Chapter 174: Then, Together Tomorrow
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 174: Then, Together Tomorrow
“This is Theodora Lymain. She’s entered the Labyrinth with me before... and I’ve received a lot of help from her.”
“L-Lymain...!”
The moment Sera heard the name Lymain, she ducked her head in a sharp, deep bow. A moment later, her massive maternal bounty swayed, following its owner’s lead.
“H-hello!”
She’s huge.
Theodora felt a slight prickle of wariness in her heart, recognizing a formidable opponent for the first time in a long while.
“And this is Sera Otmarie. She’s the daughter of the Mounted Goat Inn’s owner, and I’m currently staying here.”
“Aha... nice to meet you.”
As Theodora reached out a hand with a natural greeting, Sera lifted her head and cautiously took it.
“Hmm.”
Yoo Eon had nothing more to say. There was plenty he could say, but he didn't think any of it was appropriate for the situation. He knew that the nobles of this world thought nothing of polygamy, but that usually meant a noble wife with a few concubines on the side.
Above all, Yoo Eon still possessed the common sense of a 21st-century modern man. The more he racked his brain, the more "wrong" ideas sprouted like weeds, so he decided that stopping his train of thought was the wisest course of action.
“Let’s sit down for now.”
“O-oh, okay.”
“M-me too...?”
“For now, yes.”
There was no reason to settle the matter of his relationship with these two right this second. The main reason Sera and Theodora were uncomfortable with each other was the looming question of who would accompany him to the Calax Birth Festival tomorrow.
“T-Theodora-ssi...?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Did you say... you were going to the festival with Yoo Eon tomorrow...?”
“Well, yes... that was the plan....”
Yoo Eon sat between them, silently observing the situation. He knew that if he spoke up even a little, he would inevitably become the referee of this fight. That said, he didn't intend to just leave these two women alone when their schedules for tomorrow were clashing.
Please, just ask to all go together.
Equipped with a truly shameless mindset, Yoo Eon let out a sigh only in his mind, maintaining a neutral expression on the outside.
“Actually, I was planning to go to the festival with Yoo Eon tomorrow. Right, Yoo Eon?”
“T-that’s right.”
“Aven, I cleared about seven hundred documents day and night just for tomorrow. What do you think about that?”
“That’s... impressive....”
Not to be outdone by Theodora’s appeal regarding her workload, Sera began to counter.
“Ugh... my shoulders feel a bit stiff....”
“Sweetie. Want Daddy to give you a rub?”
“D-Dad... please go back inside for a moment....”
“Dad...?”
Theodora was taken aback by Roland’s sudden appearance. Her expression screamed, How is that a 'Dad'? but Yoo Eon simply nodded slowly. Since this was a Labyrinth City, he had learned to accept any strange occurrence as par for the course.
Still, this felt unfair. Parents shouldn't be able to tag-team into a fight between romantic rivals. Even if this world didn't place a massive emphasis on respecting one's elders, an adult's word always carried more weight than a younger person's.
Fortunately, under Sera’s sharp glare, her father retreated back into his room.
“By the way... how long has it been since you met Miss Otmarie...?”
“Ah, I think I met Sera around March. Since coming to Calax, I’ve been staying at this inn continuously.”
“March....”
Theodora did the math. It had been roughly three months since she and Yoo Eon met. Furthermore, they hadn't seen each other every day; they only met occasionally when their schedules aligned.
She had lost in terms of history. However, she told herself that relationships were judged by depth, not duration.
“I-I see. Come to think of it, Miss Otmarie, you aren't an explorer, are you?”
“Ah... no. I’m not an explorer... I take care of Yoo Eon’s sleeping arrangements at the inn. And last night... we were t-together....”
She takes care of his sleeping arrangements?! And they were together?! No way, right? Even though he mated with me...?!
Theodora, completely misunderstanding Sera’s words, looked at Yoo Eon, but his mind was currently blank. With his brain essentially turned off, Yoo Eon was just staring vacantly and nodding along.
Wait... come to think of it, I....
Theodora briefly retraced her history with Yoo Eon. The time she suggested they eat the arm bone of a Skeleton Mage in the Labyrinth—she must have looked like a total lunatic.
The time she practically forced a Dragon Heart on him, causing him to lose consciousness and stay bedridden for days. She had been naive, thinking it wouldn't be a problem since it had been separated from the main body for research and was much weaker than the original.
She had taken him to Roanmarie at his request so he could obtain Gargoyle wings. No, wait. Thinking back, it wasn't even a request. She had explained the Gargoyles to him, and Yoo Eon had merely expressed interest.
In the end, when Yoo Eon tried to refuse, it was her mother, Renart, who paid the fee and insisted he come along. It wasn't something Yoo Eon had asked for.
The problem was what happened after.
I... I forced him....
Estrus. The period of highly concentrated hormonal activity that occurred once every six months, during which she had semi-forcibly demanded intercourse. Thinking back, that was exactly what it was. She had spent a fortune to lure him to a foreign land and then used her fertile period as an excuse to financially blackmail him into it.
The incident could be summarized as her intentionally putting him in debt and then using that pressure to mate with him.
Then that makes me... the mistress?!
In Theodora’s mind, Yoo Eon already had a woman he had been seeing since before her. She was the one who had saddled him with debt and used psychological pressure to steal a night with him.
Theodora shifted her gaze, looking back and forth between Sera’s chest and her overall appearance.
A beautiful human... and she’s so b-big...!
Even if she were a man, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist. Theodora’s mind raced, and the battle of 'Rival vs. Rival' instantly transformed into 'Main Wife vs. Mistress.'
Biting her lip so no one would notice, Theodora cleared her throat to stop her spiraling thoughts and regain her composure. She still had a weapon.
Overwhelming capital!
If she had won him with money, she would settle it with money.
“Right.... I heard from the informants, Aven. I heard you were promoted to Cobalt Grade. Is there any gift you’d like? Like a ‘Dragon Heart’ again?”
“No, really. You don't have to go that far.”
“A D-Dragon Heart...?”
“Y-yes! I gave Aven a Dragon Heart as a gift before.”
It was a pathetic move, but what else could she do? Theodora was backed into a corner. A noblewoman who blackmailed and ravished a married man with a wife! What was the point of having money? Honestly, money was the best, but by any conventional standard, her actions were worthy of public scorn.
“A-ah....”
Of course, from Sera’s perspective, a completely different scenario was unfolding.
A Dragon Heart...? Isn't that... incredibly expensive?!
A dragon, a creature that could bring a fortune if you killed just one—and she was casually handing over its heart, its very essence, as a gift. Sera had always vaguely known, but the Lymains were one of the top merchant families in Calax, weren't they?
Naturally, it must have cost an astronomical amount that she couldn't even imagine. So, what on earth did Yoo Eon do after receiving such a thing?
Since Sera still lacked a full understanding of Yoo Eon’s skills, the idea that he had simply wolfed it down like a grilled organ didn't even cross her mind. Since he had stayed at the Mounted Goat Inn despite possessing something worth a fortune, she could only make wild assumptions.
H-he really was a noble...! If a normal person received something like that... they would have left the inn long ago...!
She didn't know much about noble families, but she understood the basics. A young master who had left his family, and the daughter of the Lymain family who had a long-standing connection with him. Sera stole a glance at Theodora.
She’s so pretty... and her hair is like silk....
Just because she had been a little kind to a young master playing at being a commoner, she had been treated to expensive designer clothes and meals she couldn't even dream of. Even that one night she secretly cherished—hadn't she forced it upon him by taking advantage of their mutual intoxication?
And to top it all off, she had fainted in the middle of the act, unable to handle Yoo Eon’s superior masculinity. A criminal who accepted clothes and food but failed to satisfy her man!
From a noble’s perspective, a one-night stand with a commoner girl clinging to him would be nothing. Didn't some eccentric lords even take the 'right of the first night' from village maidens?
The Knight’s Oath, too....
What was a knight? They were skilled warriors recognized by high-ranking nobles. If Yoo Eon, who knew of the Knight’s Oath, who spent money freely, who was handsome, tall, fit, had a great voice, and was perfectly mannered—if someone like that was a commoner?
It was more realistic to believe that Yoo Eon had just gobbled up the gifted Dragon Heart!
We’re not in the same league...!
Cold sweat began to pour down Sera’s back. She had happened to get close to a noble playing commoner, and using the excuse of being drunk, she had spent a night with the kind-hearted Yoo Eon. And just now, she had tilted her chin up and bragged about their sleeping arrangements in front of a high-born lady.
“Ahahaha....”
“A-hem... haha....”
Amazingly, both women sitting at the round table sensed their own defeat and swallowed the words rising to the back of their throats.
Can’t we just call it a draw?
At that moment.
“Yoo Eon! Is Yoo Eon here?!”
A clear, ringing voice shattered the awkward silence.
“Ravi? You’re here again?”
“Yes! Did I tell you? The registration reward for the unidentified skill came out!”
“Oh, is that so?”
“And what’s more, even better! Oh? Theodora-eonni is here too?”
“R-Ravi...? What brings you here...?”
“Ah, actually, I was thinking of asking Yoo Eon to go to the festival with me tomorrow.”
A sudden three-way confrontation. However, the two women already on the battlefield found their escape route through this. They couldn't exactly tell a young child to get lost because they needed romantic time with a man, could they?
“T-that’s great, Ravi! Then we can all enjoy the festival together tomorrow! R-right, Lymain-ssi...?!”
“You’re right~! That’s a wonderful idea, Miss Otmarie! R-Ravi! You came at the perfect time!”
“Wow, really? We’re all going together?”
Sera and Dora nodded vigorously, feeling immense gratitude toward their pint-sized savior.
Thank you....
Yoo Eon didn't forget to offer his own silent thanks.