The atmosphere froze.
The already cold air turned even colder and the moisture transformed into fog.
Yerina’s gaze pierced through me like a sharp blade.
“Get out.”
“Got it.”
“Not you.”
As soon as I turned around, her sharp voice hooked me like a fish on a line.
“Alicia, I mean you. Stay out.”
“Uh? Ah?”
“I said to stay out. Let Yoo Jin and me talk.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Alicia kept bowing her head back and forth, greeting both me and Yerina before rushing out.
Just before she brushed past me, my hand instinctively reached for Alicia’s ear.
Then “Hwaack!” She let out a scream, her legs giving way as she plopped down.
I initially just meant to give her a light grab, but with Alicia collapsing, it turned into a forceful hold on her ear.
“Hah. Ah. Uwaaaa…”
…
It seemed like she had been holding back, as she shivered there, her hips twitching.
With a siiii sound, a puddle of clear, sour-smelling liquid formed on the floor.
I didn’t grab her for this!
“Oh…?”
I felt Yerina’s chilly gaze stabbing into the back of my head.
Should I let go?
If I do, Alicia would fall right into the lemonade puddle she made!
But if I keep holding on, it looks like she’ll make a second serving soon.
“Hiyuck…”
Slowly, I moved Alicia aside while still holding her ear.
She exited the room, shivering like a newborn calf.
I felt pretty awkward.
I was scared to look back.
“Hm. Was that your way of seducing her?”
“No, well, it’s not like that… It’s not wrong, but… I guess you could say that.”
I gave up denying it.
Denying it was pointless anyway.
After all, it wasn’t exactly a lie.
There was no need to provoke Yerina any further.
“Do you realize that you’re out chasing girls?”
“I didn’t before… but I do now.”
Yerina gracefully approached and started fixing my clothes.
She appeared to keep her distance but was already breathing heavily, her temperature rising, seemingly at her limit.
But with the recent conversation with Alicia, combined with my unintentional blunder…
She was struggling to not show her urgency.
Well, her ears perked up and her tail was wagging, so it was pretty obvious anyway.
“So, you’re saying you weren’t aware? You don’t have any intention to seduce, yet girls just come flocking to you?”
“I’m really saying that’s the case.”
“And that makes you tired?”
“I’m so tired.”
“You’ve become such a sly fox. It’s disgusting. This feels like a scam marriage now.”
Yerina vented her frustrations while grabbing my cheek and stretching it.
So she just figured it out now?
After the regression, I would’ve thought she’d notice when rivals appeared.
“So… what do you think of Alicia?”
…
Yerina poked my chest carefully, trying to pull an answer out of me.
This was probably the main issue.
The subject she most wanted to discuss.
Having eavesdropped on my conversation with Alicia, she couldn’t be unaware of how she felt about Alicia.
Yerina treasures Alicia as family.
No, in some ways, she’s a younger sister more precious than family.
And that sister daring to covet her lover.
Not that she was taking a stance to steal him, but even harboring such feelings would annoy her.
Probably towards Alicia, and though she couldn’t say it directly, also at me.
Maybe her anger was due to Alicia’s indecisiveness.
Despite having traitorous thoughts, she couldn’t bring herself to act on them, which probably irked Yerina.
Her feelings were complicated in many ways.
“I…”
.
.
.
There were plenty of things I wanted to say.
Expressions of affection I wanted to unleash.
But I held back.
I continued to hold back.
Because I hadn’t heard Yoo Jin’s feelings yet.
I hadn’t heard his sincerity.
At least until then, I couldn’t just let it slide.
“I…”
Whether she understood my feelings or not, Yoo Jin didn’t come any closer and just twitched his lips.
Instead of lightening the mood, he heavily sank it while looking at me seriously.
He probably knows.
That I’m an easy woman.
On the surface, I seem suspicious and jealous, but ultimately, I’m someone who forgives right after getting my head scratched, which Yoo Jin must realize after all those regressions.
I have only Yoo Jin…
No matter what Yoo Jin does, it’s obvious he’ll eventually cling to me…
That’s why Yoo Jin is even more cautious.
“I’m a greedy person.”
“Yeah… I know.”
He knows. It’s obvious.
In this world, there probably isn’t anyone as greedy as Yoo Jin.
Someone who keeps rewinding the timeline twelve times, never satisfied, but reaching for a better future.
He reached his level by refusing to compromise;
And regretting nothing when he decimated formidable enemies with the connections he’d built up over time.
I fell in love with someone like Yoo Jin.
Someone who always strives for the best without giving up.
Such a greed-ridden man…
“Back then, I just ran toward what seemed like a distant future goal, but looking back now, it seems a bit different. You know, Yerina? When I first met Alicia, I was far weaker. Not just physically but mentally as well. On the surface, I acted strong, but inside, it was pretty precarious. In that situation, Alicia became a good friend.”
“Hm…”
Friend?
I believe there’s no such thing as friendship between men and women.
But I quickly understood what Yoo Jin was saying.
Exhausted mentally, Yoo Jin had ended up comfortable alone.
But with Alicia appearing, he must’ve learned the importance of a companion to lean on.
Unintentionally or not, Alicia had probably helped lessen his loneliness.
That was during the time I was still desperately seeking Yoo Jin.
I couldn’t help but immerse myself in obsession and revenge, unable to control my frenzy.
Do I have the right to blame Alicia for approaching Yoo Jin back then?
Instead, I should be thankful that she transformed Yoo Jin and guided him back to me.
I don’t know, I just don’t know…
My head hurts.
I feel like crying.
“If you ask me what I think of Alicia, I’d say she’s a precious person. One of the few people I cherish. A person I trust, who’s got high respect in my eyes—someone not unworthy of my admiration. That’s how I see Alicia.”
“If Alicia confesses… would you be willing to accept her…?”
“Well, I’d have to hear her out first. But that doesn’t seem to be the answer you want to hear… I definitely have feelings for her as a woman.”
Of course…
That was a response I somewhat expected.
Yoo Jin sees Alicia as a woman.
If Alicia confesses, he’d be willing to accept it too.
That thought made jealousy tear at my heart…
But since I believe I brought this upon myself, the pain in my chest increased.
In times of my absence.
The girl who supported the injured Yoo Jin.
And in the end, the one who returned to me to bear the fruits of love.
When viewed this way, the one who should feel pain isn’t me.
The one who should weep ought to be Alicia.
After giving everything, unable to voice her love due to societal standing—a tragic heroine.
More than anything else… that’s what irritates me and is unbearable.
“You heard, right? Alicia likes you.”
“I know.”
“Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure. Please.”
“If it’s okay for you… if you truly have feelings for her… could you please convey that to Alicia first…?”
…
Yoo Jin’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he didn’t expect it at all.
Does he know how big of a deal this is…?
Seriously,… I’m saying this with all my courage…
If it’s Alicia, she’ll likely never confess her feelings.
Even if I ordered her, she’d probably confess but suppress her feelings.
She would give up on inserting herself between us again.
And once again, she would try to sacrifice herself.
Just like a faithful servant of a ruler…
I can’t bear to see that anymore.
I’m greedy too.
If Yoo Jin is a person who achieved so much through insatiable greed,
I’m someone who knows how to throw tantrums, desperately clutching at everything around me.
Among the sacrifices that came from that mindset, Alicia is one.
Because of me, she had to let go of the desire she first obtained and suppress her feelings.
That just makes me so upset and heartbroken… I can’t endure it.
Maybe because the frenzy has faded.
Now, rather than isolating Yoo Jin and ruining everything around him to monopolize him,
I want a life where we’re all satisfied together, beyond my childish desires.
“Alright. I’ll do it. It’s a request from my beloved wife, how could I refuse?”
“Your smile’s practically ascending to the skies. If I’d asked you to ignore Alicia, would you have accepted that so easily?”
“Of course. I would’ve accepted it right away if that’s what you truly desired, Yerina. But I never really believed that would be the case.”
“You know… me too well…”
Thinking I didn’t need to hold back anymore, my strength drained as I leaned into Yoo Jin.
He softly embraced me, stroking my ears with those same rude hands.
But that touch felt good.
I liked how Yoo Jin approached me without any hesitation.
In front of Yoo Jin, I felt like a submissive little puppy.
“If Alicia comes in, she’s a concubine. I can’t ever give up a status of an equal wife. That’s my last bit of pride.”
“What a humble pride. That’s obviously something worth asking for.”
“And more than anything else…”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t like her more than you like me.”
Grrr…
I hugged Yoo Jin tightly, rubbing my body against him.
I wanted my scent to thoroughly permeate him.
To be irreplaceable by any other scent.
