"B-But he needs to be looked after until his physician arrives. Plus, he needs to be supplied with insulin somehow, and I was thinking—"

"Beg ya pardon," Blert grabbed me by the arm. "But who was it that asked you to think, dear revered miss?" He looked down on me with a fierce look, reminding me of the tingling injury on my neck. "Both of you, follow me in quiet." He instructed and left the tent.

I threw a look at Truman, but he was using his pinky finger to clean his ear, looking around the tent.

I don't think I have a choice for now.

Thus, I followed in Blert's steps.

Once the cloth acting as door to the yurt-like giant tent was lifted for me to pass, light softly seeped in through the two holes allowing me vision behind my mask. The surroundings were much less chaotic than when we had just arrived, and most of the servants were all crowded at the tent's side.

As soon as they laid their eyes on me, they stepped up to us.

"Revered miss!" People started yelling. "O revered miss, our savior!"

"Thank the creator, people." A firm voice spoke out; Alice. She stepped between the crowd and I, giving me her back.

"The revered miss has done what was in her power." Blert interjected, pulling me out of the crowd and towards the forest. "Miss Alice, Knight, let us go." He declared, directing us toward his campsite once more.

Behind us, we could still hear the maids and knights celebrating, unaware of the severety of their lord's illness.

The note I left by his side, which I made Truman write since I am currently illiterate, should spread a bit of awareness about his illness —hopefully.

"Ow," I couldn't help but squirm, as Blert's bony hand purposefully squeezed tight on my arm, making me grit my teeth. "... Just you wait, you piece of shit." I muttered under my breath. "Your days are counted."

Smug and strong as he might seem now, the earth is round, and what goes around comes around.

If anything, what's coming around for this Great Commander will be most satisfying. I'll make sure of it.

As we walked through the forest, branches cracking under our steps and leaves dancing in our presence, a chill-inducing thought came back to haunt me.

I was four days away from my death scene.

~

The sun hung high in a clear blue sky, casting sharp shadows on the bustling campsite. All equipment had been gathered; maids were filing into their wagons, and the coachmen readied themselves for departure.

Once again, I found myself garbed in these damned rags, with my golden treasures weighing heavily on my arms, constricting my blood flow. I stood by the door of my prisoner's carriage, the air crisp as we waited for the journey to begin.

My cold, fat shackles weighed down my wrists while I absentmindedly fiddled with a thick piece of dark wood I had picked up on our way back from the Merchant Guild's camp.

I analyzed it with an urge I hadn't gotten in a while.

If only I had something sharp...

"Hey Alith," I called to the woman standing beside me on the carriage steps, having accepted my current lisp and predicament of talking weird. I forced myself too much earlier, trying to look like less of an idiot in front of my openents and stuff. It was just Alice now, the worst she could do was make fun of me.

She was occupied, leaning inside as she tossed a bag under a seat. Since our return, she hadn't spoken a word to me. She pretended to be busy and let me sneak into my carriage, change back into my rags and adorn myself once more with my burdensome treasures.

Earlier, I had spoken with Melissa in a secluded corner.

"Remember. You may not have fully atoned, but that man's life is saved because you made the right decision in the end." I fixed her with a resolute stare, her blonde hair shining dully in the light. Melissa, the middle-aged woman, had complied with the urgent request that me and Commander Blert had made—to let me borrow her identity.

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"L-Lying is a sin," The woman's green eyes were swollen. "I deserve to go to prison. W-We all do."

This, perhaps, explained why she was sitting in my prisoner's carriage bawling her eyes out.

"Right, lying is a sin," I retorted, my tone hardening, "but drinking and endangering the lives of those you were sworn to protect is fine."

Too many lives had been at risk because of this woman.

"Listen, I'm not asking you for a favor. Hiding what happened here is the only salvageable decision you can make here. It's either that, or you get me, the commander, yourself, and everyone else involved a death sentence. Is that what you want?"

"... No." She mumbled.

"Your Kopra saw what you did here," or was it Korpa? "He knows your intentions and he witnessrd how this scheme saved lives. I'm sure he's forgiven you already."

She opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it, her expression sorrowful. There were traces of tears on both of her cheeks, and despite myself, I felt a pang of sympathy. I can never stand to see people cry.

"Now wear your clothes and go live your life." I kept my expression stern. "Keep your powers disappearing a secret. Play ill or take a vacay or something."

"... Play ill?" She repeated.

"Feign illness or take some time away." I explained. "Oh, and a vacay is holidays." I remembered to add.

"... Alright." She said in a small voice.

"Yes, my lady." Alice's stern reply came from within the carriage. I looked up at her, but all I could see was her back. She was tapping the seats and checking whether the source of light functioned.

"Look ath me ven I tok to yu." I added, annoyed.

Alice paused for a second, and then begrudginly turned to me.

"What is the matter, my lady?"

I wondered if Penelope Ashdown would have smacked her for her tone... I'd expect no less from an infamous villainess.

Too bad I didn't have it in me to be a villainess right now. My neck, jaw, and feet ached; I didn't need to add my arms to that list.

"Do yu have anything sharp on yu?" I asked, showing her my hand-sized piece of soft black wood. "I want to twy carving dis into something."

Alice's calm demeanor faltered for a moment, her expression one of confusion.

"Since when do you indulge in such... frivolous pastimes, my lady?" she asked, quickly adding, "Beg your pardon."

... Maybe I should smack her after all.

"Fwiwolous?" I grinned, though the effort was painful. "And since when did yu have it in you quethtion me so bwazenly, Alith?"

"...Need I apologize?" Her pink eyes flashed with defiance.

"That won't be nethethary," I shook my head, dropping the unnecessary tension. "Zust... go fetth me a sharp rock or something... Oh, and if you happen to be caught, I will zeny my inwolvement, zust to be clear."

"You mean to tell me to be careful? I will, my lady," Alice said. She descended the carriage steps and offered her hand to help me inside the carriage.

I took her hand and settled onto the hard wooden seat. Alice swiftly departed, her spotted dress swaying as she walked away, her brown hair so smooth it reflected the sunlight.

A strange feeling nagged at me as I watched her go.

Why do I have such a shit feeling about Alice's pretty pink eyes?

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

Alice hated it. She absolutely despised the fact that she had no clue what her mistress was thinking.

How on earth is she able to save a dying man?! That woman never touched a book since the days Alice would literally force her to read!

And now? Now she could think for herself, make decisions for herself, and worst of all, she no longer kept Alice informed of her every thought she had and every move she wanted to make.

Alice felt estranged from her own reality. She racked her brain for explanations, turning over every possible theory to account for the unexplainable, unprecedented changes in her mistress. But only one explanation, absurd as it was, made any sense at all.

"That woman is not Penelope Ashdown," Alice muttered as she sifted through a handful of rocks on the ground near the edge of the forest. "Carving? She might as well apologize to me next!" Alice scoffed, glancing up at the sky.

"Miss Alice," a slimy voice called out, interrupting her thoughts. Her expression turned blank as faced the source of the voice.

Toothless Fars.

"Would you mind giving me a moment of your time?" The knight asked, hiding a droopy, wilting bunch of flowers behind his back.

Alice wanted to roll her eyes but refrained. It was better not to engage.

"I have no time to converse, Mister. My place is by my lady's side," she said respectfully, discreetly slipping the sharp rock she had found into her pocket and attempting to pass by him.

But, as always, Fars couldn't take a hint.

He grabbed her arm and thrust the bouquet toward her, causing her to recoil.

"Just ten minutes," he insisted, his smile wobbling.

Perhaps it would be worth it to poison him instead... Alice briefly considered, giving him a blank look while a certain blue miniature jar sat in her pocket.