Chapter 96: Before the Mask Fades [2]
"Will you come with me?"
"I am going with you."
I replied instantly the next moment.
She didn’t say anything for a while.
Her voice trembled—not just from weakness or fever, but from something deeper. A quiet plea wrapped in exhaustion and the ache of too many broken things.
"Not like this. Will you come with me? Away from the north? For forever?"
Her words hung heavy in the air, like ash that refused to settle.
I stopped walking.
The silence of the abandoned mine swallowed everything else, leaving only the sound of our breaths.
For a moment, I didn’t respond.
Not because I didn’t want to.
But because I didn’t know how.
Forever.
It seems like she’s seeing me as some kind of knight in shining armor.
Which isn’t wrong, by the way, considering I saved her from Bjron—but my main objective was Bjron from the start.
Even if she hadn’t been captured by Bjron, I was going to kill him.
It seems she has some kind of very big misunderstanding.
"Lila..." I finally said, voice low, unsure. I shifted her weight slightly on my back, making sure I didn’t jostle her too much.
"Why would you want someone like me to come with you? You barely even know who I am."
"I know you saved me," she whispered back.
I knew it...
She thinks I’m some kind of knight in shining armor.
"I know you carried me when you could barely walk. I know you looked back. And that... no one ever does."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
Goddamn it.
She wasn’t supposed to say things like that.
She wasn’t supposed to believe things like that.
"I’m not the person you think I am, Lila."
I kept walking again, slowly this time, like my legs had remembered how tired they were.
"I’m not who you think I am. I only asked for a job and you gave me one—and I think that job of mine is done here."
I expected silence.
Maybe disappointment. Maybe even tears.
But instead, I felt her forehead press a little harder against the back of my shoulder.
"You can say that," she murmured. "But I already made up my mind."
My steps slowed again. Not stopped this time—just heavy.
"For the last time, please don’t say things like this. It’s best for us."
Even if I wanted to go, I can’t.
I am Alice Draken’s attendant, and I just can’t drop everything and go with her.
The consequences of that would be very bad—not only for me but for the Evans Baron family.
Then there’s also Velra, the vampire demon that I recently came in contact with.
...And more than anything, according to the system of mine, if Alice Draken dies, then so will I.
So, I have to stay with Alice Draken.
Lila didn’t say anything after that. Not right away.
But I could still feel her—her breath warm against my neck, her fingers clutching at my cloak like letting go would somehow unravel everything keeping her together.
"I understand," she said quietly.
Her voice wasn’t bitter. Not resentful. Just... tired.
Like someone who’d stopped hoping for too much but still found a reason to ask anyway.
I hated how much that hurt.
She wasn’t supposed to make it harder. Wasn’t supposed to be this calm about rejection. That calmness dug deeper than anger ever could.
"Eren... I know you won’t come with me."
I didn’t answer.
"But even if it’s only for now... thank you for not leaving me."
Damn it.
She wasn’t supposed to say things like that either.
I clenched my jaw and forced my legs to keep moving. The pain in my thighs from the last fight hadn’t faded. My arm still ached from where Bjron had landed a hit. I was running on fumes and duty and pure spite at this point.
"I didn’t do it for you," I said stiffly.
A lie.
A truth.
A half-truth.
I didn’t know anymore.
"I had to deal with Bjron. That’s it. It just happened that you were there."
I felt her nod slowly.
"I see... even so, thanks for saving me."
At that moment, a system notification appeared before me.
---
[Veil Mask]
Item Type: Accessory
A plain golden mask once favored by the Sovereign.
Distorts others’ senses, making it difficult to clearly identify the wearer.
[Hidden Trait]: Alters the appearance and voice of the wearer for two hours. Can be used once per day.
---
[Effect of Appearance Change: 30 seconds left]
---
Thirty seconds.
My eyes flicked to the timer hovering in the corner of my vision. The system’s interface blinked softly, a quiet reminder that my illusion was almost up.
I... I was running out of time.
She couldn’t see that. She shouldn’t.
"...Lila," I murmured, slowing my pace and slipping us into a narrow bend between the rock walls.
She shifted against my back. "Mm?"
"I need you to rest. Just for a bit."
"I am resting."
"No. I mean—don’t look back. Don’t ask questions for a few minutes."
Her grip tightened on my shoulder, and then—very slowly—she nodded against my back. "Okay."
Twenty seconds.
I slid her gently off my back and laid her down on a pile of discarded canvas, just enough to cushion her weight. Her hair spilled over the rough fabric.
She watched me with heavy eyes, confusion barely masked.
I didn’t say anything for a few seconds and focused on my senses.
Tap—! Tap—! Tap—! Tap—!
Multiple footsteps headed this way—probably Mira with her mercenary group.
That’s good. They can take things from here.
I glanced back at Lila.
"This is it, Lila," I said.
Lila blinked up at me, her brows furrowed faintly.
"What do you mean?"
I didn’t want her to see what lay beneath the mask.
"You’re safe now," I said. "They’ll find you. Mira’s probably close. Her group’s good at what they do."
I reached into my coat and slipped a small sigil stone into her hand.
"Just in case they miss you. Break this. It’ll call them."
Lila’s fingers barely curled around it. She was trying to stay strong, but I could already see the edges of her slipping—tired, fevered, worn raw.
"And you?" she asked, her voice a whisper.
I forced a smile. I didn’t know if it looked kind or cruel. "I’ve got somewhere else to be."
Ten seconds.
She tried to push herself up, her hand reaching for me—like she could anchor me to the ground, to the moment.
"Wait, Eren—"
"You’ve got the wrong idea about me, Lila," I said, quiet and steady, though my chest was screaming.
"I don’t care," she whispered.
"Rest."
Five seconds.
"Ghoststep!"
I activated my Ghoststep skill.
Three...
Two...
And vanished before her.
One.
Lila didn’t say anything, just clenched the leather coat that had been given to her by Eren to cover her body as she stared into the empty space.
Mira’s voice rang out, firm and commanding.
"Miss Lila!"
...And with that, everything was over.
She was safe. Her hired mercenary group was also safe.
But she still felt a sense of emptiness.
She didn’t know why. But she did.
"He didn’t take his payment with him."
Lila mumbled under her breath.