Kirine was stunned when Viarte simply admitted defeat and left. Contrary to her expectation of a rematch, the woman had accepted her loss. Her words still rang in Kirine’s ears: “It would be wrong to covet my savior’s spouse.”
Surprisingly sensible, Kirine thought.
While Kirine was initially surprised by Viarte’s unexpected remark, it was ultimately a positive outcome. She neither lost Sasha nor her hard-earned money. Except Ares, Kirine thought.
During the altercation, Kirine had sustained a minor gash on her arm while protecting Viarte from a falling boulder. Though it was a minor wound, the look in Ares’ eyes had chilled her to the bone.
Normally, Kirine would have confronted Ares about his icy stare. But this time, she sensed something deeper than annoyance. The worry in his eyes was a stark contrast to his usual stoic demeanor. How long am I going to have to walk on eggshells around him? she wondered.
During their private breakfast, Kirine cautiously watched Ares as she took a bite of soup. Despite his frequent “I can’t stand you” glances, he still ensured she ate. She was unsure whether to be annoyed or grateful.
Unable to tolerate the ongoing cold war, Kirine finally broke the silence. “Are you going to keep this up?” she asked, her voice firm. “I know you’re upset, but we need to talk about this. How long are you going to continue this?”
Ares hesitated before reluctantly responding. “I’m not mad,” he said.
Kirine scoffed at his immediate denial. Not mad? Right. You’re definitely mad, she thought to herself.
If Ares wasn’t upset, there was no explanation for his friendly interactions with Sasha while completely ignoring Kirine. Yet, he continued to glare at her as if she were the sole source of his annoyance, insisting he wasn’t angry. It was absurd.
“Then why are you acting like this?” Kirine pressed. However, Ares remained stubbornly silent, refusing to answer.
Just as Kirine was about to lose her patience, Ares finally spoke. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
Ares was being honest. He couldn’t comprehend his own anger, or even if it was anger at all.
Suddenly, the duel scene replayed in his mind. The moment he felt the tremor, his immediate instinct was to find Kirine and protect her. However, before he could act, the ground beneath him began to collapse. Even then, his focus was solely on locating Kirine.
But you…, Ares thought. He barely managed to reach her and offered his hand, but Kirine ignored him, her gaze fixed on the injured Viarte. In that moment, Ares felt a crushing sense of despair as if his heart had fallen to the ground. He didn’t need words to understand Kirine’s intentions.
“No,” Ares pleaded with his eyes, begging her to stay with him as he reached out desperately. However, his hand never connected. The ground collapsed violently, burying both Kirine and Viarte.
The feeling of helplessness as he watched the event unfold was indescribable. It was an experience he never wanted to repeat.
“I don’t care if you get hurt or not,” Ares bitterly stated, a lie that slipped out of his mouth.
Kirine’s frustration erupted. “If you were worried, just admit it!” she shouted.
“Who said I was worried?” Ares retorted.
“If you weren’t worried, why did you make me breakfast?” Kirine questioned.
“What, should I have selfishly made just mine?” Ares demanded, staring at her intently. Kirine rubbed the back of her neck, reluctantly admitting to herself that he had a point.
“Well, I guess that’s true,” Kirine admitted.
“If you understand, then hurry up and eat,” Ares urged.
Despite the circumstances, the soup was too delicious to resist, so Kirine quietly enjoyed it.
“So, why did the duel arena suddenly collapse?” Kirine asked, finally remembering the most pressing question.
Ares placed the bread plate in front of her and explained, “They said the ground beneath it had been unstable for a long time.”
While building an arena on unstable ground seemed unusual, Kirine decided to let it go for now since there was no way to investigate further.
“Oh, by the way, stop by my lab before heading to the training grounds,” Kirine said.
“Why?” Ares asked, puzzled.
Kirine explained, exasperated, “I made a potion to bring back your memories.”