“No.”
I shook my head at Lena’s request.
Maybe she’d expected that reaction, because her expression didn’t change.
“Hmm, why not? I mean, not to brag, but I think I’m pretty cute, you know? My figure might be… well, a little disappointing, but still. But, but—because of that, I’ll do anything for you. Whatever you want, Fate, I’ll give it all to you.”
“…That’s not the problem.”
“?”
“When you say things like ‘I’ll do anything’ so casually… it just makes me uneasy. And I don’t want that kind of one-sided relationship. I want something where we both give and receive, where we support each other.”
“I see.”
Lena nodded a few times, then—
“I don’t get it.”
She tilted her head with a blank look.
“You can have me all to yourself, so isn’t that good enough? I’ll devote myself to you completely—what’s wrong with that?”
“Why do you think in such a lopsided way…”
Maybe it sounds idealistic, but…
I believe lovers, and married couples too, are meant to support each other.
If only one side is leaning on the other, it feels like it’ll collapse right away.
Helping each other.
Sharing both joys and hardships.
Always staying together.
That’s the kind of ideal I want to make real.
…With Sofia.
“Maybe… if I had met you before Sofia, I might have been drawn to you.”
Lena may belong to the Dawn Alliance…
But she doesn’t strike me as some irredeemable villain.
I might even have enjoyed being with her.
But—
“I love Sofia.”
“…”
“You can’t take her place, Lena. The one I love is Sofia, and only her.”
“…I see.”
Killing intent surged again.
Far stronger than before.
This time it was like a storm, so fierce that just standing here made me feel like I might black out.
Probably… this was Lena’s true seriousness.
“…Ugh…”
Honestly… I was scared.
I thought I’d been through enough battles to be hardened. But I’d been naïve.
To face Lena at full strength… it was like trying to stand against a natural disaster.
It was impossible to think of fighting her head-on.
My hands shook.
My legs trembled.
And even so—
“—!!”
I bit my lip.
The small pain helped me focus.
I couldn’t back down here.
Sofia might be targeted.
Licorice, Aisha, Snow—they might all be harmed.
And not just them… even the Beastkin village could be in danger.
There wasn’t much I could do.
No matter how I struggled, I couldn’t defeat Lena.
I couldn’t even drive her away.
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll just give up!”
Better to regret trying than to regret doing nothing.
“Hmph.”
Lena spoke as if amused.
Her smile had returned to her face, but the killing intent hadn’t vanished.
If anything, it had only grown sharper, heavier than before.
“Even standing before my true power, you don’t falter. As I thought, you really are amazing, Fate.”
“…Thanks.”
“But if you won’t be mine, then I don’t need you.”
And with that—
In an instant, Lena’s figure vanished.
“Die.”
The voice came from behind me.
Cold enough to remind me of Death itself.
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