Reincarnated as an Elf Prince-Chapter 133: Hiding Place (5)

Lira hadn’t sat back down. She moved along the edge of the room now, slow, silent. Checking things that didn’t need checking.

Her hand brushed one of the shelves. Adjusted a cup. Shifted a small pouch by the doorway.

Lindarion watched her. He didn’t speak right away.

When he did, it was quiet. Even.

"How strong are you?"

She didn’t look over.

"Stronger than most," she said.

"Not an answer."

She turned slightly, not facing him, just enough for her voice to carry back.

"I’ve survived things that would kill most mages. Walked out of more than one trap bleeding. Fought people with better technique. Won anyway."

He tilted his head a little.

’So… vague but confident. Typical dark elf answer.’

"You and Ren," he said. "You travel together?"

"Sometimes."

"Why?"

That finally got her to turn fully. She leaned back against the stone shelf, arms folded again.

"She’s useful. Fast. Hard to read. Scarier than she looks."

"She already looks like she’s planning a murder half the time."

Lira smiled. Barely.

"Exactly."

He adjusted where he sat. The blanket near his side still untouched. He didn’t feel like sleeping yet. Not with questions still open.

"Are you stronger than her?"

Lira blinked once. Then walked over and sat again across the fire, her back straight.

"Depends," she said.

"On?"

"What you count as strength."

He stared at her. Not annoyed. Just… waiting.

She kept her voice low.

"If we fought bare-handed, I’d win. If it was a chase, she’d win. If it was who can lie better without blinking… she’d win by a mile." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Lindarion didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth twitched once.

"And in a real fight?"

Lira looked at the fire.

"If I was serious? I’d win."

’That didn’t sound arrogant. Just… certain.’

He leaned forward.

"She’s strange," he said.

"She’s unpredictable."

"That doesn’t bother you?"

"It used to."

"And now?"

"She hasn’t betrayed me yet."

Lindarion looked at the firelight curling under the stones.

"Yet."

Lira gave a slow nod.

"You’re cautious."

"I’m alive."

Lindarion folded his arms loosely.

"So am I."

"You’re still learning."

"I’ve survived worse than most people my age."

"That doesn’t make you grown."

He didn’t answer right away.

Then he said, "It makes me tired."

Lira didn’t argue.

They sat like that a moment. Not speaking. Just letting the room breathe.

Then Lindarion looked up again.

"You ever fight someone with a Luminous Core?"

She nodded once. No pride. No hesitation.

"Years ago. Didn’t walk away clean."

Lindarion blinked.

’She said that like it was normal. Who the hell did she fight before she ended up in this place?’

He leaned forward slightly, voice quiet.

"And you won?"

"I didn’t die," she said. "That’s winning."

’…That’s not the same thing, but she isn’t really wrong.’

He studied her again, closer now. Not her eyes, not her stance. Her presence. There was something in the way she sat—like a blade that had been polished too many times.

"Ren?" he asked.

"She never said what her core is, and I can’t measure it properly." Lira replied.

"But I’ve seen her destroy things that should have stood longer. Maybe Luminous. Maybe not."

He didn’t like that answer. It felt like guessing the depth of a lake by how fast it swallows stones.

"She’s not careful," he muttered.

"She doesn’t need to be."

Lindarion went quiet.

Lindarion leaned back again. Not far. Just enough that the firelight shifted across his face. His eyes stayed open, but slower now. The kind of open that didn’t fully register the edges of what it was seeing.

Lira didn’t move. Her posture hadn’t changed in minutes. She wasn’t watching him like someone on guard duty. More like someone waiting for a decision to be made that had nothing to do with her.

His shoulders lowered a little more.

"You should sleep," she said.

He didn’t answer right away.

"Ren’s a light sleeper," she added. "Meren is already snoring through his own nightmares."

Lindarion let out a small breath. Not quite a sigh.

"I know."

Lira’s eyes stayed on him. "Then why stay awake?"

He blinked slowly. His voice came softer now.

"I don’t like closing my eyes when I’m not alone."

"I’m not going to touch you," Lira said.

"I know that too."

He shifted his weight. One leg bent under the other. His hand dropped away from his knee, fingers loose now. The fire gave off enough heat that the cold wasn’t biting anymore. It was just… there.

Quiet. Constant. Familiar.

"You’re safe here," she said.

"I’ve heard that before."

Lira didn’t argue. She just stayed where she was. Still as the wall behind her. Like she could wait all night if she had to.

He rubbed at the corner of his eye. The motion was slow. He didn’t even finish it. His wrist just dropped to his lap like it got bored halfway through.

’Still watching me. Good.’

The hum behind his ribs had softened. That quiet warmth had spread a little farther through his chest. Nothing sharp. Nothing strained. Just steady. Alive in a way he hadn’t been since the forest first went cold.

He let the feeling stay. Let it anchor him.

His head tilted slightly, resting against the wall now. Eyes half-lidded.

Lira watched. Her own breath even. Not slow. Not fast. Just steady enough to keep the air from going still.

"You don’t sleep like a prince," she said.

Lindarion’s lips curved the smallest amount.

"I don’t think a prince sleeps differently than others."

His eyes closed.

And for once, he didn’t force them back open.

—

The morning didn’t come in with sunlight.

It came in with the dull creak of frost giving way beneath boot leather, the soft rustle of movement, and Meren whispering something that ended in a loud yawn.

Lindarion’s eyes opened slowly. The fire had dropped to glowing embers, low and red beneath a blanket of ash. It hadn’t gone out completely. Someone had tended it once in the night.

’Definitely not me. Probably Lira.’