"When did you get here?" Chen Xi asked casually. "Why didn't you say anything?"
The suspicion toward Cecilia that Lin Yue had dispelled last night now began to rise in Chen Xi's heart again.
"No..." Cecilia stammered in a panic. "I was just thinking about the duke, so I didn't notice you. Sorry."
"It's fine." Lin Yue smiled, smoothing things over. "Let's go."
Before the other two could say anything, she set off into the Resting Forest.
Seeing her move, Chen Xi had nothing more to say and could only silently follow.
Pressing her any further would be too obvious. This was just right, perfectly befitting a knight of the Order.
"Hey, wait for me!"
When Gu Yu saw the other three heading into the forest without looking back, she hurried after them.
The trees in the Resting Forest twisted at odd angles, and most were dead. A strangely rotten smell hung among them, and howls from unknown creatures occasionally rose from the overgrown underbrush.
Even the morning Blazing Sun could barely shine through the layers of branches in the Resting Forest. The place looked as if a ghost might appear at any moment.
"No wonder that coachman turned right around and left. I wouldn't do it either."
Gu Yu grumbled and quickened her pace, moving to the middle of the group.
Seeing how timid she looked, Chen Xi teased her. "What, are you scared of ghosts? They might not even be able to beat you."
"They should be the ones afraid of you."
"Of course I'm scared," Gu Yu said matter-of-factly. "I'm just a bard. Miss Black Rose, don't mistake me for yourself."
As she spoke, Gu Yu suddenly stepped on a dead branch.
The crack of the branch breaking made the blue-haired girl shriek.
Chen Xi laughed