Gardenia's Heart

Chapter 66: Just the Two of Us

The thin air was heavy with dust.

Every step on the rocky ground, no matter how light, was enough to send echoes bouncing off the walls.

The proximity to the lake made it common for small drops of water to seep through the walls, creating layers of mold with an unpleasant odor.

When there was no light, the only way to see the surroundings was by feeling the sharp stone walls.

The girl didn’t like that place.

When freedom had been granted to her as a result of her struggle—even though she had no memory of the time spent here due to the magic suppressing her recollections—the suffering she endured in that place was burned deep enough into her soul to make her never want to return.

Yet, by her own will, the silver-haired girl was stepping into that place once again.

(Are you really okay with this, Lily?)

In a gentle tone, Nia's voice resonated in her mind. The tentacle brushing against her cheek showed just how worried the shapeshifter was about her wife.

“It’s you I should be asking that question. Is your body okay?” Lily asked, placing a soft kiss on the tentacle as her fingers moved away from the frozen rock wall, emitting a faint purple glow.

(It hurts. But pain will never stop me from being by your side, Lily.) The confident voice replied promptly.

Walking toward the edge of the passage that allowed her to see the vastness of the Caligo Mines, Lily almost had to turn her face away to hide how flushed she was.

“Alright, shall we?” Lily smiled. With all preparations ready, there was no time left to waste.

Jumping down toward the mine's ground, Lily took in the sight before her.

The work in the mine had come to a halt. There were no sounds of pickaxes or carts moving. As if a grand stage had been set for her return, all the workers were staring at her from the passages, their vacant eyes waiting for orders.

A dozen guards clad in gleaming armor stood at the center of the open space, forming a semicircle around two figures who stood out.

“She really came. I thought she’d never have the courage to return here after suffering such a humiliating defeat at my hands last time.”

Dressed in a combat suit, the young woman spoke with indifference. Her back leaned against the wall, and her left hand cleaned her star-dusted blade with a dry cloth.

Beside her, wearing the same type of combat uniform, a young man with a sword at his waist watched the silver-haired girl with an amused expression.

“Since she came, you lost the bet, Yumie. That means I get to fight this time. You’re not hogging all the fun like before.” His voice carried a tone of entertainment, as if the situation were thoroughly enjoyable to him.

Touching the hilt of his sword, the man glanced at his companion’s indifferent face, as if silently telling him, “Do as you please.”

Seeing her reaction, he couldn’t help but laugh. Curling the corner of his lips, he began to walk toward his newly arrived opponent. However, stepping between the line of guards, a man positioned himself in front of him.

“Please, sir Heston, allow me to handle this.” Bowing his head to the young man, a red-haired man with a ponytail spoke in a respectful tone.

Heston raised an eyebrow in displeasure, resting his hand on his hip and tilting his chin upward with irritation.

“John, do you know why the Lord put you in charge of the teams? It was because you were competent at what you did. You didn’t ask more questions than necessary and had a good eye for finding new labor. That’s the only reason you weren’t killed when you allowed intruders into this place during a selection day when the Lord was here personally. We lost contact with two teams. Failure after failure. How many more chances do you think you deserve?”

Heston's words felt distant, like the hollow echoes of someone looking at a man teetering on the brink of death.

“I swear I won’t fail again! I’ll start correcting my mistakes one by one, starting with this one!” John shouted louder, pouring every ounce of desperation into his plea, nearly dropping to his knees if that’s what it would take.

“You have one chance.” Heston nodded, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes. “The Lord’s only order was to take her alive. That means she can take as many wounds as necessary to make that happen. However, if you kill her, you’re dead.”

“Thank you, sir!”

Without daring to meet the young man’s gaze, John turned on his heel and began running. Raw, unfiltered rage coursed through his veins, so intense that the veins on his temple bulged visibly.

It all started with a silver-haired woman.

His men had died during an attack on an isolated village because they went out

“Y-Yumie…?”

His trembling eyes looked at the sword that had pierced through the chest of the silver-haired girl before him—the same blade that had also gone straight through his own body.

Too weak to even look behind him, Heston didn’t scream in pain as his body was flung to the side when his partner’s blade was pulled from him.

“Thank you for your years of service. I’ll tell the master you died honorably.”

Without sparing a glance at her fallen partner, Yumie strode toward the silver-haired girl on the ground.

A genuine smile of excitement spread across her face, so wide that her cheeks ached from how much her lips curved. Her surprise attack had succeeded.

Her soldiers were dead, leaving only her—but she had won.

“Your vile woman! Did you really think you could win this alone!?”

Pointing her sword at the woman with a gaping wound in her chest, Yumie declared her victory with unrestrained glee.

Yet, as though the hole in the center of her chest meant nothing, the silver-haired girl bleeding on the ground merely tilted her head.

“Seriously? Are you really that dumb? Didn’t you know? Marriage means not having to carry the burden alone!”

Yumie, confused, followed Lily’s confident gaze, scanning her surroundings.

No reinforcements had come. The situation should have been the same as it was before she declared her victory. So why did it feel like something had changed in the ruined cave?

It only took her a few seconds to notice. It wasn’t something significant unless you were specifically paying attention to it. It wasn’t logical to focus on such a detail during a life-or-death battle. But for that girl, it marked her victory.

With the water surging forward like an overwhelming force of nature, every single mana herb on the walls, from the first to the last, had been destroyed.

Yumie’s face contorted in panic as four tentacles wrapped around her neck, and a massive black ice crystal pierced through her chest.

Without even enough time to scream, all she could do was writhe in agony as she took her final breath.