Ch.133Side Story) Race (5)

Asena returned to her room, calmly finishing her words.

The moment she closed the door and found herself alone, she exhaled breathlessly.

“Haah…! Haah…!”

She couldn’t steady her breathing at all.

The scene she had witnessed earlier wouldn’t leave her mind.

No woman could maintain her composure after seeing the man she loves entangled with another woman with her own eyes.

Especially if it was his first experience.

Someone else had left their mark on him, who had been like a blank canvas. That mark would continue to stay with Caden from now on.

Even if Caden were to be intimate with her later, he would compare her with Judy.

Whether consciously or unconsciously, now that he had experience, it was inevitable.

In truth, Asena didn’t care much whether Caden made comparisons or not. She had no intention of losing to Judy anyway. So that wasn’t the important part.

The problem was that it tormented her to think that Caden would remember Judy while making those comparisons.

It was painful to think he might not be fully focused during their intimacy and might vaguely recall Judy.

Whenever he would remember his first experience, he would only think of Judy. Judy would remain in his mind for a long time.

-Crash!

Unable to contain her anger, Asena finally shattered a nearby glass. Her feelings for Caden only continued to deepen, making her jealousy all the more fierce.

She wasn’t typically possessive about anything else. Originally, she didn’t have many desires at all.

But perhaps because of that, when it came to this one thing, this one treasure… her possessiveness and obsession were unmatched.

As if compensating for not desiring anything else, her longing for Caden was immeasurable.

Even in this situation, she wanted Caden to look only at her.

She wanted to bind him to herself. She wanted to be with him no matter what. She wanted him to think only of her.

While she had agreed to share Caden with other women, a selfish monster deep inside her was screaming.

“…He’s my man… he’s my brother…”

She muttered without realizing it.

Recalling her memories with Caden made her heart ache even more.

Just as he had watched her grow, she had watched him grow too.

The skinny boy of average height gradually built his body and matured.

His reliability doubled, and his gentleness went without saying.

Every time he treated her preciously, Asena dreamed of a happy future with him.

She imagined somehow marrying him, spending a blissful honeymoon, exchanging their first time together, sharing passionate nights for a long time, and bearing his child.

It was a dream she had harbored since the moment she learned how babies were made.

From the beginning, Caden was her only choice.

There were moments when things went wrong and they almost separated, but when Caden finally accepted her, she could dream her long-held dream again.

But today, that dream was shattered once more.

She had been planning to somehow be intimate with him before the wedding ceremony with Daisy, but the seemingly quiet Judy had completely taken him away.

The image of the two lying naked in bed kept coming back to her.

Each time, her heart pounded heavily, and her fists clenched.

After wrestling with her inner demon for a while, Asena tried to calm herself.

What’s done cannot be undone.

“……”

She took a deep breath, trying first to steady her rough breathing.

Yes, at least it was Judy… she could understand that.

Asena hadn’t forgotten that she owed Judy a debt she could never repay in her lifetime.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t angry about the current situation, but she tried to calm down because it was Judy.

If it weren’t for Judy, Caden wouldn’t have survived.

Since she owed Judy a life debt, she clung to that thought to drive away negative feelings.

If it had been Daisy or Kirsy, she would have been even angrier. Of course, there wouldn’t have been anything she could do about it anyway.

The urgent matter was to plan her next move.

The fortunate thing was that Asena alone had realized the gravity of the situation.

If she couldn’t be the first… she had to be the second. Kirsy and Daisy wouldn’t know about this.

So she had to act before them.

****

“…Hmm.”

I scratched my head as I got dressed. I had already washed away all the sweat from the night before.

Right now, all my attention was focused on Asena.

She hadn’t been seen since discovering Judy and me in the morning.

She seemed angry… but I didn’t know what I should do.

It felt awkward to apologize for having sex with someone who would be my wife. But ignoring it seemed like it would prolong Asena’s anger.

It was embarrassing to begin with. Since this was my first experience with such a situation, I didn’t know how to respond.

Although lunch and dinner were taken separately because everyone was still uncomfortable, breakfast was eaten together, so the upcoming gathering made me tense.

Judy seemed to feel the same way, as she appeared dressed for breakfast.

“…Caden.”

“…You’re here?”

“…What should we do…”

She entered my room, biting her lip slightly. Her nervous demeanor, as if she had committed a crime, helped me regain my composure.

“…Asena seemed really angry…”

“I know. What if she bullies you?”

“…Ugh.”

My light joke seemed to be a huge burden for Judy as she shrank back.

Seeing this, I stopped joking and hugged her.

“I’m kidding. It’s okay. It’s strange to get angry about being intimate with someone you’re going to marry. Asena knows that, which is why she left without saying anything.”

“……”

“If anything happens, I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”

“…Are you prioritizing me over Asena?”

“…I’m just following common sense. It doesn’t make sense for her to be angry at us.”

“……”

Judy slowly nodded.

I spoke so confidently, but… in truth, these were just words to reassure Judy.

Having witnessed Asena’s jealousy and obsession, it wasn’t hard for me to imagine that her feelings were deeply hurt.

“And you shouldn’t be so cautious around Asena anymore. You used to be so fierce when dealing with me before?”

“……”

Judy fidgeted with her mouth before giving up on answering.

Actually, I knew the reason. This was her true self.

The reason she had been so sharp with me in the knight department before was because I had no connection to her at all.

On the other hand, Asena had been Judy’s escort for a while, so a hierarchy was already established, and through me, they had become family, so she treated Asena with respect.

It was easier to understand when I thought about how Judy had lived in the Ice Family. I vividly remembered her sitting quietly and timidly during the family meeting.

Though she would gradually improve as we lived together, I felt I needed to help her.

Seeing her still anxious while leaning against me, I raised my hand high.

Then, with just enough force to not be unpleasant, yet strong enough to sting slightly, I smacked her bottom.

-Smack!

“Eek!”

Judy flinched and jumped away from me, grabbing her bottom.

Although she was used to my teasing, physical contact like this was a first.

Nevertheless, I knew this prank was successful.

Even though Judy was frowning at me, her reddening cheeks and the curve of her lips revealed her true feelings.

After being intimate, we weren’t the kind of couple to be upset by this level of physical contact.

“Don’t worry too much. It’ll be fine. Everyone’s waiting, so let’s go eat.”

I smiled at her as well, and we headed to the dining room.

****

I knew Asena wouldn’t treat Judy rudely, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.

Asena proceeded with the meal as if nothing had happened.

She casually spoke to me and didn’t show any signs of displeasure.

I wondered if she had matured in her own way. Perhaps she had mentally prepared for something like this from the moment she insisted on marrying me.

Even Judy was surprised. She occasionally made eye contact with me, showing a confused expression.

There were no problems whatsoever.

Daisy still maintained her bright expression and tried to lead the dining atmosphere, while Kirsy maintained the desperate atmosphere from when she had clung to me a few days ago.

It seemed that only Asena was keeping the secret about Judy and me.

While it wasn’t something that needed to be hidden, there was also no need to make it public, so I was grateful for Asena’s choice.

After that, the meal concluded.

I spent the day with Daisy.

We were busy going through the schedule, still organizing documents for the wedding ceremony.

Except for Kirsy bringing a packed lunch for me, the other women were nowhere to be seen.

It felt strange that Asena was so quiet.

It took a full day for my confused mind to accept the situation.

After finishing the paperwork with Daisy, swinging a wooden sword to work up a sweat,

Taking a bath and lying in bed ready to sleep, I thought, ‘Ah, Asena is just letting it go.’

All the storms between us seemed to have changed her.

She also in her own way-

-Knock knock knock.

In the middle of my thoughts, I heard someone knocking on my door.

“…Oh.”

Before I could respond, the door creaked open.

-Creeeak…

And there stood Asena.

Judging by her rising and falling chest, her breathing was rough despite trying to keep it quiet. It was as if she was exhaling a breath she had been holding all day.

The heat of anger and obsession that I had only seen in the morning, not earlier today, was surging again.

She stepped into the room and closed the door.

-Thud.

“…Asena?”

-Click.

And without hesitation, she locked it.