Chapter 77
Damn that Mage Tower Master.
Everyone in the Empire knows there’s nothing to gain from messing with that eccentric lunatic.
Who the hell installs traps inside their own office, as if someone might come in and threaten them?!
Theodore, just you wait until you get back.
I’ll dismantle every pointless trap you set up.
Ah… but first, I need to get out of Theodore’s office.
Only after that thought did my mind finally clear. I wiggled my fingers and slowly opened my eyes.
Beyond my unfocused vision, I caught sight of a familiar-colored head of hair.
“……”
“……?”
I blinked blankly until my blurred vision sharpened.
The person in front of me seemed to give me time to come to my senses, waiting without a word.
After a brief pause, I spoke first.
“Am I… dreaming?”
“Well. It doesn’t seem like a dream.”
“This isn’t a dream? Then why—”
—are you standing in front of me right now?
I swallowed the rest of the sentence and stared straight into the green eyes looking down at me.
Rather than urging me on, he patiently helped me sit up.
“Wow. So this really isn’t a dream, Your Highness?”
When I spoke in a slightly excited voice, Julius nodded without releasing his grip.
“This is reality.”
“No way! That can’t be right! Didn’t we come here through a dream to avoid Ethan interfering?!”
“Stop spouting nonsense, Eunice.”
See? I knew it. Definitely a dream.
There’s no way gentle Julius would talk so rudely.
Absolutely impossible.
“Enough with the damn dream talk. Get up already.”
“…Haha. It’s Ethan.”
The dangerously gleaming red eyes behind Julius unmistakably belonged to Ethan.
Deliberately avoiding Ethan’s gaze, I fixed my eyes on the kind green ones in front of me.
“…I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes?”
“Ethan looks really angry right now, so could you maybe hide me somewhere—”
I whispered softly so only Julius could hear, grabbing his arm so he couldn’t escape.
“Ah—?”
But then a faint heat spread through my hand, followed by a sharp, tingling sensation.
A powerful force surged briefly through my body, then vanished just as quickly.
Letting go of Julius’s arm, I rubbed my hand where the sensation still lingered.
That just now… was that mana?
But Julius hadn’t released any mana. Then why—
“Is something wrong, Miss Servita?”
Before I could finish thinking, Julius spoke to me.
Forced to act normal, I replied quickly.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, how about letting go now?”
Ethan’s rough voice cut in as he thrust a hand out toward me.
Still dazed, I stared at him before taking his hand as he intended.
Contrary to its cold appearance, Ethan’s hand carried a faint warmth.
“Come here.”
The moment our hands met, he yanked me toward him.
His grip was almost urgent, as if he couldn’t afford even a second’s delay.
Pulling me to his side, Ethan leaned close and growled sharply.
“Who told you to look at that bastard with that expression?”
“Huh? What kind of expression was I making?”
“…Damn it.”
Ethan stopped his snide remarks and turned his gaze away.
Julius, who had been quietly watching us, stepped forward as if already used to Ethan’s prickly behavior.
Only then did I start wondering how we’d ended up in such an awkward situation.
“What exactly happened? We were in Theodore’s office.”
“His Highness would know better than anyone,” Ethan said boldly, looking at Julius.
Following Ethan’s lead, I turned to Julius, who wore an awkward expression.
“I apologize.”
Julius began with an apology before explaining the incident.
“So… you happened to find Ethan and me, followed us, and accidentally triggered Theodore’s trap?”
“In short, yes. I’m sorry for putting you both in danger.”
“Haah… If you’d shamelessly claimed it wasn’t your fault like Ethan does, I could at least get angry.”
I shook my head and muttered under my breath.
Unfortunately, Ethan seemed to hear it anyway.
“What did you just say, Eunice?”
“…Nothing. I said you got put in an awkward spot because of me.”
By now, I’d become quite skilled at handling rabid dogs, so I smoothly placated Ethan and looked around.
“So we’re trapped in one of Theodore’s mechanisms?”
“Seems that way.”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve heard rumors. That there’s an endless labyrinth beneath the Mage Tower.”
“He really went all out making something this screwed up.”
“Right? Normally it’s sealed off so no one can get near it, but—”
“But?”
Ethan prompted, curious.
I could already predict his reaction.
“…That lunatic Tower Master said it’d make a great trap, so he set his office as the activation key.”
“That crazy bastard.”
“…Couldn’t agree more.”
For once, I wholeheartedly agreed with Ethan while plotting how to deal with that damn Tower Master.
After surveying our surroundings, I quickly realized there was no visible exit.
My expression stiffened.
Honestly, it might’ve been better if it were just Ethan and me.
Having the two men who snarled at each other every time they met together only made things worse.
“I’m sorry for causing you trouble because of me.”
“No, this is Theodore’s fault for building such a deranged trap. Well… the root cause is also us sneaking into his office.”
After reassuring Julius, I turned toward Ethan to hide my expression.
“This is bad. Since it’s Theodore’s trap, we won’t be able to escape until he comes back.”
“If we’re lucky, we can afford to wait. But I doubt we’ll have that kind of leisure.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Ethan turned his head.
Following his gaze, I saw dark crimson mana slowly rising around us.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Oops. That slipped out.
I quickly covered my mouth and looked at Ethan.
He nodded silently, clearly thinking the same thing.
“That thing’s trying to attack us, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Looks like it’s trying to wipe out intruders.”
“…Then we can’t just stand here.”
“Nor can we move recklessly.”
Julius’s calm voice cut through our raised voices.
“It seems the labyrinth itself is filled with dangerous energy.”
“…So there might be traps here too?”
“Most likely. Still, as the Duke said, it might be better to die triggering a trap while searching for an exit than to be swept away by mana standing still.”
“…Your Highness, are you going to be cynical like Ethan too?”
“Ah. That slipped out.”
“I was scared.”
As Julius acknowledged his slip, I declared firmly, “Promise you won’t do that again.”
After all the discussion, the conclusion was simple.
“Then… shall we go?”
Thus began our thrilling labyrinth exploration.
…Damn it.
* * *
Before plunging into the maze packed with lethal traps, Ethan warned me in a serious voice.
This place is incomparably more dangerous than the Forest of Magical Beasts. Stay by my side. Don’t let your attention wander.
This time, I didn’t take his warning lightly.
Because—
“Ah—! There! Ethan, dodge!”
The moment his warning ended, an arrow flew at a terrifying speed and embedded itself nearby.
That was only the beginning.
With every step we took, countless traps rained down on us.
“Your Highness! Mana blast incoming—move!”
“I told you not to look away, Eunice! Fireball incoming!”
“Aaaah!”
There was no time to check on each other’s safety.
If we let our guard down for even a second, surprise traps sprang from behind.
“Fall back, Eunice!”
Thanks to Ethan constantly watching out for me even in the chaos, I was still holding up.
But even he didn’t have much breathing room, and the distance between us had grown despite his warning to stay close.
Catching my breath, I spotted Julius nearby, cutting through mana with his blade.
His technique—channeling mana into his sword to block magic—looked well-honed.
As I was about to look away—
…What’s that?
A sense of ominous dissonance crept over me.
The moment I noticed it, a dark red glow flared beneath Julius’s feet.
Forgetting the danger surrounding me, I stood frozen, mesmerized by the crimson light.
“That’s—”
“Eunice!”
Before I could put the thought together, Ethan’s urgent voice called out.
I didn’t need to think about why he sounded so desperate.
“Ugh—!”
A sharp sensation scraped across my skin.
The attack was too fast to block.
By the time I regained awareness, a heavy pain throbbed in my leg, and blood was pooling beneath my feet.
“Ah… ah…”
I couldn’t even scream properly, gasping for breath as pain crushed my chest.
“H—haah…”
It hurts. So much.
So much that tears welled up.
But I knew I couldn’t collapse here.
More than anything, I couldn’t become a burden to Ethan again.
Yet despite my resolve, my vision blurred.
Along with the pain, strength drained from my body as if my mana were leaking out.
“Danger!”
As if that weren’t enough, a blue mana blast came flying straight at me.
If I didn’t dodge, it would hit me head-on.
…No. I have to move.
I knew that—but my body wouldn’t listen.
Instead of dodging, I felt myself about to collapse.
Just as deep blue light filled my vision—
“Ugh!”
