Chapter 18
The incomplete engagement contract was finally finished.
Ethan looked over the now-perfect document with clear satisfaction—then, without handing it to me, he swiftly tucked it away himself, infuriatingly so.
Did he notice that I was thinking of snatching it back and burning it to ashes?
Unable to hide my disappointment, I cautiously glanced at Ethan’s face.
After neatly collecting the papers, Ethan flicked his gaze over my expression and broke into a mischievous grin.
Just as that smile was starting to feel ominous, he leaned in close, presenting me with a dangerously handsome face.
“…Ah.”
I had been pouting, but the moment his face suddenly closed the distance, a low gasp slipped out of me.
That good-looking face charged in without warning, and for a split second, my vision swam.
As if he’d expected exactly that reaction, Ethan burst into a smug laugh.
“You’re weak in a lot of ways.”
“…?”
“I think you’re weakest when it comes to my face.”
…Wow. He’d found my biggest weakness.
When my expression faltered in defeat, Ethan stroked his sharp jawline and muttered thoughtfully, “Hmm. I should use that more often.”
“Honestly, it’s a bit disappointing.”
“…And what is it this time?”
I’d already given him everything I could!
What was there left to be disappointed about?
“Part of me wants to shut that free-spirited mouth of yours completely, but…”
Ethan’s red eyes flashed dangerously for a brief moment.
When his savage gaze pinned me in place, a shiver ran down my spine and my body trembled.
Watching my reaction with interest, Ethan instantly withdrew the faint pressure he’d been releasing and smiled cynically.
Just as that smile started to feel unsettling, he reached a hand toward me.
I instinctively flinched, but Ethan didn’t even spare it a thought.
With a surprisingly casual touch, he gently ruffled my slightly messy hair.
There was something regretful lingering in that touch, and it left my feelings strangely complicated.
“I promised I wouldn’t threaten our precious fiancée.”
“……”
“So endure it quietly.”
Only then did I understand why his touch had felt so strange.
It was a warning.
A warning that this light, gentle hand could, at any moment, turn brutal and close around my throat.
More precisely… a warning that I shouldn’t dare defy Ethan.
Having grasped his meaning, I let out a low sigh.
Tap—.
“Didn’t we promise not to touch each other when no one’s around?”
…Of course, that didn’t mean I planned to cower helplessly in front of him, either.
“Ah, my apologies. You just looked like such a startled little rabbit that I felt like teasing you.”
“…You really have terrible taste.”
I swatted his hand away and stood straight in front of him, putting on a bold front.
Ethan watched me with clear interest.
“Well then, what you need to do now is perfectly clear.”
“…And what’s that?”
I asked, pretending not to know while peeking at him with curiosity.
As if he’d been waiting for the question, Ethan answered immediately.
“Become a fiancée madly in love, and help me lift my curse by staying at my side.”
With that, Ethan neatly summarized the utterly chaotic situation we were in.
At first glance, it sounded clean and straightforward.
But I quickly caught on to what he was really after.
“Tsk. Don’t try to slide past it like that. You added another condition to what we agreed on earlier.”
“…Oh?”
“What? A fiancée madly in love?”
“Hm. I didn’t expect you to come at me this sharply.”
“I may look like this, but when it comes to survival, I’m pretty sharp.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“…You don’t have to say it like you’re making some solemn vow.”
Why did it sound like something he’d later use as a threat?
Startled, I almost stepped back—but shook my head firmly.
Realistically, Ethan held all the power, but I couldn’t just keep backing down like before.
Steeling myself, I met his gaze with as much sharpness as I could muster.
“Then since you made me the fiancée of House Clovis without asking, you should accept one more condition from me.”
“……”
“Why, what?! I’ve never even dated before! You suddenly turned me into someone who’s taken!”
When I boldly confronted him, Ethan pressed his lips tightly together.
The reason he’d chosen me as his fiancée was simple.
To justify dragging me around to lift his curse—and, while he was at it, to fend off the marriage pressure quietly coming from the Grand Duke’s household.
That unhinged sub–male lead seemed weirdly serious about family matters… but why was that again?
Either way, it was clear Ethan planned to use me thoroughly if he was going to use me at all.
And I wasn’t about to back down easily.
“They say the one who wants more is the one who has to bend.”
“Really? Then who do you think wants more right now—
you, whose life is on the line, or me, who can just deal with this annoyance and be done with it?”
“…You really never let anything slide.”
When I grumbled in a sulky voice, Ethan sneered, “I have no intention of giving in to you, so you’d better wake up.”
“So? What do you want from me?”
At his prompt answer, I stopped sulking and hurried to speak before he changed his mind.
“…Don’t threaten to kill me.”
I said it with as much gravity as I could, but Ethan frowned slightly and tilted his head.
“I already promised I wouldn’t kill you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean! I appreciate you not killing me!
I’m saying—don’t threaten me like you’re going to kill me all the time!”
I spoke in all seriousness, worried about my life.
After a moment of consideration, Ethan replied with a trace of hesitation.
“Fine. Then we have a deal.”
At his easy acceptance, I nodded quickly.
At the time, I didn’t realize it.
For a sub male lead who embodied the title mad dog so perfectly, there was no need for something as bothersome as verbal threats.
All he had to do was point a sword—or unleash his magic.
Not knowing that, I casually held out my hand to him.
“Alright then. I look forward to working with you, Ethan.”
When I confidently extended my hand, he clasped it, seemingly amused by my shamelessness.
“The pleasure is mine, my fiancée.”
And just like that, without ever dating once, I ended up with a fiancé who might kill me someday.
“Oh, by the way—every time you break a promise, we add another condition, right?”
“You’re meticulous in the strangest ways.”
…No, to be precise, I was just a persistent nuisance.
The next day, I headed straight back to the Mage Tower.
Calling it “going to work” felt strange—but considering my purely business engagement with Ethan, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Before leaving, I sat on my soft bed and stared blankly at my peaceful room.
“…Ah, I really don’t want to go.”
Hugging my cushion tightly, I buried my face in it and muttered to myself.
Just like the darkness filling my vision, my future looked bleak.
Why do I have to leave such a peaceful place and head straight into that dangerous battlefield?
I weakly lifted my head and stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Where did my life go wrong…?”
When I transmigrated into this world?
When I realized my fate was to be killed by a mad-dog sub male lead?
No. That wasn’t it.
“It started when I discovered Ethan’s damn secret…”
What glorious future had I been hoping for when I barged into his room?!
Curiosity may be the beginning of growth, but it can also trip you up. You need to know when to retreat.
…I never thought I’d live to regret ignoring Theodore’s advice.
Letting out a low groan, I drooped my head, unable to hide my misery.
“If I’d known Ethan would chase me this persistently, I should’ve just stayed in the Mage Tower.”
Grumbling to myself, I took it out on the innocent cushion.
“Maybe I should’ve just stuck close to Theodore instead…”
Then Ethan wouldn’t have dared pull anything so openly.
“Do you really think I’d allow that?”
At the voice shattering my peaceful fantasy, I sluggishly turned my head.
There he was—someone whose sudden appearances no longer surprised me.
“Well, well. If it isn’t my one and only fiancé?”
I set the heart-shaped cushion down on the bed and slowly stood up.
Today, instead of sitting creepily on the window frame, Ethan seemed to have used the refined method of teleportation. He stood properly on both feet, looking perfectly intact.
At first, his sudden appearances had startled me.
But by now, after everything he’d put me through, that much barely fazed me.
“Another calm entrance today, Ethan. So calm my heart’s pounding out of my chest.”
“Hm. Sarcasm?”
“Of course not. How could I ever do that to my precious fiancé?”
“So it is sarcasm.”
When I snapped back in a deliberately crooked tone, Ethan hummed lightly and strode toward me.
As he moved, I pretended to look away, as if I’d been waiting for the chance.
Ethan raised a hand, gently gripping my chin and turning my face toward him.
His red eyes burned intensely.
“Look at you. You usually stare straight into my eyes without flinching, but today you’re avoiding my gaze like a frightened rabbit.”
“I just don’t feel like looking at a handsome face today.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“…Okay. Even I admit that didn’t make any sense.”
“If you know that, then look at me properly, Eunice.”
At his firm command, I pressed my lips together and rolled my eyes before finally meeting his gaze.
I moved as he wished, cowed by his presence—but letting things end there felt unfair.
So I deliberately frowned at him.
“Are you going to let go or not?”
When I complained irritably, Ethan smiled faintly.
It was clearly a smile full of ulterior motives… yet paired with his handsome face, I almost mistook it for something innocent.
“With my fiancée in such a foul mood, how could I just leave her be?”
…Ha. I’m losing my mind.
“Ugh… fine. I get it, I get it, so please—don’t say things like that with that expression. It gives me goosebumps.”
As I shuddered and shook my head, Ethan shrugged innocently and withdrew his hand.
Even after he let go, I rubbed my arms vigorously, still covered in chills.
“We agreed not to do cringey fiancé roleplay when it’s just the two of us.”
“Ah, but your reaction was more entertaining than I expected.”
At his playful tone, I gave up on trying to win and retreated easily.
“‘Long time no see’ doesn’t quite fit—we’ve been seeing each other way too often lately, haven’t we?”
“True. You’re the first person who’s ever annoyed me this much.”
“…Be careful with statements like that.”
That was a dangerous thing to say.
The kind that forcibly turns bad ties into destiny.
“Nonsense again.”
When I shook my head, Ethan dismissed my rambling as easily as always.
“There’s no time for sulking. You’ll keep your promise, won’t you?”
“…Everything else is fine, but could you at least start using doors like a normal person?”
So I could lock them.
Swallowing the rest of my words, I pouted at him.
Ethan curled one corner of his lips into a crooked smile.
“Do you think I wouldn’t see through you?”
“…Huh?”
“It’s obvious. You’re planning to lock the door—but you know it won’t work, right?”
…He definitely reads minds.
Convinced of Ethan’s hidden talent, I snapped my head up.
Ethan looked down at me with clear amusement, curious about what I might say.
“No matter what tricks you try, you can’t run from me. So give it up.”
“…You don’t have to say it so decisively.”
When I muttered, Ethan chuckled lightly and patted my shoulder.
“See you later.”
With that, he turned away—and without a moment’s hesitation, leapt straight out of the third-floor window.
Watching him disappear, I muttered flatly,
“…Where is he going now?”
As always, he was a madman whose next move was impossible to predict.
