Click. Click. Click.
Two girls walked down a shabby corridor.
Clara who wanted to ensure that the voices from the conference room wouldn’t be heard moved in silence, trying to get as far away as possible.
Sion followed with her eyes fixed on the back of Clara’s head.
“……”
She didn’t know where they were going, but she didn’t even have the strength to resist. She was too afraid to open her mouth, terrified of what answers might come and confirm her fears.
She was being dragged along like a piece of paper caught in the wind.
Even as she walked, her mind felt numb. Nothing made sense.
Clara who was walking ahead, didn’t say a word, and Sion felt like she was going to go mad from the frustration.
In Sion’s mind, all she could see was the scene she had just witnessed. Nothing beyond that.
How could this girl possibly know the deeper circumstances?
Thud!
Clara stopped walking.
She looked around. There were no signs of people or any unusual magical power. Everyone was gathered in the conference room.
This should be far enough.
Feeling reassured, Clara turned to face Sion and lifted her head.
Now was the time to properly greet her.
But what kind of greeting was this?
Clara’s mouth fell open in shock as she saw Sion’s face.
“S-Sion unnie!?”
“Ugh…”
Tears like jewels were falling down the elf girl’s cheeks.
Her emaciated face, with her lips tightly pressed together as if trying to hold back her emotions, only added to the pitiful sight.
Recently, Sion had often felt sad. But even when she felt that way, it only made her heart ache. No tears came.
She had wondered if she had become so numb, so worn down, that she couldn’t cry anymore.
But that wasn’t the case.
Now, having received a proper shock, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Rohan and Clara.
She had been holding on, trying not to let her mind collapse as she recalled the time the three of them had spent together.
But now, she wondered if she had been played like a fool all this time. Was that why the elders had been waiting for her that day?
Just the thought that it might be possible made her cry uncontrollably.
“Unnie…?”
“You can tell me… My life has always been like this… I’m prepared to accept it…”
Her words came out between sobs.
Unlike Rohan, Clara didn’t understand Sion’s reaction. She fidgeted nervously before grabbing Sion’s hand tightly.
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? I’m sorry we’re late… Don’t cry…”
“…….?”
Seeing the tears welling up in the other girl’s eyes just like her own.
Sion’s mind snapped back to reality in an instant.
“Unnie, why is your body so cold…? Your face is so pale…”
Clara took a step closer and hugged Sion.
The elf girl, with her arms hanging limply, moved them to embrace the girl who was comforting her.
In the midst of her confusion.
Sion felt it keenly.
A person’s embrace… is this warm.
The cold that had seeped into her bones vanished in an instant.
No long explanation was needed.
A single action made her realize that her thoughts had been nothing but dark delusions and shameful misunderstandings.
“Sion unnie…! Oppa is here now, so don’t worry.”
The small hand gently stroking her back, telling her everything would be okay now.
Sion felt like crying for a different reason because of Clara’s kindness.
She really was such a lovable girl.
“Clara. I missed you… I was so lonely…”
“I-I missed you too, unnie… Ugh!”
Sion hugged Clara even tighter.
The warmth from the girl was so comforting that Sion didn’t want to let go. It felt as though the heat was seeping into her very heart.
Just by clinging to her skin, all the hardships she had endured until now seemed to vanish. The cracks in her consciousness, shattered by shock, were neatly stitched back together.
For a long time, Sion held Clara tightly, silently continuing their embrace to calm herself. But then, she was startled by an unfamiliar sound coming from the distant conference room and reluctantly released her hold.
When Clara met Sion’s gaze, her face flushed red, and she smiled brightly. The main reason for her smile was that the gloomy aura had disappeared from Sion’s face.
“Even though we’re both girls, it’s still a little embarrassing…”
“…….”
Sion felt the same. For once, she felt a sense of shyness. It was a strange emotion, different from the shame of feeling unworthy. She kept debating whether to pull up her mask or not.
“Unnie, how are you feeling? Have you been eating well?”
At those words, Sion reassured her and pulled out a water bottle, taking a sip of water for the first time in what felt like ages.
After soothing her parched throat, she asked the most important question.
“Clara, what exactly happened earlier? I still don’t understand…”
“I was just watching Oppa, so it’s hard for me to explain…”
Clara pouted and started tapping her lips with her fingers as she continued to ponder.
She didn’t have enough information to give a clear answer.
Still, sitting by his side and observing, she hadn’t come away completely empty-handed.
Clara did know one thing for sure.
“I think Oppa is pretending to be someone else. He’s acting as that person.”
“Pretending? Acting?”
Clara confidently assured her that if Sion sat and watched for a while, she would see that Rohan was indeed acting.
Hearing this, Sion felt even more lost, and Clara’s explanation continued in a somewhat disjointed manner.
“…And that’s how we ended up here.”
“The end?”
“Yes…! That’s it.”
“What?”
After hearing the condensed explanation, Sion couldn’t make sense of it.
From start to finish, everything was filled with questions.
It wasn’t that Clara couldn’t explain well, but every sentence seemed to fall outside the realm of understanding.
He’s impersonating someone using the information he has? Did he gather it while dealing with the boss in the tunnel? What if he makes a mistake and gets caught?
Sion was both amazed and worried about Rohan.
His methods were bold. Perhaps too bold.
And his actions were hard to comprehend.
Was it that the elders’ ability to guard information hadn’t kept up with the times? Or was Rohan just exceptionally skilled at extracting it?
“Sion unnie…”
“Hmm?”
While Sion was groaning and trying to process the story, Clara tugged at her sleeve to get her attention.
The girl leaned in close and whispered,
“B-By the way, are the elves here your family?”
“…”
“I-If they’re important to you…”
Sion understood what Clara was worried about.
If a situation arose where force was necessary, Clara was unsure how to handle it.
Family? Are the elders my family?
She had spent more time with them than with her own parents.
Given that she was of Testarossa’s bloodline, they were people she was supposed to protect.
Or at least, that’s what I might have thought in the past.
During the days filled with uncertainty, meeting Rohan and Clara had broadened her perspective.
Thanks to them, she had seen and felt more. She realized how vast the world was and how she had been living in a well.
Relationships didn’t become precious just because they lasted long.
The bloodline she had been bound to her whole life, which she thought was so important, didn’t even provide her with a meal.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“I like you, Clara.”
Hearing Sion’s words, a spark of joy lit up Clara’s eyes.
The elf girl exchanged glances and continued.
“And I like Rohan too.”
“!?!?”
Clara’s expression was a mix of happiness and fluster.
Sion who was lost in her emotions poured out her heart without hesitation.
“I couldn’t forget the short days we spent together. I’ve been reminiscing about them every day. They were truly happy.”
“Unnie…”
Clara could relate to those words in many ways.
“If you ask me now whether the elders are my family, I wouldn’t know until I hear the secrets they’re hiding. Maybe I’ve been wrong from the moment I started saying this.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
“But one thing is certain… I have no reason to be responsible for them.”
Sion believed she had done her best, burning through her golden days without enjoying anything.
She felt no shame when looking up at the sky for her efforts.
Having heard Sion’s clear answer, Clara nodded her head in understanding.
Then she asked one more question. This time on a completely different topic.
“Sion unnie.”
“Go ahead.”
“You… originally held Tigrova citizenship, right?”
It was information she had heard from Rohan on the way.
Sion nodded her head without hesitation, showing clear affirmation.
Clara’s face was painted with a mix of various emotions.
“If it’s Tigrova… could it be that unnie also practices polygamy…?”
“Huh?”
When Sion asked back at her muttering,
Clara snapped out of it by slapping her own cheeks—tap! tap! This wasn’t the time to dwell on such things.
“Ah, no… Let’s hurry back!”
***
“You’re here.”
“….…”
At Rohan’s voice, the Chief Elder let out a deep breath.
Clara, who had returned to the conference room, quietly took a seat beside Rohan.
Sion, who followed behind, stood blankly among the elders sprawled on the floor.
I guess this kind of thing just isn’t my forte.
Seeing Sion at a loss, it seemed the misunderstanding had been cleared. The story had likely been roughly conveyed, as there was no hostility in her eyes.
The problem was that her movements were utterly awkward, so it seemed Rohan would have to guide her properly.
“Levin Maxwell. How long do you plan to keep me waiting? If you’re trying to test my patience, I’ll commend your boldness.”
“Ahem…! Princess, please take a seat.”
At Rohan’s threatening urging, the Chief Elder spoke up.
Sion, with her lips tightly sealed, took a seat.
“Princess.”
“What on earth is this mess? Explain.”
The Chief Elder had no intention of explaining the situation.
He was merely proceeding with what Rohan had taken responsibility for.
“Starting now, we will share the story you’ve been curious about, Princess.”
“…Suddenly?”
This one-sided communication…
The Chief Elder didn’t answer Sion’s question. Instead, he was motioning with his wrinkled lips for her to listen quietly.
“You asked, Princess, whether the Snow Tiger Emperor truly brought calamity upon the Testarossa Imperial Family.”
“…..…”
It was the part Sion had been so curious about. The answer she had desperately wanted to hear.
Though it was a sudden topic for Sion, who had joined midway, it was a story she couldn’t afford to miss.
“On the day Princess fled Tigrova with us elders, the Snow Tiger Emperor only achieved victory. He did not take anyone’s life.”
“Then my father and mother…?”
The Chief Elder and Sion’s eyes met.
Greed peeked through the wrinkles on his face. There was no attempt to hide it.
Sion’s face slowly flushed with anger.
The Chief Elder calmly revealed the truth.
“As you may have guessed, I was the one who led the downfall of Testarossa.”
A cold silence poured over the conference room.
The atmosphere froze solid.
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