Chapter 396: Gold and Silver (1)
Chapter 396: Gold and Silver (1)
Seria’s mind was a tangled mess.
It was a situation she couldn't begin to comprehend. Her thoughts, snarled like a ball of knotted thread, made any rational thinking impossible.
She could only ask herself the same question over and over again.
Why?
Why were Ian and Delphine together in the middle of the night?
The firmly closed door revealed only a sliver of a gap. Most people wouldn't have been able to guess what was happening inside, but Seria was a swordsman who had already reached a level of mastery.
A faint presence, a dim light—that was more than enough. Her senses allowed her to perceive the scene inside as clearly as if she were looking right at it.
She could feel the two bodies pressed against each other.
Her blue eyes shook uncontrollably. The trembling only grew more violent as the seconds ticked by.
“Our first night feels like a lie… You acted like such a monk back then.”
“Wasn't the problem the person who insisted on pouncing on that monk?”
A light laugh followed, thick with a sweet, intimate air.
Though her vision was blocked, a phantom image etched itself onto Seria’s retinas. The two of them, draped over each other on the bed, exchanging deep, lingering looks.
Their clothes were half-disarrayed. This wasn't a guess; it was a certainty.
Trembling, Seria instinctively brought her finger to her lips.
Why?
They were the people she loved most.
Seria had no roots left. After her biological father, Marquis Yurdina, was imprisoned, her sister was her only remaining flesh and blood.
And then there was the Senior who was bound to her by a bond even thicker than blood.
Those two were sharing a secret tryst.
It felt as if the very beating of her heart was being worn away. She couldn't think of anything at all.
With a mind turned completely white, she could only mutter words of denial.
It can’t be. It can’t be.
But the sound of heavy breathing tickled Seria’s eardrums.
In the pitch-black silence of the hallway, her senses became agonizingly sharp. Sharp enough that the situation inside became clearer by the moment.
She could hear their breathing as if it were right in front of her.
The breathing of beasts.
The distance between the two was gradually closing.
Seria understood it not through logic, but through a primal intuition—it felt like a guillotine was about to fall.
This was a death sentence.
“……So, do you hate it?”
“No.”
A coy voice was met with a sly answer.
Their lips slowly drew closer.
Their breaths mingled, and just before their flesh met—
The man, who had long since dropped his formal speech, wore a faint smile.
“How could I hate it? When I’m your husband.”
Seria felt a surge of something like black mud threatening to spill from her throat.
She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to see no more, but her freakishly developed senses continued to replay the scene inside of their own accord.
Her heart screamed at her to run away.
But her legs, shaking like those of a newborn fawn, refused to listen. At the same time, she was terrified of making a sound and revealing her presence.
She didn't know why.
She just didn't want to be seen.
No, in truth, she knew.
She knew exactly how she looked—crouched before the door, trembling, biting her own finger.
She looked miserable and pathetic.
And so, Seria whispered a desperate plea.
No. Please.
But as if to mock her prayer, a foreign sound pierced her ears.
The wet, obscene sound of membranes entangling and exchanging saliva.
Seria covered her ears. The voices faded, but she couldn't erase the presence of the two people in the room.
Skin brushed against skin.
The feverish moans and the heat generated by the union of two bodies made Seria feel like she was going insane.
“Haa……”
A thick, wet breath escaped through clenched teeth.
Even then, Seria was still asking herself.
How? How could this happen?
This was the woman who had been her sister since the day she was born.
And this was the man she had loved for the first time in her life.
Seria still remembered.
The sight of her Senior’s back as he went to fight a demonic beast in her stead when she had sprained her ankle.
His kindness as he wordlessly comforted her pain.
The necklace that even now emitted a faint glow around her neck.
There was no way she could forget.
It was the first warmth she had ever known. After her mother left, it was the precious memory that had gifted a human heart to a girl who had been forging herself into a mere sword.
She had adored him. She had revered him.
She would become so anxious she couldn't sleep if he was even slightly hurt, and whenever fox-like girls clung to him, it felt like fire was rushing through her veins.
So, how was she supposed to react now?
The moans of pleasure stimulated Seria’s sensitive hearing. Even without looking, the vibrations in the air conveyed every single movement of the two lovers.
The woman’s gestures, craving affection.
The man’s body, responding to her.
It felt like her mind was snapping.
“Haa, haa……”
Amidst that wave of heat, Seria unearthed a memory from long ago.
‘Be careful.’
It was a girl with listless eyes.
Golden hair and blood-red eyes—the marks of Yurdina that Seria did not possess.
It was right after her mother had been taken away.
‘If you can’t prove your worth, you might end up like that too.’
To a young girl who had just lost her mother, those words became a stake driven into her heart that would never be removed.
And then there was the sneer the blonde girl had worn.
‘You must always win.’
Looking back, it was a mockery far too mature for her age.
She hadn't known who that smile was directed at back then.
‘Because that is what it means to be a Yurdina.’
To Seria, that arc of a smile felt like a blade slicing through her chest.
Her consciousness surfaced from the past back to the present.
A splashing sound came from beyond the door. A female body twisting, letting out moans soaked in pleasure.
Crunch.
Seria bit down on her own thumb.
Sweet blood coated her tongue.
The scent of blood sliding down her esophagus was strangely pleasant. Only then did she feel her mind begin to clear.
Panting, the girl thought.
Right. So that’s how it was.
She had thought the wound had been healed thanks to her Senior. She knew the nightmares wouldn't disappear, but she thought she would no longer wake up shivering in terror.
She was wrong.
Her sister’s advice was, as always, correct.
She should have been careful.
She should have won.
Yet, Seria couldn't let go of one final question.
Did you really have to do this, Sister?
“Ah, ng… Haa! Hu-Husband! A little more slow—hyeeut?!”
It was a voice melted by relentless stimulation.
Delphine’s voice was soaked not just in pleasure, but in happiness.
Yes, the happiness of a woman.
Seria once again crunched down on her finger with her molars.
Blood and flesh turned to mush, coating the roof of her mouth. Strangely, it didn't hurt that much.
Instead, the stinging pain felt like it was scrubbing away the filth left in the vessels of her brain.
That tingling, refreshing sensation.
Seria’s consciousness reached back into another part of her childhood.
Her sister had always been like this.
‘Seria, wait until your sister has eaten before you pick up your utensils.’
Even the daily meals belonged to her sister.
‘Lady Delphine is the legitimate heir. Unlike you, young lady……’
The family’s love belonged to her sister.
‘Seria, your sister has decided to take this sword.’
Even the sword she had wanted so badly had ended up belonging to her sister.
And yet, there was still more to take.
She had yielded everything.
The only thing she hadn't yielded was her victory at the Hunting Festival. It was a memory like a bookmark left in a life of tedious defeats.
The jewel called ‘first love’ that one can hold only once in a lifetime.
And now, she was trying to take even that?
I have nothing left but this.
She had yielded the family, her parents' affection—everything. She had even sworn unchanging respect and loyalty.
And yet.
If this was how she was going to be treated.
“Haaah, ugh?! Wa-Wait… ugh, I-I was wrong… I won’t! I won’t provoke you again… nngh?!”
A significant amount of time had passed.
Seria silently crushed her finger and held her breath.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
As the night deepened and dawn passed, until the two lovers, exhausted by the aftershocks of pleasure, fell into a deep sleep.
Seria simply endured the waves of moans and whispers like a rock standing against the tide.
Once she confirmed that both Ian and Delphine were asleep, the girl stood up.
She stumbled once, her body swaying, but she was fine. Seria felt her way along the wall as she walked down the hallway.
She left behind a whisper that no one would hear.
“I have no choice but to kill them……”
In those once-bright blue eyes, only a desolate chill remained.
Greeting the warm sunlight, I let out a weary sigh.
It was already afternoon.
When I woke up in the morning, I had to hurriedly leave Senior Delphine’s bedroom. It would have been a disaster if I were spotted by the Imperial Intelligence Agency, and I also had a full schedule ahead of me.
The war was over.
But my responsibilities were not.
As the architect of the tactical plan, I had burdens I needed to carry.
That was why I was dragging my feet today.
Last night had been a bit much.
Thinking that we wouldn't be able to see each other for a while, we ended up having a more intense night than usual, despite the alcohol.
The lingering fatigue was proof of that.
Nevertheless, I cleared my throat and straightened my clothes. I wanted to show proper respect to the person I was going to meet.
Of course, it wasn't as if there were no obstacles in my path.
“Master!”
I saw a figure approaching from a distance, scurrying toward me.
I could tell who it was just by that oversized pointed hat. I gave a wry smile and called out the name of my reliable comrade.
Hoping she would eventually stop using that burdensome title.
“Senior Elsie, please refrain from using that expression in the future……”
“Where are you going today? You’re not going far, are you? Did some bitch seduce you or something……?”
As always, it was a futile attempt.
Senior Elsie poured out questions without even pretending to listen to me.
Every single one of them was a question dripping with worry for me.
Wait, maybe the last one was a bit different.
Regardless, I decided to accept Senior Elsie’s feelings with gratitude.
“I am on my way to meet someone, but it’s not a woman.”
At my answer, Senior Elsie tilted her head.
She stared at me suspiciously for a moment, letting out a long “Hmmmm.”
I didn't look away, wanting to prove my innocence.
Since neither of us backed down, our faces ended up quite close to each other.
In the end, it was Senior Elsie who declared defeat.
The moment our breaths touched each other's skin, the girl jumped back a couple of steps.
The fact that her face turned bright red as she realized the situation was a bonus.
“Wha-Wha-Wha-What! Why, why are you getting so close!”
“I was just standing still.”
That was a lie.
But I decided to be shameless for the sake of a perfect victory.
“Anyway, what do you mean by Seria? I heard Seria is busy wrapping things up at the front lines. I heard she was coming today……”
“I-I heard she already arrived?”
As if to cool down her flushed face, Senior Elsie fanned herself with her hand.
Of course, she couldn't meet my eyes.
“So I thought you were going to see that brat again. I thought you were hiding it from me for no reason……”
I had to let out a hollow laugh at her hesitant excuse.
Even if I were meeting Seria, why would I hide that from Senior Elsie?
After a long time, my hand pressed down on Senior Elsie’s pointed hat. Naturally, it looked like I was stroking her head.
There was no resistance.
Instead, Senior Elsie just lowered her head with a much calmer expression. Though she did fidget with her index fingers shyly.
“You don't have to worry so much, Senior Elsie. It’s not like women as good as you are common in this world.”
“……Then what about that bitch Delphine?”
I was momentarily speechless.
Come to think of it, was I still under suspicion?
In the end, I had to clear my throat and add another story.
“As you know, the Yurdina family’s situation is a mess, so I won’t be able to see Senior Delphine for a while. Besides, I have ties to the Imperial Household.”
“Then who on earth are you meeting……”
“An Elf.”
With that one word, Senior Elsie’s tongue, which had been continuing the interrogation, froze.
A look of dismay then crossed her eyes.
The way she bit her lip made it clear she realized she had made a mistake.
“I’m going to see Elder Pope.”
And the Elves of the village while I’m at it.
I gave a bitter smile and lowered my head.
As I faced my second farewell, I realized one thing.
The more it hurts, the more people try to hide their wounds.
Because the more they do, the deeper the scars left on their hearts will be.
It was a sad and painful feeling.
Meanwhile.
“Are you here, Seria?”
At the highest point of Yurdina, in the Head of the Family’s office, the two sisters were having their reunion.
“……Yes, Sister.”
The blonde woman wore a relaxed and gentle smile. However, she couldn't quite erase the remnants of pleasure burning in her blood-red eyes.
It was the trace left by the previous night’s love.
On the other hand, a deep shadow hung over the face of the gray-haired girl. In her dark blue eyes, which resembled the deep sea, there was even a desolate chill.
The world called them ‘sisters,’ but their colors and temperaments were polar opposites.
It was truly a meeting of gold and silver.