"Griffith.
Griffith Lista." Night smiled gently as he said it.
Time fast-forwarded to three hours later, after he found Briseis and had a round of exchange with her.
He discovered that the younger sister Briseis and the elder sister Chryseis had extremely similar personalities.
The same kindness, the same quiet strength, as though they were cut from the same mold.
If not for the different hairstyle,
Briseis wore her hair in twin braids tied at the front, and her features were a little younger-looking; he might have confused the two entirely.
Briseis's emotional state was remarkably steady.
That was what gave Night the most relief, and it showed the resilient side of her.
After learning his purpose and identity, the other party's first reaction was not surprise but worry about the heaven-defying risk Night was taking right now, and she urged him to quickly escape before he was discovered.
This place gathered most of the heroes of all Greece; once discovered and exposed, the result could be imagined.
She didn't want anyone to end up in danger because of her.
Even though Briseis desperately wanted to be saved.
For that kind of selflessness, willing to go against her own heart rather than put others at risk,
Night kept playing to soothe her and told her not to worry, that he would get her out no matter what.
Afterward he also performed a few small magic tricks for Briseis and handed her a small piece of strawberry cake.
He took it from the banquet earlier, thinking that if he actually found where Briseis was hidden, it might come in handy.
Briseis had refused to serve Agamemnon and, because of that, had gone several days without touching the food and water he sent.
Gulp.
A quiet swallowing sound, followed by a faint blush of embarrassment crossing her face, unable to maintain her reserved and elegant maiden posture any longer.
Night gave her an encouraging look.
Having already gained enough of her trust, Briseis didn't refuse again.
She took the cake and finished it quickly.
Then, with a small lingering satisfaction, she licked the cream from the corner of her mouth, like a cute little cat.
On instinct,
She looked at him with eyes that clearly said, "There's more, right?"
Seeing that she was this hungry,
Night knew that she probably hadn't eaten since she was captured, afraid that someone like Agamemnon would mix something and then defile her.
So, he told her she could eat what Agamemnon sent.
"Although I can bring some food for you, it is far less convenient than eating directly here."
He told Briseis she could safely eat the food and drink the water.
He checked, and there was nothing wrong with any of it.
Agamemnon wouldn't have time to come looking for her for a while.
And only by eating, regaining her strength, and keeping herself in good condition would it be easier to get her out when the time came.
When she learned that the heroes were about to be caught up in another battle soon, Briseis felt worried about her brothers and sisters back in Troy, though clearly she was in no position to do anything about that right now.
Persuaded by Night, she finally let go of her hesitation and reached for the food on the table.
When a person has hope and something to look forward to, their attitude toward getting through the day is entirely different from when they have nothing to hold onto.
At this moment, with a real expectation of escaping this place, Briseis looked at the food and found it no longer repulsive. It seemed genuinely appetizing.
In the end, Night even suggested a new way of thinking about it if she still couldn't quite bring herself to eat.
Think of it as eating Agamemnon's resources.
Although I accepted your food, as long as I do not sell my own body, then it does not count as a transaction. Taking without giving, was that selling one's soul? Hardly.
Once she looked at it that way, a small devilish side of her lit up immediately, and the last of her resistance disappeared.
After settling Briseis, night stood and left under her reluctant gaze as she walked him to the door.
She almost said something to ask him to stay but in the end didn't.
It was not that she had already fallen for Night, not this early.
It was simply that being alone here was really too lonely and desolate, with not even a single person to talk to.
And she could not possibly chat with anyone else here.
Everything in the entire Greek camp felt strange and terrifying to her.
The music from Night was the only thing that had brought her calm before.
Now that the wandering musician himself appeared, and as a rescuer sent by her sister and brother, even though it was their first meeting, his face felt far more familiar and close than anything else in this Greek camp.
When he was there, Briseis felt at ease.
She could go back to being the composed and graceful young lady she was, eat properly, and even fall into an untroubled sleep without jolting awake from nightmares.
No longer needing to remain on guard every moment in case she let her focus slip and lost the one thing she had left to protect.
Briseis was sensible, though.
She understood that the longer he stayed, the greater the risk of being discovered.
This was an extremely dangerous thing.
In the end she made one small request: "Could you play for me every morning? Just like that previous song… although it is a bit shameful and willful. But it calms me down and helps me sleep."
Briseis originally did not want to expose her vulnerable side in front of an opposite-sex stranger, especially since they had only known each other for one day, but she was even more afraid of loneliness, the silence, and the dread.
She was not some tsundere beautiful maiden and naturally would not force herself to endure suffering just for the sake of face.
Faced with her sincere request,
Night agreed.
Afterward, under her bright and joyful smile, he was seen off all the way until he pushed open the door and left.
Throughout all of this, he remained undetected by anyone.
Though he could have used the same technique to walk Briseis out openly.
But slipping past ordinary people was one thing.
Slipping past heroes and gods was another entirely.
Not to mention the Greek camp side was still some distance away from the city of Troy.
He could leave on his own easily enough, but taking someone along was another matter.
The divine deer went back to the goddess to report in some time ago, and without Artemis's permission, no one else could ride it.
If that weren't a problem, having Briseis ride the deer back would be the fastest solution by far.
He was confident no one could catch up, not even the swift-footed Achilles.
When Night finished the last task of the day and started heading back toward the camp,
As he reached the entrance of his tent, a familiar sensation suddenly came over him, a dense and heavy feeling, a gut-level warning.
His instincts, already far sharper than any animal's and sharpened further by the Roman dragon's power, gave him a sixth-sense reaction before anything was even visible.
Night looked at the tent, which appeared perfectly calm from the outside. The good mood from earlier, having located his target and spent time with the cute Briseis, hand-feeding a small cat in spirit, vanished completely.
The smile on his face withdrew, and he immediately fell silent, standing ready and looking toward the interior of the camp.
He recognized this feeling.
It was the same thing he sensed before meeting Apollo and Artemis.
But at the same time it also felt very strange.
He was certain that whoever was inside was not Apollo or Artemis.
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)