In fact, they looked like two predators waiting for the smallest excuse to pounce at each other.

She rubbed her temples.

"Fine. Since you’re both so interested in spending time with me, we can talk about it properly."

Lucas’s eyes immediately brightened.

Xavier’s expression also softened.

Sora pointed toward the two of them.

"But no fighting."

Both nodded.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Sora narrowed her eyes.

"And no making up imaginary agreements based on the way I look at you."

Lucas’s face reddened again.

Xavier covered his mouth to hide another laugh.

Lucas glared at him.

Sora couldn’t help but sigh.

She had thought exposing Serena would be the biggest headache of the day.

Apparently, she had been wrong.

The real battle had only just begun.

And judging from the determined expressions on Xavier and Lucas’s faces, competing for Sora was going to be far more troublesome than dealing with poisoned salt.

* * * * *

Lucas pulled Sora in front of him.

Before she could even understand what was happening, Xavier reached out and caught her other hand.

"She should be with me today."

Lucas immediately glared at him. "If you hadn’t ruined my good fortune, we’d already be together now."

"Together?" Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that what you’re calling this?"

His tone was filled with obvious sarcasm.

Lucas’s expression darkened. He tightened his grip on Sora’s hand and pulled her slightly closer.

"Sora, you’re coming with me tonight."

"No. Today she’s with me."

For a moment, Sora felt as though she had somehow become a rope in a tug-of-war.

Her left hand was in Lucas’s grip.

Her right hand was being held by Xavier.

Both men stared at each other with enough hostility to make the temperature in the room drop.

Sora’s head began to ache.

"Enough!"

She kicked her foot against the ground and forcefully pulled herself free.

"If you pull any harder, my arms are going to break!"

Both men froze.

Sora rubbed her aching wrists and glared at them.

"Am I an object? Why are the two of you pulling me around like I’m something you won in a competition?"

Neither Lucas nor Xavier answered.

Sora crossed her arms.

"Whether I go somewhere with either of you is my decision. Fighting over me won’t change that."

The two men finally quieted down.

Lucas looked at her and reluctantly nodded.

"Fine. We won’t pull anymore. You choose who you want to be with tonight."

Xavier also nodded.

Although neither man continued fighting physically, their eyes remained locked together.

The atmosphere was still tense.

Sora sighed.

"First, let go of my hands completely."

Lucas hesitated.

"If I let go, what if he pulls you away?"

Xavier didn’t say anything.

But his hand remained exactly where it was.

Sora’s eyebrow twitched.

These two really were hopeless.

"I see."

She took a deep breath.

"You both don’t want to eat, do you?"

The moment those words left her mouth, both men immediately released her.

Sora stared at them in disbelief.

"So food is the only thing that can make you behave?"

Neither dared answer.

She rubbed her wrists again and glared at them.

"And what exactly are you choosing? You both get out of here."

Lucas’s eyes widened.

"But—"

"It’s late."

"But tonight—"

"I want to sleep."

Xavier opened his mouth.

Sora pointed toward the window.

"Out."

The two men exchanged glances.

Then they looked back at Sora.

She looked exhausted.

And they could tell that she was genuinely angry.

After roasting the piglet earlier, Sora had barely gotten any time to rest. First, she had been busy treating the poisoned members of the tribe. Then she had investigated the strange salt. After that, she had exposed Serena’s scheme.

And now, instead of letting her sleep, these two were fighting over a date.

Did they think she was made of stone?

Sora’s gaze sharpened.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No."

Lucas lowered his head.

"You should rest."

Xavier also sighed.

"Fine."

The two men finally stepped toward the window.

Before leaving, Lucas glanced at Xavier.

The meaning in his eyes was obvious.

If the snake wasn’t leaving, he wasn’t leaving either.

Xavier understood perfectly.

But he didn’t intend to stay and make Sora angry.

There would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Neither man believed he would lose to the other forever.

A moment later, the snake and the phoneix disappeared through the window.

Sora stood there for several seconds.

Silence finally returned to the room.

She let out a long sigh of relief.

"This window definitely needs a bolt."

She walked over and examined it carefully.

"If they can climb through whenever they want, I’ll never have any peace."

She shook her head.

"And curtains."

She looked around her room.

She needed curtains too.

Otherwise, these beastmen would eventually become so shameless that they might start treating her window as the front door.

After making a mental note to solve the problem tomorrow, Sora changed into something more comfortable.

The moment her head touched the animal-hide pillow, she closed her eyes.

Sleep came quickly.

Morning sunlight slipped through the cracks in the wooden wall.

Sora slowly opened her eyes.

For a moment, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then she stretched.

A comfortable night’s sleep had restored most of her energy.

She sat up and looked toward the window.

Her expression became serious.

"Curtains."

She had almost forgotten.

Not only did she need a bolt, she needed something to cover the window.

If she didn’t, the four men—and now Lucas and Damien—would probably take turns climbing into her room.

Just imagining it made her forehead ache.

"What kind of material would work?"

She began thinking about the fabrics available in the tribe.

She had just started planning when—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone knocked loudly on the door.

"Sister Kaelira! Are you awake?"

Sora immediately stood.

She quickly changed into a beast-skin skirt and walked over to open the door.

Outside stood a young wolf-eared beastman.

He was breathing heavily, as though he had run all the way there.

Sora frowned.

"What happened?"

The young beastman swallowed several times before speaking.

"Sister Kaelira, Serena has gone on a hunger strike!"

Sora blinked.

"What?"

"She refuses to eat anything!"

The young wolf’s expression was panicked.

"She said she would rather die than eat. She is causing a huge disturbance, and the chief ordered me to come find you!"

Sora’s expression changed immediately.

"Take me there."

The young beastman nodded quickly.

Sora followed him toward the center of the tribe.

As they approached the square, she could already hear the commotion.

A large crowd had gathered around Martin’s dwelling.

However, no one dared approach the entrance.

Sora slowed down.

"What happened?"

The young beastman lowered his voice.

"Chief Martin ordered everyone to stay away. Serena has been acting strangely since last night."

Sora frowned.

So she had reached this point already?

She followed the young beastman inside.

The atmosphere became noticeably heavier.

Serena was curled up in one corner of Martin’s dwelling.

Her long hair hung over her face, concealing most of her expression.

Her clothes were disheveled.

The once carefully groomed female looked completely different.

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

She didn’t feel sympathy.

But she also didn’t feel hatred.

She simply watched.

Serena had chosen this path herself.

Outside, Martin was speaking respectfully with a young man wearing white beast skin and a stone headpiece.

The young man looked surprisingly young.

Sora immediately recognized the person beside him.

The witch.

She stopped and listened.

"How is she?" Martin asked.

The witch glanced toward Serena.

"Her body isn’t in serious danger."

He paused.

"But her face..."

Martin’s expression tightened.

"Can it be healed?"

The witch slowly shook his head.

"I’m afraid not."

Serena’s body trembled.

Although her face remained hidden beneath her hair, Sora could see her shoulders shaking.

Sora instinctively looked toward Lukan, who stood behind the witch.

Lukan met her eyes.

For a brief moment, their gazes crossed.

Then he subtly shook his head.

Sora understood.

He was warning her not to interfere.

She looked away immediately.

The witch continued.

"The bumps on her face have spread too deeply. I can suppress the symptoms, but restoring her original appearance will be extremely difficult."

Serena’s fingers dug into the animal hide beneath her.

Her breathing became uneven.

Her appearance had always been her greatest weapon.

She had relied on that face to win sympathy.

To gain attention.

To make others believe she was gentle and innocent.

Now that face had become her greatest weakness.

Sora watched her silently.

She couldn’t help remembering how Serena had looked the previous night when the water washed away the coating on her skin.

The red bumps had covered her cheeks and forehead.

It was obvious that she had been hiding something for a long time.

But there was still something Sora didn’t understand.

How had Serena managed to poison the salt without being caught?

She had personally arranged the purification process.

Every group had been supervised.

The discarded brine should have been separated.

Someone had deliberately interfered.

And Serena had managed to find the opportunity.

That meant she had either been extremely careful...

or she had received help.

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

Perhaps Serena wasn’t acting alone.

That thought made her expression turn serious.

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