Veirya? Veirya?
"Fuu…"
The woman checked her face in the mirror. She gently touched the side of her face. The woman with silver hair and blues eyes gently ran her finger across her face. She adjusted her collar and fixed her white cape to her back, which erected the shield representing the military on the cape. Her cape gently swayed along with her movements. She then touched her hair. She earnestly contemplated to herself. She gently picked up the back portion of her hair. Then, she grabbed a dagger by the side and cut it.
A bunch of beautiful silver hair fell into her hand as if it was grass. She looked at her long hair in her hand. She sighed in a soft tone. She couldn't bear to part with her hair. She nostalgically remarked, "Geez, that girl has always been the one posing as me. This is my first time posing as her…"
The checked herself in the mirror again. She deliberately created a messy hairstyle with her short hair. She deliberately cut her hair short to make it appear as though her hair was burnt. Then, she grabbed a small blanket and tightly wrapped herself with it. She took in a gentle breath and said, "I have to prevent Leah from smelling our difference. Succubi's keen noses are troublesome…"
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Current time at some location.
"What. Are you writing?" asked Veirya.
Veirya lowered her head and leaned over Anna's side, startling her. As a consequence, Anna nearly swabbed away the entire heat stamp. Anna answered, "I was just writing a letter to Mr. Lin to let him know we have almost arrived. Notifying him beforehand will give him time to prepare."
"No need," stated Veirya, pressing a hand onto the letter. In an absolutely serious tone, she explained, "He didn't send a letter. So, no need to write a letter to him. No need."
"Lord Veirya, are you having a wilful fit?" asked Anna, smiling helplessly. "Even if you are angry, it is better to write a letter. After all, Mr. Lin would definitely want to know that we are arriving first. That would be for the best; otherwise, we might not be able to locate him. Since he did not write back, I have no choice but to write to Mr. Achilles. I do not know if it can be delivered to him."
Veirya hesitated for a moment but nodded in the end: "Mm."
Anna genuinely didn't know what to do. Veirya sat on the bed with her arms folded.
Veirya was moody and acting wilful, for Mr. Lin didn't send her a letter. Anna didn't dare to voice it, though… After all, Veirya was too serious. She didn't appear to be joking… Anna believed she needed to send the letter…
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Veirya kept calling and searching for Leah all night. She found Leah at the brothel when the sun came up; she wasn't all that excited, nevertheless. She merely led Leah back to the place we stayed. Leah was so frightened when she saw Veirya that she ran through the night. She, too, didn't think Veirya would travel through the night to rush to the imperial capital.
Leah looked up at Veirya, who was leading her by her hand. Her eyes seemed slightly hazy. As a matter of fact, there was a trace of doubt in her gaze. Leah was very bewildered. She then looked over to me. I glanced up to Veirya. Veirya looked a tad strange. I thought it might've been because the two of us hadn't seen her in a while. I, too, felt there was something different… but… but I had an issue. I couldn't look at her in the face for too long. Whenever I looked at Veirya's face for too long, my thinking would malfunction. Thus, I did my best to not look at her face… I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was weird, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was…
The three of us went along the street to head back. Even the city that never slept was having a short, temporary respite at the time. There was no one left on the streets. The nightlife was at an end. Those who had things to do during the day rushed home to catch a few hours of shut eye, while those who were rested had yet to wake up. So accordingly, the city was at its most peaceful hours. I had to go and report to Queen Sisi at daytime, but I didn't have time to marinate on the information I collected during the day.
"What exactly should I say to the Queen? What will she ask me?" I pondered. I then said, "A bit later on, I'll be going to see Her Majesty. Do you want to come, Veirya? I think that she'd be very happy to see you."
I thought Veirya should go and see Queen Sisi. From Queen Sisi's perspective, Veirya was essentially outside of her jurisdiction, as she was far off at the border. While the place was desolate and free of any threats, Veirya was a highly valuable asset for gathering and uniting the people. The top priority for Veirya upon returning to the imperial capital was to hurry and see Queen Sisi to express her loyalty.
"All right," responded Veirya, not opposing my suggestion as per usual and nodding. "Then, what do you want. To do next?"
"I have some stuff that requires my attention in the afternoon. I'll probably go out at night, too. Veirya, I'm entrusting Leah to you in my absence. Recently, I've been worried mishap may befall her. With you by my side, I feel much more relieved."
Veirya responded with a subtle nod but didn't reply. Our conversation ended there, and we headed back to our lodging. I went into the room. Tired, Leah climbed onto the bed. It was understandable, since she couldn't sleep last night.
"Leah, sleep here in your room. Veirya and I will make a trip to the imperial palace first."
From the bed, Leah responded in a baby voice: "Mm, bye, Papa."
Veirya froze stiff all of a sudden. Judging from her reaction, she probably wanted to tightly hug Leah. I smiled and went to grab the clothes I had to wear to see Queen Sisi.
Honestly, I felt a little excited. Leah loved seeing me in the particular set of clothing. She claimed I looked cool and handsome in it. Queen Sisi said the same thing, as well. For that reason, I looked forward to hearing Veirya's opinion.
After changing my clothes, I opened the door to see Veirya sitting on the edge of the bed, carefully stroking Leah's head. Seeing the way she stroked Leah's head, I was sure she was Veirya. Veirya looked over in my direction when she heard the door open but didn't say anything. Instead, she got to her feet: "Let's. Get going."
"Mm… we're definitely going… mm… it's just that I want to know… mm… Veirya, how do you think I look in this?"
Veirya's way of responding as if she was a cold rock was definitely an indication she was Veirya. She looked at me until I spoke. Then, she scanned me from head to toe: "Seeing Her Majesty in that will be fine."
"No, I meant, what do you think? How do you think I look in it?"
"It's becoming of you."
"That's it?"
"Mm?"
Veirya was astonished. She probably couldn't understand why the opinion of another was required… Awkward, I sighed and hopelessly smiled. I thought, "All right, all right, she's Veirya. Only Veirya would respond that way…"
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