I could see Yoon Si-woo’s gaze piercing through Ari, who was perched on my shoulder.
That look, complex and difficult to express in words, carried a chilling sharpness that made me feel a cold sweat running down my body.
The atmosphere in the room, which had felt warm and inviting just moments ago during our conversation, quickly turned heavy, pressing down on me like a weight.
“Well, well, it seems Yoon Si-woo is surprised too?”
It appeared that I wasn’t the only one feeling suffocated by the sudden shift in the air.
Seeing Sylvia speak casually to Yoon Si-woo made that clear.
I was struggling to breathe because I understood the gravity of the situation, while Sylvia, blissfully unaware of what was happening, felt enviable in this particular moment.
I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.
Someone might say that I shouldn’t be so anxious, that it wasn’t my fault Ari killed Yoon Si-woo’s parents.
But when a pet bites someone, isn’t it the owner who bears responsibility for such incidents?
While Ari wasn’t exactly my pet, I still felt a semblance of ownership over her, and it seemed only fair to acknowledge that I held some responsibility for what had occurred.
But how does one take responsibility for something as grave as taking someone’s parents away?
Caught up in my escalating distress, Sylvia once again turned to Yoon Si-woo without giving me a chance to react.
“Well, it’s understandable to be shocked. I was quite taken aback at first too, when that fearsome beast became our ally.”
“…Our ally?”
“Yes, the Witch of Lust led the demonic beasts to attack the city at one point but also brought the angry beasts to save it. Now, she’s our invaluable ally, protecting the city from the other beasts.”
Unknowingly praising the creature that had taken his parents away, I saw Yoon Si-woo slowly scrutinizing Ari on my shoulder.
How must he feel hearing someone commend the enemy who killed his parents?
I couldn’t even guess, and so I could only stand in silence, stiff as a statue.
However, Sylvia seemed to interpret Yoon Si-woo’s intense gaze differently, letting out a small laugh as she continued.
“Well, well, it seems you’re having trouble accepting that the creature you once saw as an enemy is now an ally? I understand, since you served under Captain Martina in the Northern Boundary Region, but you’ll need to let go of the past and accept things as they are. The angry beasts may have scorched our forests and taken our homeland, but we elves have decided to forget the past and forgive.”
As I listened to Sylvia, my mind began to swirl.
Sylvia, perhaps you said it with good intentions, but to say such things in front of the very embodiment of what caused such devastation—
It’s absurd to think anyone could forget and forgive so easily.
Even if that being has helped many, an enemy who has taken one’s parents would not be easily forgiven by me—at least, that’s how I felt.
And Yoon Si-woo, it seemed, didn’t take Sylvia’s words lightly, muttering with a completely frozen expression.
“Forget it all and forgive, huh…”
“Huh? Yoon Si-woo, you don’t seem well. Did I say something wrong…?”
Only after noticing Yoon Si-woo’s unusual reaction did Sylvia seem to realize something was amiss.
I wished she had figured it out just a bit sooner…
As I lamented while looking at Sylvia, Yoon Si-woo spoke up, sounding as though he had been pricked at a wound that shouldn’t have been touched.
“…Sylvia, do you remember? Fifteen years ago, the Astrafe 4th squad went on a reconnaissance mission to explore the Northern Forest and suffered heavy losses against the angry beasts. You must have heard about it.”
“…Of course, I remember. It’s not something that didn’t concern our family. But why bring that up all of a sudden…?”
“…My parents were part of that mission.”
“Yoon Si-woo’s parents? Oh, but you were raised in an orphanage… Ah.”
Sylvia, who had been puzzled by the mention of Yoon Si-woo’s parents, fell silent mid-sentence.
She must have known Yoon Si-woo was raised in an orphanage, and someone as intelligent as her surely wouldn’t fail to realize what had happened to his parents.
And she would know who had taken them away from him.
Sylvia’s face turned pale in an instant.
“Ah… Oh, I… I’m sorry, Yoon Si-woo… I didn’t know…”
“…It’s fine. You didn’t mean it.”
“No! I… Was I really saying such things, boasting about forgiveness when I knew nothing? I’m so sorry, Yoon Si-woo!”
Even though Yoon Si-woo said it was fine, Sylvia couldn’t stop apologizing, overwhelmed by guilt for her earlier words.
Watching her in such agony out of her own self-recrimination pained me to my core.
However, in that moment, I suddenly had a thought.
Wasn’t there someone else who should be apologizing to Yoon Si-woo instead of Sylvia?
Yes, the person who truly should apologize wasn’t Sylvia.
So, who should apologize?
Who should take responsibility for Ari’s actions that deprived Yoon Si-woo of his parents?
It was me!
Realizing this, I quickly caught Yoon Si-woo by the arm and shouted loudly before I changed my mind.
“No! It’s all my fault! I’m sorry!!!”
And for a moment, silence fell.
“…Scarlet? Why are you suddenly apologizing…?”
“…That’s right. Scarlet, you haven’t actually done anything wrong, right…?”
Yoon Si-woo and Sylvia were mumbling in confusion as they tried to comprehend my sudden apology.
But that kind of remark could only come from someone entirely clueless.
I had to shoulder my responsibility and explain to the two why I needed to apologize.
“No, I should be the one apologizing. After all, Yoon Si-woo lost his parents because of Ari, right? The reason Ari did what she did falls on me as her owner. So this is also my responsibility, as her owner. Yoon Si-woo, I’m sorry. For the mistakes Ari made, I’ll apologize on her behalf.”
With those words, I stepped forward, knelt down, and bowed my head.
I performed the deepest bow I knew, a gesture of sincere apology.
“Don’t do that, Scarlet. It wasn’t your fault that it happened, so there’s no need to kneel like this—”
– Creak! BANG!!!
In that instant, Ari’s fierce cries erupted, drowning out Yoon Si-woo’s panicked attempt to lift me up.
– Waaah! Eek!
Ari tugged at my hair as she cried, seemingly displeased with the fact that I was kneeling before Yoon Si-woo to apologize.
“Don’t kneel to that guy! I didn’t do anything wrong, so why is Mom apologizing to him!”
Hearing that, I felt like a parent called to school to address trouble caused by a child, kneeling to apologize on their behalf.
But this clumsy child was only saying such foolish things instead of reflecting on her actions.
In a surge of frustration, I grasped Ari and yelled.
“Ari! What in the world are you doing right now?! Yoon Si-woo is generously forgiving you, and instead of being grateful, you’re acting so rudely! If you keep this up, I’m really going to get angry!”
– Waaah! Eek?
At my outburst, Ari looked at me with a betrayed expression, as if to say, “Why?!”
Fortunately, Yoon Si-woo seemed to understand the context and didn’t seem concerned about Ari’s rude behavior. He tightened his arm around my shoulders and smiled.
“Ha ha, don’t get too worked up. Nothing will change, anyway.”
Having decided to forgive me, he seemed confident that such small matters wouldn’t alter his feelings.
Was this boy really this magnanimous?
As I marveled at Yoon Si-woo’s unexpected generosity, Ari looked on, whispering in disbelief, “This is absurd… this is absurd…” as she deflated.
Well, despite my worries about how everything would turn out, I was relieved that things had been resolved favorably.
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