Ultear's arms were soft as snakes, wrapping lightly around Shane's neck.
She wasn't even using much force. If anything, there was a deliberate tenderness in the way she moved. And yet Shane felt his throat tighten, a powerful sense of suffocation creeping up his spine.
Across from them, Erza's gaze landed on the two figures leaning intimately together on the sofa, and at last, her slightly slow-moving thoughts finally began to connect.
So… the "bad woman" Shane had mentioned before had actually been right beside her all this time?
"Ultear…?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly. For the first time, those clear, unwavering eyes of hers were filled with disbelief.
She swayed a little in place, strands of hair falling down to cover part of her face, as if the shock had hit her hard.
Seeing that reaction, even though he was already in deep trouble himself, Shane couldn't help screaming inwardly:
What are you so shocked about?!
You were on guard against Ultear this whole time, like you were constantly defending against a thief! I thought you'd already figured everything out!
So all that wariness before… had just been animal instinct?!
Shane knew Erza was slow when it came to emotions, but he had never imagined she could be this dense.
This was betrayal!
A completely unexpected betrayal!
Shane wanted to cry.
If he had known it would be like this, he might as well have said nothing and continued honestly lying low under Ultear's thumb.
Now look at him. He had wanted to raise the banner of rebellion, only for the flagpole to snap and stab him instead.
Meanwhile, Ultear was carefully observing Erza's reaction.
She was curious.
How would this rigidly upright little knight girl react in a situation like this?
Would she firmly declare that she refused to back down, loudly insist on taking Shane back?
Or would she condemn both Ultear and Shane for betraying her feelings, then turn and leave with dignity?
Either way, it didn't matter.
Shane was prey caught in her web. No matter what Erza said or did, she had no intention of letting go.
The atmosphere in the living room was stretched taut.
Even Shane swallowed, feeling chills run down his back.
That yandere-like frenzy Erza had shown under the moonlight that night still lingered vividly in his memory.
Even he had no idea what she might do if she truly snapped.
He only knew in his gut that… something terrifying would happen.
And yet—
to both of their surprise—
the light in Erza's eyes didn't sharpen.
Instead, it dimmed with startling speed, like shattered glass losing its shine, leaving behind only ash-gray desolation.
"I see… so it was Ultear…"
"If it's you…"
Her voice grew slower and slower, the last notes trembling visibly.
"Even though… even though I always thought of you as one of my most important friends, besides everyone in the guild…"
"Why would you…"
As she spoke, her voice cracked for the first time, an unmistakable sob woven into it.
She turned her back to them, seemingly unwilling to let anyone see her vulnerable side, and rubbed at her eyes clumsily with the back of her hand.
"Sorry… I lost my composure."
"If… if it's the two of you…"
"I'll… I'll be happy for you."
Looking at the girl whose shoulders were trembling slightly, the pleasure Ultear had felt from holding the upper hand suddenly changed in flavor.
She had imagined countless possible reactions from Erza and prepared for all of them in her mind.
But this was the one thing she had never expected.
One of her most important friends…?
It was true. Even if Erza had occasionally shown small instincts of wariness, her attitude toward Ultear had always been pure, completely sincere, without the slightest trace of impurity.
This idiot.
The person she liked had just been taken from her, and her first response was still to force herself to offer them her blessing?
If Erza had bared her fangs and fought back like a proper enemy, Ultear could have crushed her without hesitation.
But faced with someone who wouldn't show even the slightest claw, and instead offered up her softest, most vulnerable side…
even Ultear found herself unable to strike.
A kind of irritation she had never felt before welled up in her chest.
The type she was worst at dealing with was exactly this kind of fool—someone pure to the point of stupidity.
All the sharp, cruel words she had prepared to stab at Erza's heart suddenly jammed in her throat.
It felt like she had wound up for a punch with all her strength, only to hit cotton instead. Not only had she failed to get the reaction she wanted, she'd somehow ended up injuring herself instead.
…
So this was it?
No questioning, no anger—just hurt and resignation from being betrayed by someone she trusted.
It didn't fit Erza's usual strong, unbending personality at all.
Shane, on the other side, felt just as conflicted.
He had expected the girl to explode far more fiercely. If she had drawn her sword and come at him, he would have accepted it.
Was I the one who always took her strength too much for granted…?
Looking at that lonely back, so heartbreaking in its sadness, Shane felt an overwhelming wave of guilt rise up and nearly drown him.
He didn't want to see Erza wearing an expression like that.
Taking a deep breath, he decided that even if it meant triggering a full disaster zone afterward, he had to stand up and explain everything clearly.
But just then—
the weight in his lap suddenly vanished.
Ultear stood up before he could.
She released her arms from around his neck and calmly smoothed down her skirt, the victorious posture from earlier disappearing completely in an instant.
"Heh…"
Her voice returned at once to its usual cool tone, even tinged with faint nastiness.
"I was just teasing Shane a little."
"Sorry, Erza."
Ultear stepped away to one side.
"I took the joke too far and made you misunderstand."
"Hah?!"
Hearing that, Shane whipped his head around so fast his pupils shook.
What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be now?!
A moment ago she had clearly been acting like she was staking a claim, so why had this suddenly become "just a joke"?
And what about all the mental preparation he had just forced himself through?
"Wait! Erza! Actually—"
At this point Shane had no desire to guess what kind of twisted logic was running through this mercurial woman's head.
He just wanted to explain everything clearly, no matter what happened afterward. Anything was better than leaving it hanging like this.
"Bang!"
A sharp pain exploded across the top of his foot.
The girl who had just been swearing in her heart that Shane belonged to her now mercilessly ground her heel down on the top of his foot.
"Ugh!"
Taking advantage of the instant Shane winced in pain, Ultear shot him a vicious glare, her beautiful eyes full of warning:
Don't you dare say another word!
"R-really?"
Hearing Ultear's explanation, Erza stopped in place.
She slowly turned around, and the light gradually returned to those eyes still misted with tears.
"It was… just a joke?"
"Of course. I never lie."
Ultear lied with a perfectly straight face.
"Besides…"
She glanced at Shane with obvious disgust to make it more convincing.
"Who would actually like a disgusting guy like him?"
Then, for extra effect, she rubbed her hand against her skirt like she had touched something dirty.
"That's true…"
Seeing the undisguised disgust on Ultear's face, Erza let out a long breath of relief, and a smile of pure release finally bloomed on her face.
"Ultear has always been at odds with Shane."
"I knew it. With Shane's awful, difficult personality, aside from me… there's no way anyone else could put up with him."
"Thank goodness… thank goodness, really."
With that realization, the red-haired girl instantly recovered.
The vulnerability from moments before seemed like an illusion.
Humming some tune under her breath, she skipped off toward the kitchen in a far lighter mood.
"I'll go make tea for Tia! Black tea, right?"
After that "explanation," Erza had already, without the slightest reserve, started using Ultear's nickname "Tia" just like Ur did.
"…"
Watching the cheerful girl disappear into the kitchen, Shane lowered his voice and hissed through clenched teeth at the woman beside him:
"What exactly are you doing…?"
"You were using this to blackmail me without hesitation before. I finally worked up the courage, and now you pull this?"
He truly couldn't understand why Ultear—who had seemed so composed from beginning to end—had suddenly backed down right at the final step.
"…"
Ultear avoided his gaze.
The truth was, even she didn't fully understand why she had done what she just did.
She looked toward the busy figure in the kitchen and stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking in a low voice only the two of them could hear.
"I wasn't mentally prepared."
"What?"
Shane lifted his head and glared at her in disbelief.
"What kind of reason is that?"
"Anyway! Don't say anything!"
Clearly unwilling to discuss it further, Ultear stood up irritably and headed for the door almost like she was fleeing.
"I'm not drinking the tea. I'm going to go check on Mother."
"Hey! Wait!"
Looking at that slightly hurried back, Shane opened his mouth, then found he didn't even know what to say.
In the end, all he could do was call after her toward the door:
"Ur-senpai's been getting more and more unhinged lately! You absolutely have to give her a talking-to!"
Click.
His only answer was the crisp sound of the door closing.
The warmth inside was sealed away as the door shut.
Outside, the wind and snow still fell.
Ultear stood beneath the eaves, staring silently at the dark, overcast sky, letting snowflakes land on her face.
A long while passed.
Then she rubbed her hot cheeks hard enough to almost distort that delicate face.
Finally, in a half-self-destructive little groan, the girl muttered:
"Ahhh…"
"So annoying!!!"
"Obviously… obviously all I had to do was steel myself and go through with it!"
~~~
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