When I entered the room, it was already too late.
All the furniture in the room was smashed to pieces.
The legs of the table were broken, and the bed had collapsed.
Sharp glass shards were scattered all over the floor.
Water pooled in the broken vase’s place.
And in the center of the room was Erina.
She was strangling Kayla, who was lying on the floor.
“Stop it!”
I pushed Erina away with all my strength.
With a heavy thud, she collapsed.
“What are you doing!”
I hurried to Kayla, who was lying on the floor.
She was almost unconscious, her eyes rolling back.
Thankfully, she was alive.
She coughed continuously while lying on the floor.
With rough coughs, she regained her breath.
I carefully helped Kayla up.
Supporting her trembling body, I leaned her against the wall.
“Are you okay?”
Her face was a mess.
Her cheeks were bruised, and blood was flowing from her mouth.
Even in this situation, Kayla spoke quietly.
“I’m sorry…”
What was there to be sorry about?
If I had been even a little late, she would have lost her life forever.
It was fortunate enough that she was alive.
After confirming Kayla was unharmed, I turned my head.
Erina was still on the floor, staring at me blankly.
She was clutching her own stomach with disbelieving eyes.
“Erina.”
“I-I didn’t do anything wrong…!”
“Quiet.”
I felt anger boiling up to my head.
It hadn’t even been a day since I told her not to kill anyone.
But she had acted violently without hesitation.
She turned the people in the inn into bloody messes.
And she even tried to strangle Kayla to death.
If I hadn’t stopped her, Kayla would have been killed.
She had no intention of listening to my request.
She ignored my words and attempted murder.
But I had to endure.
Yelling or getting angry now would only escalate the situation.
We had already attracted attention at the inn.
We could have been reported to the guards if we weren’t careful.
First, I had to manage the situation around us.
I approached Kayla and helped her up.
“Can you stand?”
“Yes, thank you…”
Fortunately, there were no serious injuries. I supported Kayla and helped her up.
I found a pouch in the corner of the room. I took out a potion from it and uncorked it.
“It might sting a little.”
I carefully applied the potion to her bruised face.
“Ah…!”
She winced with a faint groan, her eyes watering.
Still, Kayla remained still under my touch.
The swelling subsided in an instant.
The gash on her forehead also quickly healed.
I checked several times to see if there were any other injuries.
“Are you hurting anywhere else?”
“I’m okay now. Thank you…”
I picked up the robe that had fallen to the floor and covered her with it.
Fortunately, unlike the messy room, the robe was intact.
After stopping the fight, silence filled the room.
Kayla trembled with fear.
Erina still clutched her stomach, staring at me.
Cold air circulated in the room.
I couldn’t shake off the feeling of futility.
Why did this happen?
Was it a mistake to allow the two of them to talk?
“Could you wait outside for a moment…?”
I apologized and asked Kayla to leave.
First, I had to separate the two of them for a moment.
And I wanted to talk to Erina alone.
Just a while ago, Erina had caused a scene at the inn.
I didn’t know what would happen if I let her out.
“Okay.”
Fortunately, Kayla understood the situation and complied with my request.
I felt grateful inwardly.
Before leaving the room, Kayla whispered in a small voice.
“It’s my fault too, so please don’t push Erina-nim too much…”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry.”
With that, I closed the door.
Now, it was just Erina and me.
I looked around. The sight was desolate and grim.
It looked as if a storm had passed through.
“U-Uh…”
Erina was still lying on the floor, looking up at me.
She had a precarious expression, as if she would burst into tears at any moment, trembling with fear.
I approached her slowly.
As I moved, Erina’s pupils began to dart around.
She tried to move her legs away from me.
But it was futile. She bumped into the wall after a short distance.
Cornered, she suddenly curled up and wrapped her arms around her head.
“I-I’m sorry! I was wrong…!”
She seemed like a frightened child about to be scolded by her parents.
Seeing her like this only made my emotions more complicated.
If she had rebelled or made excuses, I might have gotten angry.
But how could I say anything to someone who couldn’t even look me in the eye and was trembling in fear?
I approached her and examined her carefully.
She was injured in many places, though not as severely as Kayla.
There was blood oozing from cuts on her hand, probably from glass shards.
The same was true below her neck. Her forehead was also torn.
I slowly brought my hand to her face.
“Wha…?!”
Erina trembled and covered her face with her arms.
I immediately grabbed her arms and lowered her guard.
Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She sobbed with a ruined face.
Forehead. Cheeks. I carefully wiped away the blood stains mixed with tears.
Her body shuddered as I moved my hand away. Ignoring it, I skimmed the wounds.
There were scratches from glass on the back of her hand.
I opened the cork of the potion I had and applied it slowly to her wounds.
After confirming there were no more injuries, I placed my hand on her shoulder.
“Erina.”
“Yes, y-yes…?!”
“For now, get up. It’s dangerous.”
There were many glass shards on the floor. She could get hurt if she wasn’t careful.
I grabbed her hand and helped her up.
Erina, who stood up with a dazed expression, stared at me blankly.
She couldn’t say anything.
Whether she realized her wrongdoing or couldn’t even come up with an excuse, she hesitated.
I looked around for a place to sit, but all the furniture in the room was destroyed.
I sat on the relatively intact bed and faced Erina.
What should I say?
Should I scold her? Should I get angry? Should I stay calm?
Countless thoughts raced through my mind.
I decided to approach this rationally first.
“Erina.”
“Y-yes…”
“What did you say to Kayla?”
“Well, um…”
She shook her head nervously, seemingly unable to speak up.
“I guess you don’t want to talk.”
“N-no! I trust you… I didn’t mean to do that on purpose…!”
Suddenly, she started saying strange things.
She still trembled with anxiety.
“I just wanted to protect you…!”
“Erina. Just calm down for now.”
Even to my words, Erina trembled as if having a seizure.
Seeing her like this made me sigh.
The protagonist who was always kind, smiling, and giving hope to people was nowhere to be found here.
There was only a girl who showed anxiety, tearing at her hair in distress, and biting her nails like a madwoman.
“I don’t think you did this without any reason.”
Somehow, I wanted to believe Erina.
I didn’t ask much of her.
I didn’t want a hero like the ones in fairy tales.
I just wanted someone with a kind heart.
Even if she was deceiving me, I believed that the affection she had shown me so far was not fake.
“Tell me everything that happened up until now.”
I thought I knew Erina well enough.
But I had never heard her true feelings from her own mouth before.
“And also, what do you think of Kayla? What do you think of me?”
I wanted to hear her true feelings now.
Even if they were different from what I expected, I wanted to understand them somehow.
“Tell me everything.”
Finally, Erina’s tears stopped.
Her eyes were red and swollen.
She wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks as she breathed heavily.
Her wandering hands had somehow come closer to me.
Her hesitant movements suddenly, in a moment, leaned toward my embrace.
Erina desperately clung to me as if she would never let go, pulling me with all her might.
“I want to protect you. I just want to be with you…”
It was an impossible wish.
But silently, I continued to listen to Erina’s words.
“I don’t need that person. She’ll just come between us! Why would you want to be with such a person…!”
She trembled while clenching her fists.
The crooked gaze suddenly contained anger.
“I couldn’t stand it. So, I told her to leave on her own. But she ignored me. Moreover, she forcibly made a contract with you! I… I couldn’t just stand by!”
“…”
“So, I…”
Once, I had doubted if even Erina’s favor shown to me was genuine.
But now, seeing her like this, I realized I had been mistaken.
She genuinely liked me.
She harbored affection for me beyond what I imagined.
As her words continued, listening to her voice steeped in madness, my heart grew heavy.
Perhaps I had created an absurd character after all.
“Erina, please, I beg you.”
No matter what, I couldn’t go along with this attitude.
“Never lay a hand on Kayla again.”
Erina and Kayla. Both were my companions.
I wasn’t worried about Kayla. If it was my command, she would somehow follow it.
But Erina was different.
I didn’t know if I would end up avoiding her gaze and tormenting her or driving her away later.
I had to get a clear answer no matter what.
“Kayla, Kayla…! Did you give her a name…?”
“Yeah. I did.”
I gave her a new name because she wanted it. That’s all.
But at my answer, Erina started crying again.
Her sorrowful cries echoed in the room.
Like a child, she couldn’t hold herself back and sank to the floor.
“Why… Why did you do that?!”
