Chapter 274 Independence -3
Chapter 274 Independence -3
One look at the dark elf straddling Jiha's lap, her thighs pressing down over his knees, her face flushed crimson, and the situation was plain to see.
Leticia's face went pale. She turned reflexively toward the door.
"I told you to come here."
At Jiha's repeated command, Leticia froze mid-step. Facing the door, she forced herself to swallow and steady her voice.
Casual. As unshaken as she could manage.
"S-sorry. For barging in. It wasn't anything important, so I'll just—"
"I said come here."
Jiha raised his voice. Leticia flinched.
Every instinct screamed at her to flee, to retreat to her own room and bury her face in the bed. But defying Jiha's words was no simple matter.
When you were his woman and the two of you were alone, he softened. A stern, angry Jiha was a rare thing.
For someone as mentally fragile as Leticia, the mere sound of his anger was enough to make her tremble and struggle to stay upright.
"Leticia. This way."
Seeing her just stand there shaking, Jiha eased his tone.
Only after the third summons did Leticia lower her head and force her reluctant feet to carry her closer.
Enril, still seated atop him, was mortified that Leticia of all people had witnessed this. She kept her face turned pointedly away.
"Speak."
"Wh-what about..."
Leticia kept her head bowed, her voice strangled.
She looked ready to burst into tears at any moment. Enril, equally desperate to escape this situation, bit her lip and held her tongue.
Two beautiful women before him: one elf on the verge of crying, one dark elf utterly mortified. Jiha regarded them calmly.
"You came because you had something to say. Start with that."
"I'll... I'll say it later..."
"Say it now."
Leticia pressed her thumb hard into her index finger, fighting desperately to suppress the sob welling up inside her.
She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, refusing to look at Jiha or Enril perched on top of him.
"The, the elves want to do something for you."
"A proof of loyalty."
"...Mm. That's what Guason said."
The elves were a closed society, living solely by their own rules, but the elves of Waris now acknowledged and followed Jiha as their ruler. And a new ruler had to be shown their worth. Knowing that Jiha had become the Chief of a major power, the elves were practically burning with eagerness.
"So?"
"...Maybe you already know, but there's a city nearby called Ringard. Famous for its magic stone mines... The mayor there is an elf. If we show up, they'll accept us without suspicion. Usually, it takes about ten days to get there, but if only those who can use Mana go, it can be much faster."
"So you're proposing to occupy it?"
"If it's just regular elves, it might draw attention, but if I go, there won't be any..."
Leticia's voice trailed off, and her head dropped lower.
She had planned to announce this with pride, but the sight of Jiha holding Enril made her feel physically torn apart.
She had recently learned that Jiha had other women, and that Enril was also one of them.
But knowing it in her head was one thing. Seeing it directly in front of her was a devastating shock.
For Leticia, with her particularly fragile psyche, it was almost impossible to bear.
"Was that the end of your story? That you'd bring me a present on your own initiative?"
"...Well."
Leticia forced herself to continue.
"This is also something Guason and the other elves brought up... They said it would be good if you and I performed an elven rite together..."
"What kind of rite?"
"What did you just say?"
Enril snapped.
She'd been holding back out of sheer embarrassment over being seen straddling Jiha, but this was something she could not let pass.
"You're talking about the Pure-Bond Ceremony, aren't you? Are you joking, elf?"
"...What's it to you? Why are you interfering?"
Enril bared her teeth, and Leticia, as if welcoming the chance to redirect her pain, spat back with anger.
Both of them forgot the situation entirely and glared at each other. Jiha broke in.
"What's the Pure-Bond Ceremony?"
"...It's an insane elven rite. It's above a wedding. It binds souls together. Divorce exists even in elven culture, but the Pure-Bond Ceremony is far worse. Beings whose very souls are linked, swearing that even if they die, they will be reborn together beneath the World Tree. And this oath is no fairy tale."
Enril was utterly furious.
"It actually carries binding force. Souls linked by the Pure-Bond Ceremony, even if they gain another life, will be bound together again, as family or lovers."
A tale of ties spanning past lives. Just a myth, surely?
Jiha considered that, but Enril was adamant.
"It truly binds you, and it cannot be broken until the World Tree itself burns. It's a ceremony rarely performed even among elves. The idea of doing it with another species is something I have never even heard of!"
"...What business is it of yours? This is between us."
"It is absolutely my business! Because I can see exactly what filthy scheme this is to bind Jiha into elven society! A soul recognized by the Pure-Bond Ceremony is under the World Tree's blessing. He would become an elf!"
"What, it's a species naturalization ritual?"
Jiha fiddled with his own ear.
Meaning that Jiha, human as he was, would become an elf if he took the Pure-Bond Ceremony.
Enril shook her head.
"Your ears wouldn't grow pointed right away. But if your soul becomes that of an elf through the ceremony... gradually, your ears will sharpen and you'll gain the lifespan of an elf. After fifty years, you would no longer be human."
"So what? Why are you interfering?"
Leticia fired back, her voice sharp with anger.
"What's wrong with making Jiha an elf? Humans don't live that long anyway. Wouldn't it be a good thing for him to become an elf?"
"Stop spouting nonsense. I'm not handing Jiha over to lunatics!"
It wasn't just words. Enril wrapped her arms tightly around Jiha's neck and bared her teeth.
Her posture declared, in the most literal sense, that she would never let him go. Leticia's face registered a fresh shock.
The fact that Jiha wasn't pushing Enril away when she clung to him like that was devastating to her.
"D-dark elves are, are..."
The anger Leticia was trying to muster dissolved into a choked sob.
Even the furious Enril was taken aback. Leticia quickly wiped at her eyes with her arm, but her wiping froze mid‑motion, and her shoulders began to tremble.
"..."
When Leticia started crying, Enril's anger stalled into bewilderment.
Jiha, observing, calmly summed up the situation.
"This pointless talk has gone on long enough."
"I-I'm sorry..."
Leticia answered quickly, but she couldn't scrub the tears from her voice.
"The Pure-Bond Ceremony, or whatever it is, comes second. Was that the end of what you wanted to tell me, Leticia?"
"...Huh?"
"You said you'd take Guason and the elves to occupy Ringard? Enril here was just telling me she'd bring three cities to heel with her dark elves."
"Sunriver, Woodlock, and Silverlight."
Enril declared it boldly.
She was a bit flustered by Leticia's tears, but she realized she had nothing to be ashamed of.
Learning that the dark elves had devised a plan with the exact same reasoning, Leticia stared at Enril with a mix of shock and resentment.
"You..."
"Dry your tears, idiot."
Enril gave a pointed, derisive snort and pulled Jiha's head against her chest.
At first, she'd been flustered and embarrassed, but now she flaunted it openly.
She had concluded that this was her chance to assert dominance over this insufferable elf.
Wiping her tears with her sleeve, Leticia glared back with wet eyes.
"Those are just small and medium-sized cities, anyway. Ringard is far more important. In terms of magic stone production alone, it's one of the top two cities in all of Warsland! Jiha needs it much more!"
"Ah yes, elves are so famously skilled at occupying cities. You'll be lucky not to get lost and even arrive on time. Won't you draw your swords and start swinging so wildly you end up slitting the throat of the person next to you?"
"Aren't all three of those cities unremarkable except for grain? And Silverlight? That's got no special value except as a checkpoint connecting Waris to your homeland. So what's your real angle in targeting it? A ploy to suck up and get in Jiha's good graces? What happens when you march off with such a ridiculous plan and it's exposed before you even begin?"
"...You're one to talk, walking in here with talk of the Pure-Bond Ceremony. What, you planned to occupy just one Ringard and in return, demand Jiha become a member of the elves? You were planning to sweet-talk him with the promise of a long life without even explaining properly what the Pure-Bond Ceremony really is, weren't you?"
"That's not true! I just, I just thought it would be good if Jiha could live a long life, and the ceremony talk was something the other elves..."
The two women fought without backing down an inch. Jiha tsked.
At the small gesture, both of them instantly shut their mouths.
"Alright, I get it. I get—"
"Get down."
Leticia cut Jiha off.
Jiha stared at her in disbelief, and Enril looked horrified.
They both knew from hard experience that Jiha, though gentle once you submitted, was terrifying when his anger was truly roused. He never forgave insolence.
And yet she interrupted him? What kind of punishment was she courting? Could she even be forgiven?
Enril stood frozen as Leticia snapped at her.
"This is unfair. You get down too and listen."
Her claim was that just watching Enril cling to Jiha was enough to turn her stomach inside out.
Flustered, Enril nevertheless moved to climb off. Whatever else happened, she wanted to avoid making Jiha angry.
But Jiha gripped her bottom firmly, stopping her from moving. Enril's expression flickered into an involuntary heat before she hastily composed her features.
Showing excitement in front of an elf, her mortal enemy, was simply too disgraceful.
"..."
But Leticia noticed everything: Enril's flustered reaction, the lewd way Jiha's hand kneaded Enril's backside.
Leticia's face crumbled as if her world were ending. She tried to pull back, but Jiha extended his empty left hand toward her.
"I told you from the start to come here."
"What..."
"I have two hands."
At Jiha's summons, a hesitant Leticia approached warily.
Enril turned her head away on some strange impulse of embarrassment, and Leticia closed her mouth as well, taking her place beside Jiha.
Jiha wrapped his left arm around Leticia's waist and lightly stroked her rear beneath the miniskirt.
Kneading.
A hand toying with her backside.
"..."
Leticia bit her lip to keep from making a sound, but her face was flushed.
She was happy to be touched by Jiha, but it was mortifying to be seen like this in front of Enril.
"..."
Enril stole a glance at the scene and then quickly averted her gaze.
Watching Jiha fondle Leticia was embarrassing for her, too, and a deeper jealousy boiled up from her chest, utterly unbearable.
As the two women fell silent in their mutual discomfort, Jiha gave a succinct summary.
He would provide some motivation.
"I can see you two don't get along, so let's keep this simple. I understand what each of you wants to do, and I say do both. The one who does a better job will earn my favor."
"What..."
"..."
Enril and Leticia understood exactly what Jiha meant.
He would dote on the one who performed better. In other words, he would spend the night with her.
It was excellent motivation.