Chapter 157: Traitors (2)

Ner left Arwin and started walking away.

She mulled over Arwin’s last suggestion.

The suggestion of giving Berg a choice.

...It was exactly what Ner had wanted.

Knowing about the Mel’s Tears, she was confident she would not lose to Arwin.

It was a story she had kept hidden, fearing Berg might get hurt... but now, everything had changed.

Ner had never been so frightened in her life.

Could she even imagine parting ways with Berg, whom she believed would always be by her side?

Did she ever contemplate the possibility of being ousted by Arwin, having to watch everything from afar?

Berg, who always smiled at her.

Could she have imagined losing him, the one who always embraced her, her sole ally?

Having moved sufficiently away, Ner looked back.

Arwin was not following her.

Confirming this, Ner quickened her pace to find Berg.

She wasn’t planning to tell him about the Mel’s Tears just yet.

That was a story reserved for the most dire of circumstances.

But there was certainly something she wanted to say.

Thus, Ner hastened even more.

Berg had previously stopped himself from speaking... but her response had already been decided.

Whether to stay by Berg’s side, or to divorce and leave.

There was something she had been wanting to say the moment Berg opened his mouth.

‘...I will love you for a lifetime.’

She recalled Berg saying those words.

Even though she was shocked when Arwin wanted to stay by Berg’s side too... she also saw it as an opportunity.

An opportunity to be loved by Berg for a lifetime. It was too tempting to resist.

What a sweet future that would be.

A tremor that began in her heart held both anxiety and anticipation.

Lately, she had even imagined deepening their relationship.

What would it feel like to kiss him?

What about tangling tongues?

...And what happiness would mingling bodies bring?

It felt like they were finally on the starting line of being a complete couple.

With Arwin leaving Berg’s side as well.

Ner swiftly spotted Berg’s back.

There, her husband was.

Without hesitation, she threw herself at him.

-Thump!

Ner tightly embraced Berg’s back.

Caught off guard by the embrace, Berg staggered for a moment before turning around.

“...Ner?”

Ner clung tightly to Berg.

“...I don’t want a divorce.”

She whispered.

“...”

Berg froze at her words.

Ner continued speaking, her breathing rough. Whether it was from the run, the unfamiliarity of opening her heart to Berg, or the anxiety stirred by her discussion with Arwin, she couldn’t tell.

“I want to stay by your side... Berg.”

Berg, previously stiff, slowly turned around.

Ner loosened her hold slightly to allow him to face her.

As soon as he looked at her, Ner embraced him tightly again.

She buried her face in his chest, hiding her embarrassed expression.

Yet, she didn’t stop revealing her heart.

“Berg. I want to be with you.”

“...Ner.”

Berg called her name warmly.

At the same time, the anxiety melted away.

She realized again how much his presence meant.

After a long hesitation, he whispered.

“...Give me a little more time to think.”

Ner always appreciated his thoughtfulness.

Despite his reluctance to let them go, despite his requests for them to stay, he always thought deeply for their sake.

Ner felt saved by his consideration.

She had never imagined feeling this happiness when she was sold into this life.

She had expected to be robbed of her innocence instantly, used like a toy.

But her experience had been the opposite.

All her pain had been healed through him.

The hardships of past years seemed like experiences she had undergone just to be with Berg.

So, Ner shook her head firmly. There was no need for further thought.

“I know my own heart.”

She had come running here to say this after parting ways with Arwin.

She now realized how difficult it was to express her feelings.

She could hardly understand how Berg had approached her all this time.

Yet, she mustered the strength to say.

“...I need you.”

She wanted to say this before Arwin spoke up.

“...”

Berg, maintaining his silence, gently pushed her away.

As if testing her sincerity, he stared into her eyes for a long time.

This time, Ner did not look away.

Berg was not someone Ner wanted to be abandoned by.

She had to be chosen by him to continue living.

Berg blinked in disbelief.

Ner knew that it must have been confusing for him as well, but this was truly Ner’s sincere heart.

With a sigh that bordered on a chuckle, Berg’s stern expression gradually softened.

It was a moment for Ner to realize how little assurance she had given him all this time.

Berg swallowed his smile and began listing his worries.

“...Ner, by your standards... I might be too controlling.”

Ner replied.

“I now find your control comforting.”

Berg leaned in closer.

He whispered into her ear.

“...I might show you affection to the point you might hate it.”

Ner, blushing, firmly closed her eyes and said,

“...Do it.”

She no longer wanted to think about the differences between their races.

With Berg, she could overcome anything.

It didn’t matter if he was a commoner, a peasant, or from the lowest caste.

Whether he was from her race or another, it didn’t concern her.

Whether a mercenary or a farmer, none of it mattered.

Only Berg’s existence was important.

She had long discarded any prophecy.

Ner was afraid to reveal that the one she had ultimately fallen in love with was Berg... but now it was a moment that she must reveal.

“I can’t part with you, Berg. I can’t. So... let me stay by your side.”

“...”

Berg, smiling, then sealed his lips as if overwhelmed.

He then smiled and embraced Ner in his arms.

Ner felt it again in his embrace.

How could she live without this warmth?

How had she lived without it before?

She could not go back to before.

She had come from a life where she had not a single ally.

She grew up despised by her entire family and tribe.

She had always wished for someone to be on her side.

To her, Berg’s existence was a miracle.

Could this not be the kind of ally she had dreamt of?

Ner finally realized that her grandmother’s prophecy was wrong.

There was no happier future than being by Berg’s side.

Berg reluctantly ended the all-too-brief hug and looked into Ner’s eyes again.

He then asked with a slightly pained expression,

“...What about Arwin?”

“...”

Ner felt jealous just by Berg’s concern for Arwin.

But she tried to think that this was now the last time.

She held Arwin’s weakness.

She was the one who had tried to poison Berg. Could there be a greater sin?

How could she want to stay by his side after trying to kill him?

“...”

At the same time, Ner thought of her diary.

She did not feel guilt-free with her candid words.

The moment she got home today, she had to destroy something immediately.

No one had ever entered her room up to this point, and there had been no need to look at her diary, so she wasn’t too worried.

Her diary was already hidden in a deep corner of the room.

Initially, who would think to enter someone’s room without any reason and look inside a hidden diary?

Even Ner had found Arwin’s poison bottle by chance while searching for a ring.

She had been distracted by the recent chaotic events and had forgotten about the book for a while... but now it was time to deal with it.

“...Ner?”

“...”

“Arwin...?”

Ner shook her head, dismissing her thoughts.

“...I don’t know.”

She did not want to speak for Arwin’s heart.

Nor could she say that she liked Berg.

“Didn’t you talk?”

Berg asked cautiously.

“...She kept saying strange things.”

And Ner continued to divert the conversation.

Berg nodded at her response.

“...Let’s go to Arwin. If she’s still considering... we should let her decide.”

“...”

Ner knew that Arwin had decided to stay by Berg’s side, but the imminent reality made her heart tremble.

She imagined Berg, who would now only have eyes for her after sending Arwin away.

Berg had always been decisive, cutting off anyone who wasn’t either her or Arwin.

If Arwin were sent away, no one else would be left to come between her and Berg.

Days would follow where they would only look at each other and whisper love to each other.

Moments of heart-pounding anticipation would stretch endlessly.

So, Ner swallowed and nodded.

.

.

.

Ner entered the house holding Berg’s hand.

Arwin was in the living room, sipping tea.

Her posture seemed untroubled.

Ner could only marvel at Arwin’s demeanor.

How could she plan to stay by Berg’s side without even trying?

She knew elves were laid-back, but this difference was hard for Ner to comprehend.

In fact, she didn’t even need to understand.

Everything was different, from lifespan to culture.

How could she understand?

It didn’t make sense for Berg to have tried to get close to someone so different from her.

Arwin, tranquilly lifting her teacup, noticed the clasped hands of Ner and Berg as they entered the house.

Ner stiffened for a moment.

Soon, the sharp eyes of the elf were staring at her.

“...”

“...”

Ner stood her ground, not backing down.

Arwin’s demeanor was as if she had reverted to her state from a few months ago.

Initially, who would ever think of entering someone’s room for no reason and digging through a hidden diary?

That prickly demeanor she had shown when she came to ask for help from the Elf Elder was now visible.

-Swish.

Berg lightly let go of Ner’s hand.

Ner, feeling a tinge of regret, released him.

Arwin then addressed Berg.

“Have the two of you talked?”

Berg nodded.

Arwin set down her teacup and whispered.

“Then now, let’s have a talk, Berg.”

Afterward, Arwin quietly entered the master bedroom.

Berg began to follow.

But Ner caught Berg’s hand as he was heading to the master bedroom, stopping him.

-Thud!

“...?”

“...”

“...Why?”

“...Stroke my hair.”

Ner didn’t even know why she had blurted out those words.

Maybe it was her way of asking him to keep her in his thoughts even inside.

Berg chuckled lightly.

He then gently caressed her hair before heading into the master bedroom.

-Bang.

The door closed.

A silence blossomed momentarily.

Ner became curious about what conversation Arwin and Berg would have.

She knew Arwin was eloquent, but no rhetoric was needed in front of a poison bottle.

It didn’t matter if Arwin’s feelings had changed.

So, Ner relaxed and sighed.

At the same time, she realized an opportunity had arisen.

While they were in the master bedroom... she had to remove the diary.

Although hiding it in her room had somehow felt safe since it hadn’t been found yet, she knew this sense of security was false.

She quickly headed to her room.

Carefully closing the door, she searched in the depths of the closet for the diary that hadn’t been touched in a long time.

She reached into unseen corners, fumbling around.

The thought of burning or burying it already made her heart flutter. Could she manage without getting caught?

-Swish...Swish...

“..........?”

But her hand couldn’t feel the familiar sensation of the diary.

Feeling puzzled, she continued to move her hand.

No matter how much time passed, the diary didn’t appear.

As her futile effort continued, puzzlement turned into dismay, and dismay into anxiety.

“...Uh...?”

Ner slowly shifted the clothes aside. It seemed she had to search visually now.

But even after moving the clothes, the diary was nowhere to be seen.

Ner blinked.

There had been an incident like this before.

Her ring had once disappeared.

It had been stolen by village children... could it be the same case this time?

“...”

No, this was different. This wasn’t just a ring. It was something she couldn’t even ask Berg for help with.

Ner tried not to think about the future the diary could bring as she began to empty the closet.

-Swish...Swish...

She pulled out clothes one by one, yet the diary was nowhere to be found.

-Thud...Thud...

Her heart started to race.

Her hands moved faster as she emptied the closet.

Piles of fine clothes began to accumulate behind Ner.

“Where? Where...where is it...”

As her heart raced with anxiety, Ner hurriedly removed more clothes.

-Swish! Thud!

She didn’t care that a mess was starting to form.

She turned the entire closet inside out.

Then, realization dawned on her.

“...What...?”

The diary was gone.

“...No...”

Her anxious eyes scanned the entire room.

Could she have placed it somewhere else and forgotten?

Ner swallowed hard and started searching everywhere.

Under the bed.

-Swish.

She overturned storage boxes.

-Rumble!

She pulled out the desk.

-Scrape!

She rummaged through the room without a moment to spare for anything else.

She felt as if her blood was drying up from anxiety.

As time passed, her actions became more frantic.

The diary contained endless information about Stockpin.

It even had rough details about the strategies of the Red Flames group members and their troops.

Locations of food storages, rest spots for members, training grounds, vulnerabilities of the town, and more.

It was the only weapon she had created before falling in love with Berg.

...What would happen if Berg saw it?

“No...!”

She screamed to herself, driven by escalating fear.

...After all, Berg couldn’t read.

That’s why Gale had to assist him with paperwork.

“...?”

At that moment, Ner felt something extremely peculiar.

Along with that strange sensation... a terror she had never felt before descended upon her.

After causing such a commotion... why was the house still so quiet?

-Creeeeak...

Ner’s bedroom door slowly opened.

Ner slowly began to turn her head.

Then, in the doorway, she found Arwin staring at her with a cold expression.

“...”

“...”

A silent standoff ensued, just as before.

But Ner couldn’t face Arwin as she had in the past.

Despite the chaos in the room, Arwin said nothing.

She simply stated briefly,

“...Berg is looking for you.”

Ner’s eyes trembled with anxiety.

Had she ever been this frightened?

Telling herself it wasn’t so did nothing to ease her fear.

For a long while, Ner remained frozen in place.

Arwin spoke to her again.

“...Ner.”

“...”

“...Berg is looking for you.”

Finally, Ner managed to move, though her head felt dizzy.

She felt as though the ground was giving way beneath her feet.

This was the same floor that she and Berg had painstakingly renovated when they moved into this house.

Berg’s touch was in every part of this home.

This house, which had once been strewn with nothing but bottles, had been transformed into a home by their joint efforts.

It was the product of unique memories that she would never experience again.

Ner eventually reached the master bedroom.

She saw Berg’s back.

The back of the man she had come to love so deeply.

“...Berg...?”

Ner called out his name with difficulty.

“.............”

But Berg did not respond.

Of all the times they had spent together... this was the first time Berg had ignored her words.

“...”

Ner’s tail curled between her legs.

Something had changed in Berg’s demeanor.

The gentle smile that Berg always wore was gone.

Instead, there was the harsh demeanor he showed only when dealing with those who meant to harm Ner.

It was the sullen atmosphere that Berg always kept hidden deep within.

“...Berg...?”

Ner called out the name of her beloved husband again.

After her second call, Berg turned around.

“...Ah.”

-Thud.

Ner collapsed to the floor as she looked into Berg’s eyes.

“...Ah...ah...”

There was no warmth in his gaze.

A mixture of anger and sorrow, reflecting only pain.

It was a look he had always hidden from Ner.

“...You...”

Berg did not call Ner by her name.

A trembling voice flowed through clenched teeth.

-Thump.

Suddenly, Berg threw something in front of Ner.

As he did, his expression crumbled as if he was about to cry.

The strong man, now weakened, asked,

“...What is this...?”

In front of Ner, there was her diary.

No, a book packed with information had fallen.

On the first page was written ‘Stockpin.’

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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