Chapter 62: Reaping the Harvest - 15
Chapter 62: Reaping the Harvest - 15
The shift in Jiha's demeanor drew a scoff from Leticia.
"Hmph. How dare a mere human...."
Allowing him to hold her—even struggling against him—had been a single mistake. A secret she would take to her grave. Leticia was half-tempted to simply eliminate Jiha if things went sideways.
She hadn't moved against him yet only because his mind was too sharp, his ability to manage any situation almost terrifying.
But a direct clash of force was a different story.
She was a Unique, an undisputed powerhouse even among the great elves.
As Jiha moved his hand toward his lower back, Leticia gave a cold smile.
"It's too cramped to fight here. Shall we relocate?"
"If you still feel like fighting after seeing this."
Leticia's face froze the moment she saw the sword Jiha drew.
"Wait, that's...."
The weapon he held was the very sword that had taken the lives of elves in the Madrum incident.
Leticia herself had used that blade to kill her own kin and help falsify the case.
"W-why is that here?"
She'd naturally assumed it had been submitted to the security officer as the murder weapon. Her complexion turned ashen.
Jiha played it shamelessly cool.
"Who knows? I'm not fully aware of that weapon's history either."
"If you think you can use that to blackmail me...."
Realizing that Garaon, Rugin, and Lijin were listening, Leticia hastily trailed off.
"Oh dear, even a Unique Grade seems to get scared silly at the sight of a little blade like this? Hmm?"
Jiha put on a look of mock pity and tucked the sword back into his belt.
"Seeing you scared to such a pitiful degree, I'll oblige you with my bare hands. Come on, then."
"......"
Jiha waggled his fingers, but Leticia remained frozen in place.
Even if she could beat him in a fight, the aftermath worried her.
What if Jiha ended up exposing the whole truth?
No—could she even beat him in a fight?
From what Leticia had experienced firsthand, Jiha prepared meticulously for every situation. Pamin's crew hadn't managed to lay a finger on him before they were all screaming in agony, and she herself had gotten tangled up in the fallout.
Would Jiha really provoke her so recklessly without a countermeasure? He must have some kind of plan.
Her thoughts having caught up to that, Leticia let her words trail off.
"This is City Hall. I'll... I'll exercise restraint...."
"No, you were the one who said we should relocate. I don't mind. Where to?"
"No, it's just...."
Leticia's fire had gone out. She hemmed and hawed, glancing around.
She wanted to take back what she'd said, but her pride refused to allow it.
"Ah, Sir Jiha. It seems your scheduled appointment is approaching. Wouldn't you need to prepare?"
"......"
Lijin interjected with deft timing, and Jiha simply stared at her.
Seizing the shift in topic, Leticia coughed awkwardly.
"Ah, right. Well... you're busy. Let's leave it for today."
"Hmm."
Jiha let the hum linger, then nodded.
"First, Rugin and Garaon. Go back and tell Uben to have the men standing by."
"Will you be alright without an escort, Commander?"
"The elves' eyes weren't friendly. They might be aiming for you. I don't like the thought of leaving you alone."
At their concern, Jiha nodded.
"I know what I'm doing. Go on ahead."
"Be careful, Commander."
Once Garaon and Rugin were gone, Jiha gave an order to Leticia.
"And you. Go seduce that guy with the slicked-back hair."
"...Excuse me?"
"Go fan the flames. Tell him that if a brave male elf comes along to solve this mess, you'd marry him and give him everything you have. Whip him up with talk like that."
"Are you insane? You want me to say that? No! Absolutely not!"
Leticia recoiled, shaking her head.
Jiha tsked.
"Just go say the words. Give him a look, flash a little leg. Make him fall head over heels...."
"I won't! I'd rather kill you than do that!"
When Leticia flared up, Jiha frowned.
He was just asking her to act a little so things could proceed, but she was hissing like a cat doused in water.
"You'd rather die than be sweet to a man? This is for both our...."
"Ah, perhaps we could try a different approach?"
Lijin stepped in to mediate.
"Lady Leticia could discreetly inform the elves that Sir Jiha and I are alone and vulnerable. That would give Lady Leticia some standing with the elves, and Sir Jiha could more easily achieve what he intends."
"...Is that so?"
Leticia's expression softened slightly.
After giving Lijin an uncomfortable look, she glared at Jiha again and nodded.
"Fine. That much... it's not difficult."
"It would be best to do it today so the other side can't prepare. Lady Leticia, please return and casually mention it in the afternoon."
"Good, sure...."
Still clearly uncomfortable, Leticia nodded.
"I'm not cooperating with the likes of you. I'm just solving an annoying situation."
"Let's talk privately for a moment."
"What?"
Leticia hesitated at Jiha's suggestion.
Her posture was guarded, ready to push back, but Jiha continued without waiting for her reply.
"Head downstairs and wait. Rack your brain for a place we can have a quiet word."
"......"
Leticia shot Jiha a glare, then spun around and left.
Once they were alone, Jiha gave Lijin a sideways look.
"That was a bit presumptuous, wasn't it?"
"It was, wasn't it?"
He understood that Lijin had stepped in to mediate, but hadn't it weakened his aim of pinning Leticia down? Now he'd have to add extra work.
Lijin acknowledged the point but explained.
"Still, Sir Jiha's order just now was a bit too much. Lady Leticia could never bring herself to do that."
"Which is precisely why you make her. Precisely...."
Leticia was a woman who looked down on men.
Taking orders from a man and having to fawn over one was nearly impossible for her to stomach—and that's exactly why he was trying to force it. Breaking her pride would make her much easier to handle.
But Lijin gently shook her head.
"When a woman is told by the man she cares for to go be sweet to another man, it tears her heart apart."
"Is that so?"
Jiha neither agreed nor disagreed.
He was in the middle of taming Leticia with the carrot and the stick.
Oppressive in public, gentle when they were alone.
He'd been calibrating that balance, but....
Lijin bowed her head.
"I'm sorry for overstepping. But I judged this would better serve your goals, Sir Jiha."
"Do you have a hunch about something?"
"The reason Lady Leticia got so furious at the term 'trophy wife' earlier seems to be because it came from you, Sir Jiha, and not someone else. If anyone else had said it, she'd likely have resorted to violence on the spot."
"......"
Lijin's speculation—though she didn't know that Jiha and Leticia had already shared a night together—still had a decent bead on the situation.
Jiha nodded.
"Got it. I'll wrap things up with Leticia. You wait on the first floor. If Purple or any other bastards try to start trouble with you, go ask a City Hall employee for help."
"Yes, understood."
Lijin gave a respectful bow.
Now, Leticia's location.
Jiha hadn't even designated a place, but he found her immediately.
The second-floor landing.
Leticia, who'd been leaning against the wall biting her lip, flinched when she saw Jiha.
She hadn't expected him to track her down this quickly.
"You didn't want anyone to see us meeting. But this is City Hall, people are coming and going, so the hallway's out. The restrooms are separated by gender, so those are out. That only leaves the middle of the stairwell."
"......"
Having her thoughts read so accurately, Leticia narrowed her eyes and glared.
A reflex to seem strong.
But Jiha spoke with brazen ease.
"Know anywhere quieter than this? Somewhere people can't overhear."
"...Follow me."
Leticia said nothing else and led the way.
She'd learned by now that pointless defiance would only make things harder.
Right now, her weak points were pinned from multiple angles.
Leticia led him to a corner of the second-floor corridor, a supply closet.
After checking that no one was watching, she went inside first.
Creak.
Jiha followed, and Leticia immediately shut the door.
Click.
Then she locked it.
The dim Mana Lamp on the ceiling cast a murky light over the storeroom.
Standing among dusty, old equipment, the blonde elf fixed Jiha with a frosty glare.
'She's thinking she can kill me if things go south....'
Until now, Leticia hadn't managed a single proper attack against Jiha.
Ever since the Pamin tavern incident, she'd been caught by her weaknesses, dragged along, and pushed around.
But now, having finally found a situation where she could pressure Jiha with force, she must have seen this as her chance.
'She spent the time I had her waiting agonizing and came to that conclusion.'
Of course, Leticia probably had no real intention of actually killing Jiha. The cleanup would be too difficult.
But she was definitely planning to break a few limbs and seize the upper hand.
That was why Leticia was glaring so fiercely again, ready to pounce the moment Jiha showed an opening.
Fully aware of her intentions, Jiha spoke first.
In moments like this, the first sentence was everything.
"Cut me some slack, would you?"
"What?"
Leticia, burning with fighting spirit, hesitated.
The smile on Jiha's face and the words he offered were the complete opposite of how he'd been cornering and intimidating her just moments ago.
Jiha put on a shameless act.
"I've got a reputation to maintain in front of the men. You think I was hard on you because I wanted to be?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"We both know the score. I know it's hard for you to show weakness in front of other elves too."
Jiha had come to this meeting as Blue Seal's representative, and Leticia as Purple's.
With so many eyes on them, they'd had no choice but to play power games and push each other by any means necessary.
That was what Jiha was saying now.
He hadn't done it because he wanted to.
"......"
Leticia, who had been bracing herself and steeling her resolve, suddenly felt the fight drain out of her.
Immediate combat. She had resolved to sever at least one of this bastard's limbs no matter what he said.
But now Jiha was suddenly acting friendly.
"It's not like I enjoy this either. Why do you keep making it so hard?"
"...Uh, umm."
The unexpected response left Leticia speechless.
She'd sworn she'd smash his face in if he mocked and sneered at her again.
But now that they were alone, here he was suddenly smiling and saying this.
The tension drained from Leticia's fist.
"...Then what is it?"
"This is what I'm saying. Let's both save face and work this situation out."
"......"
"You didn't actually believe everything I said, did you? I couldn't come off as soft with the others watching, right?"
At Jiha's look of disbelief, Leticia faltered.
Hadn't this Common, who'd suddenly appeared as Enril's proxy, spent the entire time mocking the elves, humiliating and toying with her?
But now he was saying he'd had no choice because of the watching eyes. That it was never his true intention.
"......"
Even considering that, she could have counterattacked.
But Leticia didn't feel like it.
Because...
She knew that position all too well.
There were times when you had to read the room and do things you had no heart for, whether you liked it or not.
'That's how I ended up maintaining an unwanted engagement for a hundred years... We're kindred spirits. What he's saying actually makes me feel a sense of closeness.'
Jiha could read Leticia's inner thoughts like an open book.
He'd finished this analysis long before he'd ever taken her to bed.
"...What is it?"
With her hostility gone, Leticia's voice trembled as she asked.
Her gaze toward Jiha was a complicated mix of turmoil and ambiguity.
Jiha asked back quizzically.
"What's what?"
"...You've been going around talking about that time."
The words slipped out, and Leticia glared at Jiha again.
What Garaon had said earlier—the talk about Jiha having slept with her, asking if he'd been spreading it around.
Leticia shot him an icy look.
"Right?"
To her, it was a firm accusation, but she'd already lost.
Leticia had originally come with the intent of settling things with Jiha in blood, yet here she was, arguing with words.
And now it was drifting into personal territory.
All according to Jiha's calculations.
Act strong all she wants—a blonde elf who knows nothing of men can be toyed with however he pleases.
With words, and with her body.