By Pure Coincidence, Tigrova Natives Multiply Around Clara
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Two girls walked down a shabby corridor.
Clara moved in silence, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and the conference room so the voices inside wouldn't carry. Sion followed, staring at the back of Clara's head.
"…."
She had no strength to resist, no idea where they were going. The fear of hearing the answer and having it all confirmed sealed her lips.
She was dragged along like a sheet of paper caught in the wind.
Her mind was blank even as they walked. Nothing sorted itself out.
With Clara saying nothing up ahead, the frustration was maddening.
In Sion's head, only the scene she'd witnessed replayed. Nothing more came into focus.
How could she possibly know the full story?
Thud!
Clara stopped abruptly.
She glanced around. No signs of anyone nearby, no unfamiliar mana signatures. Everyone was gathered in the conference room.
'This should be far enough.'
Relaxing, Clara turned to face Sion and looked up, finally ready to greet her properly.
But greetings were the last thing on her mind.
Clara's jaw dropped in shock at the sight of Sion's face.
"S-Sion sis!?"
"Ugh…."
Jewel-like tears rolled down the elf girl's cheeks.
Her gaunt face, lips pressed tight as if to hold back her emotions, only amplified the pathos.
Sion had felt aggrieved often lately. But even then, it only gnawed at her insides—tears never came.
She'd wondered if she'd grown so numb, her heart so worn down, that she could no longer cry.
But that wasn't it.
Now, truly struck by shock, she couldn't hold them back.
Rohan and Clara.
She'd clung to memories of their time together to keep her sanity intact.
Was it possible she'd been played like a fool all this time? Was that why the elders had been waiting that day?
The mere possibility made the tears unstoppable.
"Sis…?"
"You can tell me… My life's always been like this… I'm prepared to accept it…."
Her words came out choked with sobs.
Unlike Rohan, Clara couldn't grasp Sion's reaction. She fidgeted anxiously, gripping Sion's hand tight.
"It must've been so hard… Sorry I'm late… Don't cry…."
"…?"
Tears welled in the other girl's eyes too.
Sion snapped to her senses in that instant.
"Sis, why are you so cold…? Your face is so pale…."
Clara stepped closer and hugged her.
The elf girl, her arms limp until now, moved to wrap them around the girl comforting her.
Amid the confusion.
Sion felt it keenly.
'A person's embrace… is this warm?'
The chill that had seeped into her bones vanished in a flash.
No long explanations needed.
One simple act shattered her dark delusions and shameful misunderstandings.
"Sion sis…! Oppa’s here now, so don't worry."
A slender hand stroked her back, saying it would be okay.
Sion felt tears rising again, this time from Clara's kindness.
What a lovable girl.
"Clara. I missed you… I was so lonely…."
"M-Me too, I missed you, sis… Eek!"
Sion pulled Clara into a tighter embrace.
The warmth from the girl was too comforting to let go. It seeped into her heart.
Just skin against skin erased all her hardships. The cracks in her mind sealed cleanly.
After a long, silent hug to vent her frustrations, Sion finally released Clara at the sound of strange noise from the distant conference room. She startled and let go.
Clara met her eyes and grinned, her face flushed. The gloom had lifted from Sion's expression—that was the main reason for her smile.
"Even between girls, i-it's a little embarrassing…."
"…."
Sion felt it too. An unfamiliar twinge of shyness, rare for her.
Not the shameful guilt of before, but something different. She debated pulling her mask up.
"Sis. How's your body? Did you eat okay?"
Sion assured her she was fine and pulled out her canteen for a long-overdue sip of water.
With her parched throat quenched.
She asked the most important question.
"Clara. What was that situation earlier? I still don't understand…."
"I was just watching Oppa too, so it's hard to explain…."
Clara tapped her pursed lips with a finger, pondering.
She didn't know enough to give a clear answer.
Still, sitting beside him and observing hadn't been fruitless.
Clara knew one thing for sure.
"It seems like they're mistaking Oppa for someone else. He's just acting the part."
"Mistaking him? Acting?"
Clara assured her that even a short watch would make it obvious to Sion. Rohan was putting on a performance.
Those words plunged Sion deeper into confusion.
Clara's explanation continued, somehow.
"…And that's how we got here."
"That's it?"
"Yeah…! That's the end."
"What?"
Sion couldn't make sense of the condensed summary.
From start to finish, it was all riddles.
Not that Clara explained poorly—each sentence lay outside comprehension.
'Impersonating based on scraps of info? Gathered from fighting the boss in the tunnel? What if he slips up and gets caught?'
Sion admired it even as she worried for Rohan.
Wasn't the method too recklessly bold?
And his actions were hard to follow.
Were the elders' info-guarding skills outdated?
Or was Rohan just that good at extracting it?
"Sion sis…."
"Hm?"
As Sion mulled over the story with a groan, Clara tugged her collar to get her attention.
Leaning in close, she whispered.
"U-Um, are the elves here your family?"
"…."
"If they're precious to you…."
Sion understood what troubled the girl.
If force became necessary, Clara didn't know how to hold back against them.
'Family? The elders my family?'
They'd spent more time together than her parents.
As Testarosa blood, they were figures to protect.
'…That's what I might've thought before.'
But after unsettled days meeting Rohan and Clara, her horizons had broadened.
She'd seen and felt more. The world was vast; she'd been in a well.
Relationships didn't grow precious just from time spent.
The bloodline binding her life meant nothing if it didn't put food on the table.
"Clara."
"Yes?"
"I like you, Clara."
Joy sparkled in Clara's eyes.
The elf girl continued, holding her gaze.
"And I like Rohan too."
"!?!?"
Joy and fluster mixed on Clara's face.
Sion, caught in the moment, spilled her heart.
"I can't forget those short days we spent together. I think of them every day. They were truly joyful."
"Sis…."
Clara could relate on many levels.
"If you ask now if the elders are family, I don't know until I hear their hidden truths. Maybe I've been wrong from the start."
"Yeah. I get it."
"Anyway, one thing's clear… I have no reason to take responsibility for them."
Sion believed she'd given her all, burning golden days without reaping rewards.
No regrets toward the heavens for her efforts.
With a firm answer, Clara nodded.
Then one more check—unrelated this time.
"Sion sis."
"Speak."
"You… originally held Tigrova citizenship, right?"
Info from Rohan on the way.
Sion confirmed it without hesitation.
Clara's face flushed with mixed emotions.
"Tigrova… does that mean you're okay with polygamy too…?"
"Hm?"
Sion prompted her mutter.
Clara slapped her cheeks—smack! smack!—to snap out of it. Not the time.
"N-No… Let's head back!"
*****
"You're back."
"…."
The head elder sighed deeply at Rohan's voice.
Clara slipped quietly into the seat beside Rohan.
Sion, entering after, stood blankly amid the elders scattered on the floor.
'Guess this isn't my thing after all.'
Seeing Sion at a loss, the misunderstanding seemed cleared. The story must've been relayed— no hostility in their eyes.
But her movements were awkward; Rohan would need to guide her.
"Levin Maxwell. How long will you make me wait? If you're trying to test my patience, I commend your guts."
"Ahem…! Princess. Please, take a seat."
At Rohan's menacing prompt, the head elder spoke up.
Sion sat, lips pressed tight, claiming a spot.
"Princess."
"What is this mess? Explain."
The head elder had no intention of detailing the situation.
He'd just push forward what Rohan had taken responsibility for.
"From now on, we'll tell you the story you've been curious about."
"…Suddenly?"
One-sided communication.
Ignoring Sion's question, the elder moved his wrinkled lips as if to say just listen.
"You asked if the Snow Tiger Emperor truly brought calamity to the Testarosa imperial family."
"…."
The part Sion had longed to confirm.
Sudden for her late arrival, but she couldn't miss it.
"The day you fled Tigrova with us elders, the Snow Tiger Emperor claimed victory—but took no lives."
"Then Father and Mother…."
Head elder and Sion's eyes met.
Greed gleamed through his wrinkles. No hiding it.
Anger slowly colored Sion's face.
The elder stated the fact calmly.
"As you suspected, I orchestrated the fall of the Testarosa."
Cold silence flooded the conference room.
The atmosphere froze solid.