Chapter 392: Iris's Trial - Part 2

Iris felt panic hit her hard, and breathing became difficult there. She felt like she could not stay with her mother any longer.

Instead, she needed to find someone. That someone would help her break free of this hesitation…

But her feet felt stuck to the ground, and she felt like she could not make them move. It felt so difficult to do anything but look at her mother.

Finally, she let out a huge sigh once her mother was gone and decided to start her planning. But her feet decided to take her to her final destination before she knew it.

She blinked as she looked at the gladiator arena in front of her. It was a place where her mother had earned her fame. But it was a dangerous place at the same time.

Iris’s feet were stuck, neither moving forward nor going backward.

Her instincts were warning her that this was a dangerous place and she would be stuck if she stepped foot there. It made her feel sick to even step forward.

And yet, she knew that she needed to start walking if she wanted to meet her destiny.

‘I can do this. This much is nothing. I came here with a purpose.’

As soon as that thought popped into her mind, it flew out as well, but Iris had already made up her mind.

Her legs took considerable effort to start walking, but she made her way to an arena filled with people. They were all looking at her with a mocking expression.

But Iris did not have any awareness of them. The only person she was interested in looking at was the one sitting in the V.I.P. section since he was familiar.

A name she had forgotten suddenly appeared on the tip of her tongue, and she felt a sudden wave of happiness and relief crashing into her.

‘Kael—’

She opened her mouth to call out to that man, but his companion grabbed his arm and leaned in closer to speak to him. And that made all of Iris’s courage rush out of her body.

Suddenly, she felt like she no longer had a place beside Kael and she needed to run.

‘Run? But where will I run away to? This place is…’

Now that she had recognized Kael, more details about where she was and what she was doing started to fill her brain. And that was when she realized that not only was she in a trial, but she did not know what she needed to do in this trial either.

But one thing her instincts were telling her was that she could not be a coward. This was her last chance to be able to talk to Kael and be able to tell him how she felt.

She had no desire to monopolize Kael since she had realized that it was a useless thought. But that did not mean she had no desire to be with him.

Iris wanted to be with Kael, even if she had to share him. That was why she had agreed to this merge in the first place.

However, speaking her desire out loud felt dangerous. She felt like her mouth was filled with sand, and it refused to leave her alone.

Kael was currently looking at her, but it did not take long for his companion to tug Kael’s sleeve to make him stand up. And she could instinctively tell…

‘He’s going to leave. I need to stop him before that happens.’

Iris’s whole body jolted as she followed after Kael. She increased the speed of her steps until she caught up to Kael. Luckily, he had not left the ring yet.

Kael looked at her and then around her. It made her keenly aware that everyone was looking at her actions and judging her, and normally, this would have been enough to make her pull back in shame.

But right now, Iris did not care. She felt like she had to say what she came here to say before someone else made her lose her confidence.

“I like you, Kael. I like you a lot. I am confessing to you because this might be my last chance.”

Iris spoke confidently, but she was a nervous mess inside. The silence that was stretching after her confession also made her scared of what would happen next.

Why was Kael not saying anything? Should she look up and check—

“You…like me? Then, what do you want to do about it? Do you want to date me? Or be with me? Or—”

What did Iris want to do? She was not sure right now.

But she had a feeling that if she missed this opportunity, she would forever not be able to say anything. She had to say it now.

“I love you and I want to date you. I know that I am not the only one in your heart, and that is fine. I can share you with others. Just as long as you become mine as well.”

Iris would never say these words under normal circumstances. But right now, her courage had hit its peak, and she looked at Kael with confident eyes. She was ready to face anything he had to say.

Even silence was fine by her as long as it was not a clear rejection.

“Iris, you—”

“I said I am fine. I have no regrets after meeting you and wanting to be with you. This confession…was to show my resolve toward you.”

Iris confirmed to herself as well as Kael.

Kael looked at her for a while before letting out a sigh.

“Then, what if I reject you?”

Iris felt her heart sink, but she forced herself to smile.

“Then I will accept it. I might cry for a while, but I won’t regret confessing to you.”

After all, she had already regretted enough things in her life. She did not want to add this to the list.

Kael’s expression softened as he reached out and patted her head.

“Then, I think you already have your answer, right?”