Her flushed cheeks, her pitifully leaned body, and her expression as she glared with a snarl.
Judith thought as she watched Bersia’s behavior.
‘Crazy bitch…’
Still, she thought it might be better that Bersia was acting this way now, rather than how she was before, but even so, at this moment, a chill ran down her spine.
What was even more amusing was Usher’s reaction.
His eyes widened in surprise, but then he slowly grinned and lifted the corners of his mouth, looking blatantly pleased. This was the epitome of melodrama.
At least she understood why Bersia was acting that way.
But emotionally, she just couldn’t follow him.
With a brief sigh and a swipe of her hand through her hair, Judith felt the need to bring the situation under control.
“Everyone, stop.”
With that, the three of them froze in place.
Meanwhile, as Judith deliberately ignored Bersia, who was peeking her head out from behind her, she took out a letter from her chest.
It was a letter sealed with Lycas’s emblem.
“Sorry, but we’re not the ‘good slaves’ you were imagining. We’re more like secret envoys.”
At that moment, the captain tilted his head.
“Hm?”
“I came to deliver a letter from Lycas. All of this was just made up.”
Shff, as Judith unfolded the letter, the captain’s gaze immediately went to the Lycas seal.
He furrowed his brows, then snatched the letter and began reading it up and down several times.
Then, with a low murmur, he scanned the three of them one by one.
At that, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Aha, so that’s it. After capturing that whore, you came to clean up your mess… That was your purpose, huh? I can certainly understand now.”
He seemed intrigued.
Judith didn’t feel much surprise at the fact itself.
‘They’re simpler than I thought.’
If he were truly smart, he wouldn’t be out here pirating with this kind of strength.
His shortsighted and impulsive nature must be why he was playing the king in a place like this.
He then showed a sign of agreement.
So, he started to consider the terms.
“What are the damages for the one who breaks the pact?”
“Already thinking of betraying me?”
“I’m worried you’ll be the one betraying me.”
Grin—the captain smiled.
Judith raised an eyebrow and responded.
“This is an agreement forged by the three island kings. The one who betrays first should be prepared to face the combined attack of the other two.”
“So you’re saying we’ll all be watching each other’s backs, huh? That’s fine, too.”
The captain tucked the letter into his chest.
It had been resolved too easily, but maybe this was enough.
That was the thought that crossed his mind.
“However, let me add one more special condition.”
“EOF?”
“Hand over that woman. That’s my negotiation condition.”
The captain’s finger pointed toward Usher.
He then smirked at Bersia, who was left speechless, and, with a sleazy grin, he looked Usher up and down.
“She’s got the kind of build that could be my wife. I guess you could say I fell for her at first sight?”
“W-What’s that supposed to mean?! This person and I are in love, you know?!”
“Survival of the fittest, that’s the truth of the world. A beautiful woman belongs in the hands of the strong, doesn’t she? Weak women like you…”
“Such insolence!!!”
“Strength is the law…”
Kuh-gung!
The space slightly trembled.
At the sudden release of mana, Bersia let out a hollow laugh.
Judith was, in many ways, left dumbfounded.
If she looked just a little closer, she could see the masculine Usher, while Bersia was acting like a beauty.
And, of course, the attitude of trying to take someone else’s woman.
Perhaps swept up by the atmosphere, now Bersia was openly hugging Usher and growling at her.
‘Why are there only idiots here?’
That was the thought that crossed her mind.
“Hey! Tall girl! What do you think? Can you accept my conditions?”
The captain shouted with a confident attitude.
Judith clenched her mouth shut, but first, she cleared up the unnecessary misunderstanding.
“It’s possible.”
“Judith!”
“Hahaha!!!”
“If it doesn’t matter that he’s a man…”
“…?”
As the captain burst into a wild laugh, he suddenly froze.
His eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“…What?”
“If it doesn’t matter that he’s a man, then take him. This guy.”
Judith gestured toward Usher with her chin, and the captain, as if in disbelief, looked into Usher’s eyes.
At that moment, her grinned and whispered,
“Darling.”
His voice was a low, deep rumble.
Thud
The wine glass in the captain’s hand fell.
The love of fate sank into oblivion.
Usher was dismissed.
Though they should have discussed what came next, the captain couldn’t easily shake off the shock. He stared at Bersia with a look full of lingering regret, his gaze dripping with bitterness.
Thus, Judith kicked the two of them out, and in the blink of an eye, sher, who had gone from a slave to a guest, entered a room with Bersia.
Only then did sher calm down.
In other words, he belatedly felt embarrassed and twisted his body in discomfort.
‘Ah… Ah!!!’
He inwardly screamed and began pulling at his hair.
The words he had spoken kept echoing in his mind.
—“I-It’s mine!”
And it all started from there, with declarations like “we love each other,” and so on.
Just thinking about it was already embarrassing, but considering that he had actually pulled Bersia close and held her tightly, he was on the verge of losing his mind.
How on earth was he supposed to explain this?
Even now, he could feel her gaze from across the room as she took off her wig and changed clothes.
Was she teasing him? She was definitely going to tease him, right?
Or… maybe she might be offended?
Unable to even lift his head, he was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.
A person who can be considerate of others often ends up being the kind of person who constantly worries about how others see them.
sher’s thoughts gradually moved toward the idea that Bersia must have been offended.
Yeah, he should apologize.
Still, she was someone he should be respectful of, and it wasn’t acceptable to just pull her in like that.
His hand, which had been tightly gripping his temple, gently moved to rest on his knee.
Usher squeezed his eyes shut and said,
“F-First, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry for what?”
“For acting on my own… Um…”
sher’s earlobes turned red.
Trying to explain the situation to himself made him even more embarrassed.
Bersia paused for a moment, then got up and sat next to Usher on the bed where he had been sitting.
As sher flinched, she spoke.
“Is it because you said, ‘It’s mine?’”
“…!”
“Or was it when you said, ‘We love each other?’”
“!!!”
sher’s entire body shrank.
In that moment, a low laugh was heard.
“It’s okay. I didn’t mind.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t mind. You were trying to protect me.”
Slowly, Usher lifted his head to look at Bersia.
She was smiling brightly, just like usual.
For a moment, relief washed over him, and soon after, a deep sense of gratitude filled him—he had been understood.
It wasn’t often that she fully grasped his intentions without any teasing.
As a result, his eyes started to well up.
“A saint…”
“And, well, you’re mine, too, aren’t you?”
“?”
Thunk—her fingertips tangled with his.
Bersia’s smile deepened.
“I’m yours. And you’re mine.”
Crack—their fingers were tangled, trapped in a strange hold.
The unusual atmosphere and the meaningful words made Usher suddenly think of something entirely inappropriate.
Could this be a conversation between lovers?
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, an electric current ran down his spine.
A tingling sensation caused a rush of heat to spread through him.
Even though he tried to convince himself it was just an illusion, his reaction didn’t stop.
Fumbling for another answer, he said,
“Th-the… body… Yes! That body is mine, so…”
“Mm, it’s yours. The body.”
Her laughter deepened a little.
But why did it feel so strange?
“I’m happy. It feels like you understand me properly.”
“O-of course…! We’re in a relationship where we have each other’s bodies…”
“Just the body?”
Her words felt more persistent and unclear than usual.
“If we’re just in a relationship where we share our bodies, doesn’t that seem too cold? It even looks a bit promiscuous.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then, do we share other things too?”
It felt like she was expecting some other kind of answer.
Usher’s eyes started to spin.
He couldn’t quite bring himself to look directly at her and, instead, found his gaze wandering toward the wallpaper.
This was all Bersia’s fault.
She always played around like this, and now, when the situation got serious, his thoughts kept drifting to the wrong direction.
He tried to blame someone else and think of an escape from the situation.
Even in the midst of it all, the pressure on his hand grew stronger.
“…I, I…”
“Yeees…”
“I was happy.”
It felt like something was off.
It seemed like they were talking about completely different things.
No, it must have been that way.
Usher’s lips pressed together.
He didn’t give any other answer to her words.
It was hard to explain why, but instinctively, he felt that he shouldn’t give a rash answer.
At some point, Bersia also fell into silence, sensing his mood.
Her persistent gaze lingered on him.
It felt like his body was stiffening.
In the end, Bersia loosened her grip on his hand.
Then, Usher, unable to fully interpret the emotions in her words, murmured something mixed with emotions he couldn’t decipher.
“Do you know, Sir, how cunning you are?”
“…?”
Bersia brushed Usher’s sideburns back.
She stroked his cheek with her thumb.
“You make people hope, make them misunderstand.”
What exactly?
“You casually touch the line, just enough to tease, then turn away.”
Soon, a smile returned to Bersia’s voice.
“You’re a real sly one. Truly.”
Only then did Usher feel a sense of relief, but he denied it.
“…I’m not that kind of person.”
During the conversation, Usher never once looked into Bersia’s eyes.
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he couldn’t tell yet.
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