How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 16
Chapter 3. High Risk, High Return
“Miss, good morning…! Huh?”
Haley, who was about to greet Angelina excitedly as she came down the stairs, widened her eyes upon seeing her haggard face.
“Oh, Miss? Are you not feeling well?”
She hurriedly attended to Angelina with a surprised look. While fidgeting anxiously, she skillfully flowed mana into Angelina’s body to check her condition.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong… Perhaps the bed was uncomfortable?”
“The bed was fine. I just woke up once at dawn.”
“Why at dawn?”
“I fell asleep with the window open.”
“Oh no!”
Haley quickly checked her temperature as well.
“You don’t have a fever.”
“I’m just tired, but my body is fine.”
Angelina spoke lightly and sat down at the table.
Haley erased her worried expression, relieved that Angelina said she was alright.
But Laura, standing next to Haley, was different. She stared at Angelina with quite a serious face.
“…Miss.”
She began to speak after seeming to hesitate for a moment.
“It’s not like that.”
However, Angelina, who realized what Laura was about to say, preempted her.
“I really just got cold because I slept with the window open.”
“I closed the window yesterday…”
“Once I woke up, I just couldn’t fall back asleep.”
“…Miss.”
“I’ll sleep in the carriage. Don’t say anything else.”
Angelina poured out words to prevent Laura from saying anything more.
“And absolutely don’t tell my brother.”
Laura’s expression darkened further at the final added remark.
“Miss.”
“If you tell my brother about things like this, I won’t be able to bring you along.”
“…I understand.”
Laura finally had to take a step back.
“I’ll prepare a comfortable blanket in the carriage.”
Instead, she moved in the direction of assisting according to Angelina’s wishes.
Only Haley, not understanding the strange conversation that had passed between the two, rolled her eyes in confusion.
━━━━༻❁༺━━━━
Angelina fell asleep quickly after getting into the carriage.
It seemed the fatigue accumulated from not sleeping properly yesterday was released in the comfort of the makeshift bed.
When she opened her eyes, a day had already passed.
Knock. Knock.
“Miss, it’s me, Haley.”
Not long after she regained consciousness, Haley knocked on the door looking for her.
“Are you awake?”
Although she knocked because she sensed movement, she asked in case Angelina wanted to ignore her.
“Yes.”
Knowing Haley’s intention, Angelina answered in a particularly loud voice. She stretched as she got up.
“Would you like dinner?”
“Yes.”
Since she was too hungry to sleep anymore, Angelina climbed down from the makeshift bed.
When she opened the carriage door, she saw that the knights had already finished preparing the camp.
Zeke, the knight commander, made eye contact with Angelina and bowed slightly before continuing his work.
“Was everything alright?”
Angelina asked Haley, who was standing in front of the carriage.
“Of course it was!”
Haley answered with a somewhat exuberant smile. Seeing her look like a child seeking praise, Angelina patted her head. Her voluminous curly hair felt nice to stroke.
“Miss.”
Laura also approached her.
“Did you sleep well?”
Perhaps because they had entered the Dark Forest, she wasn’t wearing her usual apron. Instead, she was wearing a simplified leather armor.
“Laura, what on earth did you do to that makeshift bed?”
“Was something uncomfortable?”
“It’s terribly comfortable.”
Angelina spoke as if grumbling and stretched once more.
“I slept too well.”
Only then did the worry disappear from Laura’s face.
At that moment, Angelina suddenly noticed a purple stain on Laura’s clothes. Her head tilted in curiosity.
“Laura, isn’t that a bloodstain?”
The purple liquid staining the sleeve was clearly the same color as monster blood.
“Ah, you’re right.”
“Was there an attack while I was sleeping?”
Angelina asked, scanning her surroundings.
Did she sleep soundly through an attack?
No, even if there was an attack, there’s no reason for blood to be on Laura’s sleeve, a maid. Maybe for the knights, but…
As Angelina was puzzled, Laura calmly replied.
“No, there was no such attack.”
And Haley added,
“The barrier laid on the Tower’s Path is so strong! I’ve specially laid extra barriers at the campsite, so you don’t need to worry, Miss.”
“I know that, but…”
The Tower’s Path, the only route connecting the Magic Tower to the outside world, had overlapping barriers that monsters couldn’t easily invade.
Even without Haley’s explanation, Angelina knew this path was safe.
“Then…”
If so, why was there monster blood on Laura’s sleeve?
As Angelina looked at the sleeve with questioning eyes, Laura explained.
“Haley caught something for dinner. It must have gotten on me while preparing it.”
Laura pointed to something large placed among the knights as she spoke.
“Ah, dinner.”
Angelina, whose doubt was resolved, soon tilted her head again.
“A monster for dinner?”
After all, what Knight Commander Zeke was moving was none other than a monster carcass.
“Yes. It’s quite good if cooked properly.”
Haley said with a grin, rattling off information about the monster she had caught.
Angelina half-listened as she examined the carcass of the monster that resembled a giant pig.
Monster meat…
“Alright.”
As long as it doesn’t smell fishy, any meat was welcome.
With her curiosity fully satisfied, Angelina lost interest in the bloodstain and monster carcass and turned her gaze away.
“Well, while it’s being cooked, I’d like to wash up. Is there a river or lake nearby?”
“We did bring a magical shower device, but…”
As Haley hesitated, thinking it might be somewhat inconvenient for Angelina to use, Laura interjected.
“If you want a bath, I found a lake with underground water over there. It’s warm, might be a hot spring.”
“Really? Then, I’ll go soak there for a bit.”
At Angelina’s words, Laura gathered clothes and towels to follow her.
“I can go alone.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“With all these layers of barriers?”
“Barriers can be broken too.”
“Wouldn’t Haley be upset if she heard that?”
“Not at all! When it comes to Miss’s safety, we can never be too careful!”
Seeing Haley and Laura in such good sync at times like this, Angelina let out a small laugh.
There was no real reason to leave Laura behind, so she didn’t argue further.
“Have a good time! I’ll prepare the food!”
Receiving Haley’s send-off, Angelina slowly walked in the direction Laura indicated when she suddenly stopped.
Something black moving had caught her eye.
At first glance, it looked like a black dust ball rolling in the wind, which normally wouldn’t have garnered much attention.
But given that this was the Dark Forest, every movement warranted some suspicion.
Turning her head, Angelina spotted a black ball of fluff. She couldn’t tell if it was dust or fur.
The sapphire-like blue eyes made it clear it was a living creature, though.
It was hiding its body behind the bushes, with only its head peeking out.
‘…A fox?’
The half of the face visible above the undergrowth resembled a fox. It looked like a fennec fox with ears as big as its face.
However, the small, sharp horn protruding from the center of its forehead indicated it wasn’t an ordinary animal.
But if asked whether it was a monster, it would be hard to say yes.
There was no way a monster could penetrate both the Tower’s Path barrier and Haley’s barrier, and it was far too cute to be a monster.
‘Is it a magical beast instead of a monster?’
Unlike monsters that move only by appetite and instinct, magical beasts were intelligent beings with strange powers.
Though fewer in number, they were emotionally rich, capable of empathizing with humans, and intelligent enough to become human companions.
Even the previous Kadenhart Duke had partnered with a griffin magical beast to dominate the Empire’s skies.
The tale of how the griffin sacrificed itself to save the Duke when he was in danger was famous.
Of course, not all magical beasts were that brave and combat-capable, but they were certainly special.
If it was a magical beast, it would explain why the monster barrier didn’t work.
“Laura, over there…”
Angelina began, pointing to where the fox was.
However, when Laura turned her head in that direction, the fox vanished from sight.
It hadn’t run away or hidden. It disappeared smoothly as if a magician had used an invisibility spell.
“What is it?”
Laura, who hadn’t seen anything, turned back to Angelina.
As Laura’s gaze shifted away, the fox reappeared.
Its lush tail swayed enticingly as if whispering “Catch me if you can,” and its deep blue eyes fixed on Angelina sparkled like stars.
