Lydia and I stood close. Too close, maybe. Close enough that I could feel her breath brushing against my bare skin.

The tablecloth she'd wrapped around herself worked hard to do a job way above its paygrade: covering her from below the neck, struggling every time the breeze decided to test its limits.

The moonlight was bright tonight, silver and soft, it was a full moon after all. But my shadow covered her completely. I was taller, always have been. Must be around one-eighty, give or take, a head above Lydia even though she's three years older than me.

Not that my build made me intimidating. Thin frame, worn muscles. Sister Seraphina took good care of me when I was at the orphanage, resulting in my healthy growth but.. once I left at sixteen… life didn't exactly hand me proper meals or rest. My body shows that.

I plan to fix it though... I'm tired of running on scraps of stamina.

Anyway, neither of us moved. The silence between us stretched, thick and strange.

Lydia's brown eyes locked with mine, steady and sharp, refusing to step back even though I could see the awkwardness twitching at the edge of her expression.

I let out a soft hum. "Hmm~"Then, with a small smirk tugging at my lips, I asked, "What if I don't want to?"

Her eyes narrowed, just slightly. "You might want to reconsider," she said, and I saw the faint purple flare of her aura rise, flickering to sparks in the air.

"Whoa, whoa..." I said quickly, taking a step back and raising both my hands in mock surrender. "I wouldn't want my face to end up like theirs, now would I?"

I jerked my thumb toward Rack and Drane, who were tied up to a boulder nearby, faces bruised and swollen, unrecognisable, looking like they'd gone a few rounds with an angry mule.

Lydia didn't react. She just stared, her gaze fixed right into mine, calm and unreadable.

I sighed. She's no fun.

"Alright—" I started to say something, but she cut me off.

"Forget it," Lydia said abruptly, her voice tight. "You don't have to try so hard to tell your things to someone you don't trust enough to tell."

And just like that, she turned her back to me.

"Wha—" I started, but she didn't let me finish.

"Let's tie them to the mounts and head back," she said, already walking toward the boulder. "We have info that might be useful to Commander Tugnier."

Though Lydia tried to sound casual, I could hear it.. that faint disappointment hiding beneath her tone.

Before she could walk away, I reached out and caught her hand. Her head turned sharply toward me, eyes wide in surprise.

I didn't say anything at first. Just looked into her brown eyes, deep and steady, where the reflection of the moon behind me shimmered faintly.

A soft breeze swept through the forest, lifting a few dry leaves off the ground, their rustling the only sound between us.

"…What?" she asked quietly, her eyes darting away from mine. But even then, she didn't pull her hand back.

I gave her hand a gentle pull, not forceful, just enough to prompt her forward. And she came closer. Step by step.

Her head was still lowered, her eyes tracing the ground between us. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm, almost too calm.

"If you stand this close…" she murmured, "I might bite your neck again."

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. She really was a vampire.

"I'm okay with that," I said.

Her breath hitched just a little, but she didn't move away. She stayed there, caught between uncertainty and trust.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft but guarded.

"I want you to listen," I said.

That made her look up. Her brows lifted, just a little, as if she hadn't expected that answer.

"You don't have to, you know…" she said.

"I wanted to tell you everything anyway," I replied.

Then I slowly let go of her hand.

"But it's up to you if you want to listen."

"I want to," she said immediately.

Her tone left no room for doubt. The moonlight spilled past my shoulder, lighting her face, her brown eyes glimmering sharp and determined beneath it.

I exhaled. She was going to be my second crewmate soon anyway, so I'd have to tell her eventually.

"I already said I was a warlord in my past life," I began, "and that I know most of the future."

Lydia nodded slowly. She'd been there when I told the others I'd regressed. And after seeing me use aura, even if it was just a weak, novice amount of aura projection, she didn't doubt it anymore.

"But the future I know," I said, "isn't absolute."

Her brows furrowed slightly, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"That's because of the existence of systems."

I could almost see her mind working then, connecting dots, remembering how Kuro's merchant system worked.

She must've suspected for a while that I had one too, after finding about systems from Kuro.

15 minutes later.

"So… the system...Nexar, is here now?" she asked, confusion written on her face.

I could tell Lydia was trying to make sense of everything.

She looked almost like Sera did when I first told her, but Sera had caught on faster. That girl's been sharp since she could walk. Lydia, though newer to all this, was trying hard. I didn't blame her.

"I don't know. He sleeps a lot," I said.

I can call him, but I don't like waking him for small things.

"I'm sorry for forcing you to believe all this, from just my words alone.. like it's fact, but.. there isn't much I can do to prove it."

"No.. I'm glad you told me," she said, and I felt the uncertainty still there, more than with Sera. I've had Sera's trust since beginning. I can't expect that from Lydia after just some days.

[You would know her affection if she joins your crew.]

Dude, you awake?

[Just now.]

Yeah... I am not believing that.

"It might be hard to take in," I said aloud, tapping Lydia's shoulder. "We can go slow. I'll stay here until we deal with Merin."

I went to fetch my luggage and couldn't find it. Lydia must have loaded it onto the mounts, efficient, always.

"Right," she said.

She gave a small, strained smile. "I almost forgot you're our guest. It felt like you'd always been here."

"Missing me already? Before I even left?" I teased with a smirk. She didn't snap back as I expected; her eyes stayed soft for a moment.

"You really have to leave?" she asked, though she knew why I was going. "You can stay, you know."

"I'll be around," I promised. "I'll have to visit the Beast Kingdom often anyway. We'll see each other."

[That won't do. She's coming with us.]

I shot back, I can't force her to leave her family and friends.

[Oh, she will.] Nexar's annoyingly confident.

Having Lydia on my side would be a huge advantage. I liked the thought.

"Khckk."

A wet cough cut through the night from the boulder. We turned.

[That's right! Why is he still alive? I wanted him dead.]

"Don't throw a tantrum. I'll kill him," I muttered, looking down at Kuro. He was gagging, blood bubbling at the corner of his mouth.

Kuro's eyes were full of panic. "W-why am I still tied? I told you everything I know!" he croaked, staring at Lydia like she was some kind of devil.

"Oh, the info's only part of it," Lydia said with a mock-innocent smile. "I just wanted to torture you."

[Damn.. This girl will give Merin a run for her career.]

Naahh.. You don't even know half of what Merin does.

[Why do I feel you're proud of that?]

That's just your imagination.

Kuro begged again. "Please... leave me. I told you everything!"

Lydia sighed, turning toward him as if weighing the options. "Well…" she said slowly, starting to pace around him, "he didn't do anything to us directly, and his family is troubleso—"

Slash..

[Hell, Yeah!]

Before she could finish, blood drops flew before her eyes, as I stepped forward, grabbed Blood Raven, and ended the argument. My blade came down in a clean arc.

Kuro's head landed with a dull thud and rolled a short distance. Blood spattered the stones. The sound and sight were brutal and final.

"You saying something?" I asked Lydia, looking at the blood-flecked face where Kuro had been.

She sighed.

"Nothing..," she answered, a quiet surrender in her voice. She was done arguing.

"Let's at least take Drane and Rack back," she said. Practical, direct.

"Sure," I said, walking over to the boulder. I took my sword and cut the veins binding Rack to the stone. "I'll carry Rack," I told her.

"Oh, that's Drane, by the way," Lydia said cheerfully.

"I see.."

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