Chapter 8
“Ah—ahh!”
When a rough hand yanked me toward it, I let out a shrill scream on instinct.
No—more precisely…
I tried to scream.
“Mmph!”
Before the sound could fully escape my throat, a large hand clamped tightly over my mouth.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
I twisted and struggled with all my strength, but the hand covering my mouth didn’t budge in the slightest.
Rather than loosening its grip, it moved swiftly, wrapping around my body as if to completely immobilize me.
At this rate, I’ll suffocate to death before anything else happens!
With the one hand I could still move, I grabbed onto the thick wrist with all my might. It didn’t even twitch.
Even so, the hand kept pulling me along—then shoved me straight into the wide‑open wardrobe.
“Ugh—!”
No sooner had I been pushed in than Ethan followed, wrapping his arms around me and hiding inside the wardrobe as well.
In other words…
…I’m in Ethan’s arms right now?!
The moment that thought hit me, my already chaotic mind started spinning.
Trapped in the narrow wardrobe, I stared up at Ethan with wide, startled eyes.
His crimson eyes looked as though they might explode at any moment, and he firmly restrained both my mouth and my wrist.
His gaze was so fierce, so intense, that I forgot all the thoughts racing through my head and went completely still.
Honestly, I wished I couldn’t see his face.
The wardrobe was so cramped that I couldn’t even turn my head properly.
Which meant…
…Please stop staring at me.
I had no choice but to endure Ethan’s sharp, unyielding gaze head‑on.
He didn’t seem to have any intention of looking away, as if he were about to kill me with his eyes alone.
Because I understood exactly what that gaze meant, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
If I make one wrong move here, you die and I live.
That was exactly it.
I valued my own life far too much, so I stayed perfectly still in his grip.
…Someone, please save me.
I waited for some mysterious savior to appear.
“Hey! Anyone here?!”
As if my wish had reached the heavens—
A familiar voice cut through the icy, nerve‑wracking silence.
“Are you in here, Claude?!”
…The savior I’d been hoping for turned out to be none other than Theodore.
So that’s why Ethan hid so quickly.
No matter who it was, he couldn’t let Theodore—the master of the magic tower—see him.
…Ha. I’m completely screwed.
In other words, Theodore couldn’t save me right now.
Ethan would never calmly hand me over to him, not after I’d learned his secret.
I’d never missed Theodore this badly in my life.
“Claude! Eunice! Is no one here? Huh?!”
Theodore’s voice echoed throughout the room, utterly unaware of my inner turmoil.
But no answer came back to him.
He seemed to pause for a moment, then muttered in confusion.
“Hm. That brat Eunice never listens to a word I say! How long has it been since I told her to bring Claude to me already?!”
As usual, Theodore complained in his soulless, habitual way—scolding me even now.
Normally, I’d ignore his annoying voice, but today, for some reason, I desperately wanted to answer him.
“Mmph…”
Unfortunately, my mouth was still firmly sealed by an unyielding hand.
I couldn’t make a sound—couldn’t even move properly.
To make matters worse, Ethan seemed displeased by my fidgeting and pulled me even closer into his arms.
The only thing I could move were my trembling eyes.
I carefully lifted my gaze to check Ethan’s expression.
No—at least, I tried to.
Ah! Muscles! Chest muscles! They’re filling my entire view!
Because of how cramped the wardrobe was, my face was pressed straight into Ethan’s solid chest.
Faced with that expanse of bare skin right in front of me, I quickly shut my eyes—
…No, I didn’t.
I appreciated the view.
Ethan, too, seemed to have no choice in this situation. He held me close and completely suppressed his presence.
In this hair‑trigger, explosive situation, the only person who seemed relaxed was Theodore.
“Hm. Did those two get cozy and run off together or something?”
Wow. Our tower master is sharp as ever.
We did get “cozy,” technically…
Just in a very different sense.
Even with my face buried in Ethan’s chest, I could feel his intense killing intent.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I slightly lifted my head—only to be pierced by Ethan’s savage glare.
I felt like screaming for Theodore to save me right then and there.
“Doesn’t look like they’re here. Just you wait till they come back—I’ll drain every last drop of their mana!”
Unaware of my desperate thoughts, Theodore casually abandoned his usual persistence.
After leaving behind that utterly ineffective threat, he exited the room without hesitation.
The moment his presence disappeared, Ethan roughly flung open the wardrobe door—and without the slightest pause, shook off his hand.
And me, who’d been held in that hand?
“Ahhh! That hurts!”
…I was mercilessly dumped onto the floor.
Sprawled out on the ground, I looked up at Ethan.
He ignored my scream completely and looked down at me with a cold, chilling gaze.
Just as that gaze began to feel unbearably heavy, Ethan suddenly spoke.
“I warned you. You’re the one who kept chasing after me anyway.”
“…Huh? What? Excuse me?”
It was as if he couldn’t even see my utterly twisted expression—Ethan just stared at me with a rigid face.
After dropping those cryptic words, he finished in an icy tone.
“Don’t blame me.”
“…?”
“It was your choice.”
His voice was drained of strength, utterly at odds with how murderous he’d seemed moments earlier.
It almost felt as if he were… avoiding something.
I couldn’t grasp the meaning behind his words—or the resignation in his expression.
Then, at that moment—
The crimson mana wrapped around Ethan’s body began to rise, and in an instant, it swept over me.
I didn’t even have time to think about drawing out my own mana—I just squeezed my eyes shut.
There was no deep reason for it.
I was simply scared, and my body reacted on instinct.
It felt like the savage mana consuming Ethan was about to consume me as well.
Or at least, that’s what I thought.
“……”
“…Huh?”
When nothing happened even after a while, I tilted my head in confusion.
Despite being engulfed in terrifying mana, I felt absolutely nothing.
Still trembling, I carefully opened my eyes.
Nothing had changed.
W‑what? What just happened?
I looked around with shaking eyes.
The scene was the same.
The room was still filled with dark red mana, and Ethan was standing right in front of me.
That alone would’ve been fine.
The problem was—
I took it. That ominous mana.
The dark red mana I’d thought had vanished surged up again, swallowing both Ethan and me.
Beneath that ominous aura, Ethan watched the scene with a resigned expression.
He looked like someone enduring pain, as if he’d accepted everything.
And in that moment, I remembered Ethan’s story—the one I’d forgotten.
Ethan Clovis. You are a child of the devil. No one can save you.
Ethan Clovis carried within him mana imbued with demonic power.
He called it a curse—and he loathed it.
That curse was said to drain the life force of anyone who came too close to him.
Only then did I understand the meaning behind his earlier words.
I warned you, but you kept chasing after me anyway.
Don’t blame me.
So when he told me not to blame him…
He’d thought I would die after taking on his curse.
…You touched me even knowing that?!
You damn rabid dog—you really tried to kill me!
All my efforts to survive that lunatic almost went straight down the drain!
A chill ran down my spine.
Just moments ago, I’d been foolishly thinking, Surely he wouldn’t kill me…
I needed to throw that thought away entirely.
This is real. This is survival.
One wrong word, and I’d die exactly as fate intended.
Trying to act calm while panic consumed me, I took a trembling step back from Ethan.
But the step I’d taken with so much courage came to an abrupt halt.
Because Ethan said something I never could have anticipated.
“Why… aren’t you dead?”
His voice was filled with genuine confusion.
Staring at him blankly, I answered in a dazed tone.
“…Am I supposed to be?”
Huh. Now that I think about it…
…Why aren’t I dead?
