“I. I..."
"Zion, come here."
At Rachel's gesture, Zion scurried over.
"I cried with you, you traitor...!" The man shuddered at the child's coldness.
"Who ordered this?"
"..."
“Answer me.”
Rachel asked in a cold voice. The man, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut as if frightened, shouted in a voice choked with emotion.
"It’s not that we wanted to resort to this method! Since the Leader and the Young Lady haven’t returned from the North...!"
Rachel turned her head away as if she didn't want to hear it. Listening to the chameleon, who was busy hiding here and there, only hurt her ears.
"Ruby...?"
Rachel lowered her gaze toward Zion. She felt as though she knew what he was clutching tightly without even looking.
But that shouldn't have happened. She didn't want to take Eve away by force.
She hoped that Eve would open her heart to her personally, just as she had saved her and treated her with care.
Rachel shook her head firmly.
"Zion."
"Yes?"
“...Give me that.”
"This?"
"That's dangerous."
So give it to me. Rachel held out her hand.
"No!"
The man shouted as if screaming.
This gem contained the Leader's power. There was no way a young lady who had not yet undergone her second awakening could withstand the Leader's power. Chameleon also moved swiftly.
'Uh, I have to hide this somehow!'
He snatched the jewel from Zion's hand. Then, he swallowed it in one gulp.
The red gem disappeared into the man's mouth.
Zion looked at the man with a surprised expression, and Rachel bit her lip, muttering, "That idiot...!"
"Are you crazy? Don't you know what happens if you eat that?"
"Ugh."
“Spit it out, quickly!”
“Obub!”
Rachel strode closer to the man. Fire shot up from Rachel's fingertips.
Eek! The frightened man flinched. It was then.
Gulp.
With that sound, the jewel in the man's mouth disappeared.
"What on earth have you done...!"
Rachel shouted with a flustered look on her face.
However, the most surprised person among them was the chameleon.
'You idiot, you should have just kept it in your mouth! How could you swallow it!'
The red gem contained the leader's power.
If someone who does not fit the vessel eats it, they cannot withstand the heat and die.
'So I tried feeding this to that woman to test her qualities as a partner...!'
He stomped his feet with a frightened look on his face. However, his struggle did not last long.
"Ugh...!"
Tremendous heat scorched his body. He was flushed red from head to toe. It felt as if steam was rising from his head. His head was spinning, and smoke billowed from his mouth like a chimney. It was hot. He felt like he was going to die from the heat.
"Miss...!"
The chameleon staggered toward Rachel.
"Eek!" Zion's frightened voice rang out faintly. Rachel, having hidden Zion behind her, recoiled and stepped back.
Since he had eaten the jewel, he would die soon.
'Die.'
Suddenly, a chilling fear enveloped Rachel. The scene she had seen in her dream was repeating itself once again.
Shouts, cries, many people clamoring to kill them before something worse happens- fire. Red flames.
Rachel's hands trembled at the nightmare unfolding before her eyes.
"Ruby..."
A cold hand wrapped around Rachel's. Her head turned instinctively. Zion had a face even more terrified than hers.
"Ruby..."
"..."
However, he did not cry like before. He merely wore a face that looked as if he were about to cry. The strength of the small hand grew even stronger. Thanks to that, the heat surging with her disordered emotions subsided.
"You..."
It was just as Rachel was about to say something.
“You bastard!”
"Eve!"
A loud sound squeezed in between them.
Sigh!
And a tremendous sound rang out.
It was a familiar sound.
Zion and Rachel turned their heads.
The chameleon stopped abruptly at a distance of about five steps.
It was because of something that struck his forehead.
"I'm going to kill you!"
It was a frozen stone.
"Ugh..."
The chameleon slumped onto the snow with a small groan.
The snow around the man began to melt. The heat surrounding his body was that immense.
Just as the children were staring blankly at him, a familiar figure appeared along with the sound of thumping footsteps.
"Who! Who told you to change the genre as you pleased! Huh?!"
"Eve!"
"How many times do I have to tell you I don't like it!"
"Please, just calm down...!"
"I have to smash your head in. Really!"
"Bring me a stone!" Eve, highly agitated, grabbed the man by the collar.
Zion was staring at them, his mouth agape.
"..."
Rachel approached Eve as if she had been bitten by something.
"Die, die!" Eve, who had been frantically grabbing the man by the collar and twisting him, turned her head.
"..."
As I met those blue eyes, the pain that had been weighing on my chest melted away.
"Hmph..."
Rachel's eyes welled up with tears.
"...Rachel?"
“Sister...”
"What on earth happened? Huh?"
"I'm scared..."
Rachel said that and hugged Eve.
Eve hugged Rachel in an awkward position. A burning heat seeped into her body.
"I keep seeing dreams..."
"Dream?"
"A dream..."
Rachel sobbed and could not continue speaking. Seeing her crying, Eve could not pry any further.
'What happened...'
Eve looked up at Noelier with bewildered eyes. Noelier's pupils were also trembling violently.
Eve quickly patted Rachel's back and spoke soothingly.
"Were you, were you really, really surprised? Don't worry. I'll kill this bastard—no, this old man."
"..."
Rachel shook her head. Without a word, she simply burrowed into Eve's embrace and tightly hugged her waist. Eve gently stroked Rachel's head.
"Sister..."
Zion approached them. Zion also had a frightened look on his face. Eve barely managed to hug Zion and Rachel and asked.
"What happened to Rael? Why on earth..."
"This older brother..."
"Brother?"
"He, he's my friend. We're both second children, so we were talking when the topic of my older sister came up... and he ate something weird..."
"What?"
"So I said I would eat it, but then Ruby..."
Zion blurted out a jumble of incoherent words.
Eve and Noelier's eyes met. Both of them were equally flustered.
Leaving the strange atmosphere behind, I was searching for the children who had suddenly disappeared when some bright red guy lunged at me, so I just blindly threw a stone at him...
'Why is it so hot?'
Eve lowered her head at a sudden thought.
Eve was pressing down mercilessly on the man's stomach. Since she was holding Rachel and Zion as well, the weight would be even greater.
Eve awkwardly lowered her hand and checked the man's temperature.
'It's hot!'
It might have been a level of heat similar to Noelier's.
"..."
It seemed that Noelier was also thinking the same thing.
As Noelier reached out his hand, the man's body began to scorch black. It had ignited upon contact with intense heat.
Noelier's eyes grew dark.
If left alone like this, this man will die.
'That won't do.'
She couldn't show such a shocking sight to the trembling children. She wanted to personally adapt the original novel into a fairy tale. She couldn't just sit idly by like a fool.
She had to think of what she could do. Eve bit her lip tightly. She didn't know if it would work or not, but...
“Rachel.”
"..."
Eve carefully pulled Rachel away from her embrace. Her tear-filled red eyes reflected her.
"Don't worry."
Her voice trembled slightly. However, Eve tried hard to act as if nothing was wrong and stroked Rachel's head.
“I’ll try.”
A gentle voice. Rachel slowly blinked her eyes.
"Okay. So, stop right there."
Saying that, Eve pulled Rachel away from her embrace. It was to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
Rachel hesitated and stepped away from Eve. As if he had been waiting, Zion approached Rachel and took her hand.
Eve held the fallen man's hand.
'Please...!'
Just like when she first saved Rachel, she let the coldness from her body flow out.
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