âWhat do you mean by thatâ¦?â
Yuri looked at me with disbelief etched across her face. She clearly found it hard to accept.
I nudged the dead manâs body with my foot, flipping it over.
His back came into view.
ââ¦Huh?â
Yuri reacted with shock as she noticed something unusualâblood stains on the fur covering his back.
âThey killed the person wearing it before and took it for themselves.â
It could have been from an animal, butâ¦
âThe way they moved was awkward, like they werenât used to the clothes.â
That wasnât the only thing that stood out.
Their movements were subtly off, twisted by an unfamiliarity they couldnât suppress.
When they saw us, they tried to act naturally, butâ¦
âThe tension they felt inside.â
The emotions radiating from them had been unsettlingly clear.
Tension?
Tension would have been understandable if outsiders had approached a hideout. That kind of vigilance was normal.
But their tension wasnât the defensive kind. It was laced with the anxiety of needing to act correctly.
And most importantlyâ¦
âThey didnât react with caution.â
When we appeared, they didnât show any sign of wariness. That, above all else, was what confirmed my suspicions.
Then there were the other discrepanciesâtheir lack of proper assessment of the situation, their hurried attempts to lead us somewhereâ¦
There were far too many things that didnât add up.
As I explained briefly, Yuriâs face crumbled in disbelief.
âThatâs impossible⦠This canât be trueâ¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThereâs no such thing as impossible.â
Even my own life was proof of that. Nothing in this world was truly impossible.
âBut⦠but this is a place that only the bloodline of the Ice Palace can access!â she stammered.
Only the bloodline of the Ice Palace, huh? Hearing her words, I nodded thoughtfully.
âSo thatâs why she placed her hand on the wall earlier.â
There must have been some method or safeguard that only she knew about.
But even soâ¦
âWell, itâs breached now.â
âThatâsâ¦â
âDo you think itâs not?â