episode_0069

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The sound of my footsteps hitting the carriage floor echoed.

I nervously chewed on my nails, my long ears completely flattened.

I’m getting tense.

I don’t know how to face Ye-ri with what expression.

Ye-ri has always been skilled at reading thoughts and emotions from people’s expressions.

I might not have been so worried in normal circumstances.

But ever since that Changnam bastard took away Rosario from me, my poker face has crumbled…

“Damn bastard. Every time I think of that guy… Ugh. I get angry again.”

I don’t know if I can deceive Ye-ri successfully.

I’ve washed and bathed several times, so there’s no scent of Eugene on my body.

All I have to do is act. Just act.

“Phew. My heart is beating too fast… Huh?!”

“Alicia!”

Knock, knock, knock.

I turned to the sound of knocking on the window and was startled, almost falling over.

Ye-ri’s face was peeking out from outside the window.

I thought it was a ghost again…

“Huh?”

Wait a minute.

Wasn’t this carriage running at full speed?

“Driver! Stop!”

Only then did I realize that Ye-ri was running alongside me.

I hurriedly stopped the carriage.

As the carriage slowed down and stopped, Ye-ri matched her pace to the carriage, then climbed aboard.

And the carriage started moving slowly again.

“Whoa! Running into each other while jogging?”

“…”

Was that jogging?

Judging by how she wasn’t out of breath, it seemed like a very light jog indeed.

Her stamina was always surprising.

“Is this the way back?”

“Yeah. From Basel…”

“You stopped by the Leaf City too?”

“Yeah, that’s right! I stopped by Leaf City from Basel. On my way back.”

I hastily corrected myself, startled.

I had used the excuse of stopping by Leaf City while I was in Elvengard.

I almost got caught in a lie from the start.

“You went around Basel and saw something suspicious, so you went to Leaf City? And then… Huh? You look a bit prettier?”

“What?”

“Did something change? Your scent seems a bit different…”

Sniff, sniff.

Ye-ri perked up her ears, buried her nose in my chest, and sniffed my scent.

My clothes seemed fine, though…

Then she smirked mischievously and said, “Ah, I see. You did something. You were in heat.”

“Oh, no?!”

“Oh, yes. Your pheromones are wafting. You finally decided to go without the suppressor. Good choice. You look much prettier now. More natural. Before, you were too stiff and robotic.”

“…”

So Ye-ri thought that way too.

I knew I had a strong dependence on the suppressor.

I had heard that rabbit beastmen had a stronger libido than normal people, but it didn’t affect daily life much.

But I was caught up in the obsession to show a perfect, iron-like appearance.

As a result, without the suppressor, my body became highly aroused even with a slight breeze…

But after forcing myself to go without it for a few days, my dependence had improved significantly.

Now I felt like I could live without it.

“I like you better now because you’re more like Alicia!”

“I see…”

But does Ye-ri know?

That I tried to hide my libido and become emotionless like her because I wanted to be like her.

She probably doesn’t know.

And she probably doesn’t need to know.

I learned that Ye-ri can live her way, and I can live mine.

“In the end, I couldn’t find any traces of the man you’re looking for in Leaf City.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. You did well. It must have been a long journey. Wasn’t it tough?”

“It was okay… But I lost my magic wand…”

“Oh my. Your magic wand?”

“Yeah. I’m fine now. I got a new one. This ring…”

As I continued explaining, I sensed that Ye-ri’s demeanor was strange.

I thought she would dig deeper into Eugene, but surprisingly, she changed the subject without saying much.

Her mood was quite different from when we left Pallana.

She seemed more relaxed now.

She seemed to have regained her mental stability.

‘Has her feelings for Eugene cooled off?’

Has the desire to find Eugene faded?

I wonder.

It was a pleasant news I heard.

In the end, the person my sister was so nervous about wasn’t that bad.

Just a little handsome, with a charming smile, acting on his own but sometimes caring, it makes my heart flutter, but that’s it.

He’s not a match for my sister.

It’s natural to forget as time goes by.

I’m really relieved.

This way, it won’t be taken away from my sister.

The guilt that was weighing on my heart seems to have disappeared.

“Sister looks really happy. Did something good happen?”

“Haha. Can you tell? Can’t help it. Actually, it’s the person you went to investigate. Seems like you found Eugene.”

“What…?”

My heart sank.

What did you say?

Found Eugene…?

“What does that mean, sister?”

“Elvengard sent a cooperation request to our side. Seems like the invasion from another dimension has officially begun. But it’s strange. Those stupid dwarves wouldn’t have noticed yet. There’s only one meaning to that. Eugene went to Elvengard.”

“…!”

“I was really scared, you know? I thought that person really disappeared. I thought I was the only one who remembered. I thought I was going crazy and it was so scary… But I found him. Finally. Eugene is definitely alive in the same world. Now all we have to do is track him down. Why didn’t Eugene come looking for me first…? Oh! Maybe he hit his head and lost his memory about me! That’s why he’s living without remembering me…! What do I do! I have to find him before it’s too late!”

This is bad.

My sister regained her composure not because she let go of her obsession with Eugene.

On the contrary.

She thought she found Eugene.

She thought she could meet him soon.

It was just confirming that everything wasn’t her delusion but reality that brought her peace.

“Could it be a mistake?”

“It’s certain. At this point, the only person who knows about that spider monster, Calie, is Eugene. Eugene told the dwarves about it. That’s all there is.”

“…”

A firm attitude without a hint of hesitation.

I shuddered at this.

It seems she gained confidence through what she knew about Eugene and my sister from the past.

“Tracking… How are you going to do it…?”

“We have to confront it head-on. I’ll inform Elvengard. If they don’t provide information about Eugene, I’ll expose Elvengard’s secrets to the world. By chance, I know a little about the dwarves’ secrets.”

“…”

I just realized.

The relationship between Eugene and my sister is much deeper than I thought.

My sister longs for Eugene much more than I anticipated.

There’s nothing that can break my sister’s heart.

There’s nothing that can stop her.

At this rate, my sister will soon find Eugene.

“I have to contact Eugene quickly!”

Once my sister starts tracking, it’s only a matter of time before she catches up with Eugene.

So I have to let Eugene know quickly.

That my sister has started tracking.

Eugene must never be caught by my sister.

“Huh…? But why. Why shouldn’t he be caught?”

At that moment.

A primitive question enveloped me.

My sister can’t meet Eugene.

I’ve always taken it for granted and never doubted it.

Because Eugene took away my sexual inhibitions from the first meeting.

He made me pee in front of him.

I thought my sister wouldn’t fall for that jerk and give up everything.

But after traveling briefly with Eugene.

Watching his character and strength up close.

I realized that my sister’s heart is not as simple as I thought.

Although his character is a bit twisted, Eugene is clearly a good person.

He’s even strong enough to beat my sister.

Objectively speaking, he’s a perfect match for my sister.

So as a brother, shouldn’t I bless them?

For the revival of Pallana, for the future of Frostgar.

I should hand over Eugene.

Why was I hiding Eugene so tightly?

Suddenly, I felt a sense of alienation and doubt.

“Alicia? Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah… Sister.”

“Why?”

“Why are you looking for that man?”

“Um. It was too much to keep it a secret even from the person who helped me, right? He’s actually a very important person to me. We got separated because of circumstances… I want to find him again.”

“By any means necessary?”

“Yes.”

“What if that person doesn’t want it?”

“That won’t happen. That person must be waiting for me.”

“…”

I came to my senses.

There was no need to worry.

I was trapped by strange questions.

‘As expected, it won’t work out. I can’t let you meet with Unni.’

I’ll acknowledge that.

Yujin is more than qualified to be by Unni’s side.

But if she herself has no intention of doing so, then the story changes.

Unni may miss Yujin, but Yujin is not the same.

I don’t know what happened between them, but at least Yujin doesn’t want to go back to Unni.

That much is certain.

‘It can’t be helped. Yujin is pitiful.’

No matter how loyal I am to Unni, I can’t overturn the life of an innocent person for her sake.

I can’t catch someone who ran away and kneel in front of Unni.

“Will you keep helping Unni?”

“Of course. Because you’re precious to Unni…”

“Hehe. Thank you, Alicia.”

“…”

That’s why.

Because I respect Yujin’s wishes.

That’s why I let Yujin run away.

There is no other reason.

Really.

Perhaps…