Elin glanced at the right side of the tent, where there was a simple bedding.
"I had the guards bring it from elsewhere," she said.
Elin looked at the bedding, then turned to her, who had turned her head to the other side.
"This is pointless, Glocara. We're not at home. Do you know how these things are done? Just like at home, you sleep in the bedroom alone, and I take the sofa in the living room, with a door separating us. If you really want to cause a scene, at least do it properly. Now, even if you don't let me sleep next to you, the distance between us is only a step away. Honestly, back then, when you fell asleep at night and unconsciously rolled over to the edge of the bed, the distance between us was greater than it is now. It's like someone going on a hunger strike but still drinking water and eating bread, just avoiding the ham. Do you really think it's meaningful?"
"So now it's my fault." Elin paused for a moment, lowering his voice. "Glocara, I've told you before, you don't have to come. 'Don't mind what Jorgen says, your own thoughts are important,' that's what I told you then, do you remember? In fact, I'd rather you stayed home, to accompany Elaine and relax a bit. This thing really has nothing to do with you, I don't want you to get involved, and with both of us fighting like this, Elaine is affected too. I've told you this, but you've ignored it all."
"Elaine doesn't know. When she was at home, we didn't sleep separately."
"You're lying to yourself, Glocara. You know how smart she is, she won't miss anything. In fact, the fact that you're defending yourself like this now shows that you're starting to regret it. I know you care about her."
Elin squatted down, getting close to her.
"Glocara, listen. I think you understand now why the work of the MI7 cannot be mixed with life. This situation can't continue. So I hope you think carefully now, about our relationship..."
"I'm just confused. I didn't expect so much," she turned her face to look at him.
"I'm not asking for an answer now. I'm just asking you to think about it. Who knows what we'll encounter next. Whether our thing works or not, I suggest we deal with it after this mission ends. I know you're not in a good mood, but all this temper, nonsense, I really don't want to go through it again, either as a man or as a MI7 agent. This is a battlefield, and I'm tasked with dangerous missions, and you're involved, so we can't joke around. So, even for the sake of our safety, please don't deliberately pick a fight with me like this, give me more headaches. Can you accept that?"
Glocara looked at her toes and nodded. After a while, she said, "I'm sorry."
"Now move in a bit. I want to sleep."
Glocara lay down, turned her back to Elin, and moved closer to the edge of the tent cloth. Elin took off some of his clothes and lay down, also turning his back to her, pulling over the blanket she hadn't fully used to cover himself. There was about two inches of space between their backs.
"I'm not really mad at you," Glocara said after half a minute. Because she was speaking towards the nearby tent cloth, her voice sounded like it was coming from a seashell filled with sand.
"I know. And honestly, I probably underestimated the impact of this on you. After all, you've been with him for so long."
"I wanted Jorgen to bring him out back then. Jorgen said he was an enemy."
"He has his reasons. You know, we can't influence his judgment."
"When are you going to Stormgarde?"
"Departing tomorrow noon, or possibly the day after. You can't come, Glocara, you have to stay here."
"I know. I don't want to go back there either. How long until you come back?"
"Hard to say. Excluding travel time, probably two or three days at Stormgarde. If you really feel bored and want to wander, just be careful not to go too far. Remember to always stay within the sight of the guards."
"I'm not a child. I can take care of myself."
"Of course, I'm just reminding you. Let's stop talking and go to sleep."
Five minutes later, Elin knew from her breathing that Glocara had fallen asleep. He felt an urge to turn over and hold her, but to avoid reigniting the argument that had just settled down, he refrained. He found it hard to sleep, with many troubles weighing on his mind.
Half a year ago, Elin was also interested in what Jorgen was really doing at Stormgarde. But when Jorgen returned shortly after and presented Elin with all the facts along with a lot of data, Elin found it hard to calmly digest everything, a mindset that was rare for him. He had never investigated what the undertaker was up to.
"Why tell me all this?" he said to Jorgen. "This should only be known by you, Mardias, and the Old Man."
"I made a mistake, Elin," Jorgen said. "I didn't have time to resolve this properly. And given the current situation, I may not have another chance to return to Stormgarde to correct this mistake. I believe it's not over yet. So the next time it resurfaces, I may need your help."
" 'May'? You've shown me everything, basically saying I have to go. So tell me, when do I leave?"
"Not now, of course. This needs to calm down for a while. I revealed everything to you so early just so you could study it properly and prepare in advance. Remember, it's confidential."
"Yeah, confidential. How could I forget something so important, I definitely need you to remind me... Okay, stop looking at me like that. I know this joke isn't funny."
For Elin, one of the biggest outcomes of this pre-study might have been getting to know Glocara again. His initial feeling towards her was curiosity: what kind of human woman could earn Tusha's trust? As they interacted more, he quickly forgot about this question, thinking that this troll would have no effect on them, until three weeks ago. Jorgen told Elin, it was time.
"Captain Niaes led some people to the city to protest against Galin's use of corpses, causing quite a bit of chaos. Tribesmen took the opportunity to steal the Tolkar sword. Witnesses said at least one of those people was a troll."
"Do you think that troll could be Tusha?" Elin said.
"When I left Stormgarde, he was still Galin's prisoner, and the thieves entered the castle from outside. From this point of view, it shouldn't be him — but hear me out. Stealing the sword was a major blow to Galin, but the enemy's goal is not just that. They spread rumors, saying they're willing to return the sword on the condition that Galin hands over Lawrence Romano."
"So regardless of whether Tusha was involved, the undertaker's business has leaked to the tribes."
"And it gets worse. The enemy is publicizing the whole thing, and now maybe everyone in Arathi Highlands has heard of Lawrence's name and knows he was involved in some experiment Galin led. You can imagine the reactions of Niaes's people. Galin's first reaction was extremely reckless — he publicly denied Lawrence's existence, saying it was all a tribal scam. His speech backfired, spreading suspicion from the refuge valley to Stormgarde. Next, Galin went even further, citing rebellion as a reason to restrict supplies to the refuge valley's army. Lieutenant Varokar, responsible for relaying his messages, became a hostage of Niaes's soldiers and revealed that Lawrence did exist. At least he once did."
"The king really has a tough job. Especially someone like him."
"Listen, the biggest problem for us this time is the lack of information. Lawrence, Tusha, and maybe even Renner, where they are, alive or dead, we don't know. But there's a particularly strange situation in the whole thing that's favorable to us: so far, no one has mentioned the MI7. Maybe there's a rumor or two, but they haven't had much impact. The enemy stealing the Tolkar sword to exchange for Lawrence is clearly to hit both Stormgarde and gain the undertaker's technique. It's a big ambition, but for whatever reason, it hasn't harmed the MI7. I hope your top priority is to ensure the MI7 doesn't become anyone's target. After that, do your best to prevent the tribes from obtaining the undertaker's technique, whether it's Lawrence or research data. Safeguarding the security and dignity of the Kingdom of Arathor is not your responsibility to consider. Of course, if you can find a way to sell a little favor to Galin, that's fine."
"In short, if necessary, I can choose to destroy all evidence related to the MI7's research. I mean, including both data and witnesses."
"Try not to kill anyone."
"Of course," Elin said. Because witnesses also included Lawrence, Tusha, Renner, and Crecyda. And the unlucky prince.
"There's one more thing, I hope you roughly explain the situation to Glocara and bring her along."
"Why?"
"She's the only one who understands Tusha. At least better than anyone else. I've already said the biggest problem this time is the lack of information, so..."
"She's a civilian, Jorgen. She can't handle this kind of thing."
"Don't interrupt me when I'm briefing on the mission, Elin. I only care about how to complete the mission, and you should think from that perspective too."
"She'll think I'm using her. And she'll definitely know that this time we're really treating Tusha as an enemy."
"Either you tell her yourself, or bring her to me."
Elin was silent for a moment.
"Fine, I'll tell her myself. Consider this you owing me."
"This is a mission. What do I owe you?"
"I don't know, but I'll remember it. You better remember too. You owe me, you owe Glocara, you owe Elaine. Anyway, consider it you owing our whole family."