17. Lie?

Rune looked at Velisa in confusion. He couldn't say anything as his mind instantly went blank. Previously, he was absolutely sure he had heard wrong in the trial room at that time, but now it was the other way around.

"Rune, what did he mean by that? You said that he told you about Mate," confused Adelle in a stuttering voice, staring at Rune in disbelief.

Rune, who had been silent before, was now looking at Adelle with an incomprehensible expression. "Could you get out of here for a bit?" he asked seriously.

Adele frowned. "Why did I come out? This is my room."

"Quickly get out! This is an order!" said Rune coldly. Adelle huffed in annoyance, then put on a dark green robe and her magic wand out of the room.

Velisa and Rune stared at the now-closed door. Only the two of them were in this witch's room. They were silent in their respective positions. Rune was irritated by her misunderstanding, while Velisa felt guilty for making Rune misunderstood.

"Since when did you think that I was your Mate?" asked Velisa awkwardly.

Rune kept her cold face on. "You fooled me? Turns out, Adelle was right that you did it so I wouldn't kill you. As a human, you are more disgusting than those underground hunters."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Velisa clenched her palms until her knuckles turned white. "I don't know the origin of your short thought, Rune. You're the one who mistook it, but instead, I'm the one you accuse of fooling?"

Their eyes met in the hateful gazes that were thrown at each other. They had no intention of thinking about the good things that had happened between them. But, those memories only hurt them now. Velisa also just realized that hatred can grow just because of the words addressed to him.

"Velisa, did you forget what you said in the time trial room?" Rune smiled lopsidedly, then laughed lightly. "Humans are very hypocritical. What they say in their mouth is different from what is in their heart. You act like you're giving up your life when you really want life."

"I am a wolf and a human race, it's not enough to make me think stupid like you, Rune," Velisa said in a trembling voice. She struggled to contain her anger. "I'd better take my word for it then."

"Again, you—"

"I'm sorry to have met an Alpha as stupid as you! A werewolf who always despises humans based on unfounded assumptions. I should have let you be shot to death by the man I worked with," said Velisa without looking away from Rune's eyes. "Just so you know, he's an underground hunter much smarter than you. Be careful when you meet him because I won't help you escape again."

Rune was stunned because Velisa was discussing the man she had killed a few days ago. Velisa walked past him just like that. The woman came out in silence and annoyed. Adelle, who had been waiting at the door, was now looking at Rune with a questioning face.

Rune ignored Adelle and caught up with Velisa who was walking briskly down the palace hall. He did not expect a woman so brave to walk into the palace. The other werewolves might be able to find and not hesitate to kill the woman. Now, he had lost track of her in his own palace.

***

Velisa examined the weapons one by one in the darkroom where she had been locked up, as well as where Adlar lay in the crate. After finding the right weapon, she immediately ran to the door to get out. However, Runes could quickly find her thanks to their very sharp senses.

"I won't let you go with our weapons," said Rune with a straight face.

"The weapons in this room belong to the hunters whom you have brutally and heartlessly killed," Velisa said without hesitation. Rune smiled hearing her.

"Apparently, you hunted us without knowing much about us. An opponent like you is very easy to beat. The werewolf nation decided to become a predator after getting to know humans as a whole."

Velisa was silent for a moment. That moment was an opportunity for Rune to knock the woman unconscious. Rune immediately carried the woman out of the room. He also sped up until no one in the palace saw his presence.

However, Rune stopped when she saw Adelle talking to Fremont in front of the magic room. Adelle, who noticed the presence of the rune, tried to distract Fremont and signalled to the rune through the magic power of her fingertip. Rune rushed into his room and immediately closed the door. Alexa, who just came out of her bedroom, saw Rune.

"Hey, Alexa! Did you see the runes? I've been looking for it everywhere ever since." Fremont approached Alexa with a friendly smile.

Alexa shook her head as she smiled back at the man in front of her. "I just left my room."

"Okay thank you." Fremont passed Alexa just like that, then headed for Rune's room.

Alexa immediately turned around and said, "I also just checked the room. However, no one was there. Have you asked Adelle yet?"

Fremont raised an eyebrow while digesting Alexa's words quickly. "Adelle also said she didn't know. In that case, I'll have to look elsewhere."

Alexa breathed a sigh of relief after Fremont walked away from Rune's room. Then, she immediately darted to the front of Adelle's room. She knocked on the door in front of her until it opened. Adelle immediately swung her wand when she saw Alexa in the doorway. "I never thought that you would come here," Adelle said after Alexa came in and closed the door.

"Alright, I am indeed afraid of magic power. But that doesn't mean I have to be afraid of a witch," said Alexa, giving a simple excuse. To be honest, it made her goosebumps when she saw the room she entered.

"You don't have to lie. Just tell me what you want to come here for," said Adelle in a relaxed tone. Then, she shifted the chair using magic power. Alexa sat down and tried to calm herself in the midst of her fear.

***