"S-Stop fooling around!"
A gust of wind swept across the water.
The surface rippled briefly.
Still, there was no sign of him.
Suddenly, she could not breathe.
Without thinking, Talia plunged into the lake.
She had taken only a few steps before the water rose to her waist.
Thrashing at the surface with both hands, she screamed.
"Varkas! Varkas! Where are you?!"
Beneath her feet she felt slippery mud and tangled branches.
She ventured farther out.
Before she knew it, the water had reached her chest.
She clawed frantically through the freezing water and let out broken sobs.
"I-I'm sorry! So come out already!"
She had completely lost her reason and was screaming at the top of her lungs.
Then the nearby water suddenly surged.
A long shape emerged from beneath the surface.
Talia stared at it with frozen eyes.
Varkas shook his head, scattering streams of water.
Beneath rain-soaked eyelashes, blue eyes gleamed faintly.
"There."
Lightly gripping her shoulder with one hand, he extended something toward her.
Talia stared at it blankly.
"Is that sufficient?"
Resting on his palm was the pearl ornament she had thrown away.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
Covering her forehead with one hand, Talia let out a string of breathless laughs.
Then, in the very next moment, her face twisted as though she had been possessed.
She snatched the ornament and threw it away again.
Even after watching her toss aside something he had painstakingly retrieved, Varkas showed no reaction.
His calm face only made her angrier.
Unable to contain herself, Talia struck him.
"That was on purpose, wasn't it?! You were trying to scare me!"
Even after she slapped him across the cheek, he remained silent.
For some reason, that composure only made her more vicious.
Talia began hitting him repeatedly with her fists.
"You kept it up until I admitted I was wrong! You awful bastard! I hate you so much!"
"That's enough."
Varkas suddenly grabbed both of her wrists and lowered his voice.
Talia looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
The expression on her face practically screamed that she had been wronged.
A disbelieving sigh escaped him.
"You've fulfilled today's quota. Stop throwing tantrums and come out."
"No! I'll never listen to you! I'm going to drown right here, so you leave instead!"
While she continued shrieking at him, he simply dragged her toward # Nоvеlight # shore.
Even then, Talia kept punching his back.
Watching her with utter disbelief, Varkas shook his head.
He picked up the coat he had discarded earlier and wrapped it tightly around her.
Then, to prevent any further attacks, he used the sleeves to bind her arms securely against her body.
Talia struggled furiously to free herself.