I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 79

 

Fjord examined my face and scratched his cheek sheepishly.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got you mixed up because of your voice.”

 

Whether Fjord misunderstood or not, I looked at his face and was at a loss for words.

 

It’s just…

 

Fjord in a wig. Maybe Jane’s makeup was a fraud.

 

Kun looked different, but Fjord was just Fjord, just a little prettier.

 

Before I knew it, my thoughts were out of my mouth.

 

“So, you won Miss Arena?”

 

“Yep. Didn’t you see the pageant?”

 

Why you and not Kun…?

 

Certainly, Fjord’s original face had a chiseled appearance.

 

So it wasn’t strange to think of him as a woman.

 

On the contrary, it suited him well. Muscles are something that women could build up…

 

But Kun’s beauty was too shocking.

 

Fjord’s election as Miss Arena was a bit of a surprise.

 

No, actually, a lot. I decided to put my doubts aside and tell Fjord who I was.

 

“You’re not mistaken, it’s me, Fjord. I just have a transformation spell on my face that makes me look like this.”

 

Fjord’s face turned a faint shade of color.

 

“Aha, I thought it was you for some reason, but your face was different.”

 

I smirked outwardly, reminding myself to pay attention to my voice next time.

 

“Congratulations on the win, Fjord. At least you kept your chessboard.”

 

“…Why did you take my stuff in the first place!”

 

“For your motivation?”

 

“That’ll go down very well.”

 

Fjord glared at me for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and looked around me.

 

“Where’s Carson, by the way? I thought he’d be with you, of course.”

 

“Actually, Caon was tired from using magic all day today and suddenly got a nosebleed…”

 

“Carson? He was tired from that much magic?”

 

“It’s true, and I didn’t even get to see the competition because I had to drop him off at his dorm.”

 

“Then how did you get here?”

 

“I came here on my own, just to see you before taking off all the makeup.”

 

“Well, if that’s what I thought, I wouldn’t have run without looking back when I heard your voice.”

 

Fjord let out a long sigh, as if he’d imagined a future where I’d tease him day and night.

 

“Now that you’ve seen it, are you satisfied?”

 

“Yeah. It’s funny.”

 

He chuckled, obviously amused that I’d said it out loud.

 

“I saw Kun first. I didn’t even realize she was cross-dressing at first, and I called him sister.”

 

Fjord admitted warmly, “You’re right, Kun is really pretty.”

 

“To be honest, I expected you to be prettier than Kun, just because you won.”

 

“So you were disappointed?”

 

“A little.”

 

“…”

 

“A lot…?”

 

Fjord, expecting to lose his temper again, blurted out casually.

 

“You are to blame for your expectations. Miss Arena is not a beauty contest.”

 

“Huh?”

 

I blinked in confusion, and Fjord continued, “Didn’t you hear that it’s about finding the most attractive student at Arena Academy?”

 

“Of course, I heard.”

 

“Cross-dressing was just for fun, it doesn’t count for points.”

 

“Then how are they judged?”

 

“They measure the volume of the students’ cheers and calculate the score, and it’s magically accurate.”

 

It seemed fair, but it was also completely unreasonable.

 

It was like a popularity contest.

 

“So the winner was always going to be you, Fjord, right?”

 

“No, not really, because everyone voted for the popular guy.”

 

I snorted at his nonchalant evasion, “No one can beat your popularity, you’re everyone’s favorite sweetheart.”

 

“Oh, I’m not dating anyone I don’t like anymore!”

 

“That’s what you did last time, sneaking around with a girl behind everyone’s back!”

 

Fjord hastily defended, covering my mouth.

 

“That was for a reason!”

 

I mimicked, flicking my ears and rolling my eyes. 

 

Who was it that was promising to marry him this time?

 

Seeing my glazed look, Fjord hastens to add.

 

“I wasn’t with anyone before that, I swear.”

 

Shrugging my shoulders, I look away. I notice someone walking toward us.

 

It was an unexpected person, someone I hadn’t expected to come to visit Fjord.

 

Tap, tap, tap—

 

We made eye contact, and he walked towards us without hesitation.

 

When he finally got within a few meters of us, he didn’t come any closer but stood there. He seemed to want to keep his distance from Fjord.

 

“Good look, Fjord.”

 

Fjord, who had been making excuses for me, stopped talking and looked in the direction of the voice.

 

“…Brother?”

 

Fjord’s eyes fluttered precariously, like a flower in the breeze.

 

“You were popular.”

 

“…Did you see the competition?”

 

Having finally freed myself from his grip, I blithely looked back and forth between the two of them.

 

Wow, he doesn’t look like his brother with that face.

 

Fjord fixed his gaze on his brother, repeatedly mouthing the words again and finding himself opening and closing his mouth.

 

Sensing that he was hesitating, I pushed him on the back. Fjord looks back at me, confused.

 

“I think you need to talk to your brother. Go on.”

 

“Leen. I’m….”

 

“Come on.”

 

At my urging, he hesitated, then nodded as if he’d made up his mind.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“For what? We’re friends, after all.”

 

At my casual remark, a brief flicker of amusement crossed Fjord’s face.

 

But it’s fleeting, and he quickly pulls his gaze away from me and walks over to his brother.

 

I stared at the two brothers for a long moment before turning away.

 

From now on, it was all theirs.

 

🍃

 

“Ha.”

 

Caris chuckled to himself as he watched Leen’s figure rapidly fade from view.

 

His gaze turns to Kun’s mother, the former Empress of the Empire.

 

“Explain, why did you do that?”

 

She met his gaze calmly, as if she knew this was coming.

 

“You look at me like I’ve done something to deserve death, old man.”

 

“Do you think I asked you this, so I could have a silly argument with you? Answer the question.”

 

Slowly, extremely sluggishly, she tilted her head.

 

Then he asked again, “What do you know?”

 

“…Enough to make you crazy.”

 

The corners of her mouth twisted upward.

 

“I knew it, the way you looked at Leen said it all. You’re lucky I didn’t see it first.”

 

Caris shuddered at the betrayal, chewing and spitting it out.

 

“How long have you known? I mean, even before that, is she Rud’s daughter?”

 

The answer came faster than he expected.

 

“She is.”

 

“…Then why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“You.”

 

She languidly closed her eyes and opened them. The light reflected off her pupils, and her eyes widened serenely.

 

“What makes you qualified?”

 

The words pierced the center of Caris’s heart.

 

“Are you hungry for your family now, or are you trying to kill Leen, who has Lagrasian blood in her veins?”

 

Extremely agitated by her words, he spat out a stuttering string of words.

 

“Do you think I, I…! Do you think I would kill a child, a murderer who would take the life of my blood?”

 

Kun stared at them both with shaking eyes, horrified by the words coming out of their mouths.

 

Leen was his godfather’s granddaughter. What the hell was going on here?

 

He put his confusion aside and decided to keep quiet for now.

 

“It doesn’t matter what I think of you.”

 

She didn’t look away from Caris’s blazing eyes. Leaning in closer, she repeated the words as if to bury them in his ear.

 

“Listen. The reason Rud left Abascanthus was to protect Lisa and the child from you.”

 

“What…?”

 

“To protect them from the very father of them, you. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

 

Caris felt his mind drift away.

 

‘The child.’

 

That was what Rud had tried to tell him that day, the news of the woman he loved’s pregnancy.

 

What had he been telling his son?

 

His hands began to tremble. He took a deep breath and forced his dry lips apart, barely able to compose himself.

 

Wanting to deny it. It was just an impulse, he said, and he didn’t think about it.

 

If he had known she was carrying a child in her womb, maybe his attitude would have been different.

 

Eventually, a pathetic excuse slipped out of his mouth.

 

“…You make it sound as if I would have killed the child if Rud hadn’t fled into seclusion.”

 

“You didn’t?”

 

Caris’s eyes narrowed in disgust.

 

“You said you would take up your sword the moment a Lagrasian was brought before your eyes, that you would kill them, and you said it yourself, in front of your own son!”

 

The words of the past formed a tight noose around his heart. It was hard to breathe. In his head, the words replayed over and over again.

 

“That time, I, I was drunk, and I made a mistake…”

 

“Drunk, what a lame excuse.”

 

Caris said, all pride gone, pleading with her, “I have lived a life of regret since my son left me. I’ve pictured him in my mind. Why can’t I meet him and spend the rest of my life atoning for it? What do I deserve?”

 

Her eyes fluttered slightly at Caris’s crumbling face.

 

She hated Caris. And not just because of the way he had tried to drive a wedge between her best friends, Rud and Lisa.

 

Caris reeked of death. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people had died at his hands.

 

As an elf, she could smell it as clearly as anyone.

 

Instinctively, she was repulsed by him, perhaps because she was a natural-born elf who respected life.

 

From their first meeting to now, she had never gotten along with him.

 

Especially not after her friends fled to Lagras to escape Cari’s eyes.

 

But at the same time, she pitied him. Because she knew he didn’t do it because he wanted to.

 

He must have come to hate Lagras because it took everything from him.

 

Alas, what a pitiful human being he was.

 

But reality was harsh.

 

Words spit out are never taken back in, and what has been done cannot be undone. Caris chose, at the time, between his son and his hatred of Lagras, and he chose the latter.

 

Cruel as it was, she decided to end the argument.

 

“It’s already over, Rud, the one you miss so much, has passed back to the land.”

 

Thud—

 

The sky that held Caris up collapsed.

 

His son’s death barely registered, and she spoke harshly.

 

“I interrupted you for Leen’s sake. Please, I beg you, consider your plight.”

 

“What did I do…”

 

“I guess you’ve been stuck in Abascanthus so long you’ve forgotten. You’re a murderer.”

 

Caris’s eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“Do you realize how you’re written in the history books of Lagras? War hero is only a thing in your country.”

 

It was true. The moment he’d left Abascanthus, he’d been nothing more than a crazed warmonger.

 

“The granddaughter of the murderer who slaughtered the people of Lagras. I doubt she’ll like that title.”

 

She lifted a hand to wipe the tears from Caris’s eyes.

 

But despite the loving touch, the words that came out of her mouth were cruel and heartless.

 

“Maybe if you’d been family from the beginning, but you’re nothing to Leen now, are you?”

 

She drove a wedge into Caris’s heart one last time.

 

Lest he dreamt false dreams.

 

“She’s happy without you, don’t try to disturb a child who’s doing just fine with outlandish notions.”