Catherine’s entire body froze, her eyes slowly widening as her motions paused and she looked at the dark eyes staring right at her.
Her mind blanked under the scrutinizing gaze.
The more she looked at them, the more unbelievable she felt the situation was.
"Wha... what did you just call me?"
Catherine had to do a double-take. Perhaps her hearing was off, and she didn’t hear correctly. Right, it had to be that. There’s no way—
"Crazy bitch."
Bang!
Her fist smacked against the wall behind her.
Lifting her head to stare at Seth, her expression twisted.
"The fuck did you just call me?"
"Do I have to repeat myself?"
Seth’s words remained cold, but beneath that coldness, Catherine felt it. The faint trace of annoyance in the way he looked at her.
"Ha."
Catherine laughed.
It was the only thing she could do under this ridiculous situation.
’He’s out of his mind. He’s really lost it.’
Was it overconfidence in his abilities, or was he just dumb? Whatever it was, Catherine didn’t care as her eyes narrowed.
Composing herself, she crossed her arms and leaned back.
This time, she didn’t bother smiling.
She didn’t even bother hiding her disgust towards him.
Even her tone was cold.
"Did the success get to your head? Is that why you’re speaking the way that you are to me? Or is it because you’re no longer alone? Now that everyone from the Main Guild is here, you’re no longer afraid of acting out. I bet your personality was shit like this from the start."
"That’s funny coming from you."
"Me? Pff."
Catherine laughed.
"...You’re funny. I give you that."
It was obvious to her.
The fame had gotten into his mind. Otherwise, why in the fuck would he even talk that way to her?
Clicking her tongue, the smile slipped from her face once more as she leaned against the wall, arms crossed, her finger tapping restlessly against her arm.
"You’re starting to overrate yourself and your abilities. I wasn’t there, but everyone has heard the truth about what happened back in Malovia. You were just in the right place at the right time. You were aided by that weird anomaly that just so happened to be a creation from a weird cult."
Taking a step forward, Catherine’s brows furrowed as she pressed a hand against Seth’s chest, the irritation on her face clearer than ever.
"Let me repeat. Stop. Overrating. Yourself. And. Your. Abilities."
Catherine made sure to emphasize each word carefully.
Just one look at him, and she knew that she had to make her point clear. He had to be put in his place before things got annoying.
But—
"Are you done?"
It was obvious that Seth didn’t take her words to heart.
In fact, his expression hardly changed as he swatted her finger away from his chest.
"..."
Feeling Catherine’s glare, Seth quietly fixed his clothes.
"I am very well aware of my own capabilities. If we’re talking about pure skill, then I don’t doubt for one second that you would be able to beat me. In fact, I would argue that everyone here is more capable than me."
Smirk.
Catherine smirked.
"What are you trying to get with your point?"
"...My point is that I never asked to be famous. Nor did I ever ask to stumble across a random cult, or for anyone to pay special attention to me. The only thing I want to do is create my games."
"Games? Are you fucking with me?"
"I’m not."
Seth apathetically replied, his tone calm.
"I’ve always aimed to do my own thing. I never asked to be bothered and do other things. It just so happens that I’m quite unlucky. I also don’t care about what you think about me. To be honest, I am not one to care much about what others think about me."
"....."
"But this isn’t why I am here to see you."
All of a sudden, Seth’s eyes narrowed.
Feeling the weight of his gaze, Catherine tensed involuntarily. It lasted only a moment before she realized what had happened, her teeth clenching tightly.
This bas..
"I don’t like to be used."
Seth rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes flickering with a coldness that made the words rising in Catherine’s throat stall as he continued to look at her.
"I don’t know what’s going on between you and Zoey. Nor do I care. However, it was obvious that you were acting the way that you were in order to get a reaction from her. I don’t like that. I would kindly wish for you to stop it."
"...And if I don’t?"
"If you don’t?"
Seth paused, his expression shifting into something faintly odd before he shook his head and turned away.
"I wonder."
"You wonder what?"
Seth shrugged, not bothering anymore.
Catherine’s face turned red as she shouted.
"Hey! Answer me! Get back here!"
But...
"Why aren’t you talking? Fucking get back here! I’m talking to you!"
Seth never looked back.
"Hey!!"
***
How fast did indigestion pills work? It felt like I needed more than one.
"Maybe I should get an entire box."
Rubbing my stomach, I paused and looked up at the sky. The moon hung in the darkness, lighting up the clouds as the night breeze brushed against my skin, making my grey coat flutter softly.
I didn’t really know what came over me.
Thinking back on my interaction with Catherine, it felt out of character for me to have spoken to her so directly. I was usually someone who preferred to avoid trouble and unnecessary interactions. If anything, I would’ve simply ignored it. While she could be bothersome at times, it wasn’t to the point of being truly annoying.
In fact, I would argue that things would probably become more annoying now.
But...
"It just felt like I had to do it."
To some extent, it felt refreshing.
The same was true when I directly targeted the anomaly that had been focusing on me. Even though it turned out to be a trap, if I were placed in a similar situation again, I’d probably make the same choice.
I was changing.
This much had become clear to me.
But what was the reason for my change? Was it due to the knife? The previous experience as the Jester, or something else entirely?
"No..."
I pursed my lips.
I was thinking about things the wrong way. The real question was, ’Is this a good or a bad change?’
Should I have let things play out like I normally did? Should I have just minded my own business and dealt with things when they eventually came to me?
Or....
A mild night breeze drifted through the air, brushing against my skin and hair. My skin prickled under the cool wind, and as I lifted my head to stare at the moon, I questioned myself.
"Should I stop letting myself change? Should I go back to how I was? Or... do I go all the way?"
I mumbled, closing my eyes.
"But, you know..."
I silently smirked while bringing my hands to my pockets.
"I think I’ve long realized this after entering this industry, even though I never wanted to be a part of it."
I lazily opened one eye and stared at the moon that hung in the sky.
The corners of my lips unconsciously rose.
"I keep thinking that maybe. Just maybe, I quite like this too. That I really want to go all the way in."