Before Corin spoke, Liamy had thought of many reasons why he might come looking for her—perhaps some sudden, high-risk incident, or maybe he wanted to ask about why she had been avoiding him lately.
She even wondered if Corin might have discovered the true mission assigned to her by the Shadow Society.
But even so, she never expected Corin would ask this question.
This truly left Liamy at a loss, not knowing how to answer Corin at all.
Staring at Corin’s expressionless face, Liamy couldn’t get a single word out.
She had planned to get by with a lie or by changing the subject, but when she saw that unwavering seriousness in Corin’s eyes, Liamy knew—there was no escaping today.
So, her mind began to race, frantically searching for an explanation Corin could accept.
Across from her, Corin, upon seeing Liamy hesitate after he’d asked, already understood the answer she was trying to hide.
Yet he still asked again, almost symbolically, “So, are you saying you don’t want to change back anymore?”
Liamy, whose mind was still spinning, finally gave up struggling after hearing that. She fell silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
“…Yes.”
Her voice was tiny, barely more than a mosquito’s buzz, but Corin, who was paying close attention, heard it clearly. At last, he had gotten her true answer.
Seeing this, Corin didn’t stop there. Instead, he pressed on, “…Then, what’s your reason?”
Faced with the most important question, Liamy couldn’t help but tense up, and blurted out, “Be-because, compared to before, I—I like how I am now more!”
Liamy had told Lavinia that she wouldn’t run away this time, that she would follow her heart and join in this contest over Corin. But this was all happening way too fast!
It hadn’t even been an hour since she talked to Lavinia! And now Corin was here, asking her these questions! How was she supposed to react?!
Even if she wanted to “capture” Corin, she still needed some preparation! How could she possibly confess everything so quickly?!
Although these thoughts only ran through her mind, Corin should have had no way of knowing them. Yet, seeing Liamy’s flustered face and her stammering, hesitant tone, Corin realized she wasn’t being entirely honest. At least, she wasn’t telling the whole truth.
But Corin wasn’t in a rush. He knew that being too pushy might backfire, so now was the time to guide her gently, coaxing the real answer out step by step.
So, faced with Liamy’s answer, Corin’s expression didn’t change. He simply asked, “Why? Was there something wrong with the way you were before? Why do you like how you are now?”
Liamy was at a loss again. She didn’t want to change back—sure, she liked her current self, but the main reason was her feelings for Corin.
But she couldn’t possibly say that now! What would happen if Corin found out she felt that way about him?!
She didn’t even know how Corin felt about her! As the saying goes, a confession isn’t the horn to charge into battle, it’s the trumpet of victory!
If she confessed now, the chances of failure were just too high! She wasn’t ready at all! And if she failed now, the consequences would be more than she could bear!
So there was no way Liamy could just answer Corin’s question directly. But she couldn’t not answer, either! Yet she couldn’t think of any reasonable or non-awkward explanation!
Just then, Liamy suddenly remembered what Lavinia had said about the old her. It struck her—wasn’t that the perfect ready-made answer!
So, just as Corin was starting to wonder if he shouldn’t have asked, he finally got Liamy’s reply.
“…Because I’m cuter now! Look, before, I guess I looked okay—maybe even a little handsome—but back then I was just too gloomy. I covered myself up so tightly, and there was no color in my face, like I was about to drop dead at any moment! But now it’s different. I’m cute, my skin is nice, I can wear all sorts of pretty clothes, and I can show myself off confidently. I could never have done that before!”
Liamy quickly took Lavinia’s words, tweaked them a bit, and repeated them to Corin, adding a few gestures to make her answer seem more believable.
Corin still seemed a bit skeptical, but she had definitely shifted his attention—he was now thinking about her appearance and the like.
“…Was it really that gloomy? I didn’t think so,” Corin muttered quietly, but Liamy’s ears caught it.
The moment she heard his unconscious response, Liamy knew her little trick had worked!
Corin had been successfully distracted. If she just played along with a few more similar lines, maybe he’d leave her alone!
Thinking this, Liamy couldn’t help feeling a surge of happiness, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart, making her whole body relax.
But it was just then, when she heard Corin’s next words—words that weren’t influenced by her excuses at all, and were even more deadly—that Liamy started to panic again.
“Everything you said makes sense, and I’m sure that’s part of your reason for not wanting to change back. But it can’t be the whole truth, right? You’re still hiding something from me, aren’t you? At best, that’s just a small part of your real reason. Wouldn’t you say so?”
Corin spoke calmly, then raised his right hand, which he hadn’t lifted until now. As he did, a faint light began to glow from it. The sight dazzled Liamy’s eyes.
She looked closer and saw Corin’s right hand emitting a gentle radiance.
The moment she saw it, all the color drained from her face, and she felt as if she might collapse.
She knew exactly what Corin’s glowing hand meant—it was a divine spell! A divine spell called “True Word.” Its effect was simple: if the chosen target wasn’t speaking the truth, the divine weapon imbued with “True Word” would deal increased holy damage.
Since it wasn’t all that useful in combat, those who could use this spell usually did so for interrogating criminals. And right now, it was clear—Liamy was the criminal being questioned by Corin!