It shouldn't have been rare to hear people walking through a corridor in the palace. However, the treasury was not only situated in the right wing - which was akin to a museum - but also on the top floor that was used only for storage.

'Alright. Here goes nothing.'

Meiris hid in a decorative cavity to the right of the door. Her hands were already getting covered in sweat, that was produced from her mana on instinct.

As a noble, she was expected to have high stress resistance. There was no place for mistakes in high society, so one's judgement could never be clouded. Yet, that didn't mean Meiris was invincible. Especially not now. Now that she's been broken twice.

Of course there was her family's betrayal. And while initially unbearable, she was slowly getting over it. The memories were no less painful, but especially after she came back to life - she felt a bit of a distance form between her and them.

But there was something else. The fear of death.

One might think it would be less of an issue after experiencing it once already, but that wasn't the case for Meiris. A portion of that could be attributed to the fact that death took her by surprise. She was young, healthy, without a reason to worry about dying.

A whole other thing was the pain. Ghosts were incomplete unions of body and soul. Pieces that couldn't separate and were torn off instead. No one knew the pain of something like this happening - under ordinary circumstances - because the soul purified itself on death.

However, Meiris knew that inhuman feeling. Not consciously - she wouldn't be able to handle it - but it was still there.

It was a difficult fear to face when surrounded with people who killed her once before.

clank

The guards' armor rattled and the footsteps stopped.

"Open it."

"Of course, sir Ernam."

Clanking continued as the guard must have turned to execute the command. In a moment the doors would open, but a different thought took over Meiris' mind momentarily.

'Sir Ernam? Oh my... But if he has come to the treasury- Suppose the empire sent a delegation. Not that it's my problem...'

While the treasury stored some of the kingdom's most impressive gear, that wasn't the best it had to offer. Sir Ernam Silverrie, the second son of a baron from a border region, has received special equipment as a reward for his service. A full set of armor and a spear, all made from a very resilient dark wyrm. Which he also played a key role in taking down. The items were as strong as they were intimidating.

In the past Meiris saw sir Ernam wearing a different suit of armor only a few times. It was when an envoy from the empire arrived.

Because what use was intimidation if one's opponent was aware of their superior position?

click

The door got unlocked and its wings swung open.

Meiris hurriedly pulled the hood of her cloak over, not knowing if it mattered.

'Please walk past...'

He was no ordinary knight. Meiris never learned much about presence sensing, so she had no idea if she had a chance to hide from such a strong mage. All she could do now was to crouch and put a rack between her and the rest of the room.

"Join me, Giles. You are to be assigned as the personal guard for our guests."

Ernam's voice was rich and unusually casual for a knight on duty. Though it held a hint of tension.

"Naturally, sir."

Giles followed him through the door. He wore a polished steel-looking armor and a white cape with the golden crest of the kingdom. There was also a symbol of a shield below the crest. The cape marked his rank of a captain, while the shield signified his title of a master.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The brown-haired guard was visibly smaller than Ernam, who wore simple black pants and a dark-red tunic. No armor. He looked very out of place next to Giles, who gave off a bright and elegant aura. However, it was his blood-colored hair that made him stand out the most.

"As last time- You must have someone with you to entertain them. Any recommendations?"

"Jane Tanver, sir. Her squad has faced extraordinary monsters on their last assignment. Additionally, she is an adopted and active noble."

"So I heard... If she's still active then it should be fine to assume she will read the room and act with care."⠀'Though her squad's perfect score? The bastards like it most when a few survivors miraculously kill the monster... If only I could be there myself-'

While they ventured deeper into the room, Meiris snuck a glance through the door. Though not directly- She used a nearby, shiny chestplate.

She immediately noticed the other guard standing on the right side. He was peeking after the other two, then sighed. Visibly disappointed at being left out. Not like there was any reason for him to come inside.

Meiris needed him to look away for about three seconds. Just long enough so that she could turn a corner to the left of the entrance.

Which now looked way further than she remembered it being from the one occasion she had to walk through that hallway.

The distance seemed daunting, but-

'There's no turning back now.'

Meiris took a quiet breath. It was tempting to hide. Maybe she could raise her mana a little more. Maybe she would figure out a powerful artifact. Maybe there would come a better moment.

But she knew it was her fear speaking. The situation could have been better, but it could have been far worse all the same. If only sir Ernam didn't take that one guard with him- How could she hope to avoid being seen then? It was wishful thinking that she could fend off knights, even if she "trained" there for several years.

A glance to her left- The two knights continued walking with their backs to the entrance, then to her right- The single guard was looking the other way-

And so she took off, holding her cloak so that it wouldn't make a sound. Her footsteps weren't an issue since her body was abnormally silent.

One, two, three- A moment-

Silence. Success.

Meiris slumped against a wall right behind the corner. If she still had a heart, it would have been beating wildly out of control. That didn't happen, but it didn't mean she was calm. After all, she didn't notice it wasn't beating.

There was also a new intoxicating feeling taking over her mind. She was escaping. She could escape. It may have only been the beginning, but that was enough to spark hope inside her.

Hope... Such a strange thing to Meiris. Something she lost before she got a chance to discover it.

"Haaa..."

She allowed herself a single quiet exhale. Not quite enough to regain her full composure, but it helped a lot.

'Now then- Two floors down and three blind turns...'

Her gaze drifted down the stairs to the right.

In a way that part of the plan was easier, because with her abilities it was mostly up to luck whether she managed to reach the guest gardens. More so than what she just went through.

----------------------------------------

At one point Meiris had to hide under a table to avoid a maid, but other than that she reached the exit out of the palace without any issues.

The weather was nice. A few clouds scattered here and there, but none blocked the sun's welcome heat, while the shadows offered pleasant coolness. It was an early summer. Almost as warm as it got that close to the north.

Something Meiris didn't have the time to appreciate. In addition to no longer being able to perceive warmth.

It was already past noon, so she was currently crouching in the palace's shadow, as she was to the east of it.

With the guest gardens separating her from the wall and the eastern gate, she had two options. The gardens weren't one of them because there wasn't a lot of tall bush to hide behind. Quite a few gardeners were currently hard at work as well.

She originally planned to sneak by the guest building to her right. The bottom floor was dedicated to the staff and surrounded by tall hedge she could use to hide behind. However, like she suspected after sir Ernam's visit to the treasury - and confirmed seeing all the servants in the area - it wouldn't be all that simple right now.

Which left her with the choice to go left, towards the barracks. She had never been to that area of the castle before, but at least she didn't see people all around it. And the path she followed there had plenty of greenery she could use to hide from sight.

Meiris was very careful to not let anyone see her. She would scout her surrounding through the leaves before moving to the next patch of hedge and trees. Still, she felt like she was being too lucky. Was it only anxiety, or perhaps something more?

'Could it be that ordinary people rely on presence perception as well? Definitely subconsciously, but...'

The thought that humans are naturally more likely to notice others based on presence was something worth confirming- Though it wasn't the best time to do so.

And neither was it the time to ponder about such things.

Once a group of knights passed her, Meiris found herself by an opening in front of a side entrance to the barracks. They were L-shaped, starting at where she was, going east and turning south near the wall.

The building was plastered and quite exceptionally ornamented for the type. Mainly so that it fit the style of the inner architecture, but that wasn't the only reason.⠀Many of those stationing at the castle were either non-inheriting noble children or knights who earned their place with their prowess.

The door was stuck open, which allowed Meiris to peek inside from a safe distance. Two young knights were talking, deeper into the entrance corridor, clearly enjoying a break. Whether deserved or not- Meiris couldn't know.

She did enjoy a knight's company in the past. That is also why she knew that many of the noble children were only for show. The fact didn't bother her then, but for some reason it did now. A reason she couldn't quite give a name to.

Shaking off the distraction, she instead focused on a staircase to the left behind the entrance. It reached all the way to the third floor, as Meiris expected and deduced from the window pattern.