Emojis
ForTestingPurposeIt was an incredibly sudden encounter, but if you reflect for a moment, the responsibility for this situation actually lay with Usher.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAfter all, he had originally said he was just going for a short walk, but had spent nearly two hours here.
EmojisForTestingPurposeNot only did he leave after parting ways, but he did so while leaving her behind at the inn.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was likely that he had planned to wait until she returned, but when she didn’t show up, he went to find her himself.
EmojisForTestingPurposeDespite her appearance, Bersia was quite overprotective, so she might have been worried while looking for him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher felt guilty.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt the same time, he felt a sense of awkwardness.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe was confused about how to behave between Igor and Bersia.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was at that moment.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming over to me?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…”
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher moved like a shadow and stood beside Bersia.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIgor smiled more broadly at the sight.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher, on the other hand, only blushed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe had shown no resistance and had silently obeyed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThus, they stood in a standoff.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher wanted to mention that he knew about Igor’s body swap.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHowever, Igor was quicker.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ah, Lord Therbion. You’ve come to find the Saintess.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, Your Highness.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Your dedication to your duties as a knight is truly admirable. It’s as expected from someone who sets an example for many of the Holy Knights.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You flatter me, Your Highness.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeIgor pretended not to notice.
EmojisForTestingPurposeOnly then did Usher realize that Bersia didn’t like him much.
EmojisForTestingPurposePerhaps there was no need to complicate things further.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThere might be another day to discuss this matter separately.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIgor apologized with his eyes.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher, in turn, answered with an awkward smile and muttered,
EmojisForTestingPurpose“We…”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, Saintess. Thank you for keeping an old man company until this late hour.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was at that moment that they were about to say their goodbyes.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes… please be careful, Your Highness.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Of course.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhoosh!
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia suddenly grabbed Usher’s wrist and led him away.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher was startled and whispered quietly.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Saintess! Please…! The greeting…!”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Let’s go.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher felt bewildered.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhen he looked back, Igor was still standing there, smiling awkwardly, as if in a difficult position.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThey were leaving without properly saying goodbye.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhat kind of behavior was this?
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher tried to stop and insist on properly saying farewell.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut Bersia didn’t listen.
EmojisForTestingPurposeInstead, she tightened her grip on his wrist, pulling him more forcefully.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHis wrist ached.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher felt increasingly frustrated with her emotional actions.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAfter a while, they finally arrived at the inn.
EmojisForTestingPurposeRight away, Bersia spoke up.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What did the two of you talk about?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher froze in his tracks.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe looked up while rubbing his sore wrist.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia’s face was full of irritation and anger.
EmojisForTestingPurposePerhaps it was anxiety, too.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut faster than such assumptions,
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘She’s asking me that?’
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher felt incredulous at Bersia’s sudden question, not with hostility or other emotions, but with surprise at her behavior.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What did we talk about?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe asked again, and Usher clenched his lips tightly.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe felt as though something was boiling inside of him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeControlling his emotions was not easy.
EmojisForTestingPurposeOf course, Usher knew that Bersia didn’t like Igor.
EmojisForTestingPurposeMaybe he had heard about her hometown from Igor, and that was why he didn’t want to share it.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut still…
EmojisForTestingPurposeCouldn’t she trust that he would have handled things well?
EmojisForTestingPurposeDid she think that he wouldn’t understand her if there was something she didn’t want revealed?
EmojisForTestingPurposeAll those thoughts were bundled up and thrown inside him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd the emotion that emerged was none other than ‘frustration.’
EmojisForTestingPurposeHis voice grew sharper.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…I just went to the cathedral to pray during the walk. There, I happened to meet His Highness and had a brief conversation. That’s all.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Two hours of talking? Just the two of you? At this late hour?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I already mentioned that I prayed. We also organized some sacred scriptures together. I can tell you everything we talked about. The reason we prayed at such a late hour, and also about His Highness’s experiences when he was still a trainee. We ate bread with raisins and listened to a sermon related to that. There was nothing strange about it.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Even if that’s the case, it’s still a problem, isn’t it? Being alone with that old man at such a late hour…”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You’ve never prohibited such things when it was with someone else.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia flinched and shivered.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHer expression darkened.
EmojisForTestingPurposeNormally, Usher would have apologized by now.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut today, he didn’t want to.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia was rude.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe hadn’t considered his feelings, nor had she considered Igor’s.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAlthough she was usually reckless, today it was especially so.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“It was just an ordinary conversation. Why am I being questioned like this?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher’s expression was cold.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHis tone didn’t carry any of his usual warmth.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia’s face showed signs of confusion.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWas she so surprised that things weren’t going the way she expected?
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe narrowed her brows and spoke.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Do you think I can’t trust you?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSometimes, expressions speak more than words.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThis might have been one of those moments.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher didn’t hide the disappointment he felt.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia’s lips trembled, opening and closing repeatedly.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I’m just worried…”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What are you worried about?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You can’t even tell me that?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher didn’t say anything further.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIn fact, he could have said something more hurtful.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe could have mocked her, asking if she had a guilty conscience.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut he held back, and that was the only patience he managed to show.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher sighed deeply.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia’s fingers twitched.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd then Usher spoke.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…It seems like you’re not in a state to talk right now. Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was an obvious summoning order.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia’s gaze wavered.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe couldn’t leave her spot and stood there, looking down at Usher.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher asked.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Or would it be more convenient for me to go to the knights’ barracks?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe raised her hand.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut,
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…No.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeThud, her hand dropped weakly right after.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWithout saying anything, Bersia turned around and opened the inn’s door to leave.
EmojisForTestingPurposeEverything that happened after Usher left was beyond Bersia’s control.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe late-night walk was barely inside the Order’s grounds.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe couldn’t have expected anything significant to happen, and she waited for him, thinking he would return within an hour.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHowever, time passed, and Usher didn’t come back.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe emotions that surfaced in Bersia at that moment were quite complex.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWorry, and a bit of irritation.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was frustrating that he hadn’t returned, even though he surely knew she was waiting.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe reason she went to look for him was that.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe just wanted to tell him not to make her worry.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat was how she had planned to end it.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut she couldn’t because she saw Igor.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe was the one person Usher was never supposed to meet in the Order, yet she saw him leaving the cathedral with him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt that moment, her heart raced wildly.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHer mind went completely blank, thinking maybe Igor had mentioned something about her past before joining the Order.
EmojisForTestingPurposeOf course, she had to admit it.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was rude, and there was no consideration.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia knew this.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut Usher’s reaction covered areas she hadn’t anticipated.
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘Why?’
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhy did he give such a cold expression?
EmojisForTestingPurposeHad he issued a summoning order?
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia, curled up in bed, tried to calm her pounding heart under the blanket.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher was someone who shouldn’t show that kind of expression toward her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe was always supposed to smile, and if not, he should have been looking at her with a sulky stare, as if embarrassed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe was someone who should always affirm her, never distancing himself from her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeYet, for the first time, Usher had pushed her away.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt that moment, there was no hesitation in him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThis left her with no choice but to think.
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘Did he hear something? Yeah, that old man might have said something.’
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher must have heard something she didn’t want known.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat’s why he was disappointed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe answer seemed increasingly hopeless.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia had no excuse for that matter.
EmojisForTestingPurposeSo, she thought about the possibility of Usher continuing to push her away.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat thought left her feeling lost.
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘What should I do?’
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhat about tomorrow? Will he accept my apology? If not?
EmojisForTestingPurposeWould she have to spend the whole day without him if he said he didn’t want to see her again today?
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd what about the next day?
EmojisForTestingPurposeThen the next?
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘I have to stop this…’
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut she couldn’t.
EmojisForTestingPurposeUsher was now in the Saintess’s body, and if he didn’t call for a guard, she would have to stay in the barracks.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat would be a terrible situation.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe bit her nails.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIn the darkness, Bersia continued to dwell on her thoughts with tired eyes.
EmojisForTestingPurpose‘I don’t want this.’
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe wanted to be close to him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe hated the coldness in his eyes when he looked at her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe hated the idea that he might stop needing her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHer thoughts expanded further, leading to dissatisfaction with ‘this state,’ which she had once been happy to share with him.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt that moment, stress reached a boiling point.
EmojisForTestingPurposeCrack—
EmojisForTestingPurposeHer nail tore, and something strange happened right after.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Eh?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia blinked, looking around.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe was back in her original room.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd then, a loud voice.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBersia instinctively touched her chest.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThere was a bump.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Ah…?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeHer body had returned to its original form.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe second trigger of the transformation had been activated due to extreme stress.