“So it was that easy to see through me?”
Eileen chuckled softly.
Even though her body was tightly bound by Utoya, in truth, it was Utoya who was the one tied up.
It looked as if Utoya had not given her a title.
But in reality, it was she herself who had never given Utoya a title.
No matter how much Utoya called Eileen her wife, her lover…
As long as Eileen, the independent little cat, never truly acknowledged it from the heart, their relationship could never be family.
“As long as it’s your expression—whether empty, ecstatic, pained, crying, or happy—it belongs to me, and I can understand it all…”
Utoya spoke seriously.
What Eileen wanted was only someone who could save her.
Someone who could give her a home she could feel safe in.
Utoya understood that much.
That wasn’t her own goal.
Her goal was only to possess this girl.
But if Eileen’s goal was this, then she would work to fulfill it.
Just like if Eileen only wanted a rich man, then she would do everything to become rich and climb into the upper class.
And if Eileen wanted a handsome man, then she would venture deep into the radiation zone to find an artifact that could change her gender.
For her, Utoya was willing to pay any price to keep her by her side.
Even if it was a price Eileen would never want to accept.
Was this love?
Utoya didn’t know either.
Love was supposed to be selfless, noble…
But for Eileen’s sake, she would learn how to love.
“In that case, you know I won’t answer you, right?”
“I understand… but I won’t give up. I said it—I’ll prove it through actions.”
“Oh no, don’t tell me you really fell in love with me? Not with my body or this face, but with me, myself… Even legendary warriors fall once they gain a weakness. Looks like you’re planning to have such a weakness.”
“Mm, that’s right. You are my Achilles’ heel.”
…..
“Hey, hey… your heel needs water…”
Eileen sighed helplessly.
She adjusted the damp towel, rubbing her wrists that still ached from the handcuffs.
After nearly a whole day and night of torment, it was no surprise she had caught a cold.
Of course, it probably had more to do with her immune system collapsing…
She had once been perfectly healthy.
Now the “elephant-foot” pattern was showing clearly, her body growing weaker with no solution.
That sense of disappointment faded in Eileen’s heart…
Utoya had changed a little after all.
That terrifying possessiveness had partly shifted into love—or perhaps it had always been love.
Possession and love were one and the same.
She didn’t know how to express it.
Eileen didn’t know if it was right.
But those words just now had shown her Utoya’s heart…
And she, in turn, had to make Utoya understand her own situation.
“Come on… coming… so vodka really doesn’t work? It used to for me…”
Utoya nervously brought over ginger water, stuffed full of sugar, afraid Eileen wouldn’t like the strange drink.
Eileen wasn’t sure who had ever claimed vodka could cure sickness or resist radiation…
Though according to Harper’s theory, drunkenness might help resist psychic radiation.
Maybe it had some effect there.
“Anyway, just rest easy. I already called the school for leave… but seeing the things you’ve been doing, you probably don’t need to go back to school anymore. Why keep pushing yourself so hard?”
She gently loosened Eileen’s clothes, helping the little cat cool down.
Utoya still couldn’t understand why Eileen had gone in person.
She already knew the details…
The border prosecutor had begun looking for Eileen.
And it all tied back to that bastard, even escalating to chasing both Layton and Eileen.
They needed a huge amount of money to send Rosakaya, her younger sister, abroad.
That money could be taken from Layton…
But beyond that, Utoya wasn’t too clear.
Eileen said the border prosecutor had only sent one man, whom she killed.
The body would be handled by Layton and that unsettling doctor.
Murder…
Utoya knew very well how painful it was the first time.
Guilt always followed.
That, and the five hundred thousand, probably weighed on Eileen’s heart and made her sick.
She had been perfectly healthy before.
“Debt collection, huh… that bastard hurt so many people. We have to bleed him dry, make sure he never dares pull this again…”
Eileen tried to straighten up.
But the 38-degree thermometer in her mouth proved her body wasn’t fit for movement.
It couldn’t go on like this.
She really needed some way to regain her strength—like a supernatural ability.
“Think about yourself more, Eileen. Your sister won’t be in danger for now. If you’re really worried, I can assign her a secret bodyguard… Besides, I don’t believe she’s some lamb waiting for slaughter.”
Utoya was very jealous of Rosakaya.
Extremely, painfully jealous.
That gloomy little girl was without doubt also a same-s*x lover.
Like herself, she was crazed and ruthless.
But in Eileen’s eyes, her place was completely different.
For Eileen, she was family—someone worth giving her life to save.
Still…
Utoya’s hunter’s instinct told her Rosakaya was no less of a lunatic than herself.
Though she had no proof, what churned in those green eyes was unsettling even to her.
“You think I want to go? My sister, my friends… they’re all living in hell. I have to shoulder their lives. If I can’t even do this much, what kind of… person am I?”
Eileen nearly said “man.”
But honestly, this had nothing to do with gender anymore.
Protection was carved into her very soul.
As long as it was someone she cared about, she had to guard them.
She would never allow others—or the world, or fate itself—to take them from her hands.
“I’ll go for you. Give me the location and contact. I’ll get the money.”
Utoya didn’t hesitate.
Nothing was more important than this.
And fighting mercenaries was part of her job.
Hurting Eileen like this had been her fault too…
“Forget it, I’ll go myself… It’s not that I don’t trust you, but who knows what tricks that bastard will pull… One more day, I’ll recover for sure…”
“I heard… sweating can help. Want to try me at thirty-eight degrees?”
Eileen curved her lips into a sly smile.
Teasing the hunter lady was always fun…
“…Really?”
But Utoya’s response was always to swallow hard.
“Y-you really dare think that way?! W-wait, I was joking, just joking… mmph!”
As it turned out, teasing the hunter lady was indeed fun.
But it was never a good choice for a joke.