Chapter 168
Chapter 168
Ch. 168 .｡.:✧ The Trap (8) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Time had never crawled as slowly as it did today.
Yulia, Jill, and Mia, the remaining occupants of the round table, endured an awkward silence, each passing the time in their own way.
Yulia quietly observed the others, her gaze flitting from face to face.
Jill fidgeted, tapping her foot and checking her watch repeatedly. Mia, stifling the occasional yawn, seemed the most relaxed.
“M-Mia.”
“Yes, Yulia? What is it?”
“The…the other woman…Yoo-jin’s other woman…is…is it you…?”
“Four?! T-That’s…that’s impossible! No. No…I don’t think so…probably…”
“…”
“…”
Mia’s flustered denial confirmed their suspicions. She clearly harbored feelings for Yoo-jin.
Though their relationship hadn’t progressed to a serious stage yet, they were definitely close.
“Haa…”
“I don’t know how Yoo-jin sees me, but…the woman he mentioned, the one he promised a future to…isn’t me…”
Mia, feeling guilty for keeping secrets, spoke up. Yoo-jin cherished more than just these three women. She wasn’t referring to the blood ghoul girl he kept by his side.
That child was special, closer than a lover, almost…
Mia was talking about Countess Cornelia Briam.
‘Yoo-jin asked me to inform the Countess if…if he died…’
Yoo-jin had asked four people to be informed of his death.
Cornelia Briam, Jill Diner, Yulia Petenburg, and Yerina Frost. Considering his confession to the three women present, it wasn’t difficult to deduce his relationship with Cornelia.
“Who is she?”
“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. More importantly…haa…I expected this, but…I didn’t think it would hurt this much…”
“…”
Jill, surprisingly calm, massaged her temples, feigning a headache.
Yulia’s reaction was similarly subdued. Unlike Yerina, they had sensed Yoo-jin’s infidelity. Perhaps forewarned was forearmed.
They had known all along.
Yoo-jin was a compassionate man. He formed connections, built trust and shared emotions with everyone he met, regardless of how brief or long the encounter. That’s what drew them to him.
They knew he never treated anyone lightly, that he always considered his actions carefully.
The problem was, Yoo-jin didn’t live just one life. If he did, envisioning a happy future together wouldn’t be an issue. But in every life, he formed attachments with every woman he met.
It was his nature, an immutable aspect of his being. He never wasted a single loop. He was always sincere. He opened his heart, time and time again, even though he knew it would be broken.
Even though he knew they would vanish when the loop ended. He continued to love, foolishly, stubbornly.
That’s the kind of man Yoo-jin was. And that’s the man Yulia and Jill had fallen for. By the time they realized it, it was too late.
“…?!”
Burst!
The door flew open, and Yulia, Jill, and Mia simultaneously turned and rose to their feet.
The Frost Duchess emerged, slowly closing the door behind her. Unlike her furious entrance, she now walked with slumped shoulders, her eyes red and puffy, her makeup smudged.
From the waist up, she looked like a woman heartbroken. But the telltale wagging of her tail, which she couldn’t control, betrayed her joy.
‘She accepted him.’
They could guess what had transpired inside.
Yerina had probably berated and cried, and Yoo-jin had comforted her. After much denial and resentment, she had finally accepted his confession.
‘Surely she didn’t slap him?’
Jill thought to herself.
“I-It’s…it’s my turn now…”
“Wait.”
As Yulia rushed towards the door, Yerina’s hand clamped around her wrist. The calloused grip of a beast’s paw sent a jolt of fear through Yulia.
‘She’ll break my wrist!’
A primal terror seized her, her body freezing, her voice caught in her throat.
Knowing that the Frost Duchess wouldn’t harm her here was meaningless. She trembled, feeling like her head was trapped in the jaws of a giant wolf.
“Listen carefully. Yoo-jin is still the same. He’s still kind and compassionate…Don’t hurt him. If you don’t like what he says, just tell him to his face and leave. Don’t break his heart.”
“…”
Yerina released her grip.
Yulia, freed from the paralyzing fear, stood frozen for a moment, then silently turned the doorknob and entered the room.
The door closed with a thud, and Yulia’s magic enveloped the room, silencing all sounds within.
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I had never felt truly comfortable around Yulia.
With Yerina, I worried about my affairs being exposed. With Jill, I feared her unpredictable outbursts. But with Yulia, my discomfort stemmed from a different source.
I could never decipher her thoughts, never truly know what she was hiding behind her smiles. During moments of peace, I would lie awake, wondering what schemes she was concocting.
Her paranoia, different from Yerina’s, tormented me in its own way.
At first, I resented her. She had ruined countless loops, even the sixth, when she regained her memories. I was too normal to reciprocate her twisted affection.
“You’re here?”
“Y-Yes…Yoo-jin…”
I turned towards the familiar hesitant footsteps. Yulia stood at a distance, wringing her hands, seemingly unable to approach me, her eyes searching my face.
Even now, I couldn’t fathom her thoughts.
Had she come to reject my confession? To accept it? Or was she feigning acceptance, plotting something behind my back…?
“Would you like to sit?”
“No…I’ll…I’ll stand…”
But…I had to trust her. I had decided to trust her. I had opened my heart. I had chosen to face her. Further suspicion would only worsen the situation. It served no purpose.
“That alcohol…”
“Alcohol?”
“Trium…Trium. You didn’t just enjoy it in front of me…”
“…”
Yulia spoke, a hint of sadness in her voice.
“I…I thought you were just indulging me…pretending to be nice to gain something from me…that you would badmouth me behind my back…But you…Yoo-jin, you…you were always sincere…”
“That’s not entirely wrong. I told you, I approached you to conquer you, to escape this world.”
“That doesn’t matter…It doesn’t matter how it started…I don’t have those memories from the first loop…The Yoo-jin I remember is the one who was kind to me, only to be betrayed by me…”
“…”
Strange.
In the sixth loop, when Yulia’s actions triggered a war, I had felt intense rage. But now, I felt nothing but…sadness.
I hadn’t forgotten. I didn’t think those vanished timelines were meaningless. I simply accepted the past and chose to believe that people could change.
“I…I know…I know that my paranoia, my fear that you’re judging me, talking about me behind my back…it’s all in my head…I know…but I couldn’t stop…”
“You can change, slowly. It’s a habit ingrained over centuries. It’ll take time.”
“Y-Yes…no…it…it didn’t take that long…Look…I’m…I’m not stuttering in front of you anymore…”
Yulia had closed the distance between us without me realizing it. She took my hand and placed it on her chest. I felt the faint beating of her heart.
The Yulia who trembled and stuttered in front of everyone, even me, was now completely calm, her heartbeat slow and steady.
“You…you’re so mean…You did this to me…You barged into my heart, unlocked everything…and then…you brought all these other women…”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay…They’re probably the same as me…Because you’re that kind of person, Yoo-jin…You can’t help but reach out to those who are struggling, those who are hurting…”
She hesitated, as if seeking permission, then wrapped her arms around my waist, sobbing, her tears soaking my shirt.
I had just changed after Yerina…
“I love you too. I love you, Yoo-jin…But I…I’m…I’m so jealous, and I have a terrible personality, and I don’t know how to speak kindly, and I’m terrible with people…Is that…okay…?”
She looked up at me, tears and snot streaming down her face. She looked so pathetic, I couldn’t help but laugh. I wiped away her tears and met her gaze.
“Listing all your flaws like that makes you sound like a walking disaster.”
“It’s true…”
“Wrong. I’ve been meaning to correct you. There’s another reason I fell for you.”
“What…?”
“You’re beautiful, and you have big breasts.”
“R-Really?”
“Of course, I’m kidding. Why are you taking it seriously?”
Finally, I felt her heartbeat quicken, her composure faltering.
I pulled her close, lifting her slightly onto her toes, my arms wrapped tightly around her.
“Is there a reason for love? Can we pinpoint the exact moment we fall? I just…realized that I couldn’t stop thinking about you, about where you were, what you were doing, what you were thinking. But that’s boring, so…I guess…I fell for your innocence.”
“Innocence…?”
“The innocence you try so hard to hide. The sincerity you only reveal when your guard is down. It melted me. It changed me, the me who only wanted to…use you.”
“But…after you left…I…I used my informants and agents to…to manipulate you into returning…”
“And now? Are you still doing that?”
“No…I’m not…”
“Then it’s fine.”
“…”
The past was the past.
We had hurt each other, but that past was gone. The world we had ruined with our mistakes had vanished. We had been given a new chance.
What mattered was the future, the possibility of a fresh start, if we could just stop making the same mistakes.
“Can I…can I love you…? Can someone like me…love you, Yoo-jin…?”
“Why are you hesitating? I love you.”
“Huu…Me too…I love you too…”
She sobbed again, her arms tightening around me.
The distance between us vanished, our bodies pressed close, sharing warmth and a silent promise.
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