clock hung on the curved wall, and staircases led up to the second floor and across to the opposite platform.
The first floor didn't have much besides ticket counters and restrooms, so I went upstairs.
The moment I stepped onto the second-floor platform, I froze in shock.
It was a food court.
Passengers filled the space, eating and chatting. The place was lively and full of energy.
When I turned around, both the first and second floors came into view at once. The colors were vibrant yet harmonious, avoiding any clashing combinations.
The warm orange lighting, red brick walls, and intricately carved stone pillars gave the station an elegant, timeless feel—like something out of history.
It was beautiful. Refined.
And… strangely familiar.
Then it clicked.
This looked exactly like those grand, historic train stations I'd seen in movies. I even remembered replaying scenes like this over and over back then.
This country really put effort into its train stations—offering both convenience and stunning visuals. I should bring Lina and Lani here someday.
The station had four tracks, though only two were currently in use. The other two were clearly built in advance for future routes.
Since this was the capital, it would eventually become a major railway hub. But if trains were to run in all directions, four tracks wouldn't be enough. They'd need at least ten.
Which meant this place would only grow bigger in the future.
I couldn't help but look forward to it.
Suddenly, a loud, prolonged chime rang out, startling me and snapping me back to reality. I hadn't even realized how long I'd been wandering around.
The bell rang three times before falling silent.
It was the hourly signal.
So it was already 4 PM.
I resumed exploring. There seemed to be more facilities on the opposite side, so I crossed over via the second-floor walkway.
On the other platform, I found a row of shops selling boxed meals—bento you could eat on the train.
That reminded me—getting to the port would take quite a while. I'd definitely get hungry along the way, and I hadn't prepared any food.
Perfect timing.
I immediately lined up to buy some.
There were so many varieties that I ended up buying one of each. The shop clerk looked stunned—though, to be fair, we did have a big eater in our group who could easily consume five people's portions in one meal.
Even so, the amount I bought was… excessive.
Still, there were benefits. With these, I could skip cooking for a while.
Cooking for nine people every meal—with no one helping—was exhausting.
…Forget it. Saying that out loud just made me sound pathetic. I'd wait until one of them felt like helping on their own.
After receiving three large bags of bento, I quickly left under the astonished gazes of the clerk and nearby customers.
"You bought that much—can you even finish it? It'd be a waste if you can't."
As I reached a quieter area and was about to store the meals in my storage space, a haughty voice suddenly called out.
Though it wasn't directed at anyone in particular, I had a feeling it was meant for me.
I turned around—
—is the arrogant girl and the timid girl.