Chapter 51: Unexpected Conversations.
"Leslie is dead. Unfortunately, her true body died in a fire, right here at camp, just two days after you guys left... How coincidental, isn’t that right, Damien?"
The tent was illuminated by the warm glow of several torches. Damien’s undead body possessed an unnatural resistance to the cold, yet despite the lingering warmth surrounding him, an icy chill still crept down his spine.
"You killed Leslie. What’s that supposed to accomplish?" Damien asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Damien, don’t make pointless assumptions. I wasn’t even the last person she saw before the unfortunate accident. As far as we know, you might’ve been the last. Her clones do send back their memories after they die."
Damien frowned lightly.
"So this is what this is... you’re trying to blackmail me. Why?"
Andrea’s hazel eyes curved into a faint slit. They were beautiful in a way Damien found strangely unsettling, calm, confident, and impossible to read. The way she looked at him made his heart skip a beat, but then he remembered his heart wasn’t beating inside his chest, and the ridiculous thought immediately pulled him back to reality.
"You’re the leading member of the Round Table. If you had Leslie killed, then you must’ve done it for similar reasons as me... You’re afraid of Naomi and her Dormant Ability. Not to mention her status is probably unique, like mine. Come to think of it, the other members of the Round Table should also possess unique statuses tied to their Awakenings."
Damien paused. Andrea’s hazel eyes gradually grew colder.
"Seris mentioned that you had a special status effect, but she didn’t really know what it was. I’m guessing the real reason you’re coming after me is because you’re afraid... afraid your status effect doesn’t work on me, just like how Seris’s Dormant Ability doesn’t even register my existence."
The tent fell silent after Damien finished speaking. Andrea wasn’t actually angry. If anything, she seemed impressed. After a long moment, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Damien, you’re really special, you know that. You were mostly guessing, and basically everything you just said was absolute nonsense... You’re clearly a man who needs help, but don’t worry, I’m here to help you and everyone in this camp. I will get you home, and you will receive the proper care that you so desperately need."
Damien was taken aback.
"Did she just call me insane?"
"Andrea, I don’t know what you want, or why you’re doing this. But if you cross me, your abilities won’t be able to protect you from me... I will kill you."
Before Andrea could respond, the cloth covering the tent’s entrance was pulled aside and a pale-skinned woman with short jet-black hair quietly stepped inside.
Yuri paused awkwardly for a moment.
"Andrea, I didn’t know you were here. I brought grilled fish."
For the briefest moment, Andrea’s eyes remained fixed on Damien’s icy blue pupils before she finally turned her head toward Yuri.
"Did Claire grill the fish?"
Yuri nodded.
"Then I would much like to live to see another day."
Without another word, Andrea stood up and left the tent, leaving Yuri and Damien alone with the lingering silence. Yuri carefully set the grilled fish aside before sitting down beside Damien’s bed.
"What were you two talking about? It sounded intense."
Damien quietly admired Yuri’s flawless skin. She really was beautiful. He felt like an idiot for not noticing it before, although that was probably because the first time they met she had been covered in mud and locked inside a cage. But now that he’d nearly died for the second time, he suddenly felt a need to admire what he had in front of him.
"No, nothing much really. But she did sum up my accomplishments to a rock on the ground, so that was probably it."
...
The bustling camp had gradually quietened down over the last couple of days, allowing Naomi to move freely without drawing much attention to herself.
She entered a large tent and pulled the entrance flap shut behind her.
"Vincent, get out here. You must explain yourself to me."
There was a brief moment of silence before the cloth covering an inner chamber was pushed aside. A confident-looking man with perfectly styled hair, a neatly ironed blue suit, and a black walking stick stepped into view.
It was Vincent.
As always, he wore the same calm, confident smile.
"Naomi, surely a lady of your status should carry herself with proper etiquette... Tell me, with what revelations do you come before me with?"
Naomi remained silent, glaring daggers at Vincent. She hated him, but she also needed his strength. For now, she could only swallow her resentment toward the eccentric man.
"We had an agreement, you and I. You help me, and I help you."
Vincent casually cracked his neck, almost as though relieving tension that didn’t actually exist.
"Yes, I remember. How could I not when you keep reminding me? But I must ask... what makes you so certain your sister didn’t die in an accident? The scene itself looked rather convincing to me."
Naomi kicked over the table of refreshments in a fit of rage.
"Don’t play dumb, Vincent. I know you’re not an idiot. There’s no way an Awakened simply burned alive in a fire. She could’ve used her Dormant Ability to escape, and yet she didn’t. Someone killed her, and it was definitely someone much stronger, perhaps almost as strong as we members of the Round Table."
Vincent looked down at the scattered refreshments with genuine disappointment. Those weren’t exactly easy to come by in a barren wasteland.
"Or perhaps a member killed her. It did happen rather quietly, after all."
Naomi fell silent before slowly shaking her head.
"No. I have reason to believe it wasn’t a member of the Round Table who attacked her that night, but the attacker was definitely acting under the orders of one."
Vincent’s expression soured, though only for the briefest of moments.
"So... you had us all followed. Not very trusting, are we now?"
"Don’t speak to me about trust. Which one of you doesn’t have followers tailing the other members of the Round Table?" Naomi snapped.