CHAPTER 156
Babiyen’s timid confession.
Hearing it, Aranseol simply nodded her head.
“Yes, I heard from Harua.”
Babiyen’s face instantly flushed bright red.
She had spoken up out of guilt, only to find out Aranseol already knew.
She swallowed a dry cough in embarrassment.
At the same time, she subtly watched Aranseol’s expression.
It was only natural, as it had long been clear that Aranseol had feelings for Harua.
To anyone, Aranseol and Harua were close to being a couple.
They seemed to have shared a bond deeper than that of a typical couple.
Babiyen knew this well, as that fact had always pained her heart.
“...I apologize for making the first move. I did it knowing full well about your feelings, Aranseol.”
In truth, Aranseol had only refrained from acting because Harua’s condition hadn’t been stable.
There had never been any room for someone else to step between the two of them.
So, Babiyen honestly felt like she had just stirred up trouble.
“Babiyen, why are you being so self-conscious?”
When Aranseol asked, Babiyen’s shoulders flinched.
“Are you not confident in your own feelings?”
“Of course not!”
Babiyen answered loudly.
But despite her words, her shoulders were trembling faintly.
The moment Aranseol saw Babiyen, she had sensed her psychological state.
Babiyen was not in a normal state.
For some reason, she was continuously showing a sense of anxiety towards Harua.
“What happened?”
When Aranseol hit the core of the issue, her lips trembled.
Aranseol was always like this.
Perhaps it was her naturally sharp eyes.
She had a strange knack for getting to the heart of the matter.
Babiyen knew this, which was why she had always restrained her feelings when Aranseol was around.
She didn’t want to reveal her heart to Aranseol.
Aranseol’s clear eyes stared at Babiyen.
Looking into those eyes, it was hard to tell a lie.
In the end, Babiyen squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
Then, she spoke, trying her best to sound casual.
“It’s nothing. It’s just that Asheria Eve tampered with my brain, so I started thinking that perhaps my feelings were implanted at some point. That’s all.”
For someone speaking so nonchalantly, her body was trembling.
Having her heart exposed to the outside world was a terrifying and frightening thing.
She was doubting her own love.
The pain of it became even more real as she said it out loud.
“...Well, I guess my feelings were that shallow, then.”
“Shallow feelings?”
“It’s true, isn’t it? My feelings for Harua weren’t deep enough, to be shaken by something like this. It’s a good thing, Aranseol. Nothing you need to worry about will happen.”
Aranseol simply watched as Babiyen rambled on.
Under her gaze, Babiyen’s erratically moving lips slowly came to a halt.
She didn't even know what she was saying herself.
She was just spouting nonsense to forget the fact that she had doubted her own feelings.
She had never once thought her feelings for Harua were shallow.
The emotions she felt when she thought of him were so good and true that she never wanted to doubt them.
But what if they really were implanted feelings?
Asheria Eve’s intention was easy to guess.
Harua could be revived infinitely.
He was a man who didn't even care about his own death.
Furthermore, his recent growth had made his resurrection speed significantly faster.
As time went on, Harua’s weaknesses were diminishing.
But conversely, weaknesses can also be created.
For example, a person precious to him.
Resurrection magic is not omnipotent.
Someone like Asheria Eve, who can directly manipulate the brain, could brainwash anyone.
The more precious someone was to Harua, the more that person would become his weakness.
This was something Babiyen could not tolerate.
As much as she treasured Harua, she didn't want to become a weakness to him.
That was why Babiyen had worked so hard, even reviving the Red Flame Lord to learn magic.
But what if Asheria Eve had aimed for this and implanted these feelings in her? It would mean that the harder Babiyen tried, the more she herself was becoming a weakness.
“Babiyen, do you really doubt your own feelings?”
At Aranseol’s question, Babiyen’s lips trembled.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t doubt them.”

At Aranseol's next words, Babiyen’s fists clenched.
“…Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
Then, for the first time, a sneer dripped from her lips.
“Aranseol, unlike me, you’ve shared your heart with Harua, haven’t you? Anyone can see how close you are. In a situation like that, how could you possibly doubt your own feelings?”
Envy and jealousy.
All sorts of ugly, hideous emotions laced Babiyen’s words. She hated it herself, but her mouth, as if its reins had been cut, kept moving.
“Me too! If I were in your situation, like you, I could have had that kind of cherished relationship with Harua. No, would that have been all? I would’ve held a ceremony and tied him to my side for the rest of our lives! But you—you always act so composed, as if you have everything, staying by Harua’s side and putting on that innocent act! Is that the confidence of a winner? Do you have any idea how infuriating that is to watch every single time? Did you think I wouldn't know? Do you have any idea how rotten your personality really is?”
The words poured out like a bursting dam, each one a sharp arrow. They were the venomous thoughts Babiyen had kept locked away until now.
“You… you are…”
After her long outburst, Babiyen’s lips trembled, and she slowly lowered her head.
“…I’m so envious.”
Tears welled up in Babiyen’s eyes.
“I love Harua this much, too.”
As if her heart was in agony, she clutched her chest.
“Why am I like this? Why am I so inadequate?”
Before she knew it, she was covering her eyes, crying like a child. She was lamenting her own shortcomings, feeling so pathetic and foolish in her own eyes. Babiyen couldn’t hold back the flood of tears.
“Babiyen.”

Aranseol finally spoke to the weeping girl.
“Have you noticed that in everything you just said, you never once blamed Harua?”
Babiyen looked at Aranseol through her tear-filled eyes. In her blurry vision, Aranseol was smiling, looking slightly exasperated.
“You blamed yourself, but you never once blamed Harua.”
“...Because… this is my responsibility.”
There was no reason to blame Harua.
“Babiyen, you said I have a bad personality. You’re right.”
Aranseol brought up the embarrassing topic from moments ago.
“I don’t have a great personality. In the end, everything I do is for myself. You’re similar, Babiyen. The reason we didn’t like each other in the past was probably because of that similarity. But Harua is different. He talks like us, but he’s a fundamentally good person.”
Babiyen’s fists clenched tightly.
“...I know that very well.”
“Yes. And that’s the part of him we both fell for.”
What kind of person was Harua?
If asked, both Babiyen and Aranseol would say, without hesitation, that he was an incredibly kind person.
On the surface, he was prickly, guarded, and made all sorts of excuses.
But in the end, he would act without a second thought to save others, putting their needs before his own gain.
He was a good person, to the point of being foolish.
That was Harua.
And he was the man that the two people standing here loved.
“Babiyen, do you really think that no matter what was planted in your head, we wouldn’t have fallen for Harua?”
Not falling for Harua.
Hearing the question, Babiyen slowly shook her head. It was an unconscious, honest reaction.
“Right? In the end, no matter what happened, we would have fallen for Harua.”
At those words, Babiyen’s eyes slowly widened.
No matter what seed had been planted in her mind.
No matter how much she doubted the feeling of love.
Even if she felt inadequate and unreliable.
The fact that she would have fallen for Harua was an immutable truth.
The time she had built with him.
Everything was contained within that time.
“Babiyen.”
Just hearing him say her name brought her so much happiness.
What part of that feeling was there to doubt?

Why did I realize that so late?
Babiyen felt like a fool, and a wave of shame washed over her.
“Feeling a bit calmer now?”

When Aranseol asked, Babiyen turned her head away, her face burning.
“...Don’t ask.”
“See, you have a bad personality too, Babiyen. You’d be prettier if you were just honest.”
“You’re the same way! You just watched Harua from the sidelines until I confessed.”
Aranseol covered her mouth and chuckled.

“You’re right. I did that because I felt a sense of rivalry with you, Babiyen.”
Rivalry.
Hearing that, Babiyen turned back to look at Aranseol, her face asking if she was being serious.
Aranseol just beamed.
“I was always wary of you, Babiyen.”
Seriously, that relaxed smile of hers was just plain mean.
But deep inside, Babiyen felt something bubble up. Aranseol saw her as a rival. That meant Aranseol had considered the possibility that Harua might choose her.
Strength flowed through her entire body.
It was a foolish reason to feel motivated, but so what? She had always been treated like a fool, and yet she had survived.
Babiyen puffed out her chest and straightened her back.
“Hmph. Don’t come crying to me later when he gets stolen from you while you’re talking like that.”
“He doesn’t belong to anyone yet. Harua won’t like you talking that way.”
“I don’t care. I’ll make him love that part of me, too!”
Babiyen had regained her vigor.
Seeing this, Aranseol just shrugged.
“Well then, before any of that, you should probably go explain your behavior in front of Harua today.”
“Ah.”
And just like that, Babiyen’s vigor vanished.
Her burst of energy had lasted all of ten seconds.