Although she sporadically felt a sense of crisis, it wasn’t this confusing.

She deliberately avoided developing deep feelings for him.

She just believed that love could be controlled as long as she didn’t fall deeply.

But now, it collapsed in an instant.

‘I need to regain my composure now, not crossing the line… not getting caught.’

You couldn’t cut off feelings towards him as if trimming them.

So, at least, as Arpeggio said, she shouldn’t reveal any signs, not be caught.
Absolutely, she must not be caught loving him. It had to remain as a one-sided love. Getting engulfed in these emotions and ruining the performance was something she couldn’t afford.

In such a relationship, love was nothing but a constraint.

“What he does well isn’t because he loves me. He’s just faithful to the given role.”

In this abnormal relationship, one-sided emotions would only complicate the current situation.

Riley sighed, burying her face in her knees. She wanted to somehow calm these surging emotions, but her restless heart refused to settle.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gibben slouched, holding an empty bottle.

“…What am I doing.”

In the end, it had always been like this. There was nothing surprising about it.

Dealing with people who always looked at him with biased eyes, the human relationships privately formed, meaning trust towards others, had proven to be futile. Realizing how worthless it was happened in just a day or two.

So he lived freely without getting involved in personal relationships, letting people come and go as they pleased. There had never been a single time when he was sincerely involved in such light and trivial relationships.

He thought it would be the same this time. He believed that any special feelings toward Riley, unexpected impulsive actions, were derived from the peculiar nature of being a ‘burden’ and a ‘protected target’ assigned by her master. It had to be like that.

A relationship where emotions were absent, and only bodies were shared to relieve desires, was the most ideal and clean relationship he could think of. In that sense, the current relationship with Riley was undoubtedly clean and impeccable.

‘But why.’

Why did he get hurt?

He showed scenes that shouldn’t be seen. It was quite a common situation for him, but for Riley, it must have been a provocative and terrible scene.

Like a fool, at the moment Riley saw that scene, he almost laid out unreasonable excuses.

That man was a spy who infiltrated with the aim of his life, and he had already stolen and sold many of Horizon’s secrets. If he wasn’t subdued, he might end up in a situation where he would be killed instead.

Why did he try to make excuses? What did it matter how she accepted and dealt with the situation, even if it shocked her? Why did he care about her trembling and frightened appearance?

Wasn’t he already used to such situations?

He found these ominous signs extremely irritating. As various situations of him being impulsive and emotional in front of her overlapped, his chest became stuffy.

Gibben crouched, suppressing his complex emotions, and muttered with difficulty.

“…There’s no way it’s sincere.”