Chapter 1532 (2/2)

Neshamah’s lips parted and she tilted her head to the side. She still maintained a small smile. “Oh my, how embarrassing. Have we met before? I was under the impression this was our first meeting?”

Lady Iellaya pressed her lips together. “This is our first meeting, Miss Rex. But I believe you should be aware that you are a relatively well-known figure around the Nexus. Now, if there is nothing, I must be going-”

“Of course. You are the head of security for the entire funeral right? What a stressful job! Which is why I came to speak with you.” Neshamah’s eyes crinkled at the edges. “There is something I want to say before I let you go.”

Lady Iellaya just looked at the other woman, ignoring her perfect dimples. The notoriously playful and irreverent Neshamah Rex was exactly not the sort of individual who Lady Iellaya wanted to encounter right now.

By the end of a few seconds of pregnant silence, Neshamah was practically beaming. “What I want to say is… You are doing a great job!”

Lady Iellaya’s didn’t even react. “...that’s it?”

“That’s it,” Neshamah nodded so sharply that it was clear she believed that she had accomplished something of actual significance. The young woman clapped her hands together and unleashed another bright smile. “You are basically the only woman at Military High Command, right? Hehe, I might have been a bit dishonest earlier. Even if we haven’t met before, I also know quite a bit about you, Lady Iellaya. Such a determined worker… a better soldier we haven’t seen in the Nexus for entire Cohorts! So maybe I also wanted to spark a friendship while making sure you understand how appreciated you are. Have I charmed you yet?”

“...I must return to work, Miss Rex,” Lady Iellaya said in a monotone voice. She brusquely shook the young woman’s hand and then started walking toward the door. “Thank you for your support. Now if you’ll excuse me-”

The door opened before Lady Iellaya had reached it. A rather uncomfortable looking Randidly, wearing a stiff military uniform that was entirely too tight, walked through the door. He opened his mouth to say something to Lady Iellaya as he entered, but then he caught sight of Neshamah Rex and fell completely still. Then, his gaze toward the beautiful daughter of Solomon Rex turned rather intense.

Almost hungry.

Seriously, Randidly? Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes inwardly. But she said nothing because she was rather shocked to discover that Neshamah was similarly transfixed by the sight of Randidly Ghosthound. The daughter of Solomon Rex blinked several times as she considered Randidly. The two were balanced in a frozen moment, stalling in their previous movements.

Neshamah recovered first. Her trademark smile bloomed. “Well, well, well. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been surprised like this. You are…?”

“Randidly Ghosthound,” Randidly said quietly. His emerald eyes scrutinized Neshamah, but Lady Iellaya could now vaguely sense he wasn’t actually besotted as she had assumed; he was peering through Neshamah, examining some interior construct of her person. “And you?”

“Ah! You are that contentious Head Drill Sergeant? The mad dog of Shevran?!? Haha! This is quite amusing.” Neshamah slapped her knee with all the glee of an old sailor hearing the news that the red-light district was having a sale, all of her previous coquettishness gone. “I am Neshamah Rex. It’s very nice to meet you. For now, let’s leave it at that. But in the future… feel free to reach out, Mr. Ghosthound.”

Still chuckling, she walked past Randidly and out into the street, where two tall bodyguards in grey coats were waiting. The trio quickly cut into the dwindling crowd of soldiers and seemed to instantly vanish.

Lady Iellaya frowned at Randidly. “What was that about?”

Randidly’s eyes were still pointed out the door, looking through the crowd following the vanished figures. The muscles of his jaw continued to work, as though he were clenching and unclenching his jaw. “That Neshamah… uses Nether. Actively. The way it was moving through her person… she’s better than using than I am.”

Lady Iellaya blinked. “Really?”

“Really,” Randidly confirmed, finally shaking his head and turning to Lady Iellaya. Lady Iellaya chewed on her lip at that thought. Not that she didn’t believe Randidly, but it was difficult to imagine that one of the most famous individuals in the Nexus had been secretly utilizing Nether this entire time.

...which probably meant she was doing it with the Nexus’s blessing. Hum. That was something worth considering. And it was slightly disturbing to realize that this young woman had been using Nether right next to her without Lady Iellaya being able to sense it at all.

But Lady Iellaya quickly shook herself. They could discuss the implications of the Nether later. “If you have something to say, let’s talk while walking; we are already late enough as it is. If I don’t bury the Commandant personally, I don’t think it will even happen.”