episode_0168

Never before had time felt so long.

Yuria, Jill, and Mia remained at the round table.

Maintaining an awkward silence, each of them spent their time in different ways.

Yuria simply observed the faces of the people around her.

Jill, appearing anxious, kept checking the time and tapping his foot.

Mia, occasionally yawning, remained relaxed.

“M-Mia.”

“Yes, Yuria. What’s the matter?”

“T-There was one more person mentioned… the woman with Eugene… that’s you, Mia, right?”

“W-What?! N-No! It’s not me… I mean… I think… probably…”

“…”

“…”

Mia denied it, blushing.

Yuria and Jill both sensed it at the same time.

It was clear that Mia also had feelings for Eugene.

Although it didn’t seem to have developed into a serious relationship yet, it was evident that they were quite close.

“Sigh…”

“I don’t know how Eugene sees me… but the woman he mentioned promising a future with is not me…”

Feeling sorry for hiding it, Mia spoke up.

The woman Eugene held in high regard was not just these three.

It wasn’t about the vampire girl he kept by his side.

She seemed more than just a woman to him.

The woman Mia was talking about was Countess Cornelia Briem.

“Eugene asked me to pass on the news of his death to Countess Briem if I were to hear about it…”

Eugene had asked four people to do this if he were to die.

Cornelia Briem, Jill Dainer, Yuria Pentenburg, and Yerina Frost.

Considering Eugene’s confession to the three gathered today, it was not difficult to deduce his relationship with Cornelia.

“Who is it?”

“I can’t tell you that much. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. But… I had some expectations, but I didn’t expect it to hurt this much…”

“…”

Surprisingly calm, Jill complained of dizziness, rubbing his head.

Yuria’s reaction was not much different.

Perhaps they had noticed Eugene’s intentions more than Yerina’s.

The difference between those who had received the preventive injection and those who hadn’t seemed significant.

They had known for a while.

Eugene was a person with a lot of affection.

Whether for a short or long time, he gave love and trust in any form in his relationships with people.

That’s why they fell for Eugene.

They knew he would never treat people lightly.

He was always someone who deeply contemplated things.

But the problem was that Eugene didn’t live only one life.

If he had only one life, it wouldn’t have been impossible to envision a happy future with just one person.

But in each life, he gave love to every woman he met.

It was his nature.

His uncontrollable nature.

He never wasted any of the numerous chances given to him.

He never once pretended to be insincere.

Every moment, he trusted and gave love.

It was clear.

Even though he knew his heart was being worn away.

Even though he knew these people would disappear after this cycle.

He would still stubbornly and foolishly continue to love.

That was Eugene.

Yuria and Jill had fallen for such a person.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

“?!”

Creak.

At that moment, the door opened, and Yuria, Jill, and Mia all turned their heads and stood up as the Lord of Frost slowly closed the door behind him, exiting the room.

As if she was entering with a lot of anger, her ears were drooping.

Her eyes were turning red, and her makeup was slightly smudged.

From the waist up, she clearly looked like a woman who had been disappointed, but.

The tail swaying from side to side without control by the Ice Lord clearly revealed a sense of joy.

At this, the three of them thought simultaneously.

‘She accepted it.’

They could guess vaguely what had happened inside.

Surely the Ice Lord held onto Eugene like a dog, crying, and Eugene comforted her.

And then, resentful and denying, eventually accepting the confession that followed.

Surely she didn’t slap her face, right?

Jill thought to herself.

“T-the next turn is mine, right…”

“Wait.”

As Yulia hurriedly passed by and grabbed the doorknob.

Yerina’s hand gripped Yulia’s wrist.

At the moment when the grip of the calloused hand of the beast covered her, Yulia’s mind went blank.

‘My wrist is going to break!’

It was an instinctive fear.

Her body stiffened, and she couldn’t speak.

Knowing that the Ice Lord couldn’t harm her here was meaningless.

She just trembled with the feeling of her head being pushed into the mouth of a giant wolf.

“Listen well. Eugene is the same as before. Kind and gentle. Don’t go there to hurt her. If you don’t like it, just say you don’t like it to her face and leave. Don’t think about messing with her heart.”

“…”

Only then did Yerina release her grip.

Freed from fear, Yulia stood still for a moment, frozen in thought.

Without a word, she turned the doorknob.

Yulia entered through the open door.

With a thud, the door closed.

This time, Yulia’s magic enveloped the entire room, blocking out any sound.

Looking back, I realized that I had never been able to treat Yulia with a comfortable heart.

Of course, when dealing with Yerina, I was cautious not to reveal my feelings.

And when dealing with Jill, I was anxious about being caught in a trap, but.

When dealing with Yulia, I was never at ease for a different reason.

I could never figure out what Yulia was thinking.

I didn’t know what she was hiding behind her smile, or what she was plotting in moments of peace and quiet, keeping me up at night.

In a slightly different way from Yerina’s jealousy, she tormented me.

At first, I resented Yulia a lot.

There were more than a few times when things went wrong because of Yulia, and that was not an exception even in the 6th round when Yulia regained her memory.

I was too normal to accept Yulia’s distorted love.

“You’re here?”

“Uh, yeah… Eugene…”

I turned around at the familiar hesitant footsteps to see Yulia standing a little distance away, fidgeting with her hands.

Perhaps she couldn’t bring herself to come closer, so she just watched my reaction.

Even now, I don’t know what Yulia is thinking.

Is she here to reject my confession?

To accept it?

Or is she pretending to accept it while planning something behind my back…

“Shall we sit for now?”

“No… I want to talk standing…”

But.

I have to trust.

I decided to trust.

I will be the first to open up.

I decided to face Yulia.

So, any further doubts will only worsen the situation.

Doubts that are of no help at all.

There is no reason to harbor them anymore.

“That drink…”

“The drink?”

“Trium, I mean. It wasn’t just for me to enjoy in front of you, right…”

“…”

With a slightly sad face, Yulia speaks.

“I thought you were deliberately trying to please me… To gain something from me and then turn around and insult me… But you… Yujin, you… You were always sincere.”

“You’re not wrong. I said it before. I approached you to conquer you and escape from here.”

“That doesn’t matter at all… No matter how it started… I have no memory of the first encounter… All I remember is Yujin, who was kind to me and then betrayed me.”

“…”

Strange.

During the 6th round.

When war broke out due to Yulia’s trolling, I felt intense anger.

Now, I don’t feel even a speck of anger.

I haven’t forgotten.

I don’t think the lost timeline is meaningless.

I just brush off the past and believe that people can change.

“I… I know… It’s all just my imagination… My paranoia… I know… But I couldn’t stop it…”

“You just need to slowly fix it. It’s a habit that’s been around for centuries. It’ll take time to change.”

“Yeah, no… It didn’t take that much time… Look… I don’t stutter in front of Yujin anymore…”

As I regain my composure, Yulia approaches me.

She takes my hand and places it on her chest.

I can feel her faint heartbeat.

Yulia, who used to tremble and stutter whenever she met people (I was no exception), now stands before me completely calm, with a relaxed heartbeat.

“You’re a really bad person… You made me like this… You came into me freely and unlocked all the barriers… And now you’re bringing other women… What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No… Everyone must be like me… Yujin is that kind of person… She can’t stand seeing someone in trouble and not help them…”

She looks at me as if seeking permission, then wraps her arms around my waist.

She sobs, staining my chest with tears.

I changed clothes earlier because of Yeri, but it looks like I’ll have to change again.

“I love you too. I love you, Yujin… But I… I’m… I’m extremely jealous, have a bad temper, don’t know how to speak nicely, and my relationships with people are a mess… But it’s okay, right?”

With tears streaming down her face, she looks up at me.

Her pitiful appearance makes me smile unintentionally.

I wipe away Yulia’s tears and snot, then lock eyes with her.

“You’re a human full of flaws.”

“That’s true…”

“No, you’re wrong. Actually, there’s something I’ve wanted to clarify since earlier. The reason I fell for you is because you’re pretty and have a big chest.”

“Really?”

“Of course not. I’m just kidding. Don’t take everything so seriously.”

Finally, I feel her heartbeat irregularly through the hand on her chest.

I’ve finally succeeded in stirring up Yulia’s emotions.

Blushing slightly, I embrace Yulia tightly as she looks at me with trembling pupils.

I can almost hear her heartbeat, holding her as if not wanting to let go.

“Is there a reason for love? Can you pinpoint exactly when you fell in love? I found myself constantly wondering where you were, what you were doing, and what you were thinking. But just saying that is boring… I fell for you, yes. It must have been your innocence.”

“Innocence…?”

“The innocence you tried to hide and suppress. When you completely let your guard down, the sincerity that only I could see melted me. It even changed me, who had only thought of ways to manipulate you.”

“But… if you were to leave… I would have spies and agents make sure you had no choice but to come back to me… I schemed…”

“And now? Are you still doing that now?”

“No… I’m not…”

“Then it’s over.”

“…”

What’s done is done.

We may have hurt each other in the past.

But that past is no more.

The world we ruined with our mistakes has vanished into another dimension.

We have been given a new chance.

What matters now is the future.

As long as we don’t mess things up again, starting anew is possible.

“Can I… love you? Can someone like me… love Yujin?”

“Why hesitate when I already love you?”

“Ugh, I… I love you too…”

Once again, tears fall.

Yulia’s arms around me tighten.

There is no distance between us anymore.

Not even the slightest gap.

We embrace each other tightly, sharing body heat until our hearts feel like they might burst.