Erza visibly recoiled.
"Animalistic... love?"
Her voice became quieter with every syllable. Her fingers slowly curled against her chest as though Yuuta's words had physically struck her there. Of everything he could have accused her of, those words seemed to cut directly into something Erza had only recently learned to accept with pride the fact that she truly loved this mortal.
"You're calling me an animal?"
A tear slipped down her cheek as she waited for him to take it back, or at least soften what he meant.
Yuuta didn't.
"Yes."
The apartment fell painfully silent. Neither of them moved for several seconds, and even the faint sound of their breathing suddenly seemed too loud within the room. Erza stared at Yuuta as though she were trying to decide whether anger, exhaustion, or the aftermath of the Crown Seal had made him say something so cruel.
Eventually, Erza swallowed and asked again, needing to hear the answer clearly.
"Did you really just call my love... animalistic?"
