[CHAPTER 53]
So he said he went out for temple business.
Judging by him strolling through the night market, he seems quite at ease.
Seeing the two of them facing each other and chatting amicably made me feel oddly irritated.
On top of that, Seria was holding what looked like freshly bought street food in her hand.
Looks like they are enjoying a fantastic night market.
Why did watching those two together feel so unpleasant?
Without even noticing my gaze, the two of them kept talking, their eyes fixed on each other.
As if they were the only two people in this space.
Ridiculous. Seriously.
It even went so far that Seria grabbed Sian’s sleeve and pulled him closer to whisper affectionately into his ear.
Was I annoyed because of how Seria was acting, or because the person she was with was Sian… or what?
Thud!
“O-ouch! Miss, what is wrong with you?”
After smacking my own head once, I felt my senses come back a little.
The side effect was that a nearby merchant panicked and asked if I was all right.
Are you crazy?
Get a grip. It is not like this is your first or second day living as a transmigrator.
Just because a handsome man acts like he would give you his heart and soul and you indulged in some sweet fantasies, do you think the world belongs to you?
What are you, some romance fantasy heroine who cannot stand seeing the male lead with another woman?
Do you want to regress again? With all your experience, you are getting distracted by a man?
If this were a real romance fantasy, there would be about ninety-nine comments saying something like, “The heroine is so frustrating. If it were me, I would be looking for a way out of infinite regression instead. Dropping this because she is too busy swooning over the male lead.”
After forcefully reining in my wandering thoughts, I finally felt a bit calmer.
Yes, honestly, this is a problem with that face.
That face has been bothering me lately for no reason, and that is why my heart feels unsettled.
The most important thing for me right now is to meet the World Tree and escape this insane, psychopathic cycle of infinite regression.
Reaffirming my goal once more, I clenched my fist and steeled my resolve.
Right. So let us stop looking now.
I let out a shallow breath and turned my gaze away.
No, I was about to turn it away.
If I had not seen mana creeping out from the hand of Seria that was not holding Sian’s sleeve, I would have.
Snap!
“What are you doing?”
I grabbed Seria’s hand just before the mana flowing from it could reach Sian.
My body moved before my thoughts did.
Strengthening my legs with mana and rushing from there to here took only a fleeting instant.
But it was a situation that warranted it.
Mana is a power deeply influenced by the caster’s mental state.
Therefore, if the caster is consumed by a particular emotion, that emotion becomes infused in the mana as well.
After losing most of my mana, my ability to sense mana had also deteriorated sharply.
Yet even I could clearly feel it.
Killing intent.
I did not know why, but it was certain that Seria was harboring intense killing intent toward Sian right now.
I looked at Seria with a guarded gaze.
Both of them looked shocked by my sudden appearance and my grabbing her wrist.
“Jerena…?”
A flustered Sian called my name.
I shot him a glance.
He was looking at me with clear, clueless eyes.
Just moments ago, his face had irritated me to no end.
Ironically, seeing it now only made me feel relieved that I was not too late.
This is driving me crazy.
When I get back to the estate later, I really need to get my emotions under control again.
“Why… why are you doing this?”
A trembling voice made me turn my head.
Seria looked flustered, as if she might burst into tears at any moment, clearly shocked at having her wrist grabbed out of nowhere.
It is hard to believe she was harboring killing intent just moments ago.
The mana that had gathered in her hand was already completely dispersed.
It seemed she had scattered it the moment her action was thwarted by me grabbing her.
But that does not make what happened disappear.
“Why did you do it?”
“…Pardon? D-do what?”
“You were trying to kill Sir Sian just now.”
I asked coldly, not loosening my grip on her wrist.
A brief silence fell.
“Excuse me?”
“W-what?”
Both of them looked thoroughly bewildered.
They also had expressions that plainly said they had no idea what I was talking about.
Sian truly did not know, fine.
But Seria could honestly become an actress.
Well, that is why she scammed me in the previous loop.
I am not fooled.
I have already been deceived by Seria enough to regret it deeply.
“Jerena, what are you talking about?”
Sian approached and asked me.
He was trying to remain calm, but his face was full of confusion.
“…What?”
“If Sian had been touched, he would have been at least comatose. The killing intent was that strong. Mana like that seeps in through the skin, and once the killing intent-laden mana spreads through the body like poison…”
“…”
“I trust you know what would happen.”
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded grave.
This should be enough for Sian to understand.
I know the situation was sudden.
If I suddenly appeared among people who knew nothing and said, “This woman was trying to kill you,” I would just be treated like a madwoman.
But Sian is different.
He knows I am a demon, which means he knows I can sense mana, and most importantly, he trusts me—
“Jerena, what is the meaning of this. Release her at once.”
Trust—
“Please. Accusing someone with such nonsense all of a sudden… I am disappointed.”
What… damn it.
What did I just hear?
Because those unexpected words came out of Sian’s mouth, the strength drained from the hand gripping Seria’s wrist.
“Ah…”
Only then did Seria cradle her freed wrist and let out a small sound, her 모습 utterly repulsive.
Why is it that yesterday, just seeing Seria was enough to send me into a panic?
Unlike my fear of panicking again, today I felt like I wanted to grab that well-kept hair of hers and rip it out, scattering it across the ground.
“Sir Sian, are you doubting me right now?”
“It is not doubt. I am simply stating what is not true as not true.”
“…Sir Sian.”
“Jerena.”
That troubled expression.
He has never once looked at me like that.
Sian continued speaking to me as I hesitated.
“I am the Captain of the Holy Knights. I can sense divine power and mana to some extent. However, while I was with Seria, I did not feel her attempting to use mana even once. Not before you grabbed her wrist, and not after.”
“That is—!”
I do not know how she did it, but…
I bit my lower lip.
Unlike me, who had suddenly accused her of trying to harm him, his explanation was perfectly logical.
Ignoring my faltering words, Sian went on.
“And she is a Saintess candidate of the Grand Temple, personally selected by the High Priest. Anyone with mana cannot become a Saintess candidate.”
His tone remained firm until the very end.
He sounded angry at me, or perhaps disappointed.
No, not “perhaps.”
He was disappointed.
“As for today… please consider it Jerena’s mistake and forgive her. Lady Seria. I apologize on her behalf.”
“Ah, of course.”
Wow, this is really…
My pride was hurt.
The fact that he apologized for me, and that Seria graciously accepted it.
It felt like I had become the foolish, troublesome burden of a noble family.
Is that really so different from the truth?
A hollow laugh almost escaped me.
With even the High Priest being invoked to vouch for Seria’s innocence, what could I possibly say without a single piece of evidence?
My head felt hot as I ran a hand through my hair.
This really… feels disgusting.
No matter how many times it happens, this kind of thing never gets any easier to endure.
