Chapter 191 : Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Confession (1)

Ria ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍stopped walking in surprise at the sound of her brother spectacularly tumbling down.

Idan ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍seemed to have twisted his ankle, and he groaned as he raised his upper body.

Drenched ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍in the dirty water from the bucket he had been carrying, he hurriedly spoke to Ria, who was trying to put distance between them again.

“Why ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍did you come back here? What happened?”

Even ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍though he could not even move because of his injured leg, Idan asked Ria with what seemed like genuine worry.

“What ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍will you do?”

Ratel spoke to Ria, who was still hesitating below the stairs.

“If you’re uneasy, I can break it outright instead of just twisting it.”

At his question of whether making one leg sprain was still not enough, Ria flinched, then soon took a deep breath.

“No, it’s enough. I have something I need to tell my brother anyway.”

Idan’s eyes grew ferocious as he looked at Ratel, who seemed to be deciding whether to break his leg or merely sprain it.

“Right, you were that kind of bastard. All of you......”

Only then did Idan recall Ratel’s sandpaper-like prickliness and glare at us.

Being lumped together with Ratel’s doglike personality was unpleasant, but I also had something I wanted to test with Idan.

“If you’ve decided, stop sitting there sprawled out and guide us.”

Idan seemed to flare up for a moment, but when his eyes met mine, he firmly closed his mouth and guided us upstairs.

Perhaps he had some sense after all, because Idan guided us to the largest, most secluded room.

Jing leaned my body against the headboard of a bed, then settled on the floor.

Ratel leaned against the door, and Ria stood quite far from Idan, in other words, beside the bed across from the one I was sitting on.

“......Are you back?”

Having lost any place to sit because he had been drenched in the water used to wash a rag, Idan stood awkwardly and asked what he was most curious about.

But Ria did not answer that and opened her mouth.

“Did you really not know what happens to the people who enter Rimis?”

Idan’s face crumpled slightly when he did not hear the answer he wanted, but he properly answered Ria’s question.

“What does that mean? Lucha winners are supposed to receive the Temple’s blessing and then leave on the path they want.”

Ria, who had been examining Idan’s face with a somewhat tense look, soon let out a slightly relieved sigh.

“......Is that all you know?”

Even at her final question before letting go of suspicion, Idan failed to understand Ria’s words and furrowed his brow.

At that, Ria continued speaking with a face that seemed unsure whether she should be happy.

“Listen carefully. There is no blessing.”

At the shocking fact Ria presented, Idan’s eyes widened.

“Wh-what does that......?”

“I’m not done talking yet. Brother, you stay quiet and listen.”

Ria stopped Idan, who was about to spring up in surprise, and calmly continued.

“The villagers all died. To be precise, they were eaten. The reason Rimis Temple called us in was simply to use us as food.”

This was clearly a story more serious than anything Idan had expected.

Otherwise, he would not have opened his mouth as if his jaw had dropped.

“Food? What do you mean, food? What are you even saying?”

Idan, who had barely caught up with the story, asked.

“The Temple’s holy object was eating people. All this time, the villagers were being used as that food.”

Ria calmly explained to Idan everything she had experienced at Rimis Temple and in the forest.

Her eyes sharply swept over Idan after she finished speaking with a sigh.

“Did you really know nothing? The fact that you never left for Rimis every time you won, was that really nothing but coincidence?”

“......It wasn’t like that. The reason I didn’t leave the village really was because of you.”

“Don’t say it was because of me again.”

At Ria’s fierce answer, Idan’s mouth hardened for a moment before he opened it again.

“Right. It was because of me. I lost my mind for a while.”

When Idan obediently corrected himself, Ria narrowed her eyes in puzzlement.

“After you left and I was alone, that was when my eyes opened a little too. Being left alone wasn’t as big a deal as I thought.”

There was no trace of the same venom as before on Idan’s face as he said that.

His face looked as if he had let go of everything. Perhaps realizing that he had strayed from the topic, he soon shook his head and opened his mouth.

“But what you’re saying...... Honestly, it’s hard to believe. That the Temple did something like that. No, even that such a thing happened is hard to believe. To believe everything you say, you’re too...... young, and you don’t know the world very well.”

Idan, who gave a passive answer as hesitant as the pause before it, looked at Ria and us.

Seeing him give exactly the answer Ratel had expected, and exactly the answer Ria had worried about, Ria pressed her lips together.

Ratel did not seem disappointed in the slightest.

And I was a little irritated.

I was a little irritated by the fact that I was laboriously raising my heavy body, and quite a lot irritated by the fact that the reason was to listen to this idiot, who firmly believed he had grown in his own way.

“Right. Ria’s wounds came from her falling down all by herself, and I’m actually not exhausted, I’m just acting. I drew out a lot of blood to make my face pale. The reason we came back to this village after leaving once is just to mess with the villagers and you. We have so little to do and so much time to spare, after all.”

“What did you say?”

Perhaps he disliked that I had cut into the conversation, because Idan glared at me.

Though his momentum quickly shrank, perhaps because he remembered the day of the Lucha Competition.

“Why? Isn’t this the answer you wanted? I only recited exactly what you were saying.”

“I’m not trying to play word games with you right now. Don’t you know this is a problem where we have to properly determine what’s right and wrong?”

He was pretending to be logical, but he was still hoping reality would move the way he wanted to believe it would.

“So I gave you exactly what you wanted. I recited the righteous thing you’re thinking, so why are you angry?”

“......”

Idan finally closed his mouth.

That was a relief.

Because I did not want to hear his voice anymore.

“You know Ria isn’t stupid enough that she can’t tell right from wrong, yet it seems you’re still hoping your sister is mistaken.”

As if I had hit the mark, Idan’s face turned red.

“If you want to become ready to listen to people, first fix that presumptuous desire of yours. Don’t pretend to listen and then try to twist things however you want.”

THUD!

He threw the rag he was holding onto the floor and kicked the door open on his way out.

Immediately after, the sound of the bastard tumbling across the floor and roughly descending the stairs followed.

With customer service like that, it made sense his inn had no guests.

“......Ran seems really good at touching where people hurt.”

Ria murmured blankly, unable to take her eyes off the door Idan had flung open and left through.

Swallowing the words that the books I had grown up reading were a little unusual, I laid my body fully down on the hard bed.

“Can I sleep now? If I don’t rest right now, I feel like I might die a little.”

This was sincere.

Jing’s back, full of kindness as he carried me all the way here, was hard to rest on comfortably, and even if I fell asleep right now, there would not be enough time to rest.

So the reason I closed my eyes like this here was because I was soaked in exhaustion.

It absolutely was not because I was trying to avoid someone with golden eyes who was staring holes through me.

***

“He really fell asleep.”

Ria waved her hand over the pale face with its eyes closed, then turned her gaze to the door Idan had kicked open and left through.

“I’ll go see my brother. It would be troublesome if he carelessly went around saying he saw us.”

“Do that. We will wait upstairs.”

Jing, who watched Ria’s back as she nodded once and left the room, turned his gaze to Ratel.

“What are you doing here?”

“I don’t think that idiot is enough of a threat that I need to follow too. I already messed up one of his legs as well. Did you forget we did that together?”

“Messed up, you say. We only gave it a little treatment.”

After correcting the violent expression, Jing looked at Ratel with a serious face.

“What I mean is, why are you still remaining in this room instead of leaving? There are many empty rooms outside.”

At Jing’s suspicious gaze, Ratel tilted his head to the side.

“Then why is Jing staying here? There are many empty rooms outside, you know.”

“There is no need to mind me. I will follow once you leave.”

“Anyone listening would think I’m going to assassinate Ran.”

“Your face did look like you were about to kill one person.”

“When did I ever......?”

“When Lord Ran first showed his ability.”

At Jing’s confident answer, Ratel closed his mouth.

He knew he had been shaken for a moment, but he had not expected Jing to catch that brief instant.

The fact that it felt as if Jing had also noticed how much his heart had wavered made him feel filthy on top of that.

Ratel, who obediently acknowledged his mistake, turned his gaze to Ran, who had fallen asleep as if he had fainted.

“I’m not particularly trying to kill him, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I know that without you saying it. If it is something the two of you must resolve, then it is right for the two of you to resolve it.”

Ratel, who had thought Jing would start a lecture asking why he would say something so harsh, looked at Jing with a puzzled face.

“Are you saying that if the two of us resolve it ourselves, Jing has to be stuck between us? Your words and actions are different.”

“When it is obvious one side is avoiding and the other is chasing, how can I simply watch?”

Jing sighed and pointed at the sleeping Ran.

“I am saying this because I know your habit. Be careful. Is it not better to take care before speaking than to regret it after saying something? Even if you dislike it, you will be seeing each other for a long time.”

“......”

In the end, he was telling him not to fight pointlessly and to watch his mouth, but words always landed differently depending on how they were said.

Ratel looked at Jing’s face as he examined him with sincere worry, then turned his head.

“I only have something to ask. The prince has probably prepared himself to explain it to me too. So the thing Jing is worrying about...... will not happen.”

At the stiff answer, Jing raised the corner of his mouth.

“If so, then that is a relief. When two young people fight, this old body’s heart trembles terribly, so it is difficult.”

Ratel, who had been watching the brazen performance with a cold face, suddenly turned his head and looked outside the door.

The playfulness disappeared from Jing’s face as well.

“I think you can postpone worrying about your heart.”

Ratel opened the door and went out, then approached the window in the hallway wall.

Ratel’s eyes were cold as he watched Idan leave the building below the window.

“He was a more foolish bastard than I remembered. It would be best to follow him for now.”

Jing, who confirmed him together with Ratel from beside him, pulled his robe over himself and headed for the stairs.

After confirming Ria was running after Idan, Ratel stepped away from the window and checked one last time in the room where Ran slept.

Then he closed the door of the room where the sound of regular breathing could be heard.

***

The sound of Ratel’s footsteps moved away from the door.

Before long, when the footsteps disappeared completely and the hallway grew quiet, the front of Ran’s chest, which had been breathing comfortably, stirred.

Eventually, what appeared from within was the face of a small squirrel.

After confirming there was no one around, El carefully placed his hand on the chest of Ran, who was asleep as if dead to the world.

Then he whispered softly.

“I know you are awake, child. Hurry and open your eyes. You must keep what you promised me.”

As if responding to the small whisper, the tightly closed eyelids opened, revealing black eyes.

***

Thinking that lately, it felt as if I faced this furry face every time I opened my eyes, I raised my body.

Perhaps because I had used my power several times while escaping the island, my body was still stiff. El climbed down over it, and for some reason he seemed excited as he busily climbed up and down from my knees to my shoulders while examining my face.

“My joints ache, so stay still.”

“What? Are you still in that much pain? Has it not been quite some time since we left the island?”

The bastard, who suddenly stopped, changed forms all at once.

Having instantly returned to the appearance of a young Imperial Family member, the bastard reached his hand toward me and asked in a worried voice.

I twisted my body away before the small hand could touch my shoulder.

Why is he suddenly acting like this?

When I stiffened my expression at the unfamiliar concern that did not suit the relationship between the bastard and me, El seemed to realize that he had done something that did not suit him either. He coughed and stepped back.

“Ahem, a body that has not been born for long being so weak, how can you keep your promise with me? You must manage your body thoroughly. Yes, indeed.”

I did not know what kind of mad nonsense he was suddenly spouting, but one thing was certain.

The bastard’s concern was not welcome.

“Yes, the promise. I’m not the kind of human who pushes a promise I made onto someone else, unlike someone.”

I spoke probing words and examined the bastard’s face.

His complexion paled, and the corners of his mouth that had been raised stiffened.

His shaken expression was pitifully obvious, but the reaction I was waiting for did not come.

Because not a drop of blood flowed from the bastard’s mouth.

As expected, like a bastard who had deceived people for a thousand years and become a god, he had fooled even me without my noticing.