73. Regina, Regina, Regina Parla (2)
Karla suddenly stood up, but she didn’t know what to do next.
As soon as she saw Regina leaving with Ivan, she got up abruptly — but why?
‘No, I do have a reason.’
For the women of the empire, the highest virtue is undoubtedly chastity. A woman follows one husband for life, and while remarriage isn’t nonexistent, the empire’s customs somewhat frown upon remarried women.
Even though Karla herself was originally a man, she was raised under such conditions—
‘That bastard slept with me…!’
The one who took Karla’s chastity was Ivan. Though it happened out of her own will—still, as a commoner, he had no right to take her chastity. In any case, Ivan should take responsibility.
“Karla… where are you going…”
“Hey, Liam, Emil is drunk. Take care of him.”
“Wha, what?!”
Shoving Emil away as he tried to cling to her, Karla called out to Liam. Liam, who was squeezing the last drop out of an empty beer barrel, raised his hand lazily. Karla pushed Emil towards Liam and took a step forward.
The steps grew longer, and soon, she started running.
How far had Regina and Ivan gone since leaving the dining hall? The sudden thought made Karla anxious.
Could she herself understand this restlessness? Karla wasn’t reflecting on each of her actions. She wasn’t the type to assign meaning to everything she did. But perhaps she was chasing Ivan—not just Ivan, but Regina as well—because the idea of Ivan giving her body to Regina was—
‘Not something I can accept.’
After almost an entire day of mingling bodies, Karla thought to herself that when the body goes, the heart must follow.
Her pace quickened.
Running against the wind, she finally spotted Regina helping Ivan.
“Regina!”
Without realizing it, Karla shouted. There was no way she couldn’t. Regina was leading Ivan, not to his dormitory, but to another entrance entirely. Karla felt the alcohol drain from her system when she realized this.
Regina, heading towards her own room’s entrance, turned abruptly.
The instant their eyes met, Regina understood. She saw the confusion, the discomfort, and the distress flash in Regina’s eyes.
“…Ivan’s room isn’t that way, right? You know it’s not. Why are you going there?”
Karla approached Regina slowly.
Though she was out of breath from the run, it didn’t matter.
“Uh… Karla?”
“I’d like you to answer my question first. Ivan’s room is not that way, is it?”
Regina hesitated, unable to answer immediately.
Her plan was almost complete.
The scheme Liam had shared was perfect, as long as Regina wasn’t too ashamed.
As a daughter of a small noble house, Regina’s marriage to a commoner was not entirely impossible. Were Ivan and Regina to have a child after sleeping together, everything would fall into place.
Regina would make Ivan her husband, finally putting an end to her long-standing unrequited love.
But just before the plan could be set in motion, Karla had followed her.
Regina hesitated for a long moment, unsure of how to respond.
Ivan remained unconscious, but Regina carried him without difficulty.
“…Karla, can’t you just look the other way?”
“So, let me ask again. What do you plan to do with Ivan?”
Regina sensed something strange about Karla’s demeanor.
Something was clearly off—Regina knew it.
“You know, Karla, that I like Ivan, right?”
Karla took a deep breath.
It wasn’t news to her.
“…Yeah, I know. So?”
“Ivan is a fool, a complete idiot. If I just keep waiting, he’ll never notice me. So I…”
“…So?”
“I’ve decided to make the first move. I’ll make it a done deal. If Ivan takes my chastity, and even if I end up with his child, then he has to stay by my side. I’ll make sure he’s mine, no matter what.”
“Have you ever thought that this could be Ivan’s misfortune?”
Karla’s voice trembled.
Although she had known the truth all along, this confrontation made her realize that she had been avoiding that fact. Her mind, now as clear as cold water, acknowledged that she would also cause Regina unbearable pain.
“I, I, I’ll make it up to Ivan! I’ll take good care of him. I’ll make him the happiest man in the world…!”
Regina’s voice broke. She sobbed, pleading for Karla to look away, to pretend she hadn’t seen.
“So… Karla, just pretend you didn’t see me. Look away. Then everything will be over. No one will know, and it’ll all be over.”
Karla moistened her lips, considering her response. She understood Regina’s affection.
But she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen it.
If Regina had planned to confess to Ivan, Karla might have let it pass.
However, exploiting Ivan in his drunken state was something Karla couldn’t accept.
“…Sorry, Regina. I can’t do that.”
“Why?! Why can’t you?! Why?!”
Regina clenched her teeth, waiting for Karla’s answer.
Three childhood friends.
One man, two women.
Though originally it should have been one woman, two men.
This relationship had morphed into the worst possible dynamic between men and women.
Karla squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them.
She didn’t have particularly deep feelings for Regina—not even when she used to be a man. In her world, everything revolved around magic. Concepts like chastity or romance held little meaning to her. In her view, Regina, who showed little magical aptitude, was someone she never paid much attention to.
So under normal circumstances, Karla might have let it go without a second thought. This time, however, it wasn’t so simple.
“…Ivan… Ivan…”
“…Ivan?”
Regina sensed something unusual about Karla’s hesitation. Even though Karla wasn’t the type to hesitate, and even if this was difficult, Regina assumed this had to be about unreciprocated feelings between Karla and Ivan.
“…Ivan took my chastity.”
“What?!”
Regina stared at Karla in disbelief, like someone who had been hit hard on the back of the head. At first, she looked confused and disbelieving, but soon her expression began to contort.
“What… Karla… what did you just say…?”
“He slept with me… Ivan…”
Karla felt her face burning. She never imagined she could feel this embarrassed or that speaking this truth would be so hard. The same girl who had declared her resignation from her noble family’s lineage with ease found it excruciatingly difficult to admit that Ivan had slept with her.
“To sleep… together… you… you two…”
Regina repeated the words as if she were a broken wind-up doll. Her pale face grew even whiter before turning green.
“He… he took… my place… that bastard!”
Karla finally blurted out the embarrassing truth, fearing Regina hadn’t fully understood. After all, over the course of hours, Ivan had possessed her countless times, treating her body like his private toy, caressing, squeezing, grinding, sucking, licking!
“Lies… right? Karla… right?”
Regina trembled as she forced the words out. This shocking revelation was too much for her to take. From her perspective, Karla seemed too calm while delivering this impossible news.
“No matter how much I dislike the idea of you dating Ivan, Karla, telling such lies is… wrong… You’re from the noble Cascata family, aren’t you? And Ivan is just a commoner… right?”
Regina shook with indignation. Concerned that Ivan might fall over, Karla’s gaze shifted from Regina to Ivan. The fool, who drank so much. If he collapsed like this, injuries were inevitable.
“That commoner took my chastity. Throughout the exploration battle. My arm even healed during that time.”
“Stop telling such ridiculous lies!”
Regina yelled. The commotion near the dormitory entrance caused lights to turn on in the nearby rooms.
“Regina, let’s move this somewhere else…”
“Cascata sleeping with Ivan? That’s absurd! You’re lying! Karla, you’re definitely… lying! Right?! Sleeping with Ivan… that’s absurd! Ivan is a commoner! How could you sleep with a commoner, Karla? It’s a lie, right?! Lie!”
Regina shook her head vehemently as she shouted.
Some of the dormitory windows were opened, and students poked their heads out to see what was happening.
Karla wanted to silence Regina, but it was futile.
“How could you… why would you tell such lies… why…”
“For now, let’s talk inside, Regina. Okay?”
“Leave me alone!”
Karla approached Regina, attempting to guide her into the dormitory room.
Shouting like this was a problem.
“Leave me alone, Karla… Don’t come near me, liar! Liar…!”
Regina glared at Karla with fiery jealousy. The intensity of her rage was so fierce that even Karla felt somewhat cowed.
“How could you lie about such a thing… That Cascata’s daughter slept with Ivan… Are you trying to make me believe such a lie!? Right now!?”
“It’s… not a lie…”
As much as Karla wanted to cry, Regina was the one sobbing now.
