New Novel
Chapter 13: A new board

Chapter 13: A new board

Catrina looked at Leviana for a long time.

"You can only stay awake four hours a day, and you still think you can keep Lathel here?"

"I’m not keeping him by force."

"You’re relying on his promise."

"At least it’s a promise Lathel gave willingly."

Catrina couldn’t argue with that.

She knew Lathel’s character well. Once he had agreed to care for Leviana until she could walk on her own, he wouldn’t leave halfway through, even if someone offered him a safer place.

If Catrina forced him to go, Lathel wouldn’t feel protected. He would only believe he had abandoned someone who needed his help.

Leviana looked out the window. The sunlight had shifted off the sill, and the time she could maintain consciousness was running short.

"The previous life is our greatest advantage. We know what Aldric wants, which fortuitous encounters he’ll seek, and which people he’ll exploit. But if everything changes beyond recognition, those memories become useless."

Catrina said coolly: "You want to keep the future intact?"

"No."

Leviana answered at once.

"I want to change the outcome, but not recklessly destroy every condition that leads to it."

"What’s the difference?"

"We can stop my father from walking into the ambush, but we still need Aldric to believe his plan hasn’t been discovered. We can take away a Void Step Talisman, but we shouldn’t immediately corner him before we know which forces are protecting him."

Leviana paused briefly.

"If you save someone too early, she may never encounter the fortuitous encounter that was meant to be hers. If you kill someone before the necessary moment, the events tied to him may vanish or be replaced by something even more dangerous."

"You think you can control all of that?"

"No."

Leviana didn’t hide her limitations.

"I only want to control more than Aldric does."

Catrina gave a slight nod.

In the previous life, Leviana hadn’t been the strongest among the women who joined forces to destroy Aldric, but she was the one who understood him best. Most of the critical plans had been built on her analysis.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Right now I’m only conscious four hours a day and can’t investigate or move on my own. I’ll analyze the events of the previous life, identify which fortuitous encounters need to be preserved, which tragedies must be prevented, and the right moment to act."

Leviana looked at the black rose emblem on Catrina’s chest.

"You deploy Black Rose, monitor Aldric, and handle matters outside."

"I’m not your subordinate."

"I wasn’t planning to pay you either."

Catrina looked at her for a few seconds, then a very faint laugh escaped from behind the mask.

"Fine. But if anything involves Lathel, you don’t get to decide alone."

"I was about to say the same thing."

"Then we’re agreed."

Leviana nodded.

Both of them had failed in the previous life because they believed they knew what was best for Lathel. At the very least in this timeline, they shouldn’t repeat that mistake.

Catrina wiped the blood from her palm with a cloth, then asked: "What about the woman residing inside Aldric’s ring?"

Leviana’s eyes turned serious at once.

"Morgana Edevane."

A sorceress sealed away more than five hundred years ago.

In the previous life, Morgana had hidden inside a ring Aldric found at a ruin site. She taught him ancient magic, helped him identify many fortuitous encounters, and was also the first to show him how the Fate Usurpation Ritual worked.

Without Morgana, Aldric could never have stolen Leviana’s magic veins so quickly.

But later, the sorceress had betrayed him.

"Aldric planned to devour Morgana’s soul to perfect a type of magic," Leviana said. "She discovered it too late, and could only flee the ring before coming to us."

Catrina remembered that moment clearly.

Morgana had provided the locations of three backup bodies, helped destroy a resurrection ritual, and ultimately died fighting alongside them.

"If Morgana also came back, she could become an ally."

"Could."

Leviana stressed the word.

"But right now we don’t know whether she retained her memories. If she hasn’t, Morgana is still on Aldric’s side, teaching him how to steal the strength and destiny of others."

"I’ll have people monitor the ring."

"No direct contact."

"I know."

"And don’t try to take it either."

Catrina tilted her head slightly.

"You think I’m reckless enough for that?"

Leviana looked at her without answering.

Catrina was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Fine. What just happened doesn’t count."

"What’s Aldric’s current status?"

"My blade went through his shoulder and chest, but didn’t reach the heart. The Void Step Talisman carried him out of the gorge."

"Were you able to determine the teleportation direction?"

"No. But with those injuries, he’ll need somewhere safe enough to heal."

"This family will protect him."

"I can have Black Rose surround the estate."

"No need."

Catrina frowned.

Leviana said calmly: "A wounded animal runs to the place it trusts most. If you press too hard, Aldric will erase his tracks and go into hiding."

"You want to watch where he goes to heal?"

"Not just where he heals."

Leviana tapped her fingertip lightly against the armrest.

"I want to know who will shelter him, who helps deal with the men captured at Grail Pass, and after he realizes the storyline has changed, who he’ll go to for answers."

Catrina understood.

Aldric had just lost a life-saving card, and his plan had been destroyed. He had also seen a Catrina who shouldn’t have existed at this point in time.

In a state of panic, he was very likely to expose connections that were supposed to remain hidden for years.

"I’ll hold position."

"Observe only."

"Agreed."

Leviana closed her eyes for a moment. Drowsiness had begun to pull at her, but she still had one important matter to settle.

"For now, what we need to do isn’t continue attacking Aldric."

"Then what?"

"Find the others."

Catrina looked at her.

Leviana continued: "Determine how many of the women have come back, who still has their memories, and who can become an ally."

"Everyone who died alongside us shares a common enemy."

"In the previous life."

Leviana emphasized.

"But right now their tragedies haven’t happened yet. Some may not want to continue seeking revenge. Some may choose to run. And some, even knowing the future, may still want to rely on a Son of Fate for personal gain."

Catrina thought in silence.

Not all the women who had once worked with them loved Lathel. A few had only wanted revenge against Aldric, and a few had been pushed to the point where they had no other choice.

After returning to a time when they still had their families, their strength, and the chance to change the future, they might make entirely different decisions.

"There could also be someone who wants Lathel all to herself."

Catrina said.

Leviana looked at her.

"Are you talking about yourself?"

"I’m talking about you."

"Then we’re both on the list of people to watch out for."

Catrina didn’t deny it.

"Beyond that, we also need to determine who can be trusted," Leviana said. "Not just those who’ve come back. Some people were allies in the previous life only because circumstances forced them, but in this timeline they could become enemies."

"Who do we find first?"

Leviana didn’t need long to think.

"Anna."

"The blind Saintess?"

"Yes."

If Anna had also returned, her Eye of Life could help distinguish the state of souls and detect anyone with abnormal changes.

If she hadn’t returned, they still needed to reach her before Aldric did.

In the previous life, Aldric had exploited Anna’s sealed eyes, promising to help her see the light as a way to gradually take control of the Holy Temple. By the time Anna realized he only wanted to steal the Eye of Life, things had become nearly impossible to salvage.

"I’ll have Black Rose investigate her recent movements."

"Don’t approach too closely. Anna can’t see, but she can still sense the life around her."

"I know."

"And don’t bring up Lathel’s name."

Catrina looked at her.

"You’re afraid she’ll come here immediately?"

"I’m afraid you’ll stand in front of another woman who remembers nothing and announce that she once loved Lathel."

"I won’t make the same mistake twice."

Leviana didn’t entirely believe her, but nodded all the same.

Right then, a knock sounded from outside.

Lathel still hadn’t left.

Leviana looked at Catrina one last time.

"Remember what we just agreed on."

Catrina gestured toward the board and chalk on the table.

"I haven’t forgotten."

Leviana called out: "Come in."

At the same moment, Catrina also said: "You can come in."

The two women immediately looked at each other.

The door opened.

Lathel stepped inside, his gaze resting on Leviana and then Catrina in turn. Seeing that neither was injured, the tension on his face finally eased.

He signed:

"Are you two done talking?"

Catrina reflexively started to answer with her hands, but the moment she raised them she remembered Leviana’s warning.

She stopped, picked up the chalk, and wrote on the board:

Done.

Lathel looked at her hand, clearly having noticed the aborted gesture.

Catrina set the board down as though nothing had happened.

Leviana said: "Catrina saw me using signs with you and is trying to imitate them. She can make out a few simple ones, but not many."

Lathel looked between the two of them with open suspicion.

Leviana continued to explain: "And I understand your signs because during the three years you cared for me, I could still perceive some of the movements around me through a Sage’s abilities. But there are a few parts I haven’t gotten quite right."

Lathel looked at her for a long time.

His expression clearly said that every time Leviana had gotten something wrong, it seemed far too deliberate.

She changed the subject without missing a beat: "I’m tired."

Lathel immediately stepped forward to check her complexion and pulse. After confirming she was only sleepy, he adjusted the pillows and prepared to help her settle back into bed.

Catrina pulled the remaining chair over.

But instead of placing it by the window, she dragged it right next to Lathel and sat down.

Leviana looked at the chair.

"That spot was beside my bed."

Catrina answered calmly: "Right now it’s beside Lathel."

"You just agreed not to change things carelessly."

"The position of a chair isn’t part of the plan."

Lathel stood between the two of them, looking helpless. He picked up the board and wrote:

I’ll go get another chair.

Leviana said at once: "No need."

Catrina answered at the same time: "No need."

The two looked at each other again.

Lathel silently set the board down and turned toward the door.

This time, Leviana and Catrina asked in unison:

"Where are you going?"

He pointed at the chair out in the hallway.

The entire room went quiet.

Leviana closed her eyes, fighting to keep her composure as the drowsiness grew heavier.

’It seems getting Catrina to follow the plan is still easier than getting her to keep her distance from Lathel.’