Chapter 52: The Weight She Carries

After leaving the merchant’s mansion, or more accurately, what remained of it, Neo and Nora returned to the waiting carriage. The vehicle rolled forward once again, carrying them steadily back toward the capital.

Nora sat calmly across from him, her expression as composed as ever, as though nothing unusual had happened at all. Neo, on the other hand, couldn’t quite shake the unsettled feeling still sitting heavily in his chest.

’Damn. That’s the first time I’ve actually seen her like that. I thought maybe, after all these years, she’d changed enough that the whole "villainess" thing was just something from the anime that would never actually happen. But after today, I can’t say that with any real confidence anymore.’ He glanced at her carefully, his thoughts churning.

He finally broke the silence, leaning forward slightly.

"Nora. Was it really necessary to destroy his entire mansion? Including all his goods? You could have just negotiated with him instead."

Nora, who had been quietly watching the passing scenery through the window, turned toward him at the movement. She studied his expression for a moment, carefully reading his lip movement before finally answering in her usual calm and even tone.

"There was no need for negotiation."

Neo leaned in further, unwilling to let the matter go so easily. "Why not? Do you think he would have refused if you’d offered him a fair deal instead?"

Nora glanced briefly out the window again before returning her gaze to him.

"No. He wouldn’t have refused. If I wanted, I could have simply intimidated him into canceling his current deal and forced him into a new, binding contract that would have prevented him from ever pulling something like this again."

Neo’s eyes widened slightly, though he quickly settled back into his seat. "Then why didn’t you just do that instead?"

"If I had done that, he would have supplied the goods involuntarily, yes. But it wouldn’t have come without consequence. He would have simply raised the market price to compensate for the forced deal, which in turn would have driven up the actual cost of the goods themselves. That increase would eventually reach the common people, the very ones who rely on affordable prices to survive."

She continued, her voice steady and precise. "The business itself would have kept running, certainly, since no merchant willingly pays out of his own pocket. But the burden would have ultimately fallen onto the public instead. And beyond that, we were already offering him a fair price, one that increased annually to match the rising cost of goods. He chose short-term profit over long-term trust, and in doing so, he lost his standing entirely. That was his decision, not mine."

"Besides, I have plenty of other merchants I can buy goods from, so there was no reason for me to cling to him."

Neo listened quietly, the weight of her words settling over him. For a brief moment, the person sitting across from him didn’t feel like a girl his own age at all, but someone far older, far sharper, the kind of calculated mind one might expect from the head of an entire merchant empire.

Because, in truth, that was exactly what she was.

"Well, maybe you’re right about all that. But destroying everything, the mansion, the warehouse, all of it, that still feels excessive."

Nora stared at him for a long moment before finally looking away, her gaze drifting back toward the window.

"I had permission from the Duchess."

Neo blinked, caught completely off guard. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"Wait, are you serious? Mother actually gave you permission to do something like that?"

Nora said nothing further, offering no explanation, seemingly unbothered by his obvious confusion. She didn’t even glance his way to read his expression this time, simply returning her focus to the passing countryside outside.

Neo’s shoulders slumped slightly in quiet frustration at not getting any real answer. He leaned back against the window, staring at the road ahead. His mind was now equally troubled by both Nora and his mother, leaving him to wonder just how many other secrets the two of them were carefully keeping hidden from him.

Eventually, the gentle sway of the carriage lulled him into sleep, his head resting lightly against the window frame.

...

Nora’s POV:

Once Neo’s breathing evened out into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep, Nora finally set her book aside, her attention drifting fully toward him.

She couldn’t hear the soft sound of his breathing, nor the quiet beat of his heart, but she’d long since learned to notice everything else instead. The gentle rise and fall of his chest. The slight parting of his lips. The way his silver hair fell messily across his forehead whenever he tilted his head just so.

The evening sunlight spilled gently through the carriage window, casting a warm golden glow across his sleeping face, making him look more striking than usual.

Quietly, carefully, she rose from her seat and moved to sit beside him instead, making sure not to disturb his sleep.

From this distance, she could see him even more clearly now. She could feel the warmth radiating faintly from his skin, catch the familiar scent that always seemed to cling to him after a long day. Something in her chest pulled instinctively closer, urging her to close whatever small distance remained between them.

She reached out slowly and rested her hand gently over his.

"Neo?" she murmured, though she knew he couldn’t hear the sound of her own voice.

She watched him closely, checking for any sign that he might have stirred. When his breathing remained slow and undisturbed, she let out a quiet breath of relief.

Carefully, she reached forward and guided his head to rest against her shoulder instead of the window frame. From here, she could feel his breath against her skin, watch the soft flutter of his eyelashes, admire the fine, delicate strands of his hair up close.

Her fingers trailed slowly along his hairline, eventually settling to cup the side of his face. A strange, unfamiliar warmth bloomed suddenly in her chest, her heart racing in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

"What are you doing to me?"

Her grip tightened slightly around his arm, her lavender eyes narrowing faintly, an unspoken possessiveness simmering quietly beneath her usually blank expression.

"What is this feeling? Is it just some side effect of using my ability? Or is it something else entirely?"

She let her hand drop from his cheek, pressing it instead against her own chest, feeling the rapid rhythm of her own heartbeat beneath her palm.

She continued watching his peaceful, undisturbed face, so completely free of the weight and tension that always seemed to follow adults through their daily lives.

Then, without warning, a thin trail of blood slipped from the corner of her lips.

She reached up and wiped it away instantly, almost mechanically, as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Her hand trembled faintly, an unfamiliar frailty settling briefly over her frame.

"You’re destroying me," she whispered quietly, her gaze never once leaving his sleeping face.

Slowly, a small smile crept onto her lips, not the careful, practiced expression she wore for the rest of the world, but something genuine, something soft and unguarded, the kind of smile she’d never once allowed anyone else to see.

She leaned closer and gently pressed her lips against his forehead. The warmth of his skin against her lips seemed to ease the endless, familiar pain she carried within her, if only for a brief moment. She kissed one of his cheeks, then the other, showering him with a series of gentle, affectionate kisses. Yet the boy remained completely unaware, sleeping peacefully beneath her tender attention.

Finally, she paused, her face hovering just inches from his own, her gaze drifting down toward his lips.

She reached up, tracing her fingertip softly along them.

"Next time, it will be this."

She pulled back slightly, though she made no effort to move away from the warmth of his presence entirely, carefully repositioning his head to rest more comfortably against her shoulder. Her fingers moved gently through his hair as she turned her gaze toward the setting sun spilling brilliant orange light across the horizon.

Her small smile faded within moments, the familiar, invisible pain creeping steadily back into place, spreading through her chest like a thousand tiny needles pressing endlessly against her soul.

But Nora, who had carried this same suffering since the very day she was born, felt nothing unusual in it any longer. She simply focused instead on the warmth beside her, letting it quietly drown out everything else.

She closed her eyes, resting her head gently against his, and allowed herself, finally, to drift peacefully into sleep.

...

[A/N: Quick Questions!]

>After reading this Chapter, what do you think Nora’s personality is like?

>What did you expect her to grow into— a silent, obsessive type, or a fully developed yandere? 👀

Comment the answer below.

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