I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 35

[EP.35] Jenica’s Inner Thoughts, Bianca’s Rash Actions

People grow and mature with age.

And they are always duplicitous.

Someone who tormented others ruthlessly in childhood can, over time, be burdened with guilt for those very actions.
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Conversely, not wanting to acknowledge that sense of guilt may even lead to more pronounced displays of temper.

Jenica was 16 this year.

The world may call it the age of maturity, even suitable for marriage, but she was immature.

Therefore, she did not fully understand her own feelings.

During the year Bianca was absent—a year where mistreating Bianca had been part of her routine—Jenica too began to change gradually.

Just as love fades with distance, so can hatred.

Jenica, who harbored only a vague sense of hatred for Bianca—a leftover pain from their mother passing away while laboring under a curse—found herself without direction when she no longer had Bianca to direct those feelings towards.

The hatred that lost its target soon turned into emptiness and, before long, self-disgust.

Now was the age for her to step away from her parents’ shadows.

Rather than vaguely detesting Bianca, it was time for Jenica to reflect on the circumstances she faced.

After rethinking the hurtful acts she had inflicted on Bianca one by one, Jenica realized how pitiful she had been, how she had cornered Bianca under the excuse of her lack of emotion.

In the process of maturing, the immature Jenica had begun to recognize her own faults.

Then, suddenly, Bianca returned.

Jenica, yet to enter the realm of maturity, blurted out thoughtlessly toward her.

“Why did you come back?”

After all, this was how Jenica had always treated Bianca.

Even if she recognized having wronged Bianca, it was impossible for Jenica to suddenly start speaking kindly.

“Ah, I see. You were abandoned by that halfwit from Balheim, weren’t you? Of course, how could someone as off-putting as you be accepted?”

Thus, Jenica showed her wicked disposition toward Bianca.

Despite blatantly knowing her wrongdoing, she couldn’t stop herself.

So once again, she repeated the same pattern as before, deep down harboring a profound self-loathing for her behavior.

She was still passing through her immature phase.
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“I’m going to look for the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore.”

Upon hearing the words left by Bianca, Jenica tried to ignore it, but it bothered her.

The White Snow Hot Yang Spore had long been used as a scamming tool.

Because it looked almost identical to the fake Baekhwasol Spore, even many merchants couldn’t tell them apart.

It was unlikely that Bianca would be able to discern the difference.

‘It seems she’ll buy something strange.’

No matter how she thought about it, agitation crept over Jenica, so she sought out the merchants.

As a result of seeking out the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore before Bianca could, Jenica managed to find a legitimate one.

The problem was there was only one.

The rest that the merchants claimed to be The White Snow Hot Yang Spore were all the fake Baekhwasol Spore.
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“Tell all the merchants not to sell the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore to Bianca. They’ll know what it means if you say so.”

Thus, Jenica instructed the servants to warn the merchants.

She was willing to implicitly condone them selling the fakes to others but ordered that they not sell to Bianca.

However, Jenica’s typically sharp demeanor was misconstrued by her words.

Seeing Jenica warning the merchants, everyone assumed she was once again getting in Bianca’s way.

After all, that was Jenica’s usual way.

In truth, not wanting to reveal that she had acquired the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore for Bianca, Jenica had only brought along one closely trusted butler, so the servants had no way of knowing.

And Bianca, naturally, misinterpreted the merchants’ refusal to sell to her, thinking it was yet another of Jenica’s deeds.

‘What should I do now?’

However, Jenica herself, having acquired the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore, was deep in thought, holding it in her hands.

Why was she even going through such lengths for Bianca?

After considerable contemplation, she concluded it was Bianca’s current status that mattered.

Bianca was none other than the fiancée of Balheim.

“Balheim’s halfwit… No, she said he’s not a halfwit. It must be the youngest one from Balheim who needs it! That must be it.”

She nodded to herself, convinced by her line of reasoning.

Although she could not admit it, the guilt for her past actions towards Bianca was a driving force, which she resolutely ignored.

‘Just hand it to her and be done with it.’

Thinking thus, she was about to seek out Bianca when a commotion arose.

“Miss Jenica!”

She tilted her head, observing a servant hastily approaching.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

“Miss Bianca went to the mountain alone!”

“What?”

Jenica’s eyes rounded in shock.

She belatedly understood why Bianca had gone mountain bound.

‘She must have gone to find The White Snow Hot Yang Spore herself.’

With an exasperated look, she forced down her anxiety and hastily summoned some knights.

‘If Bianca dies, the connection with Balheim will falter!’

Muttering such justifications to herself, she began climbing the mountain as quickly as possible to find Bianca.

Fortunately, Bianca wasn’t too far away.

Seeing her confidently prepared for the mountains, Jenica felt exasperated.

“You stopped the sales, didn’t you?”

And she understood why Bianca had decided to climb the mountain.

She was about to exclaim ‘That’s not it!’ but restrained herself, knowing too well that her sharp demeanor and past actions were to blame.

If only she had told Bianca from the start that she had the The White Snow Hot Yang Spore, all this trouble would have been avoided.

Nonetheless, what again flowed from her mouth was harshness.

“Ah, do you think I came here just because I like you? If you, as Balheim’s fiancée, were to get stranded and die, it would put an end to the relationship between Balheim and Hardenhartz!”

The words burst out sharply from her mouth.

Her tongue knew very little of kindness.

“Why did you come here, Jenica?”

But the next question left her speechless.

“You don’t typically care so much about family matters. It would have been fine to send just a search party.”

At that, she found herself unable to respond.

As Bianca said, it truly would have been alright with just sending a search party.

The justifications she had made pulled up the feelings of guilt that had been lurking in her heart, thumping steadily within.

Before her, she bit her lip tightly and twisted her embarrassed face as if angry.

“What does it matter, that’s just what I felt like doing.”

Hearing these words, Bianca looked at her with a baffled expression.

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For the emotionless Bianca, Jenica’s changes were incomprehensible.

Emotions are not lopsided but diverse.

Yet, that diversity was something beyond the understanding of emotionless Bianca.

Therefore, she could only recognize the feelings of anger and resentment in Jenica.

“Come on, follow me. I don’t even want to look at your face anymore, so I’ll hand over The White Snow Hot Yang Spore and then send you back.”

Pierced at her core, Jenica could only show a sharp response to Bianca.

It was a defensive stance stemming from the embarrassment of being caught out.

“Is that so?”

The two then started descending the mountain without another word.

Jenica felt uncomfortable with the silence.

She wanted to speak up but couldn’t bring herself to talk.

And she thought Bianca probably didn’t wish to converse with her either.

‘Yes, in the end, this is our relationship.’

After everything that had transpired, what now?

She looked up, feeling contemptible, as they had climbed quite high and would likely reach the bottom by twilight.

It would all end once she handed Bianca The White Snow Hot Yang Spore and told her to go back.

That’s when it happened.

“Can I come along too?”

A voice echoed behind the knight and the two women.

Just as the knight sensed something was amiss and was about to draw his sword.

Thwack!

An axe flew in and split the knight’s head in two.

For a brief moment, utter silence followed.

The man who had smashed the knight’s head in one swift motion looked at the three with a sly grin as he pulled out his axe.

His head bore a peculiar resemblance, not to a human, but to a dog.

With a jet-black snout sticking out and teeth revealed between it.

Yet having human ears, he appeared to be a monstrous figure.

A carrier of world erosion who had massacred several people in the empire, and now escaped.

It was Berkman the Butcher.

“Hello, beauties.”

It was a phenomenon that appeared when contracting with a world eroder.

“Ladies, run away immediately!”

One knight urgently shouted, drawing his sword and charging in.

Clang!

“What the, what?!”

As swords and ax clashed, sending a ringing metallic sound through the air, Jenica, who had never witnessed such sudden murder, fell into a state of panic.

She had been raised sheltered from world erosion, untouched by harm or death—a common occurrence for soldiers and knights but something she had never seen before, and so her panic was an expected reaction.

Thump!

At that moment, faster than anyone, a young girl grabbed her hand.

It was none other than Bianca.

Similar to Jenica, Bianca grew up sheltered, yet she did not possess a fear that would lead her to panic.

Thus, she made a rational decision to grasp Jenica’s hand and run at this critical moment.

“Run!”

She also did not forget to shout, to awaken Jenica’s senses.

Stirred by Bianca’s cry, Jenica regained her composure and started to run.

She did not understand what was happening.

However, she could tell that the situation was incredibly dangerous.
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Still, her mind was not fully clear even though she had temporarily composed herself.

“Just focus on running.”

With those words, Bianca led Jenica.

Jenica bit her lip, realizing that Bianca, significantly younger, was guiding her.

No matter what, she was the elder.

Jenica began to run on her own power, not wanting to be dragged by Bianca.

“We’ll be caught if we continue like this.”

Though it was a surprise attack, the man who singlehandedly killed a knight was capable.

The fact that the other knight had told them to run away indicated that he was too much to handle alone.

If that were the case, after dealing with that knight, capturing the two unarmed ladies would surely be a quick task.

“Do you have a plan?”

Bianca was not very familiar with the geography of the Loka Mountain Range.

So when she asked Jenica if there was another way, Jenica started looking around.

“This way.”

She turned and began running in that direction, with Bianca quickly following.

“Loka Mountain Range has lots of crevasses hidden under the snow due to the ice forming over natural cave openings.”

She spoke as if understanding the geographic location well while sprinting through the forest.

“You and I are wearing artifacts that let us run over the snow, so we’re fine, but it’s different for him.”

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The ice would collapse under an adult’s weight instantly, dropping him below.

So, if they continued running down that direction, the pursuer would have a hard time following.

“There’s a path that, although longer, has many of these crevasses.”

“Let’s go that way.”

There was no other choice.

Thus, Jenica and Bianca started running in that direction.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, footsteps began to be heard from behind them.

If snow wasn’t falling, footsteps would leave clear marks.

Therefore, he was quickly tracking the two after killing the knight.

As the footsteps grew closer, a wave of anxiety hit Jenica.

What would happen if they were caught?
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Would she end up dead like the knight?

All sorts of thoughts fought for control in her mind.

Meanwhile, they were running over a snow field full of crevasses.

Crunch!

Suddenly, the sound of breaking ice followed by cascading snow came from behind.

Hearing this, Jenica almost smiled with relief.

Thud!

But then, the footsteps resumed, closer than ever, as if he was jumping over the crevasses knowingly.

Jenica’s face turned pale.

He could freely emerge from a crevasse he’d fallen into and pinpoint their positions.

At this rate, they had merely gone the long way for nothing.

“Because of me…”

“This way.”

As Jenica realized her mistake and tightly closed her eyes, Bianca spoke with the same authoritative voice as before.

Jenica reflexively changed direction following Bianca.

“Wait, if we go this way–”

“It’s okay. This is the right way.”

This direction was the complete opposite from Hardenhartz.

But it was too late to turn back.

The follower’s footsteps were already too close behind them.

“Ladies, I just wanted to have a word, didn’t I ask nicely? Don’t you listen? That makes me want to get angry.”

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At that moment, a loud voice rang out.

As Jenica went deathly pale, Bianca slowed her pace.

“We’re almost there.”

“Almost there? Where, here?”

Right after hearing Bianca, Jenica’s eyes widened.

Because before them was nothing but the edge of a cliff.

“What are you–!?”

Jenica yelled as she turned to face Bianca.

Thump-

Behind them, footsteps resonated, along with a voice.

“Running on snow isn’t my thing.”

It was none other than the Butcher Berkman.

“But I must say, I’m lucky. To be here with such pretty girls.”

Indeed, as he had said, he was fortunate.

Having fled the empire and hidden in the Hardenhartz mountains, he had stumbled upon the voices of the two girls.

Upon closer listening, they turned out to be daughters of Hardenhartz, and one was even the fiancée of Balheim—an ideal situation for hostages.

“Come here, it’s dangerous over there.”

As he approached, Bianca and Jenica began stepping backward cautiously.

But there was nowhere to run, as behind them lay only the cliff.

Jenica couldn’t understand Bianca’s thinking.

It was beyond her why they had seemingly intentionally run here.

“Get ready.”

“For what?”

“Ready to jump.”

Jenica’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

This had to be nonsense.

Was she suggesting they commit suicide?

But Bianca and Jenica had already arrived at the cliff’s edge.

“Wait, you’re not seriously considering jumping, are you?”

Berkman, taken aback, tried to dissuade them.

But it was too late.

Bianca drew her back leg, and Jenica was gripped by her arm.

“Aaaaaah!”

In an instant, they screamed and plunged down the cliff.
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“Ah, damn!”

Berkman cursed loudly as he leaped.

The two women were valuable hostages.

He had no intention of letting them die and meant to catch hold of them.

But as he leaped from the cliff, he found himself having to widen his eyes in shock.

Because beneath the cliff from which he had jumped, the two had not fallen.

Instead, Bianca and Jenica stood on a small outcrop at the very edge of the cliff.

Jenica’s face turned ghostly white and her legs trembled, while Bianca was staring straight at him.

“Huh?”

Is this what they saw when they jumped?

Why had they come here?

Incredulous, he spun his ax around.

The kids were quite clever, but still…

“You underestimate me too much!”

His ax swept fiercely across the opposite side.

The ax cleaved through the air, changing his trajectory with the wind it generated.
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Even Berkman couldn’t avoid falling in this state.

However, he could catch hold of one of them.

As a smirk painted his face at the thought, Bianca’s arm whipped through the air.

Crack!

At that moment, a lump of snow hit his eyes.

“Urgh?!”

One hand was outstretched, the other still holding the ax.

Even with his trained body, he had no timeframe to dodge the surprise snowball.

But at most, it only obscured his sight.

As he reached with his already extended hand, he felt something hard hit his head.

When he finally opened his eyes amidst the falling snow.

There was Bianca, who had used him as a stepping stone to leap away.

“Oh!”

“Bianca!”

Berkman and Jenica’s shouts crossed paths as Bianca and Berkman both plummeted down that moment.