"...What… what are you saying?" Reina whispered, her eyes widened to the brink as if Ren had just spoken blasphemy. "Can't you hear my voice? It belongs to that of a man… and I'm also too thin to be a woman… I…"
She couldn't even understand… how had she been found out? Her body hadn't been touched at all so how did he know about it?
'Maybe he's joking… yes he has to be.' She thought but she knew that Ren didn't joke around… if he said something, he was dead serious about it.
"Turn off that voice-altering rune on your chest."
Her breathing stopped.
Her hand instinctively hovered over her chest where the rune was strapped under her shirt.
The gesture was tiny, but Ren's eyes flicked to it instantly.
He knew.
He already knew about it.
'Can I kill him…?' The thought came immediately, violently, and without remorse.
All the years… YEARS of hiding, the endless precautions,the posture lessons, the wardrobe changes… all of it was unraveling right before her eyes because of this arrogant bastard.
And the worst part?
He looked too casual about it. He didn't even care that he was practically ruining her life, instead he was playing with that stick in his hand like some kind of kid.
'Even though he's second only to the hero, he's obsessed with the Saintess, right? I have her personal contact… I can convince the Saintess that—'
"Whatever you're thinking won't work."
Ren's voice cut through her thoughts like a sword. He was drawing circles in the dirt with a stick like some bored schoolboy.
'Drawing in the sand feels so calming…'
"You can't kill me," he continued lazily, "and you most certainly can't use the Saintess to try and bribe me to stay quiet."
Reina stiffened with her muscles locking in place.
"How did you…?"
"It's literally on your face," Ren replied, tapping his cheek. "I'm not that dumb."
That stung.
Reina sat up straighter.
...Fine.
If intimidation didn't work, she'd switch to negotiation… her brain flipped through every possible route of escape.
"Come on… you want the Saintess, right?" She leaned forward slightly, trying to regain control. "I can hook you up with her for a chat. Then you can confess your feelings properly without needing to prove yourself to the hero… if you're lucky, she'll like you too and you two can ru—"
FWIP…
The stick zipped past her face like a bullet, slicing open her cheek. Blood trickled down instantly.
Reina froze.
"What—"
"I'm not interested in your offer." Ren rose slowly, towering over her. "I have an offer of my own."
This was bad.
This was very, very bad.
He stepped closer.
"If you do this properly," Ren continued, he sounded like the devil from her dreams. "I won't go spilling your little secret."
Reina's heart slammed against her ribs.
"You're engaged, right?" Ren asked, tilting his head. "How would your fiancée feel if she knew she was marrying a girl?"
'Although I don't know how she wants to have sex with her fiancee without a dick.' He thought but hey, intimidation was intimidation at the end of the day.
Her breath hitched.
That was the ultimate pressure point.
Her entire future, her political standing, her family's heir position… everything hinged on that secret.
"W-what is your offer…?" she whispered.
Ren smirked.
"I'd like to see you full female."
Ding!
『"Reina Dawnlarke"'s affection points have dropped to -5』
Ren didn't even blink.
'Yeah… yeah… you never even liked me in the first place,' he thought.
Honestly, he couldn't be bothered. He just wanted to sate his curiosity. She had been a tomboy icon in the novel… but he had never actually seen her full appearance.
"This is how I—"
"Stop the bullshit," he cut in. "Turn already. And after that, you still have to obey one more thing before I promise to keep quiet."
She bit her lip so hard it almost bled.
"F… fine."
Her trembling fingers reached for the tie at the neckline of her shirt. One tug…
FWSHH
Her entire outfit shifted. The clothes rearranged itself into a soft, pale-blue dress that flowed around her legs and her once-flattened chest rose into a natural curve.
Her hair, long and silver, spilled fully down her back.
Her shoulders softened.
Her features sharpened in a delicate way.
She looked… beautiful.
She looked like someone who should be gracing a noble's portrait hall, not pretending to be a man in the woods.
"I only use this a few times," Reina muttered, crossing her arms. "I hate dressing like a girl."
"Why? You look cute in it."
Her brain short-circuited.
"Cute?" Her eyebrows shot up. "Do I look like those women in novels who blush over every tiny compliment?"
『Ding!』
『"Reina Dawnlarke"'s affection points have increased to 1』
She was in fact exactly one of those women.
"Sigh… I take it back," Ren said.
"Excuse me—?!" Reina tugged the tie angrily, making her clothes re-form back into her male disguise.
Her voice rune glowed, returning her voice to its false masculine tone.
"If that's all… Then I'll be going." She turned sharply with her hair swishing.
"To where? I haven't finished calling my shots."
She froze and her face paled.
Ren's eyes gleamed with devilish amusement.
"As for my second condition…" He paused for dramatic effect. "…I think it's pretty easy."
Reina gulped.
"You belong to me."
Silence.
Her mind blanked.
"Belong… to you?" she repeated, horrified.
"Exactly." Ren shrugged casually. "I'll do what I want with you… hm?"
It sounded villainous.
It sounded threatening.
But Ren was experimenting… he didn't really care if the affection went down the bucket, it could be fixed.
Reina weighed her options:
Her secret being exposed…
Or dealing with this shameless lunatic.
One was survivable.
The other was not.
"O… okay," she muttered weakly.
『Ding!』
『"Reina Dawnlarke"'s affection points have increased to 15… She likes that you see her as a woman』
Ren's eye twitched.
'She hates dressing like a woman but likes that I see her as a woman? These women be crazy.'
He shook his head.
"Alright. Let's go."
Reina blinked.
"Where?"
"To find the Unique Item," Ren said, picking and twirling the stick over his shoulder.