Chapter 55
{ I apologize for not being honest with you before, but the truth is, I couldn’t read your thoughts from the beginning. Or rather, I couldn’t hear them. Not until you deliberately sent a message to me. }
{ …Then, why did you stare at me when I was in fox form? You weren’t doing that because you already knew, were you? }
{ Of course, while I couldn’t hear anything specific, I could sense that you were thinking. It’s not exactly common to come across a fox that thinks like a human… That’s why I found it so strange. }
“Ah…”
Lea was so stunned she was momentarily speechless. She had been convinced that, in her previous life, Derek had dug through every single one of her thoughts.
That must have been why he had looked at her with such scornful eyes.
Now it felt as though she had fallen into a trap of her own making, and she couldn’t speak for a while.
After some thought, she abruptly stood up and said,
“Would you both please follow me for a moment?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Ah, yes.”
Zion and Derek followed the petite woman into the back of the dressing room. Lea reached into the area where dresses were hung and pulled out a large box.
The box looked so heavy, it was hard to believe someone of her size had moved it.
“My lady, allow me.”
“Hah, it is a bit heavy. Thank you, Sir Zion.”
“Think nothing of it.”
As he watched Zion quietly help her, Derek suddenly felt ashamed. He had never taken the initiative to do anything before, and now he was embarrassed that he hadn’t stepped up to help her first.
“What is this…?”
Following her instructions, Zion opened the box. Inside, it was packed full of gold coins.
Lea looked between the surprised Zion and Derek, then smiled brightly.
“I don’t intend to make you my personal escort, Young Master Felitier. Instead, I need you to carry out the task I asked you to do outside the palace.”
“But, my lady…”
“Yes, what Sir Zion said is true. And the young master will also need a proper title, so Sir Zion, I’ll leave that to you.”
“Understood.”
“This is something only the two of you can do.”
Lowering her voice as though sharing a secret, Lea prompted both men to instinctively lean in closer to listen.
“I want to create a financial channel outside the palace. A stream of funds I can pull in and use at any time.”
“My lady…”
“Young Master Felitier, you can read people’s thoughts, so you should be able to meet merchants’ needs with precision.”
“Ah…”
“But since he still lacks power, Sir Zion, I’ll need you to cover for him where necessary. And from now on, both of you should visit me regularly. Guiding not only purifies Espers, but can also improve the quality of their abilities. Of course, the effects only come with consistent guiding.”
The way Lea spoke—clearly prepared, as if she’d planned it all out—left both men staring at her as if entranced.
Derek, in particular, began to wonder if he were dreaming.
Could someone whose life had been as miserable as his suddenly be allowed such brightness and hope?
“Especially you, Young Master. I think I can help you most of all.”
“…With what, exactly?”
She had already helped him so much. What more could she possibly do? His heart pounded wildly, and he didn’t even try to hide the flush that overtook his face as he looked only at her.
“Control is essential when it comes to guiding. I’ll teach you how to control it.”
Zion, startled, had taken her hand without realizing it and then quickly pulled away in surprise.
“Since you’re both here, I’ll guide you now. Will you take my hand?”
He thought she was about to scold him for touching her without permission, but instead, she offered him guiding.
In that moment, Lea looked like a saint to Zion—someone the gods had sent to him as a gift.
Lea took both Zion and Derek’s hands, guiding them at the same time.
It was a method she had developed on the battlefield in her past life, simply to survive.
But she hadn’t known until her death that no other Guide had ever been able to perform guiding for two Espers simultaneously.
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