As''s Past  As we drove, he repeatedly reminded  me to stay safe these days and not to overthink.


    felt a pang of guilt and said to As, "This morning, I saw Ste and Liora.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    intentionally tried to start shit between them. Could it be..."  As''s expression turned serious as he shook his head. "Don''t overthink it.


    Now that he''s on the ship, he''ll seize the opportunity. It''s just a matter of timing.


    "You did nothing wrong. Keeping them together is not a good sign. Creating a rift between them and making them suspicious of each other—that''s the opening we need. It leaves room for us to act. You yed that strategy


    well."  He looked at me with a touch of tenderness. "Tonight, get some 0 rest."  As, are you confident about finding the antidote? After all, she got hurt because of me..."  As took my hand in his, looking at me meaningfully.


    "You can trust me. I won''t stand idly by, whether it''s for you or anyone on that ship. And Jitador is my territory.


    I''m confident in finding the antidote.


    You can rest assured," heforted me, showing extraordinary patience.


    "We need to give the Huffman family an exnation. Trinity holds a significant ce in the older man''s


    heart. To be honest, in this situation,  I''d rather it was me who got hurt!" 1 spoke sincerely. -  "All of this was unexpected. If  anyone''s to me, it''s me! I was too careless. Regardless of who got hurt, it should never have happened!"  "As, I don''t want to be entangled with the Huffman family. I don''t want to owe them any favors, whether for my sake or Ivanna''s." I sighed and closed my eyes. "How did things end up like this?"  As patted my hand gently. "You''re overthinking it. Being connected to the Huffman family might not be a bad thing. Like you told Trinity, sometimes you need to broaden your perspective.


    Every kind of friend has a shining and valuable side. Perhaps this is fate!"


    [ listened silently. After he spoke, I felt alot lighter.


    When we arrived at my doorstep, 1 turned to As and said, "You should go handle things. I''ll be heading to the hospital early tomorrow morning." As nodded. "Listen to me and get some good rest tonight. Call me if anythinges up!"  Waving, he then instructed the driver, "Let''s go!"  I stood still, watching As''s car drive away. Then, someone called out from behind me, "Chlo, you''re back?"  I turned around and was surprised to see Ivanna. I had forgotten entirely that they had all returned.


    "You all came back so quickly! Has everyone disembarked?" I asked


    Ivanna.


    Ivanna nodded, looking at me. "How is she?"  Of course, I knew she was asking about Trinity.


    She''s been stabilized, but the de was poisoned. She''s been infected, and it could be troublesome."  "Seriously? How did ite to this?" Ivanna was taken aback. "How can they be so evil?"  I exined the situation to Ivanna.


    She looked at me, somewhat incredulous. "How could this happen? We were just about to disembark, and then this huge incident happened! It''s audacious. I heard that they specifically targeted you with their attacks. What were they thinking?"


    "There must be a reason behind it. I''ve had a suspicion for a long time, but I  just can''t find a definite starting point!" I looked at Ivanna and voiced my doubts. This was the first time I  had spoken about it, and only with Ivanna.


    "I''ve told you before that I and As are connected. Although I don''t believe it''s true, through this incident, I''m even more certain that it is As''s past."  She looked at me in disbelief. "Is everything you say true? It''s giving me the creeps! How is that even possible? Two people who had never met before are now suddenly connected? You must be joking. I won''t believe it!"