WICE 35

#35

That evening, I entered her room through the window.
It seemed she had fallen asleep again without realizing who I was.

Was it really okay for her to be this defenseless? I stared intently at Ronie’s sleeping face. She looked so peaceful.

I brushed away a strand of hair from her lips. She flinched. Startled by her sudden movement, I quickly withdrew my hand.
Seeing her fall back into deep sleep made me feel relieved.

Why does she want to dance with Iyan?

It was as if she acted like anyone would do—just not me. She seemed to yield easily to others, yet with me, she always drew a line and refused to let me get closer.

Why? Why is it only me who’s not allowed?

An unfamiliar emotion kept rising from within.
A deep darkness inside me urged me on—telling me to ravage Ronie as I pleased, to take her by force.

But I hated the thought of hurting her or doing something she despised. I didn’t want to be hated by her.

Yet, the moment her lips mentioned Viena’s name again, I lost all reason and gripped her tightly.

Ronie looked truly startled. She held her breath and stared at me.
I couldn’t understand why she kept focusing on those gray eyes—why she kept trying to link me to that woman.

Why? Why, when the one I want is not Viena but you, Ronie?

Even though you’re this close, you feel so far away. My thirst for you burned inside me, making me draw closer only to pull away again.

I just wanted to kiss her right then. I wanted to claim her completely, to make her someone who couldn’t live without me.

I felt like that would quench this thirst, resolve all these emotions.
But at the same time, I feared that if I poured all my feelings into her, she might run away from me.

It seemed you couldn’t hold your breath any longer—your face started turning red. With the last scrap of reason I had left, I pushed the darkness away and released you. You exhaled deeply.

I still couldn’t bring myself to hurt you. I wanted to. I wanted to return the pain you gave me.
Every time I saw you, I was furious—yet at the same time, I wanted to treat you well so badly it drove me mad.

If this isn’t love, then what on earth is it?

“I’m not your possession. And the same goes for you.”

You said this to me with a pained expression.
Your words stabbed into me like a knife. You were the one who called me your Allen first, and now you say I’m not yours?

My head suddenly cooled. Once again, you hurt me so easily. And then you apologize.

You don’t even let me hate you. And that’s what truly drives me insane.

You touch me with such tenderness, look at me with such loving eyes, and yet—at the critical moment—you push me away.

Frustration surged, and I spoke to you coldly before turning and running out. I didn’t want to hear anything else you had to say.

Just as you wanted, I asked Viena for a dance.
The gray-eyed woman smiled radiantly.

Was Viena’s happiness more important to you than mine?
I laughed bitterly to myself so Viena wouldn’t notice.
Somehow, I felt my heart grow even colder than before.

Viena couldn’t dance well—her steps kept tangling, and she stumbled often. Even as I led her, I felt annoyed. Ronie wouldn’t be like this.

The thought came suddenly, and my gaze naturally drifted toward Ronie and Iyan. Ronie was dancing, led by another man’s hand.

Her red dress fluttered—it was almost mesmerizing.
I wanted to cut between them right away and take Ronie back.

Iyan met my eyes and quickly looked away. His expression toward Ronie was… complicated. Was he feeling drawn to her too? My thoughts swirled chaotically.

She’s mine. I felt like breaking everything I could touch at that moment.

Then Viena spoke to me.

“Allen, is Ronie bothering you?”

“……”

“So you’re not going to deny it.”

When I stayed silent, Viena looked slightly sad, then smiled again. She was just as bad as Ronie when it came to honesty.

We finished the dance in silence. When it ended and I kissed the back of her hand in courtesy, Viena clasped my hand tightly and said—

“Thanks for asking me to dance with you.”

“It was nothing.”

“I’ll never forget today.”

She smiled brightly. But I didn’t feel pleased. I had danced with her just as you wanted—was that enough for you?

At that moment, our gazes met. Ronie had a complicated expression on her face. I couldn’t tell if you were looking at me like that to keep me hooked or to drive me away. I was the first to look away.

I need to escape from you. Maybe I really should go through with my original plan to get away from you.

But when I face you, I can’t even try to run.

It was hard to bear watching you try to get away from me. And I was afraid of the emotions that would burst out toward you. Just a little push, and they’d explode.

Being apart from you hurt, but being pushed away and hurt by you was even harder to endure.

Because I didn’t know what I might do.
Was it always this painful, to keep yearning for love that could never be returned? The thought weighed heavy, and a deep sigh escaped me.

I could only force myself to leave, ignoring your gaze on my back—telling myself that was the best I could do.

Chapter 10 — A Drunken Night

The sweltering heat had passed, and the weather had turned pleasantly cool. Guinness would occasionally visit Ronie to give her news of Allen.

Ronie tried her best to avoid influencing Allen in any way. Thankfully—or perhaps not—Allen also showed no particular movement.

Now that his harassment had stopped, oddly enough, she felt a little empty.

“They seem to be getting quite close,” Guinness said, grinning mischievously, as if probing her reaction.
“I guess being in the same class and spending a lot of time together as partners has helped. They work well together, don’t they?”

Allen’s magic leaned toward offense, while Viena’s specialized in defense.

Of course, Allen was fairly strong in defense as well, but having a partner made things much easier. Both were highly skilled in mana control, making them an ideal team.

Even back when they had been assistants, their compatibility had been so good that it had been a shame they couldn’t be officially paired.

Ronie silently gazed out the window.
Through the green leaves, she saw a few early autumn leaves turning red and gold.
Alone in their yellowed state, they somehow reminded her of herself.

It wasn’t quite autumn yet, but soon it would be, and then winter would come—and she would have to leave.
The thought of farewell approaching left her feeling bitter.

“That’s good. If things keep going this way, Allen will be happy.”

“Your voice sounds far too weak for someone saying ‘that’s good.’”

“It’s just… I’ve grown attached to this world.”

She had been here for quite some time, met many people, and spent much of it with Allen. Of course she felt reluctant to leave.

She had jumped into this world for the sake of her favorite character’s happiness, only to end up seducing him without realizing it—and now she was stepping away. It didn’t feel right. It felt like she had done something terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, Guinness looked at Ronie with an expression that said he didn’t understand her.

It was true—Allen and Viena’s “route” was becoming more solid.
Their once-faint connection was now a little clearer.

But that was all.
Their bond as comrades had grown, but their relationship as man and woman had become even more ambiguous.

If Ronie knew this, how would she react?
Would she blame herself? Or would she be glad?

Guinness studied Ronie. Despite her lack of energy, she looked the same as always.

He had a faint idea of where her heart might lie, but her actions didn’t always match, making her hard to read.

Allen was just as strange. Guinness had thought that once Allen learned the truth, he would explode.

Yet, contrary to expectations, Allen had been remarkably quiet since that day.
It didn’t fit his character, leaving Guinness a little bewildered.

If Allen liked Ronie, he should have been causing trouble by now—but he hadn’t made a move.
It seemed the five years Guinness hadn’t been involved had brought some strange change to Allen’s personality.

Lately, Allen seemed almost obsessed with work, as if trying to cut off his feelings for Ronie.

Why? The target had merely changed—how could that make such a difference?

In the original story, tormenting and obsessing over Viena had made for a far more entertaining plot, so the current situation between Allen and Ronie was just unpleasant to watch.

It was clear now that the “Sohee” variable had affected Allen far more deeply than expected.

At this rate, predicting Allen’s ending was impossible.
It didn’t feel like it would be a bad ending—or a happy one.
From Allen’s perspective, it might very well turn into ruin.

Guinness yawned widely, looking at Ronie’s dazed expression.
He decided he would have to step in.

“I’ll be away in another world for a while, so it’ll be hard to visit.”