“This is…a road?” I mumbled.

It took us an hour or so, but we finally found the road that led to Curia, and it was not what I was expecting. The orange and white pine tree forest had a large chunk of deforested land cut out of it. On the sides were embankments that led downwards into large trenches. Those trenches were filled with snow right now, but they were meant for rainwater and animal deterrence.

It also made the lives of bandits and wild monsters difficult since they had to cross out in open, giving unsuspecting travelers a window of opportunity to react. Then lying down in the center of the land was a pristine, untouched stone road. Not even so much as a single snowflake was atop the dark gray surface.

This layout is exactly like how the Romans built roads, just using whatever this gray material is instead of hard compacted dirt. But how are they making it so the road stays clear of snow?

“Mmm. Looks just like the roads we built back home,” Sylvia said idly.

I turned and looked at her. “What? Do these roads look familiar to you? Do you know who built them?”

Sylvia put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “I was a kid, Voker. Do you think I went around asking people who built the stupid roads? I said they looked familiar because these were the same types of roads in Nul. I traveled on these from the capital to my family’s villa regularly.”

“Your family had a villa?” I asked.

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Must have been nice… Empress…” I said playfully.

“I wasn’t in line for the throne. I was actually going to be a Duchess,” Sylvia said proudly.

A Duchess, huh? I guess that was the case back then… but if the Empire of Nul still existed, Sylvia would technically be the rightful ruler, right? Ah, I doubt she wants to rule over anything anyways.

“Duchess Sylvia… doesn’t sound bad,” I admitted.

“BAD?! What do you mean?!” Sylvia shouted.

“Nevermind…” I grumbled.

I ignored Sylvia’s glare and bent down so I could touch the road. The surface was warm to the touch, almost like it had mana flowing through it. Wait… that’s because it is mana?

This portion of the road was unfinished as it seemed that construction had stopped for the winter. The layer of rocks and pebbles made it right to where the finished road had snow on it, so whatever magical presence prevented the snow from accumulating hadn’t been activated yet.

I shoveled the snow away with my hands and dug under the rockpile to find a flat bed of solid stone underneath. Etched into the rocks were blank symbols that I knew to be Dwarven runes. It was a shame I couldn’t read them, but I was familiar enough with them to at least be able to identify them.

So the Dwarves are helping Luminar? It has been over twenty years since the war ended. Or perhaps Luminar is doing this on their own?

Wait a second… is this… this gray material… it’s concrete. They figured out Roman concrete?

I refuse to believe this is a coincidence. There is no way that somebody from my old world did not play a part in creating this nation. Or does Human history really just play out in similar ways? Ugh…

“Will you stop playing in the snow so we can finally make it to civilization? I would like to sleep in a bed tonight,” Sylvia grumbled from behind me.

“Wasn’t playing in the snow…I was investigating,” I shot back while wiping the snow off my knees. “But you’re right. We got a few hours of walking and we are probably going to have to walk through the night a bit.”

“Exactly, so let’s get moving!” Sylvia griped.

I shrugged, and we started strolling down the road. Not walking through the snow was a huge difference and I was able to enjoy the walk a bit more. We could just enhance ourselves and run to Curia, but that might leave us with low mana and blood in case of a fight. Best to just enjoy this while it lasted.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it? I’ve never seen snow like this before.”

“Did it not snow in Nul?” I asked.

“As far as I know, it didn’t. It got cold during the winter, but it wasn’t that bad.”

“I see…”

“So…” Syliva mumbled.

“So?” I questioned.

Sylvia got a little closer to me and looked up at me. “Now that we have some time… do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you?”

I looked around and couldn’t see anyone, and we had nothing but time. Guess we should fill the silence with something. Ah… I’m just trying to put this off again…

I have to be careful and choose my words wisely here… no using “in this world” or stuff like that.

“When you kill a monster. Do you feel something?” I asked.

I thought Sylvia would laugh at me or something, but she gazed off into the snowy vista with a thoughtful look in her eye. “At first, I was afraid to kill them. But… after a while, I stopped caring, I guess. It became a me or them situation pretty fast. With your help… I guess I just came to terms with it, so it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

“I see… and the undead? What about when you kill them?”

Sylvia looked at me and shrugged weakly. “The undead? I mean, I feel disgusted being around them. They smell even worse than I did when we came out of that dungeon. But as far as feelings go… I guess…. it’s a little different because they used to be people, right? I guess I feel a little bit sad that I’m killing them, but at the same time, I feel like I’m doing them a favor? If that makes sense… I just… I would rather someone kill me than let me become an undead. Anyways! What is it like for you? It seemed to have bothered you quite a bit,” Sylvia asked, sounding worried.

“I feel… weird. When I killed the Lich, I felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. It was like… I did something really good..”

Sylvia tilted her head to the side and I looked back down at her. “Isn’t that a good thing? You did kill a really powerful monster. You probably ended up saving the lives of a lot of adventurers.”

“Perhaps… but I… those feelings? I don’t think they are mine,” I said, unsure how to exactly explain this phenomenon.

“Not… yours?” Sylvia mumbled. Sylvia’s eye darted around like she was trying to think of something. “Are you trying to say it’s something religious or something? I’ve heard people say they can feel their gods’ love and stuff. Is that what you are experiencing?”

I snorted and chuckled to myself. “There isn’t a single god in this world that cares enough about me to love me.”

Sylvia fidgeted her hands slightly, and her voice was a bit shaky. “Maybe… I guess…”

“No, these feelings are something different. Maybe I’m just weird… but just to be certain, when you killed a person, how did you feel?” I asked.

Sylvia let out a small breath, and her head dropped slightly. She watched the ground for a long time before finally speaking. “Alce was the first person I killed. I… when I smelt so much of your blood being spilled, I got worried. At first, I thought you and everyone else was being attacked, so when I finally got close enough to see what was happening I… when I saw you… lying on the ground in a pool of your own blood, I thought you were going to die. My brain just sort of… shut off, I guess. All I felt was a numbness that spread throughout my body. I felt that… if I didn’t stop them, they would kill you, so I had to stop them. I just wanted to protect you as you did for me…” Sylvia said with a deep sadness in her voice.

She slowly opened and closed her hand and I could feel she wanted to say more, so I kept quiet. “Afterwards… I just felt… empty, I guess? All the logic in the world told me what I did was right, but I still couldn’t get the feeling out of the pit of my stomach. When I drained Alce and felt all that power course through me, I got scared… it felt really good. It was like drinking a cold glass of water after a long hot day. A glass of water that made every inch of my body course with power… but…” she trailed off, sounding uncertain.

“But?” I asked.

“But that power scared me… people say Vampires are just monsters now. At first I thought they were just hating us because they didn’t understand but not anymore. If that’s how feeding on someone until they die feels, then I understand why people think we are monsters. I could see how Vampires could get addicted to that feeling of superiority and strength. I don’t want to be that monster, Voker…” Sylvia sounded afraid as she spoke, but in my mind, I didn’t think she had anything to worry about.

“If those are your feelings, then you should be fine. Real monsters don’t have those kinds of thoughts,” I said firmly.

“How can you be so sure?” Sylvia blurted out.

Because I never had those kinds of thoughts fourteen years ago.

“I’ve met a monster or two in my life. I promise you that your concerns never crossed their minds. You are just somebody who got caught in a bad place at a bad time and had to make a tough decision. Which I’m sorry for…”

Sylvia grabbed my arm tightly, and her cold blue eye stared straight through me. “No! It’s not your fault! Don’t blame yourself for this, please! Weren’t you saying something about taking on all the burdens?! You don’t have to do that anymore… these are mine to carry. And honestly, I’ve already come to terms with things. I made a decision,” Sylvia stated vehemently.

I scratched the back of my head and slowly slipped my arm out from between Sylvia’s chest. “You have? Well, that’s good then,” I said honestly.

Sylvia’s ears turned red, and she kicked a rock on the road into the snow. “Sorry… I got carried away. This was supposed to be about you but I kind of dumped all my worries on you… sorry…” she said meekly.

I waved her concerns away. “It’s fine. You helped me figure out a few things, so that’s all that matters.” I tried making my voice sound warm and kind because I really did mean it.

It seems these forced emotions aren’t normal, just as I thought. Or maybe I truly am just an anomaly. Perhaps I’ll never figure them out…

—

“Voker?! What! Where did that guy just come from? I didn’t even hear him!” Sylvia yelled, shaking me by the arm.

“That’s… a good question,” I mumbled.

Sure enough, an older Human man riding on a carriage being pulled by a donkey that was probably just as old as him suddenly appeared on the road. There was no sound or anything. One second the street was empty, then the next, this older man appeared. He gave us a friendly wave and slowly moved down the road.

“You know… I think I might know what just happened. So let’s keep walking,” I said, trying my best not to laugh.

It’s not very often I get to surprise Sylvia. Of course, she might punch me for not telling her but at least it will be worth it to watch her squirm.

Once we got right about to where the old man suddenly appeared, a sickening feeling assaulted my mind. The familiar feeling of crossing the wards. This one was particularly bad and had more in common with the larger ward I crossed on my way to the port than the ones in the jungle.

Sylvia was hunched over, making gagging sounds and groaning like a Zombie. “Did you have fun?” I sneered.

“My stomach…. I want to vomit.” Sylvia didn’t even have the strength to be angry at me.

Ouch, I feel a little bad. I didn’t expect it to hit her that hard. Maybe she just doesn’t have a tolerance like me? Or maybe Vampires have it worse? Then again, it could just be a Sylvia problem.

“Why aren’t you bothered by that, huh? Did you… you knew!” Sylvia hissed.

Ah, it seems she is just fine.

“It was a guess. I didn’t want to tell you something just in case it was wrong,” I said in defense.

“You’re lying, Voker…” Sylvia said in a low tone while standing up slowly.

“Umm… maybe a little…” I chuckled.

“You! I’m going— wow.” Sylvia looked like she was about to hit me, but her gaze drifted off behind me, so I followed it.

Wow indeed.

With passing the barrier, a lot had changed. The weather was much nicer and the snowfall was at a minimum. The ground was still blanketed in a thin sheet of white powder but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was outside. A byproduct of the wards, no doubt.

But the weather wasn’t the only difference…

A big sprawling city had come into view. It was far more extensive than any city I had been in thus far, rivaling even Sandervile and Ostela. I suppose this is the difference between a city-state’s population and that of a former empire.

It was dusk now, and fires were being lit across the dark gray walls surrounding the city’s perimeter. The front gates were a set of large iron double doors with a massive arch at the top. The Roman architecture could be seen even from here. Tall pillars were cut into the walls for decorations, and the Gryphon crest of Luminar was emblazoned on the walls and on the banners draping down from the towers.

It’s like Rome, but with a gray stone instead of white marble.

The road got larger as we walked towards the city, and the gates had smaller doors to let carriages and people in. Unlike most cities, Curia had four lines for people to enter the gates. One for incoming carriages and one for out. Then two separate lines for foot travelers.

The lines were moving quickly, and we waited barely five minutes until a guard was with us. The Beastmen was a snow leopard type, and he greeted us with a warm smile. He quickly inspected our guild tags and handed them back without so much as a word. Sylvia and I both had packs on so that we didn’t stick out, and he and his Wood Elf partner quickly searched our bags.

Upon finding nothing of concern, the guards waved us into the city. Sylvia let out a small gasp as we took in the view.

Yeah… Dark Snowy Rome…

Most of the buildings were one or two floors high, and they were all made of the same gray or slightly darker gray stone. The only non-Roman aspect of the buildings was that the red-tiled roofs were sloped at a steeper angle, most likely to stop snow accumulation. There was also a plentiful amount of glass in this city, probably even more than what I saw in the upper district of Ostela.

The roads inside the city were wide enough to allow two carriages to travel going both ways. Even the sidewalks were pathed with Roman concrete and were big enough for three people to walk side by side comfortably. Speaking of sidewalks… they even have proper gutters, and it looks like they have a sewage system as well. Signs written in Human, Elvish, and Beastmen language were posted on corners to make traversing cities easier.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

This city was by far the most advanced city I have seen in this world. Not to mention the number of people…

I thought Ostela and Sandervile were on the bigger side, but I was poorly mistaken. Curia probably had double the population of Sandervile, and if I had to take a rough guess, it was probably close to a million. I was also expecting a more significant Human presence here, and although they are still the majority race, their percentage must be smaller.

Of course, this is only the city's main thoroughfare, so maybe I see a disproportionate amount of other races. Regardless, so far, Humans probably make up 60% of the population, whereas in Sandervile and Ostela, that number was closer to 80% or even 90%.

Beastmen were probably the second-highest population, and High Elves came in at a close third. I was also surprised to see this many Wood Elves, considering we were far from Syn’nari; however we are only a boat ride away from the Republic of Elshara now. If I had to put some money on a bet, a lot of them are from the Republic and not from Syn’nari.

Then there were the Dark Elves. It seems we are still the smallest of the Elf population. We… does that mean I see myself more as a Dark Elf than a High Elf? I suppose I’ve been focusing on that more my entire life, huh?

Despite fighting in the most recent war, Dark Elves still made up a small population even after hundreds of years. But they were here. I’d occasionally see one or two walking around and through stores and along roads whil—

“Voker? What are we doing?” Sylvia asked.

I jerked slightly from her sudden question. I got so lost in this new environment that I kind of forgot I existed for a moment.

“I uh… I don’t know. Walking?”

“Walking where?” Sylvia asked.

“To an inn?”

“Where is this inn?”

“In the city?”

Sylvia began shaking slightly, and I could already see her hand forming a fist. “Voker…” Sylvia growled.

“Okay… okay, I’m sorry. I’ve never been here, and I don’t know very much about this city,” I admitted. “However, I have reason to believe there are at least one or two inns on this main road. It would make sense, right?”

“I suppose…” Sylvia relented while taking a deep breath. “How long are we going to stay here? I’m tired and hungry.”

“Yeah, me too. Does one night sound fine to you?” I suggested.

Sylvia clicked her tongue and shook her head. “How about two nights? We should spend one night in a town for every day we spend in a dungeon.”

“In that case, we have a lot of sleeping to do…”

Sylvia scratched her head and shrugged. “I guess we do… so… two nights?”

She seems awfully adamant about this. Typically, Sylvia just lets me choose the stay duration, so this is new. I would like to get to the capital sooner rather than later but… one extra night isn’t going to kill us.

I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “If my Empress commands it, then it shall be done.”

Sylvia snapped her head at me and narrowed the eye behind her mask. “Shut up…” she giggled. If you are going to pretend to be mad at me, you should at least hold in your laughter.

More importantly, did I just successfully land my first joke? Am I finally on the up and up? One for a hundred? I guess I can’t get any worse.

I took a deep breath of the cold city air and let it out. The last few days have been long and excruciatingly taxing on the mind. I have more questions than ever, yet I’m finally closing in on the person who may be able to help me.

We had been walking for a reasonable amount of time. We even reached a sectioned-off portion of the city where we had to pass through a guardpost. But once again, my Ruby status paid off, and they waved me in with little concern.

We hiked through the district for some time, and I couldn’t help but feel more and more out of place as we continued walking. The atmosphere was… different. I realized at some point I had stopped being the leader, and Sylvia had taken charge as she scanned the buildings.

Sylvia tugged on my sleeve and pointed. “That place looks nice.”

Yeah, nice and expensive. I don’t think we are in the right place anymore…

“It might be a little—”

“If you say it’s too pricey and that we can’t afford it, I’ll lose it. What’s the point of having all this money if we don’t spend it every once in a while. You know what?”

“What?” I asked, worried.

Sylvia yanked me by the arm and dragged me to the inn. “I’m paying, so I get to choose,” she stated.

Okay…

Walking into the inn told me all I needed to know about what we were getting ourselves into. When I thought this city didn’t use marble, I was wrong. They just use it indoors…

This isn’t even an inn. It’s a damn hotel.

A thick slab of black marble with a swirling gray pattern was the first thing you saw when you walked into the place. Flowing red and gold tapestries were dangling from black marble columns, and they shimmered from the torchlight.

Is that real gold?

The floors were made of the same black marble but squares of gold were added for a little bit of flavor. It was smoothed and shined to perfection. The damn floor looked clean enough to eat off of.

The young Human man behind the counter wore a luxurious black suit. I didn’t miss his initial frown at our entrance, but it quickly morphed into a professional smile. Sylvia didn’t miss it either as she let out an annoyed grunt.

Sylvia grabbed the back of my head and whispered some Elvish into my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Wanna see something interesting?”

“Sure?” I whispered back.

“Good. Stay close and keep quiet.”

Sylvia strolled up to the counter while the man beamed a smile at her. “Good evening, miss and mister. Welcome to Artemide. How may a humble servant such as myself be able to assist you?”

“We are looking for a room tonight. Surely you have something available for the two of us?”

What.

I looked at Sylvia, and I had to make sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. Was this really the same Sylvia I’ve been traveling with for months and spent an entire year down in a dungeon with?

Her voice and cadence had changed entirely, and even the way she was standing was different somehow. I was mesmerized, so I just decided to watch things unfold.

The employee continued smiling and pretended to flip through a ledger, although his eyes weren’t reading anything. “I’m afraid I don’t have any rooms available in your—”

Sylvia tilted her head to the side in an exaggerated manner and brought a pale hand to her mask. “Are you about to say ‘our price range?’ That’s awfully rude of you, sir. Do you believe that we can’t afford this… quaint little inn?”

I watched as a small vein pulsed on the man’s neck, and his smile became strained, but like the professional he was, he managed to control himself in just a second. “I’m just suggesting that adventurers such as yourselves have better options. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this establishment doesn’t offer any discounts to the guild.”

Sylvia shrugged her shoulders and leaned onto the high-top counter. Suddenly, she brought both her hands out and dropped them onto the table. A large gold mark appeared out of thin air in her left hand while she flicked it into the air and then another one. As one coin fell, it disappeared from her right hand, only for it to reappear in her left again.

The man’s eyes went wide at the display of a spatial ring, and I could already see the regret forming on his face as he watched two hundred gold worth of money being juggled in front of him.

“That’s a shame really…” Sylvia said slowly while drooping her head. She flipped both the coins and caught them at once. “Guess we are just going to have to find somewhere else tonight.”

“W— wait, Miss. I didn’t—”

“Realize I had money? That’s not very thoughtful of you,” Sylvia said playfully.

“Ah… well… I just…” the man started frantically searching around until eventually, his eyes settled on me. His professional smile plastered right back on his face as he looked at Sylvia. “I just didn’t realize there was a Ruby adventurer amongst us, that’s all. I apologize for—”

Syliva wagged her finger at the man. “Are you insulting me? Why would you assume that he is the one with money and not me?”

The man looked to me for help, but I stayed still and silent like the good little statue that I was.

Sylvia reached across the table with her finger and dragged the man’s face back to her. “Don’t look at him. Look at me. Now, what were you suggesting by that earlier remark?” Sylvia’s voice was so low it was almost hard to hear her, and it also had… something else to it that I just couldn’t quite place.

“Ah… it’s nothing, Madam. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just—”

Madam, huh? He sure changed tones quickly.

“Didn’t mean anything by it? Then you shouldn’t have said it in the first place, should you have?”

“No… no, I made a mistake and—”

Sylvia retracted her hand, and I could feel her smiling under her mask. “Say… what’s the rate for a room here, sir?”

“It’s three gold per night, Madam.”

“And for your highest quality room?” Sylvia cooed.

The man was practically sweating bullets, but he managed to maintain a semblance of a smile. “Six gold… Madam.”

“I see…” Sylvia clicked her tongue repeatedly while wagging her finger at him. “I’ll accept your best room for three gold per night,” Sylvia stated as if there was no room for rebuke.

“I can—”

“You can do that, right?” Sylvia said sweetly.

“Yes… I can,” he mumbled.

“Great! That’s what I like to hear.” Sylvia made a show of taking out a single silver coin and slid it across the table to him. “Thank you, sir.”

You know, I almost feel bad for the guy. I never knew Sylvia had this side to her, but it makes sense. She was royalty, after all. However, I think I prefer the real Sylvia more…

If I hadn’t been a slave to the Sanderviles for all those years, this entire conversation would have gone so far over my head that I’d be able to sniff my own shorts. I was very familiar with the way Sylvia was talking. It just surprised me to hear it from her, was all.

It was the same way all the nobles in Sandervile spoke. They all tried sounding smart and important despite most of them being dimwits. And at every opportunity, they tried to bait people into misspeaking so that they could corner them and get what they wanted. But, of course, they did all of this while flaunting their wealth as much as possible.

Sylvia merely demonstrated this just in a shortened version, and it was scary. Wait… she negotiated for only one room… what about me?

“Sylvia I—”

“Shut up,” Sylvia said quickly and quietly.

The employee returned with a woman in tow and handed over a small wooden box. “I’ve gone ahead and booked you for the rest of the week, Madam, and—”

Sylvia grabbed the box and interrupted the man again. “The rest of the week? We are only staying for two nights.”

The man looked absolutely defeated at this point. The color washed out from his face, and I thought he might vomit for a moment. “Two…nights?” he squeaked.

“That’s right. I hope you didn’t expect anymore and made another false assumption. You never did ask me…”

“No… of course not, Madam…” The employee turned to the woman who was wearing a black and gold maid dress. “Ligh, would you mind changing—”

“No need for that,” Sylvia shot back. “I would prefer it if she guided us to our room right now. Oh, and we are going to need two dinners prepared immediately. I assume you have a bath?”

A bath?

“Of course, but—”

Sylvia opened the wooden box and took out a bronze key from the velvet interior. “Then I would like it prepared before dinner then. Sooner the better.”

Never mind, I feel bad for this guy.

Sylvia turned her attention to the maid and refused to look at the employee. The unfortunate maid looked from the man to us until, eventually, the employee just nodded his head weakly.

The maid bowed deeply. “Right this way, Sir and Madam.”

She guided us through a winding path of hallways lined with gold statues of Gryphons and paintings of men in armored suits. I was about to start talking, but it was like Sylvia sensed my thoughts, so she pinched me in the side.

Okay… guess I’m not free yet.

We were brought to a set of double black iron doors on the second floor at the back. The maid pushed the heavy doors open for us and swiftly guided us in. Upon opening the door, a team of five maids and butlers cleared out of the room with due haste. Sylvia eyed them all with an aura of “get out of here now.”

The maid that guided us here gave us a short bow. “If you require anything else, please use that rope attached to the wall to notify us. A servant will be here within moments to attend to you.”

Servants… ah, I guess there are no slaves in Luminar. These are merely people who work here of their own free will. Hopefully, at least. I don’t like the idea of having people serve me.

“Thank you,” Sylvia said kindly.

Once the door shut all the way, Sylvia quickly locked it and sprinted towards the massive bed in the center of the room, throwing her mask onto the floor and sprawling out onto the bed.

She let out an exhausted sigh. “Now, this is a room fit for an Empress.”

“I thought you weren’t an Empress?” I said playfully. It seems Sylvia was back to her usual self now, and I felt just a little more relaxed but not by much…

Sylvia snorted and got off the bed. “With this room, I might as well be. But, then again, this place isn’t nearly as nice as Grandma and Grandpa’s room. But that’s to be expected, I suppose.”

Uh, huh…

I looked around the room slowly and took in the sight. Everything was made of the black and gray marble, and the room was lit by a few candles. A large balcony was on the other side of the room with glass double doors leading outside. The bed was all white and unnecessarily large. You could probably have six people lying side by side on it and still have plenty of room.

This room was… beyond luxurious, and frankly, it made me uncomfortable being in such a large room. If I combined all the rooms I stayed in for the last fourteen years, I think this room might be only slightly smaller. But I have some questions…

Sylvia beckoned me to come to sit on the edge of the bed, so I obliged. I had to admit. It was the softest bed I’ve been in as I practically melted into it. “What did I just witness?”

Sylvia giggled to herself. “Did I surprise you?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I said back.

Sylvia’s crimson eyes glowed in the candlelight as she continued looking around the room. A sort of sad smile across her pink lips. “I mean… I was trained to be a Duchess. Not that I got very far or took it seriously. But I learned some stuff, at least. I was more excited to learn about magic than how to talk down to people and get what I wanted. I suppose it’s a valuable skill to have sometimes.”

“I can see that. But, can I ask why you kept interrupting that employee? Especially at the end when he was about to give an order to the maid?”

Sylvia pointed across the room at a dresser. On top of it were three glass bottles of some alcohol and various snacks, including fresh fruits. I even saw some chocolate.

That’s not going to last long.

“What about it?” I asked.

“For interrupting him all the time, it’s just a tactic to make me seem more important. But for when he went back to “get the key,” he ordered those maids to leave all of this stuff. I’m sure the baths have expensive towels and toiletries in them. Once I told him we were only going to stay for two nights, he was going to take all of that away because it wasn’t worth it for them. Just standard practice, really. So now we get to keep all the stuff and enjoy this room for cheaper. Great, right?” Sylvia said proudly.

I could feel the awkwardness building up in my chest as my tongue started twisting around itself. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

“Sorry for pinching you back there as well. To be fair, I did warn you… if you ended up saying anything stupid like asking for multiple rooms or something, I would have never gotten this one.”

“Mhm…” I grunted.

Ah… what is this feeling?

Sylvia stared at me for some time, not saying anything. Her eyes traced my face mask, and eventually, she gave me a sad smile. Then, she suddenly climbed behind me and hugged me from behind. I felt my body jerk slightly from her warm body, but I didn’t stop her. Although it was a surprise and I wish she had said something, I didn’t mind it at all. If anything… it was nice…but not nice for my heart.

“You’ve been having a hard time, huh?” Slyvia whispered gently into my ear.

I involuntarily jerked my neck from the soft sensation of Sylvia’s breath on my ears, but I swallowed down the nervousness in my heart. “Yeah… guess I have been…” I mumbled.

“Getting out of the dungeon for the first time… fighting Dem… now these feelings. You are too stressed, Voker,” Sylvia said softly.

“I am… I think.”

Syliva tightened her hug. “You know you're not alone anymore, right?”

“I know.”

“We are going to Vinovia to find your father’s friend, and then after that, I’ll help you return to your family, I promise you,” Sylvia said firmly.

I turned my head slightly and looked into her crimson eyes. I searched them for any lies but I didn’t see any. “Does that mean…”

“Yes, it does. Wherever you go, I’ll be right beside you. I want you to enjoy this place tonight and take the next day to relax. I know I am.”

“I…I see, and okay, I’ll do that.”

I felt an unexplainable warmth spread through my chest, and a smile broke out on my face. All my earlier feelings of nervousness from Sylvia being so close to me melted away at her heartfelt words.

“Thank you, Sylvia.”

Sylvia released me and sat next to me again. “Of course.” She looked at me with a warm smile. “Feeling better?”

I couldn’t stop my head from nodding along with her words.

“I feel much better.”