Her words made me frown.
"Why is she beautiful?" What kind of nonsensical statement was that?
"You said she wore a mask because of burn scarsâ¦!"
Ah.
Hearing Yuriâs words, I finally understood. It seemed Namgung Bi-ah had been wearing a mask.
"At least she followed that part."
Before Namgung Bi-ah left for the North Sea, I had strongly warned her about one thing.
I didnât know what kind of people she would encounter there, butâ¦
"Your face is a problem, so I told you to hide it as much as possible."
In any world, beauty often attracts unwanted attention. Namgung Bi-ah's face wasnât just beautifulâit was treasure-level.
I had told her to cover it up as much as possible. Thankfully, it seemed she had listened to that piece of advice.
"Oh."
Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head slightly, as if she understood Yuri's remark, and then casually said,
"That was a lie."
"â¦What?"
Yuri froze, her face blank at the completely nonchalant confession.
"A lie�"
"Yes, a lie. Sorry."
Even her apology was delivered in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
It was an almost comical situation.
"â¦Letâs just get moving. We canât stay here."
Watching the two of them any longer wasnât going to help, so I decided it was time to move.
I reached out and supported Namgung Bi-ah.
"Ah�"
Before she could react, I lifted her up in my arms.
"â¦"
"You look like itâs hard to move. Even if you donât like it, just bear with itâ"
"I donât mind."
"Oh⦠okay."