NOVEL NEXT Chapter 254
Yoo Jin boldly shouted.
Mia also had quite a decent friendship with Yulia.
Wasn’t it true that they had known each other for a long time?
So I thought it would be okay.
······My expectations went off course.
“I’m a bit late. Did everyone worry? I’m sorry, I lost track of time······.”
“Yoo Jin······?”
“Mia, it seems you’ve gotten pretty close to Yoo Jin.”
“Oh, really? We’ve been this close for a while, you know?”
“······.”
Mia pulled my arm tighter while chuckling.
I could see my wives’ expressions souring in real-time.
Even Tay looked a bit shocked.
Seo Gong and the nameless one were giving me looks like I was trash, as if they were fed up.
Meanwhile, Mia just kept pulling my arm tighter.
My arm was buried between her breasts.
The soft silk clothing and the even softer touch wrapped around my arm.
I was feeling like my intelligence was gradually declining.
It felt like Yerina’s gaze was becoming icier.
Was she angry at me for being unable to regain my senses in the presence of the much larger breasts?
Or was it because someone who said he was going to meet Alicia came back seducing an elf?
It’s hard to distinguish between the two.
Maybe there’s no need to differentiate at all.
Could it just be both······?
“Actually, we were a bit late because we just finished our wedding ceremony.”
“Huh?!”
Mia fidgeted, feeling embarrassed while revealing this.
Gasps of shock erupted from all around.
Among those voices, mine was included.
What the heck is going on?
“A wedding ceremony?!”
“If confessing love in front of the World Tree and kissing isn’t a wedding ceremony, then what is?”
“Ah······!”
Elf-style wedding.
It finally clicked, and I stiffened at the realization of Elvenguard’s tradition.
Elves in Elvenguard swear their love by kissing in front of the World Tree as part of a proposal.
They believe swearing to the World Tree is more effective than having other guests as witnesses.
Usually, it seems the man does the proposing, but it wouldn’t be a big deal that Mia confessed.
What we just did could clearly be called an Elf-style wedding ceremony.
······No, it was a ceremony that could be called that without hesitation.
“Wait! That can’t be! How could Yoo Jin get married to the Priestess before any of us······?!”
“But······. Yoo Jin said he cares for me······. Then, this shouldn’t be happening······.”
“Ha. Everyone’s so naive. That can’t possibly be true. The World Tree currently can’t take root and is in the form of a sapling, so how could a wedding ceremony hold any power? Since the World Tree died, all Elf weddings have been conducted in a simplified manner.”
Jill was panicking, muttering something while staring blankly into space.
But Yerina seemed to calmly counter, appearing unfazed.
“Oh. I hadn’t mentioned this yet. We actually decided to plant the World Tree inside Yoo Jin. We just got back from planting it.”
“W-What? Inside Yoo Jin?”
“It’s literally what I said. I planted the World Tree inside Yoo Jin and promised him a lifetime of love right in front of it. Deep inside Yoo Jin, in that secret place where no one else can intrude.”
“······.”
Yerina looked utterly dumbfounded, collapsing in shock.
And Mia bore a self-satisfied smile as if savoring her victory.
This sounded weird, but it’s not entirely wrong.
Saying it like this makes me feel like I’ve lost something precious.
“Hehehehe!”
Mia, who had been gazing at my wives, who were in a state of shock, suddenly burst into laughter.
Her expression, which seemed to have superiority before, vanished completely.
Now she looked a little embarrassed, almost sheepish.
“I’m sorry. Was that joke too harsh? The wedding ceremony talk was a lie, so please don’t look at Yoo Jin like you’re going to kill him.”
“Joke? Right? It was just a joke, right? Haha, I knew it! I just knew it!”
“I-I also had a hunch, kind of……”
“Exactly. You fell for it. Just so you wouldn’t feel embarrassed. Hehe. That’s it.”
The bleak atmosphere no longer felt so tense.
After all, this was nonsense from the start.
What kind of wedding would happen without awareness of even experiencing it?
It’s not like we were in a kidnapping marriage or anything.
Mia finally released my arm from its soft, feathery prison.
Only then did my wives let out sighs of relief.
······But we shouldn’t relax just yet!
“Haaah. I thought I was going to die from the tension. I had no idea the Priestess could joke like that.”
“I may not express it much, but I’m no different from girls my age.”
As she said this, Mia stole glances at me.
A playful smile danced about her lips.
What is she planning this time?
I was already starting to feel overwhelmed as Mia seemed to want to throw off the limitations of being a priestess.
“At your age, humans would already be in a coffin—”
“But there’s no need to worry too much. I have no intention of invading your position.”
“What on Earth does that mean?”
“The wedding ceremony may have been a joke, but everything else was true. Confirming love in front of the World Tree and swearing through a kiss was all real. It’s not a wedding—how about calling it an engagement instead? As I mentioned, I’m happy to stay in the position of a concubine. As long as I can be by Yoo Jin’s side and receive his love, that’s enough for me.”
“······?!”
In an instant, the room was turned upside down.
At that moment, I fleetingly saw Alicia looking at me blankly before wiping her tears and leaving the room.
I was shocked and tried to chase after her······.
“Where do you think you’re going? Yoo Jin, sit down. We need to talk more about this.”
“Y-Yes.”
I couldn’t escape under the firm command of our Priestess.
It seemed this inquiry was going to take quite a while.
.
.
.
Tears streamed down.
Why?
Alicia could find no answer to that question.
She had run out of the room.
But she couldn’t run far, hiding behind the door where the fireplace’s light and cheerful sounds were emanating.
When did the Priestess of the World Tree start…?
When I visited Elvenguard with Yoo Jin, I had definitely thought they looked quite intimate.
Could it really be that much?
‘Why does it hurt?’
Again. It stings again.
Alicia clutched her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
There was no reason to ache.
There was no right to be in pain.
And yet, it hurt.
“Th-Then······! Are you saying you brought a man you just met home to cook for him in the body of a Priestess?!”
“Yes indeed. He saved Elvenguard from burning down completely······. This is the first time I’ve faced such a situation, unsure of how to show my gratitude…”
“No matter how grateful you are, doing something like that is just beyond the pale… You must have been head over heels since then.”
Since then? It had been from that moment?
This is when it started to become an emotional entanglement?
When I had been telling myself to forget him, thinking he was my sister’s man······.
My heart ached.
It was too late.
Too late for everything.
Late to realize my feelings.
Late to summon the courage.
Yet while Alicia kept thinking, “I’m too late, too late,” Mia acted impulsively.
The mood had been tense at first.
But soon enough, the atmosphere in the room had lightened up somewhat and had generally become cheerful.
Now, it felt almost entirely welcomed as a concubine.
While Alicia thought she was late, Mia scored a goal.
Still, courage eluded her.
All that lingered was a sense of regret, thinking this could be the last train.
What if I confess my feelings, but they’re not acknowledged?
What if I get reactions saying I’m not worthy of loving Yoo Jin because I’m so indecisive and guarded?
No, more than that······.
What if Yoo Jin doesn’t see me as a romantic interest?
“Ah.”
Just imagining it made it hard to breathe.
The pain was unbearable.
All of it was torment born from my cowardice.
“Ahhh······.”
Before long, Alicia had dashed outside, panting and crying.
Truth be told, I was the one who liked him first.
I was the one who stood by Yoo Jin before anyone and recognized his true self.
I just gave it up because of my sister······.
Why must I be the one in so much pain······?
After a long period of clutching my chest and sobbing, Alicia wiped her tears and stood up.
There was a definite task at hand.
Here, as a Rabbit Demihuman.
“I have to make this a reality······.”
I planned to go out there fair and square.