VIP Chapter 318: A Love Triangle Involving Three People
“This place is still…”
“Exactly the same as when we left… except for that door.”
As they walked into the room, Liya and Treya commented, each speaking a sentence.
They were the first to leave this place and the last to return. Yet, before them lay an interior arrangement identical to how it was before they left, and even before Will did.
After they entered, Iaar finally picked up the door she had broken and leaned it back against the doorframe.
The setting sun outside shone through the half-broken door, blinding them.
“Because before Iaar left, she always kept it exactly as it was before Young Master’s departure. She hoped that when he returned, he would feel… that everything remained the same, familiar.”
Iaar spoke, walking past the two of them and looking at the dining table where the four of them often ate together.
Her fingers lightly brushed across the table. Although the placement of the cutlery hadn’t changed, a thick layer of dust had accumulated.
It was the same when they were at the Hysterm Family’s home…
Standing in the room at the Hysterm Family’s home where he had spent over a decade, what he had always sought in Iaar was not the “future,” but the “past.”
For him, did Iaar always symbolize a “beautiful past”?
However…
The one who shattered such a past was…
Her shield scraped across the floor, the sound a grating screech, like a poorly played violin.
“But, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps Young Master… never intended to return to such a familiar past.”
Iaar looked at the dust on her fingers. She realized she had come to the wrong place. Will had not returned here, and it was almost impossible to “chance upon” Will here.
“Since you want to maintain familiarity, why not make us dinner as you used to?”
Liya naturally sat down in her old spot, took off her large hat, and placed it on the back of the chair beside her.
“Don’t mind me, I’ve already eaten.”
Treya’s eyes swept over each piece of furniture, searching for “clues” in the room. But her pale purple eye, looking at the dust-covered furniture, could only see faded “black and white,” with not a trace of Will’s color.
“Iaar is only responsible for cooking for Young Master—you two were just doing it *on the side*.”
Iaar demonstrably flicked her tail in annoyance, deliberately brushing the tip of it over Liya’s hat, leaving a tuft of fur on it.
Then, she placed the kettle, filled with clear water, on the table.
“Alright, I knew it. Without Will… the three of us can’t hold a conversation.”
Liya reached out, intending to pick up the kettle and pour herself a drink. As someone who frequently used fire attribute magic, her body’s moisture evaporated the fastest, requiring timely replenishment—a point Will had also taught her.
But Iaar deliberately placed the kettle at the corner of the table, just out of reach of Liya’s fingertips as she sat.
She sighed inwardly and braced herself on the table to stand up and retrieve it. Just then, Treya effortlessly took the kettle, calmly placed a cup before herself, and poured in clear water.
The synchronicity between the two was so seamless, it was as if they were deliberately retaliating for the bomb Liya had successfully launched against them earlier.
Treya seemed unfazed by Liya’s gritted teeth. Instead, with exaggerated politeness, she pushed the kettle towards Liya’s direction after using it.
However, with a distinct lack of social grace, she stopped it before it reached Liya, leaving it in a position where Liya still needed to stand up to get it.
Iaar pulled out a chair and sat down. Her seat was always between the two of them. However, she seemed to have been here for many days, as even her seat was free of dust.
After the rustling sound of Liya pouring water stopped, the three at the table once again fell into a silence of “not knowing how to start a conversation.”
Though they said nothing, their gazes appraised each other.
Even…
With a shared “target,” there was no doubt that the three of them were “rivals in love,” and the most intolerant of each other’s existence.
As their gazes met, they settled on the empty space in the center.
That was where Will often sat, enjoying the focus of everyone’s attention.
Now, it was not only empty but also, in the sunset light, one could see the slow descent of dust motes, which, in their eyes, seemed to outline his shadow.
“Let’s retrace from the very beginning. Because we need to know… Shuna’s whereabouts all this time.”
After drinking her water, Treya did not look at the other two. Instead, she looked through the cup, where water droplets clung to the glass, towards the empty space where Will used to sit.
“Iaar saw Shuna abduct Young Master on the train. That was the beginning of everything.”
“I pursued no one to the north and returned to the capital. So… Miss Liya, you went south and encountered Shuna, is that correct?”
Their gazes, like an “interrogation,” fell upon Liya, awaiting her answer.
“…”
Liya fell silent for a moment, then closed her eyes as if recalling.
Accompanied by those few seconds of memory, and the atmosphere of unspoken rivalry that persisted among the three even during their temporary truce, a triumphant expression surfaced on her face.
The blood in the magic circuits surged, especially the rebellious, wild, mischievous, and proud parts of the “Witch”—
“I-I’m terribly sorry. I met Will in Yamik City. To be precise, I used a Witch’s method to rescue him alone from the Witch’s Box in the Dungeon.”
Liya leaned back on her chair with her arms crossed, stating these words with a seemingly proud nonchalance.
“He was blushing then, saying, ‘I like Teacher the most,’ ‘If it weren’t for Teacher, I might have died here,’ and ‘Thank you, Teacher, hurry and take me away.’ So, I took him to the Witch’s Hut and protected him well~”
She opened her eyes. The faint hearts in her eyes, which had dimmed, began to sparkle as she spoke.
Even Liya herself felt it as she recalled…
Thinking of how Will, in her specially made “Witch’s Box” within the Dungeon, had been infused with the same blood, and then their magic circuits surged and ebbed in near unison.
Thinking of how Will became completely addicted to the Blood Mint Essential Oil, revealing an expression of submission to such an “aphrodisiac” from the outside world.
Thinking of Will’s hazy eyes, and how, after the first time, he took the initiative and once again revealed the rebellious student’s expression of overthrowing his superior.
…
It wasn’t that she wanted to recall it, but it was as if the other two were forcing her to.
The setting sun’s rays became increasingly crimson, casting a faint blush on her face, adding a vibrant undertone to her red eyes.
Thus, Liya spoke with a proud tone, anticipating their expressions and reactions:
“It was truly a delightful experience. Ah~ Will’s first time was really quite energetic. If Shuna hadn’t suddenly barged in, I probably could have gained even more~”
These direct words, without any pretense or circling, poured from Liya’s mouth at this moment.
*Screeeech—*
*Whoosh—*
From her toes, Liya was swiftly enveloped by a chilling power, and a cold air assailed her from the side.
As she raised her head, a black blade was aimed directly at the bridge of her nose.
“Tell Iaar the truth!”
“Skip the unnecessary boasting!”
Both of their voices carried a hint of hysterical anger.
The three of them, in their familiar hut, supposedly “united against outsiders”…
Was inevitably a love triangle that would break down each other’s defenses.
