Chapter 35 - A talk

While Mila was sure she would come to regret knocking the infuriating man out, it sure felt satisfying. Her knuckles felt a bit raw from punching too hard, but it was nothing compared to the swelling on Nolman’s face.

Silinth appeared next to her and looked at the unconscious man with indifference before his mood swung back to being full of anger. He gritted his teeth and calmed down before speaking. “Nice hook.”

These mood swings had been happening more and more often. “Thank you. I don’t think this Nolman will be out for long.” Mila reminded.

“It’s okay, you got him good.” Silinth didn’t particularly care. “All of you back to training.” He ordered before turning to Nordly, who was still looking at his old teacher in disbelief. “And you, get your Mom to come and look at this guy.”

“What?” Nordly was startled. He looked around before his eyes stopped on Mila and studied her as if she was a rare beast.

“Boy!” Silinth imitated Nolman’s tone to bring Nordly’s attention back to him. “Get your ass moving and bring your Mom to see if Mila didn’t damage this guy’s brains.” He considered the body. “Damage them even more.”

“Oh, okay.” Nordly sent another look at Mila before leaving.

“Think he will give up now?” Silinth looked at the boy as he left.

Mila sighed. “Either that, or he will come after me even harder. And I don’t think he is quite done yet.” She lamented. Then her gaze landed on Isabel, who was licking her lips. “I guess it’s fine.”

The only saving grace was Isabel had not picked up on Nordly’s interest in Mila yet. She just found him annoying, as he tended to butt between them those few times they were alone.

Isabel finally averted her eyes and faced Andrew properly. Mila watched her not-quite-girlfriend trash their friend.

While Andrew continued to prove himself the more capable caster, Isabel was naturally adept at reinforcing her body with mana. To a point, Mila found it ridiculous.

Without an opponent, Mila was content watching Andrew’s misery until Nordly returned, trailing behind his Mother.

“What is Nolman doing on the floor?” Hanna stumbled a bit. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus them. Her sleep had been sporadic for the past week. Most of the time, she was doing one experiment or another.

Mila suspected the strong smell of medicine that clung to the woman's body didn’t come just from those experiments.

“He was making too much noise, so Mila took care of him,” Silinth remarked while cleaning his ear.

Hanna looked at Mila with furrowed brows, then leaned down to touch Nolman’s temples. She started to manipulate mana, injecting it into the man and checking for any damage. “He is fine, a couple of bruises notwithstanding. Well, there is a slight concussion, but he will live.” She finally concluded. “Galtron, please move him outside. Drop him on a nearby bench or something. I don’t care. Tell guards to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t make more fuss than he already has.”

The nearby standing housekeeper bowed and moved immediately.

Mila silently watched the intruder being removed while Nordly fidgeted by her side. “Shall we continue?” She finally suggested.

Nordly hesitantly nodded.

It was all Mila needed. She took a page from Isabel’s book and bullied the boy for the following half an hour.

When all was said and done, Mila felt refreshed. At some point, Nordly’s previous teacher had tried to get back in but had been silenced by someone.

Unfortunately, ever since the first night here, Tiff had joined them every time they bathed, so Mila didn’t get to flirt with Isabel during those times.

And Isabel had snubbed Mila’s invites to spend time together a couple of times now.

Not that Mila blamed Isabel. Her girl had not taken it well when Mila had refused to include Isabel in her plans to raid the temple. Especially since Andrew was included.

But what could Mila do? Isabel would be more of a liability than an asset in the operation. Isabel’s set of skills just didn’t lend itself well to stealth. Mila had been honest, and it had not turned out ideal.

At least Isabel was not giving her the cold shoulder. Not really, just-

Mila sighed.

Isabel had asked for extra lessons from Silinth and refused to let Mila partake. For a few days now, they both had taken the passage out of the city into the forest and trained there.

Andrew joined them as well, as he wanted to spend time with his wolf.

It wasn’t like Isabel was purposely giving her cold shoulder. She still was agonising over how her shield looked and kept getting flustered if Mila saw it. She also was generally distracted if Mila was present.

So, it left Mila mostly alone during the evenings. Tiff was still mostly avoiding her, Kefo was getting more and more grumpy from the lack of progress - on several fronts, and she didn’t particularly want to talk with the brothers due to Nordly’s admittedly decent. if annoying, attempts at flirting.

Mila had tried talking with Harry, but the man was all numbers and rumours. Hanna was too busy in her study, consuming increasingly suspicious-looking liquids. The woman was not taking Silinth’s seemingly inevitable demise well.

As things were, she was looking at another dull evening spent digesting the information Mr Crow had gathered.

So when Mila heard a hesitant knock on her door, she was surprised. Nordly would have done with more confidence, and no one else would bother her in her room.

“Yes, you can enter.” Mila fixed a rebellious flock of hair. She moved to one side of her bed and sat there, trying to look nonchalant.

The doors slowly opened, and Isabel peeked inside. “Are you free?” She timidly asked.

“For you? Always.” Mila invited her girl in. She patted the spot next to her.

But Isabel didn’t sit down in bed. Instead, she chose the chair, which she dragged closer to Mila and sat down in front of her.

“I wanted to have a talk.” Isabel looked into Mila’s eyes.

“Uh, em,” Mila found herself stammering. This wording and Isabel’s actions made her think of the worst. “D-Did I do something?” She tried to recall where she had messed up.

Was it because she had teased Isabel in front of Hanna and Harry? Isabel had been quite angry about that. But that couldn’t be it.

Was it because Mila had pretended to mix up their clothes and wore Isabel’s? But Isabel had clearly liked that.

Okay, maybe it had something to do with her plan to raid the temple. That was their current point of contention.

It had to be it.

But what could she do? With Silinth getting more problematic, Mila couldn’t postpone the operation for much longer. The presence inside her was growing more demanding as well.

Mila took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She failed, but she couldn’t run. Her hands clenched, and she returned the gaze.

Isabel’s eyes were full of worry and warmth. Mila felt her body relax. It couldn’t be disastrous with the tenderness Isabel radiated.

“No, it’s not about anything you did.” Isabel shook her head. “Well, kind of?” She tilted her head. “I wanted to ask how are you?”

Mila blinked. “I am good?” She returned. “My condition has been steadily improving.”

“No, no, I mean, how are you feeling inside?” Isabel tried again.

“Isabel, I’ll be honest. I don’t understand what you are aiming at.” Mila furrowed her brows.

“I mean,” Isabel shuffled, clearly uncomfortable. “What are you feeling? Are you angry? Sad? Anything?”

“I don’t think I am feeling any negative emotions at the moment. Maybe a bit of annoyance at Nordly, but that’s about it.” Mila tried to think but came up with nothing.

Isabel sighed. “Mila, you were clearly furious earlier when you knocked out that man.”

“I don’t think I was.” Mila disagreed. “He was just annoying.”

“Really?” Isabel shook her head. “Is that it?”

“Yes.”

“I watch you more than anyone so-”

“Oh?” Mila allowed a flirtatious smile to appear on her lips.

“No, stop!” Isabel raised her hands and covered her face, guarding against the smile. “This is why I didn’t want to sit in the bed.” She complained. “You always do this!”

“Do what?” Mila was confused.

“That!” Isabel pointed at her. “That!” She repeated. “You make me blank out!”

“Well, that’s hardly a bad thing, Isabel.” Mila purred.

“Don’t do this! I am serious!” Isabel demanded.

It finally dawned on Mila that she was making a mistake. Her face twisted with regret, and she hung her head. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“As long as you understand.” Isabel huffed. “As I was saying - I am always watching you, so I can tell. You were angry, Mila.”

“That wasn’t the look you were giving me, Isabel.” Mila allowed a bit of resistance. Isabel had practically stripped her with eyes alone.

“That’s that, and this is this.” Isabel blushed. “Don’t change the subject!”

Mila nodded and tried to reflect. Had she been angry? She certainly didn’t need to knock out that fool. But he had been so irritating.

“So, I wanted to ask,” Isabel resumed. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Mila didn’t feel like thinking about it.

“You don’t know, or you don’t feel like telling.” Isabel saw right through it.

“I-” Mila opened her mouth to make a rebuttal, but nothing came out. “I don’t know.” She repeated instead.

“Mila, please, you can talk to me.” Isabel reached out and placed her hand on Mila’s knee.

“I don’t know.” Mila felt helpless. Had there been another time when she had felt like when knocking out Nolman?

There was. Back when she slaughtered those kidnappers. Mila had experienced something similar then.

“I’ll wait.” Isabel gave a reassuring smile.

Mila’s mind felt like mud. Every time she tried to move it, she got stuck. “Will you hug me?” She asked instead, unsure if Isabel would. Her body felt the need for warmth. She craved it.

“Of course.” Isabel leaned forward and gently slid her arms around Mila’s slender figure. She pulled the smaller girl close, giving the needed comfort.

Mila felt her mind calm down. She returned the embrace and buried her face into Isabel’s nape. She slowly tried to think of what caused this hiccup.

And the answer came with difficulties. Mila didn’t like to think about the memories she had. There rarely was anything pleasant about them.

But the lives those people of the past led, those- Those had made Mila who she was. For the longest time, those deceased people were her closest friends.

“Will you listen to what I have to say?” Mila’s voice almost broke.

“Of course,” Isabel whispered. She effortlessly pulled Mila into her lap.

It felt strange to let herself be so vulnerable. Mila’s fingers cramped into Isabel’s clothes.

“You know-” Mila searched for words. “That sword style I use. It’s not the only one I know.” She began.

“Uhm,” Isabel hummed and encouraged Mila to continue.

“But I picked this one. It just felt right.” Mila rubbed her nose against Isabel’s shoulder, letting the pleasant aroma relax her. “The woman who used it, her name was Nornja. She was-”

And Mila began the tale of the Nornja. How she fought to keep her squad well-equipped. How she spent her time with them. How she couldn’t hold her drinks. How she ravaged her opponents.

Mila spoke more and more. And the more she spoke, the more she had to tell.

Isabel silently listened, only inserting a thoughtful hum here and there. Her fingers caressed Mila’s hair as she let their closeness bond them together.

Mila spoke for a long time. Long past midnight. It didn’t feel good, but it felt relieving. Her voice kept growing more and more silent before she slowly fell asleep.