Published: January 22, 2026
“Lady Shion, do you know them?”
A woman who looked like a maid asked the silver-haired woman called Shion.
“Hmm, if you say I know them, then yes, I guess so. Wait a minute. If these kids are here, could it be—”
“Waaaaaah!!”
Before I could process the sudden turn of events, Carol suddenly screamed and slashed at the silver-haired woman.
The silver-haired woman effortlessly blocked it with her staff.
“That was sudden. …Huh? Could you be Inglot…?”
The silver-haired woman muttered as she stared closely at Carol’s face.
“Lady Shion!”
Seeing Carol attacking, the people around the silver-haired woman directed a killing intent toward Carol.
(Carol…!)
It was scary, but this wasn’t the time to be afraid.
We had to save Carol!
I shook my trembling legs to steady myself and gripped my spear.
“Everyone, don’t make a move. I’ll handle this girl.”
While dodging Carol’s repeated slashes with two daggers, the silver-haired woman told her companions.
As I tried to move behind the silver-haired woman to flank her, countless spikes of ice shot up from the ground.
Startled by the sudden attack, I was able to dodge because the spikes emerged slowly enough for me to react.
Sophie seemed to be hit by the same attack, so both Sophie and I were hindered.
“Sorry for attacking suddenly. I don’t want you to interfere either. Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.”
The silver-haired woman smiled at us while deftly evading Carol’s attacks.
Her smile somehow resembled the reassuring smile our master would give us.
(Why…!? She was the one who led the people who tried to kill us six months ago…!)
Despite knowing that, I felt a moment of relief when she smiled.
Sophie seemed to feel the same, her expression conflicted.
“How dare you touch the two of them! I won’t forgive you!! If I don’t listen to them, Log and Sophie will die!!”
Carol’s loud shout snapped me back to reality.
She was yelling many things, but her words were incoherent.
“…Calm down. Both of them are incapacitated. Even if you don’t listen to them, your friends won’t die.”
“Shut up! Just get those two out of the ice! If you do this again, they’ll hit me again! I don’t want to be in pain anymore!!”
“Carol…”
Watching Carol now was painful.
Our master had quietly told us about the abuse Carol had suffered in the past.
Those twins were probably involved in that abuse.
Carol was terrified when she saw them because of that trauma.
… I never thought it had taken such a deep hold on her.
She often seemed like a mood maker who goofed around, but she never did anything to make us uncomfortable.
Being with her was comforting.
But now I understand a little.
In a way, her cheerful demeanor was a way to protect herself.
I had only been seeing the surface of her.
The silver-haired woman seized a brief opening and distanced herself from Carol.
Could she be about to use magic!?
“Don’t run! If you save the two, you might be praised! You might even see a smile! So I’m saving them!”
Carol shouted as she charged at the silver-haired woman faster than any speed I knew, even without my support magic.
The silver-haired woman, with a determined look, released the staff she was holding.
Then the staff disappeared into thin air.
Why did she store it in a storage magical tool?
Carol stabbed her dagger toward the silver-haired woman’s chest.
The silver-haired woman calmly accepted it without resistance.
Then she wrapped her arms around Carol’s body—the kind of hold that wasn’t restraining but more like a proper embrace.
“…It’s okay. There’s no one here who will hurt you. I understand why you can’t trust me after what I did six months ago. If it makes you feel better, you can stab me repeatedly. But please, calm down once.”
The silver-haired woman, unseen by Carol, was sweating from her forehead and grimacing in severe pain.
Still, she spoke kindly and gently stroked Carol’s head.
The merciless person from six months ago was no longer there.
Which one was the real her…?