Incompatible Interspecies Wives chapter 185

185 – Request for Support(5)

Ner followed Berg.

For the moment, everything was unfolding according to her wishes.

It was a situation where it couldn’t be any other way.

She hadn’t told Berg even a small lie.

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Patients had to be managed in stages. It was only inefficient for severe and mild patients to be in the same ward.

…But in that process, Stockfin lost a space to rest, and as a result, Berg’s home… no, she got to visit her original home.

Her sincerity in forbidding a kiss was genuine. Although she didn’t know how the plague spread, she had heard of many situations where couples across the kingdom were infected together.

…And as a result, Ner could forbid the kiss between Berg and the saintess.

She didn’t want to act this way, but the circumstances empowered her.

To begin with, witnessing a kiss between Berg and the saintess was utterly unbearable.

Trying to hold back was extremely difficult.

Ner walked a familiar path with Berg towards home.

Each step revived memories of the past.

A surge of emotions threatened to bring her to tears… to burst into tears out of sadness.

But she calmed the storm of emotions and kept moving forward.

Soon, from afar, she saw the terrain that belonged to her.

The house where she and Berg had fixed things that were broken.

It was her who pulled Berg out when he was dependent on alcohol.

She cleaned up all the bottles that littered the room.

Repaired the rotting floor.

Cleaned the basement where rats appeared.

It was her who got new paint for the walls, and furniture.

“…”

At the thought, Ner’s heart felt strangled.

That place was the home of her and Berg.

It was where they took their first steps as a couple.

But now… it had become a place she could only visit with permission.

And in front of that house, someone was already waiting for them.

A human named Sien, dressed in plain clothes as if a country girl, had shed her saintess attire.

She seemed not to notice Ner trailing behind, as she beamed a bright smile at Berg.

If love was visible through the eyes, it would look exactly like this.

The atmosphere conveyed how happy she was beside Berg.

She extended both her hands towards Berg.

As if urging him to hug her quickly, she bounced joyfully.

From ahead, the sound of Berg’s light laughter could be heard.

“…”

Seeing his smile directed at another woman invoked insane jealousy.

It was an emotion she couldn’t afford to reveal.

That place was supposed to be hers.

That happiness was supposed to be what she was experiencing at this moment.

All a reality lost due to one colossal mistake.

“…sigh…”

Lan, standing beside her, let out a sigh.

As if foreseeing Ner’s painful future.

Berg, with hastened steps, approached and embraced Sien.

-Wham!

“I’ve been waiting, Bel…”

“Yes.”

Lifting her up joyfully, they exchanged emotions, engulfed in happiness.

Their foreheads lightly touched each other.

A prolonged eye contact ensued.

“…”

…Ner had to watch her mate, there, holding Sien in his arms.

A pain as if her heart was being torn apart surged, and there was nothing she could do.

The only person in this world who had been on her side was loving another woman.

She had anticipated this, but seeing it for the first time was something else.

It was the first time she had seen Berg loving someone else so deeply.

A stinging pain emanated from her heart, spreading throughout her entire body.

Loving Berg deeply made it hurt all the more.

She kept imagining herself in that position.

…If she were still in that position… she would be smiling like Sien, the human.

She would be sharing an unwavering love with Berg.

If she had accepted him from the beginning. If she hadn’t refused his advances.

“…Beautiful.”

Lan whispered beside her.

Probably a comment made without any particular intention.

Even to Ner, the sight of the two humans deeply engrossed in each other was beautiful.

Like Bard’s song that she penalized a few days ago… their love story could be called romantic.

A wealthy human girl, a poor boy from the slums. Despite endless separations, they ultimately united with their feelings for each other.

Because it was such a love story, the song resonated throughout the entire kingdom.

…And in that song, Ner was an obstacle.

An intolerable statement from Ner’s perspective.

Having been hated all her life, the first person to love her was Berg.

For her, the most precious and sweet period was the marital life she had with Berg.

Memories that couldn’t be exchanged with anything.

But everyone said that period… in front of Sien and Berg’s love story, was nothing but an obstacle.

Having suffered all her life, even the short moment she was loved was ignored by everyone.

– Thud…

“…Huh?”

Ner was startled by the liquid flowing from her eyes.

Lan calmly handed her a handkerchief and whispered.

“Wipe your tears.”

“…”

“…Nothing is uglier than a loser’s tears.”

“……”

Ner couldn’t rebut him and quickly wiped her tears away.

She didn’t come here to shed tears.

Reminding herself of her goal, she steadies her heart.

She came here to be loved by Berg again.

And she didn’t care in what form that love came.

While she was doing so, Berg was having a conversation with Sien, and their gaze shifted.

Sien, with a complex expression, approached while holding Berg’s arm.

Berg also didn’t look too comfortable.

‘…Smile when you see me, Berg.’

Ner echoed a wish she herself found absurd.

‘….I was… your first wife…’

Ner tightly gripped the small pouch attached to her waist.

Inside it were the rings they had taken off, hers and Berg’s.

“…I can give up my place.”

Sien responded the moment she approached.

“…But are you sure about that?”

It sounded almost like a warning.

The hostility Sien harbored against her was clearly visible.

It was understandable, given Ner was Berg’s ex-wife.

Ner could understand Sien’s behavior.

She would have acted the same.

If there was any difference, it was that a certain ease was visible in Sien.

It was as if Berg was already hers, so she was somewhat indifferent.

Ner wondered if this was also an effect of the abolition of polygamy.

Sien continued speaking.

“…I have no intention of changing my behavior because you are here.”

“…”

It meant that she wouldn’t be considerate even if Ner stayed at the house.

She wouldn’t deliberately hide their affectionate relationship.

Ner was not unafraid of that warning.

Rather, it turned into a terror beyond anything else.

Perhaps Sien had indirectly, roundaboutly, expressed her rejection.

It seemed like a plea not to intrude into their home.

“…It’s fine.”

But Ner couldn’t back off despite all those words.

She wanted to be by Berg’s side even if it meant being humiliated.

“…Do you really have nowhere else to go…?”

Even though she still offered an excuse, it was acceptable to see it as an assertion of her last shred of dignity.

A statement made to somewhat lessen the burden on Berg and Sien.

At those words, Sien eventually looked up at Berg.

Then, she nodded her head.

Berg also, following Sien’s nod, opened the door to the house.

“…”

Ner managed to return to her own home after a great difficulty and a long time.

.

.

.

.

Nothing in the house had changed.

Everything remained as Ner had dreamt, the way it was.

The floor she had fixed with Berg was still there.

The scribbles she made with her nails were intact.

The unique aroma of the house was consistent.

The decision about the rooms was easily made thereafter.

Lan would take a room on the second floor.

Ner decided to use her original room.

As the sun set, everyone gathered for a meal.

Though it wasn’t a treatment befitting for nobility, the Ryker was a new noble family, hardly different from commoners.

Ner had to quietly observe as Sien served the meal.

She could only silently watch the affection between the two from the side.

“Give it a taste, Bel. Does it taste a bit odd…?”

“…It’s fine to me… but I don’t know if everyone else will be okay with it…”

“…Ber…!”

“No… it’s really delicious. I just… spoke honestly.”

Berg, full of playfulness, continued to make Sien laugh.

Ner, standing afar and blankly watching them, kept inserting herself in place of Sien.

Though her life as a noble was worlds apart, that side seemed several times happier.

For the sake of obtaining the surname ‘Ryker,’ Ner could give up all the privileges that came trailing behind the name ‘Blackwood.’

Soon, Berg playfully grasped Sien’s face, smiled, and whispered something.

Ner barely caught the whisper.

“…I want to kiss you, but I guess we have to restrain ourselves for a bit.”

– Thump.

Her heart sank at his whisper.

It should have been expected… yet, each confrontation with reality felt like a giant nail driving into her heart.

She just couldn’t get used to the fact that Berg was truly loving another woman.

Sien, smiling beautifully at his expression, brought the food to Ner and Lan.

“…Please have your meal. I apologize for not preparing much.”

Lan responded on behalf of Ner, who was still lost in thought.

“It’s fine. We’ll eat it deliciously.”

Though cold and curt, Lan maintained the etiquette required of a noble.

Ner quietly expressed her thanks to Sien too.

Thanking the woman who was constantly kissing Berg made her feel unbearably pitiful.

“…Thank you… we’ll enjoy the meal.”

In the awkward atmosphere, the meal proceeded.

Yet, Berg and Sien kept making eye contact and exchanging smiles, as though whispering sweet nothings.

It was evident to Ner that the two were restraining their affectionate expressions in her presence.

They had said they wouldn’t change their behavior, but some consideration was apparent.

Yet, that made it harder for Ner.

Imagination fed on itself, growing tails and expanding.

How would they normally live?

What would it feel like to have meals just the two of them every day?

How much deeper had their love grown?

Would they… burn with passion and make love after such a meal?

The darker the thoughts, the more they consumed her.

Ner was tormented.

Then, she heard Berg chuckling.

Whenever she was distressed, he used to comfort her with such laughter, gently stroking her head.

Instinctively, Ner looked up at Berg, but his gaze was fixed on Sien.

“…….”

She couldn’t help but feel that a lot had changed.

In that silent atmosphere, Sien was the first to put down her spoon.

Berg asked her.

“…Eat more. There’s a lot left.”

“I’m full, Bel.”

“You should eat more. That’s how you stay healthy.”

“…Even so…”

“…Please eat more because I’m worried. You haven’t even eaten half of what you usually do.”

“…”

“…Sien…?”

“…The smell is a bit different than usual.”

Simultaneously, Sien covered her mouth.

A fleeting, despairing thought brushed past Ner at that casual remark.

‘…..What…?’

She wasn’t sure if it was because Berg was particularly concerned about Sien’s health, or because Sien appeared to be struggling throughout the meal.

– Clank…

As Ner startled, dropping her spoon, everyone stared at her frozen in place.

Ner blinked hard and asked with effort.

“……Could it be…”

At her suspicion, Berg looked at her.

And without any other response, he slightly nodded.

– Shudder…!!

Ner sprung up from her seat at that confirmation.

Lan was surprised by her action, but said nothing.

Ner urgently needed an excuse.

She felt breathless, as if she were about to cry.

She needed a place to let out the emotions ripping her apart.

“I… I’m full too. Be… Berg, the food was good. I’ll step out for some air.”

But as everyone understood the reason behind Ner’s behavior, no one tried to stop her.

****

Ner hid alone in the forest, shedding tears for a long while.

Berg was going to have a child.

And that child wasn’t hers and Berg’s.

Berg had made a child with Sien first.

After the divorce, Berg had continued his life earnestly.

Upon reflection, it was expected.

Berg always knew how to rise from pain.

Even when he blamed himself for losing his soldiers, fell into dire situations, lost a brother, or collapsed from intense training…

In the end, he always stood up and moved forward.

He had already moved past their divorce and was forming a new family.

The one remaining stuck in the same place was her.

She was still wandering and suffering because she couldn’t let go of Berg.

In truth, she already knew.

Everything with Berg had ended.

It ended when she tried to put his loved ones in great danger.

“Euhuk….huk…”

It was a realization she should have come to long ago… but she had just been denying it.

Berg had formed a family.

With another of his kind, carrying out a normal marriage.

It wasn’t a mixed-race marriage, and there was no half-breed child to be born.

Ner was now an obstacle to him.

He met a beautiful, kind wife, and was living a life where he would have lovely daughters and sons… Ner now had to watch him from afar.

It was right for her to become alone again, to let him go.

She had seen and felt it all day.

Berg had found happiness.

Though he struggled as a lord, he had formed a strong bond with the wife by his side.

Even the cold Lan thought they were a beautiful family.

Even Ner, who wanted to deny that fact, found it hard to refute that they were a well-matched pair.

And that fact tormented her profoundly.

She knew they were a fitting couple.

She knew there was no happier existence for Berg.

She knew there was no room for her to intrude.

….So, Ner was never to be granted another chance.

She had nothing left but days of living alone, as she always had.

There was no lack of opportunities, just none she could grasp.

An endlessly happy future awaited her, but… Ner had kicked that opportunity away with her own feet.

The terrifying and weighty reality bore down on her.

Tears kept flowing uncontrollably.

…Yet, she knew in her mind.

It was right to let Berg go now.

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Facing it directly made her feel it more acutely.

However, her attachment still held her captive.

Even in this tearful state, a corner of her mind wondered…

would Berg come looking for her now?

Late at night, in this forest where he always found her during their walks.

The Berg who confined her, who worried about her.

It might happen this very moment.

…Of course, it didn’t take long to realize how absurd that hope was.

Even if Berg truly worried about her, he was not the Berg who would leave his wife, carrying their child, to come to her.

Ner eventually accepted this reality and started heading back home.

Calming her tears… suppressing her emotions.

She kept recalling Berg’s image she saw all day.

He looked genuinely happy.

The thought persisted… Berg truly looked happy.

If she loved him, she had to let him go.

No longer torment him, bless his happy life.

“…”

Before Ner knew it, she had reached the house.

But instead of the front door, she was cautiously standing next to a window.

In the deep night,

Ner stealthily peered into the master bedroom through the window.

Her eyes, even in the darkness, could see everything clearly.

Her gaze found a couple of the same race, sound asleep.

Berg, as always, slept bare-chested,

faithfully wearing the mask Ner had made him accustomed to.

Beside him, Sien lay in his arms.

“…”

Even at a casual glance, they were a beautiful couple.

Ner had never seen a pair that fit each other so well.

“…I have to… let go, don’t I…?”

Ner found herself whispering in a defeated tone, without even realizing it.

.

.

.

“…Ha…ha…”

But when Ner came to her senses, she was already inside a room.

“…What…?”

She was panting heavily; after collecting her senses, she assessed the situation.

The door behind her was cautiously left open, and in front of her, Berg lay in bed.

Ner had sneaked into the master bedroom.

Berg and Sien, immersed in each other’s warmth, were fast asleep.

They hadn’t noticed Ner’s approach at all.

“….Ah.”

But the moment she regained her senses, everything made instant sense.

She understood why she had infiltrated like this.

She had been pretending since earlier.

To steady her heart… to make the right choice, she consciously spat out that she had to give up Berg.

But in the end, she knew.

It was impossible.

No matter how happy Berg looked, Nell wanted his love.

She wanted to be caressed like before, to be adored.

She wanted to exchange kisses, to experience intimacy.

She wanted to bear his child, to shed tears of bliss.

Realizing the situation, Nell cried again.

“…I’m sorry… Berg…”

She whispered.

“…I’m sorry…sob…”

Berg didn’t wake up.

At the same time, Nell’s eyes sparkled.

“…I’m sorry…but…”

The s*xual desire that accumulated every mating season was constantly directed at one man.

She could no longer resist his scent wafting before her eyes.

She cautiously lifted Berg’s face mask.

“…but you made me this way,” she said.

At the same time, she pressed her lips against Berg’s.

Even with his wife right beside him, she stole his lips.

After telling him not to kiss anyone else… she took his lips.

But Nell didn’t feel it was wrong.

Rather, it felt as if she was just now committing an act that should have been done long ago.

After all, she was his first wife.

…she was only reclaiming her husband.

Nell ended the light kiss and barely lifted her head.

The warmth of Berg’s lips was still vivid on hers.

“Haah…haah…”

With that, Nell hurriedly turned her body and left the room.

A powerful guilt… and the pleasure that overturned it, combined with satisfaction, chased after her.