The feeling of saying what she had been wanting to say was quite relieving. And now she was thinking about how she could let this situation go.

Don’t fall for his trap anymore; bounce back!

The moment she made up her mind was like a flash of lightning in her head. Her lips soon started to move again, breaking out from under Roman’s control.

“Umm… As I said, I am not the type to move without thinking first. Thanks for the advice. You can go on your way now.”

Rapid words flew out like lyrics from a poem. The winner’s trophy clutched in her hands was vivid.

“Hey, the stairs are over there. You can go.”

She didn’t forget to point behind her so that Roman, who had lost his words, could see them. Then she quickly entered her room just in case he tried to grab her.

“Whew.”

A heavy sigh came from her as she locked the closed door.

At the same time when she thought about how she was lucky to have been right in front of her room, she couldn’t believe she had been detained a mere three steps away.

I didn’t even do anything and I’m exhausted.

She couldn’t recall any particular fight, but she was oddly exhausted. Levisia’s shoulders hurt stiffly after releasing the doorknob. It seemed like she had pretended not to be nervous in front of him.

Today’s crisis is now over with. Let’s take a rest.

When she decided to lock herself up here away from the others, she discovered Pel standing blankly in the middle of the room.

“Whoa!”

“Such a dull reaction.”

“No it wasn’t; I was genuinely shocked.”

But even she had heard her own voice, and it didn’t sound surprising at all. After a clumsy defense of clearing her throat, she approached Pel and asked,

“And what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been in that room this whole time. It sounded like you were right outside the door, but strangely, you didn’t come in.”

He pointed to the room where Sheila stayed. Levisia asked excitedly, measuring the distance between the room and the outside of the door,

“You felt it from way over there?”

“It isn’t hard since I’m used to your presence.”

“I don’t think you’d know even if I died and came back.”

This is why the main character is called a munchkin.

Was it because she was a stimulus in his everyday life? She felt more deprived than when Roman had deliberately stimulated her inferiority complex.

Well, that had happened only a little while ago.

“Onto other important things, how come you didn’t come in right away?”

Pel asked, staring down at the floor. Levisia, wondering if she should tell him or not, opened her mouth and closed it right away,

“It was nothing.”

“Nothing?”

He would probably worry over nothing if she told him. Pel and Sheila would be as tired of the scolding she had received as she was—maybe even more.

But was it because she was too obvious? Pel’s eyes shone sharply.

“Did something happen?”

Suddenly, Levisia remembered a light that had silently blocked the gazes at her when she was young.

Pel, who had been young, hadn’t said anything and stood firmly in front of her as if he would prevent all criticism against her.

How stubborn he was that people would quickly lose interest in her and draw away their gazes toward her.

Thanks to him she could live as a nameless princess with no special presence.

That look in his eyes is no different from then.

The look that said, “I’ll destroy whatever is in front of you right now.”

Looking at those eyes, she thought she had a lot of guts on the subject of a weak life, but in fact, she was reassured.

The shadow that Pel cast when he stood in front of her had never been a threat to her. Rather, she felt at ease under the shadow that was normally supposed to be chilly.

But hasn’t she passed the age of having to hide in someone’s shadow? The present Levisia was bigger than the past Levisia; bigger than the Pel who used to protect her.

Since she had gotten this big, she couldn’t hide behind a young boy anymore.

When she saw his complex sinking, she let out a laugh that sounded like wind seeping through a poorly locked window.

“No. Nothing happened.”

“You don’t think the amount of time it took you to answer was too long?”

“Stop it. Your face is becoming more serious by the minute.”

“……”

That expression soon disappeared from his face. Levisia asked, rubbing the young man’s shoulder,

“So how is Sheila?”

“…hasn’t gotten better. Rather, her deteriorating condition has gotten worse.”