'Something is wrong.'
Aria involuntarily hesitated and stepped back.
“Where are you going?”
However, the attempt to escape was futile because of the trapped ankle.
"Since you have forgiven me, I will do my best."
The man, still maintaining a smiling face, reached out his other hand and grabbed the slender wrist.
This is not it!
A flustered Aria stammered.
"I... I made a mistake. I don't think this is the right place, so please let me go."
"Hmm?"
Then the man raised one eyebrow.
"I finally caught you, so backing down would be foolish."
Unlike the voice tinged with mockery, his face was still full of a beautiful smile.
"Since you have given me permission, shall we try the imprinting for the first time in a while? Ah. Don't worry. Eve has ice magic, so it won't hurt as much as you think. Of course, since Eve likes that kind of thing, it will be fine, right?"
He pulled the wrist he was holding and rubbed his cheek against the palm. He was like a loyal dog craving affection.
"I am so happy that you have finally given your permission."
The man's eyes curved beautifully.
"Once imprinted, we will become inseparable forever. You will meet me again even in death."
Because this is a contract of the soul.
The feverish face no longer looked beautiful. It seemed as though it would devour every last bone.
'I know why you ran away!'
Aria's face turned pale.
“Ugh!”
Aria's scream rang out.
"Absolutely not! I'm not that person! Not my soul!"
Save me!
Aria's soul surged wildly. She had to escape by any means necessary. Aria forced out every last ounce of strength she had.
Did the struggle pay off?
The strength drained from Eve's body. Her eyes seemed to cloud over, and then her head snapped sharply downward.
And, not long after, her head snapped up. Her cloudy eyes returned to blue.
"Uh?"
She examined her body as if she couldn't believe it.
“I’m back!”
I returned to my original body!
On top of that, right in front of her was Noelier, whom she had wanted to meet so much.
“Noel!”
Eve called out to him with a welcoming look.
"Eve..."
He blinked for a moment, then called her name in a sorrowful voice.
"I see you're safe! Are you okay? What about your fever? You don't have a fever?"
Eve quickly checked his condition. No matter how she looked at him, there were no signs of him going berserk.
Thank god.
She tried to calm her startled heart, but the position felt uncomfortable.
"...?"
As she lowered her gaze, she realized that her ankles and wrists were being held in an uncomfortable position. On top of that, for some reason, Noelier was rubbing his face against her hand.
"Why is your posture like this?"
At Eve's question, Noelier rolled his eyes and scanned his posture. He slowly opened his mouth.
"The one who entered Eve's body was trying to do something evil, so I held her back."
"Really? How?"
Noelier opened his mouth after thinking for a moment.
"I just told my true feelings."
"Good heavens. She's not usually that nice... I guess she was touched by Noel's feelings."
Noelier smiled silently. Seeing the faint sadness on his face, Eve suddenly pulled Noelier into a tight embrace.
"Thank you, Noel, and I'm sorry for leaving without saying a word. If it weren't for you, I would never have found my body."
Noelier buried his face in Eve's neck and hugged her back with a happy heart.
I finally found her. I held her back in my arms, the woman I thought I would lose forever.
Noelier closed his eyes and felt a sense of peace. Her ankles were still being held captive.
***
"Gasp, gasp..."
Aria leaned against the wall and gasped for breath.
She didn't have a single drop of strength left, but she had to run away. Otherwise, he might chase after her.
Even after returning to jer original body, the heat touching her grabbed ankles and wrists was still vivid.
'Why didn't I know? He had black hair and red eyes!'
No matter how little interest she had in the outside world, it didn't make sense that she didn't know the Red Dragon.
'I messed with him. And on top of that, I messed with his girlfriend too.'
She got goosebumps.
Aria trembled slightly.
The colors of the souls the two possessed were similar. It meant that their souls were bound together by something.
To think that he would still desire a deeper relationship.
'No one could handle a love like that!'
It might be faster to die.
She shook her head and swam away quickly.
***
"But you know what."
"Yes."
“Where are we going?”
Charles gave a plausible excuse in response to the boy's question.
“Playroom.”
The mansion was collapsing, so he had to get out of here quickly.
Finding the boy's companions was important, but saving lives came first.
The boy tilted his head at Charles's words.
"A playroom? What is that?"
"Hmm, it's a place full of fun things like swings and seesaws. Sometimes there are parishioners who bring their children, you know. A playroom is a must. There's lots of delicious food there, and really a lot of fun things to do."
"Wow. Really? Then are the older brothers there too?"
“Brothers?”
The silver-haired boy nodded vigorously.
"Yes! I have the most fun playing with older guys who are all muscular like this, using my arm strength!"
"..."
The men silently lowered their gazes.
The boy's arms were no different from those of other children. They were moderately chubby and moderately soft. The hands clasped together were also plump and cute.
'You're saying you're going to play with big guys who just rolled up their muscles with these arms?'
Charles quietly let go of the hand he was holding.
It wasn't that he was scared; it was just that he didn't know.
However, the boy simply kept smiling brightly, his eyes sparkling. Seeing that smile, his fear gradually faded away. It felt as if strength was slowly welling up inside him as well.
Charles shouted in a spirited voice.
"Okay! Uncle will have fun playing with you! Don't worry!"
“Awesome!”
It was just then that Charles was thinking about what to play with.
The wall collapsed again. Charles turned around to protect the boy.
“It’s dangerous!”
One of the fleeing believers let out a loud shout.
Just then, someone ran up and protected them. It was a woman with dark blue hair.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
The believers nodded at her question.
Her name was Rene, and she was a military commander serving the mermaid chief.
Upon hearing that the young master was in danger, they hurriedly assembled an army and attacked the Siren's base.
She heard that they had been expanding their power recently, but she never imagined it would be this big.
Rene helped the fallen believers up and said.
"It is dangerous to stay here any longer. When the Sirens do something strange..."
She could not finish speaking.
Beyond the collapsed wall, there was a red-haired woman.
Mermaids generally had light purple eyes. The Sirens, who shared the same bloodline and were now fallen, were no exception.
'Then that man...'
Rene instinctively pushed the people back. Then he spotted the boy next to Charles.
'Did they take a hostage?'
Rene quickly drew her sword and shouted.
"Release the hostages!"
“What? Hostage?”
Charles jumped up in surprise. A hostage? He had only been taking him for a short while because he had lost his way.
But Rene didn't even blink.
"Do you think I would believe the Siren's words?"
"It's true! Right, little one?"
Charles looked down at the boy with a desperate expression and said
The boy nodded.
"That's right. He said he would find my sister."
Rene snorted.
"There are things you should do and things you shouldn't. How dare you take a child as a hostage!"
“It’s not like that!”
The standoff became longer.
Again, a rumbling sound of a wall collapsing was heard.
There was no more time to waste. Rene slowly approached them, holding his sword.
Charles bit his lip. No matter how suspicious he was, drawing his sword in front of a child...
However, he couldn't just stand by and take it like a fool. Just then, he had a knife at his waist. As Chatel drew his sword, Rene...
She lunged at him. Charles pushed the boy back and fought against her.
"Uh..."
The boy hurriedly looked flustered. "My sister told me not to fight..."
"D-Don't fight...!"
The boy shouted weakly. But there was no way his choking voice could be heard.
"You are a disgrace to the mermaids!"
"Who are you to say that!"
The sharp voice was growing louder. The boy stomped his feet.
Uh. What should I do? I need to stop them, but no one is listening to me.
"Fighting is bad..."
Moisture began to well up in the boy's blue eyes.
“Ugh..."
It was when tears began to escape from the corners of the boy's eyes.
Boom! With a tremendous sound, the wall crumbled.
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