<Episode 54>

 

“Even after saying that, you still don’t believe me?”

“…Yeah. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Then logically, me and my brother—no, Abellard—or rather, I… damn it.”

Eveline sighed involuntarily as she spoke.

“If I really wanted to kill you, I had plenty of opportunities yesterday. Isn’t that right?”

She was right. There had been many chances.

But what if they were trying to lull him into a false sense of security before killing Eveline?

Elkais thought that once he lost Eveline, everything would be meaningless. That’s why he kept doubting their words and watching the situation closely.

He couldn’t come to a conclusion.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind, so think it over. I don’t want to force anything on you anymore. No matter what I say, you won’t believe it if you don’t think it’s true.”

Elkais nodded slightly at her words.

“Then let’s go get some breakfast.”

“I’ll go fetch some water.”

“Yes. Tell my body to wash up. As an Alpha, the smell of blood is very tempting.”

“…Alright.”

Elkais responded and watched Abellard and Rubellite head outside.

“Elkais.”

His attention was drawn back to Eveline as she hugged him.

“You don’t believe what they’re saying, do you? They tried to kill me…”

Elkais felt more confused seeing how genuinely anxious she seemed.

But if Eveline was telling the truth and what they said was a lie, he would have committed an irreversible sin against her.

“You promised to protect me, Elkais.”

“Eveline.”

“Yes?”

Elkais’s heart pounded as Eveline, rubbing her head against his chest, hugged his waist.

The effect of the fruit that prevented him from sensing pheromones had completely worn off.

Elkais was once again acutely aware of Eveline as an Omega, surrounded by her sweet scent.

“I’m so anxious, Elkais.”

“Eveline, don’t worry. I’m sorry for making you uneasy.”

He hugged her gently, just as she was hugging him, and patted her back.

“I’ll do my best to make you feel safe. So don’t tremble.”

Though she was trembling, she seemed to find some stability in his reassuring touch.

As he tried to pull away, she looked into his eyes and asked,

“Can’t you kiss me?”

“What?”

“I want to kiss you. I’d like it if you kissed me, Elkais.”

Elkais was confused. It wasn’t like Eveline to seek physical intimacy just because she felt anxious. But he thought that perhaps she might, given her current weakened state. People weren’t themselves when they were vulnerable.

Thinking this, he felt happy that she was relying on him.

Conscious of the thickening pheromones, he sighed and said,

“That’s not possible.”

“Why? Don’t you want to kiss me?”

“I do.”

He realized his true feelings as he spoke.

“But it’s not right. You’ve lost your memory.”

“Why is it wrong to kiss when I’ve lost my memory?”

“Because you’ll regret it when you get your memory back. And…”

And he didn’t want to see her regret their kiss.

He knew she didn’t share his feelings because she always treated their interactions as insignificant.

“And I don’t think your feelings right now are genuine.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Didn’t you say you can sense my pheromones?”

He remembered that before she lost her memory, she could somewhat sense his pheromones. So her reaction might just be a physical one.

He wanted her to genuinely want him. If that were the case, he would gladly give himself and everything he had to her.

But that was just his wishful thinking.

“What if I want to kiss you even after I regain my memory?”

“Then…”

Elkais groaned involuntarily as he spoke.

“Then I’ll be yours.”

She smiled blissfully at his words and caressed his cheek.

* * *

Outside with Abellard, Eveline still had the blue note from last night.

[Unauthorized intruder allowance level 1/0)

D-Day 2.

Deal with Grand Duke Rubellite Croppers within two days.]

After checking the note again, she tucked it back into her sleeve and looked at Abellard.

“What’s wrong, Eve? Are you tired? Should I carry you?”

“Brother.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever lied to me?”

“Uh, that… I’m sorry.”

Abellard apologized immediately, not knowing what she was referring to but assuming it was his fault because he had lied to her many times before.

“What are you sorry for?”

“For saying I was in a lot of pain when it was just a little?”

“Oh, come to think of it.”

Eveline realized that Abellard’s body, which often whined about being in pain, was actually quite healthy.

“You’re quite healthy, aren’t you?”

“Hehe.”

Eveline thought he didn’t always lie. He must have been truly in pain when she had pushed him hard during treatments.

But some of his complaints had indeed been false.

“Not just that.”

“Is there something else?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know, but I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Eveline felt a bit deflated by Abellard’s preemptive apology before even knowing the reason. Then she handed him the note she had.

“What is this?”

“Oh, this…!”

Eveline was speechless.

She was now certain that it was the gods who created this situation.

If it had been a magician, the magic that didn’t work on Rubellite couldn’t have worked only on Abellard. Moreover, magic had the limitation that the caster needed to be present to cast it.

Therefore, the only entity that could achieve something so illogical was a god.

This meant that Abellard wasn’t deceiving her on purpose.

After reaching that conclusion, Eveline could finally put aside some of her doubts about Abellard.

“Don’t cry.”

“I-I’m afraid if I can’t speak, you’ll…”

“I understand. I won’t abandon you, so don’t cry.”

“…Okay.”

Abellard wiped away his tears and smiled again. His behavior left Eveline feeling drained.

“There must be another way.”

“I don’t need another way. I just want you to live, Eve.”

Abellard didn’t know that the note from Goddess Yulias didn’t state his wish. So he could say such things to her without hesitation.

If she had seen his wish, she would have been flustered, but it was fortunate that she hadn’t.

“There is another way. I don’t know what it is yet, but I want us all to survive and leave here—my brother, Elkais, and you.”

“I just want to live with you, Eve.”

“You should think more broadly.”

“I am thinking broadly.”

Abellard said, puffing out his chest.

“But I still don’t like that Elkais, so it’s not going to work.”

“That’s just being unreasonable.”

She laughed again at his ridiculous behavior.

Even though he had her face, she was still charmed by Eveline’s expressions and held her hand.

“Because it’s Grand Duke Croppers’ body, it feels a bit unsettling.”

“Doesn’t smelling Omega pheromones with my body make you feel disgusted?”

“Not that much. I’ve become an Omega too, but why do I only feel Grand Duke Croppers’ pheromones so strongly?”

“It’s the opposite. Everything else makes me feel like throwing up, but only Eve’s scent is pleasant.”

Abellard was surprised that he was allowed to say such things, and he gripped her hand tighter.

“I really like you, Eve. You’re the most precious thing in the world to me.”

“Me too.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I think I’m the most precious to myself too.”

Abellard frowned playfully at Eveline’s words. He had been happy, thinking she meant she felt the same as him.

“That’s mean.”

“I’m a bit mean. That’s why I always bothered you.”

“Bother me again. I like it when you hit, threaten, and bother me.”

“Why would you like that?”

Eveline spoke with a tone of exasperation, and Abellard laughed innocently.

“I want to be the only one you have such strong feelings for.”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s find some fruit.”

“That’s my sincere truth, not nonsense!”

She pulled his cheek, making his words sound funny.

“Let’s go.”

“Hehe.”

He quickly forgot the earlier sadness and followed her, enjoying her touch.

They soon found a banana tree.

“The leaves are pretty useful. It looks like Elkais took some from here.”

“Indeed. He seems to have roughly cut them.”

Eveline saw the marks where Elkais had cut the leaves.

Banana leaves were used to cover the roof of the cabin. The broad leaves were quite useful.

But she wondered how Elkais had managed to cut just the leaves, as the bananas hung lonely on long stalks.

“It can’t do photosynthesis like this, yet it’s still surviving.”

“Photosynthesis?”

“No, let’s just take these for now.”

Eveline remembered how he had said he would roast bananas when she mentioned liking them and smiled slightly.

“I want to go back to my original body soon.”