“Ha, what a joke.”
Tession scoffed, his red eyes wide and mocking.
“Calling it a joke at our first meeting—what a lovely way to speak.”
“Well, what else would you call it when a man shows up to see someone who already has a new fiancé?”
Edmund was already burning with fury toward Tession Rihalar.
He hated how Tession had basked in Irine’s love without ever realizing how unworthy he was. He hated how Tession had tried to use her—and most of all, he hated how he had discarded her in the end.
To Edmund, Tession was someone unworthy of being protected as “the person Irine loved most,” because he had made her unbearably miserable.
“Weren’t you the one playing tricks?”
“…What?”
Tession’s arrogant red eyes fixed on him. Edmund clenched his fists.
“Otherwise, how could a woman get engaged to a man she used to hate just three days after a breakup?”
Tession’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“You probably seduced that unstable girl with pretty lies. She’s always been easy to manipulate, hasn’t she?”
He was boxing Irine into a definition of his own making.
That attitude deeply disgusted Edmund.
“Unstable and easy to sway? That just proves how little you ever knew her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve known Irine far longer than you. We were engaged for months—”
“No one who truly knew Irine would describe her like that.”
For a brief moment, memories of Irine flashed through Edmund’s mind—
The graceful way she swung a blade, her agile silhouette enduring pain in the darkness, her unyielding back that never crumbled.
“I’ve never met someone as strong as Irine. If she ever seemed unstable or easily swayed to you, that’s only because she was trying to meet your expectations.”
To Edmund, Irine was like stone—
Weathered by storms, battered by wind, yet quietly enduring, never showing her pain.
She brought peace by simply existing unchanged.
And yet, he always wanted to embrace her, because she held everything in on her own.
“She didn’t fall apart after breaking up with you. So don’t you dare call her weak.”
Edmund took a threatening step forward.
“If anyone’s pathetic for crawling back, it’s you.”
Tession’s face twisted in anger.
Still, he didn’t back down.
“So what? What do you want me to do?”
Crossing his arms with a dramatic sigh, loud enough for Edmund to hear:
“You seem overly sensitive—are you insecure about your place in her heart?”
“…What?”
“That’s why you won’t even let me near her.”
The blade in Tession’s words struck deep. Edmund froze.
“There’s no way Irine truly likes you. Back at the academy, you two were always at each other’s throats.”
Nothing he said was technically wrong.
“Do you know how long Irine liked me? She wouldn’t let go of those feelings so easily. She must’ve agreed to this engagement just for the tournament.”
Edmund couldn’t argue.
Irine had joined the tournament to become a Named. He had offered himself as a condition for her participation. In a way, he had manipulated her into the engagement.
“You forced her into an engagement she didn’t even want. You’re the one who played games. And now she’s suffering because of it.”
Edmund’s mind went blank.
He thought he had done something good for her. That he could do even better. But maybe this life was making her miserable.
Living with someone she didn’t love…
Maybe, as Tession said, she would never love him.
“Suffering…?”
Edmund suddenly remembered—Irine was someone who always hid her wounds and bore her pain alone.
Maybe she was hiding her suffering even now.
“That’s why I wanted to do better for her…”
His clenched fists trembled.
“Anyway, move aside. Irine will be happy to see me. This is between her and me, not you.”
Tession pushed past him toward the bookstore.
Edmund still wasn’t sure if Irine loved him.
But there was one thing he was sure of—
“No. I won’t let you near her.”
With a snarl, Edmund blocked Tession with an arm that had already half-transformed into that of a wolf, bursting through his shirt.
His eyes no longer looked human—but those of a fierce wolf.
“Anyone else, maybe. But you? Never.”
I know Irine may not love me.
She might even be forcing herself to stay with me.
But you—you can never have her again.
Because she must never be hurt again.
“Wha—”
“EDMUND!!”
Irine’s voice rang out. Both men turned at once.
In less than three seconds, Irine had dropped her books and rushed to Edmund’s side, grabbing his arm in panic.
Tession found the scene deeply disturbing.
He knew Irine must’ve seen both of them—but she only called Edmund’s name, as if she hadn’t even noticed Tession.
“Edmund! Why would you use your powers in public like that? Apologize—!”
But her frantic words trailed off.
A chilling silence fell.
Irine’s violet eyes locked with Tession’s red ones.
At that moment, Tession saw it clearly:
Her eyes had been worried—until she saw him. Then they turned cold.
“…Why?”
Yes, she had turned her back on him at the tournament.
But he never thought she’d look at him like this.
“…Rihalar.”
She didn’t even call him by name anymore.
That heavy surname felt like a hammer crushing his chest.
“Irine—”
He reached out, desperate.
But Edmund blocked him again.
“I said don’t touch her.”
His voice was icier than ever.
Irine tugged on Edmund’s arm and shook her head.
“Ignore him. Let’s go, Edmund.”
Edmund looked down at her, slowly hiding his claws and fangs.
“He’s not worth our time.”
That one line hit Tession like a slap.
She used to wait for him.
Before the breakup, she’d never once turned away.
“Do I need to say anything? We’re nothing now.”
He remembered her words after the ball—
spoken with sadness and regret, though she had tried to sound indifferent.
At the time, he thought she didn’t mean it.
But now, seeing her walk away again, he realized—she had changed.
“Irine, please!”
Tession’s voice made her pause.
She sighed and looked back at him with emotionless violet eyes.
“What’s the matter? We’re nothing now.”
Those words again.
Words he could never accept.
“Just listen to me. It won’t take long—please.”
Tession was desperate.
He never imagined Irine could be this cold.
He expected her to waver, to hesitate.
“…I don’t want to.”
As she turned, Tession reached for her and shouted:
“I’m sorry! For everything!”
Irine looked back at him.
Tession spilled out his regrets.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do better. Please come back, Irine…”
But Edmund gently covered her ears and led her away.
“You were right. Ignoring him is best. Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Irine acted as if she didn’t hear him—like she couldn’t even see him.
“Irine—!”
She was walking farther and farther away.
Tession knew it now—if he lost her this time, he might never get her back.
“Why him of all people?”
So he shouted like a madman, ignoring the crowd staring.
“You used to love me!”
“….”
Irine didn’t deny it.
Tession laughed bitterly.
“I can treat you a hundred times better than that filthy beast who bares his teeth and claws at everyone!”
At that moment, he saw it—Irine’s face twitched.
For a split second, he thought he saw hope.
That maybe—just maybe—she would come back to him.
“So let’s—”
SLAP!
A sharp sound rang out.
Holding his stinging cheek, Tession looked up.
Irine was glaring at him with a furious expression he had never seen before.
“What did you just say?”
