Chapter 36
I had woken up at the bottom of a dizzyingly high cliff—and Ethan had been watching over me.
If that was the case, then the answer was obvious.
“…Are you okay, Ethan?”
It was only after quite some time had passed since I regained consciousness that it occurred to me I should check on his condition.
As I belatedly shifted my gaze around, examining myself, Ethan let out a low, hollow chuckle.
“Well? What do you think I look like to you?”
At his question, I looked at him with a subdued expression.
Ethan’s face was filled with exhaustion—so much so that it didn’t suit him at all.
It was the kind of fatigue that even his good looks couldn’t hide.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he’d been through a lot.
“…You don’t look fine. It doesn’t seem like you’ll collapse any second… but you do look like you’re hurting somewhere.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate.”
“…I’m sorry.”
I glanced at him cautiously, guilt creeping into my expression.
Even now, I was barely managing to lean against a wooden pillar, while Ethan sat in front of me in an awkward, uncomfortable posture.
It seemed he had continued checking on me the whole time I was unconscious.
That fact alone shocked me even more.
‘No way! Ethan—who never acknowledges anyone—did that?!’
The idea that Mad Dog Ethan hadn’t killed me, but instead watched over my condition, was hard to believe.
‘…They say when a person changes, it means their end is near.’
Worried that Ethan—whom I’d only just managed to save—might actually be dying, I looked at him with anxious eyes.
Ethan, unaware of my inner turmoil, casually brushed off my earnest gaze.
After that, I clamped my mouth shut, determined not to provoke him, and simply watched him.
Seeing how tired he looked made my heart feel heavy.
In the end, forgetting my resolve to stay silent, I asked him again.
“…Was it because of me?”
“You already know the answer. Don’t ask.”
Even though he’d been unusually lenient earlier, this time Ethan answered without hesitation.
His response felt very like his usual self, which strangely brought me some relief—though at the same time, it left me with a complicated feeling.
This time, after all, it really was my fault for ignoring his warning and acting on my own.
Thanks to his usual sharp, curt manner, I almost brushed it off without thinking—but this wasn’t something I could just avoid.
He’d nearly been put in danger because of me.
He’d risked himself to protect me.
I never thought the day would come when I’d feel this way about Ethan.
“…I’m really sorry, Ethan.”
For the first time, I spoke to him sincerely.
After clumsily laying my heart bare, I found myself watching his reaction in a different way than usual.
Because Ethan—who normally reacted immediately—was just staring at me without any change in expression.
‘What is Ethan thinking right now?’
I had gathered my resolve to say those words, but I couldn’t tell if they’d truly reached him.
Still, I couldn’t back down now.
“I really am sorry. I acted recklessly and ended up putting you in danger.”
“……”
“I always apologize without even realizing what I did wrong, but today… I truly was wrong.”
This situation was different from usual.
Normally, Ethan would threaten me one-sidedly, and I’d watch his mood carefully—but this time, he’d been endangered because of me.
That made his reaction impossible to predict, which only made me more anxious.
“…Ethan?”
No matter how steadily I spoke to him, he didn’t respond.
He simply held me in his intensely glowing red gaze.
The weight of his stare made me uncomfortable, so I let out a quiet hum and lowered my eyes slightly.
I’d apologized sincerely, yet there was no response—so of course I was curious how he felt.
But only to that extent.
I didn’t foolishly press him for an answer or sulk because he didn’t respond.
‘I’ve paid the price enough times for acting on curiosity.’
Ever since I’d learned that Claude’s true identity was Ethan, I’d been consciously trying to suppress any dangerous curiosity.
‘Maybe it’s better if he doesn’t react at all.’
If anything, I was grateful that he was taking this so calmly.
After all, the fact that Mad Dog Ethan was letting this slide at all was already something.
“Judging by that look, you were reassuring yourself again, weren’t you?”
“…!”
“You’d better drop the idea of slipping past this quietly. I have no intention of letting this go.”
…Of course.
The world—no, Mad Dog Ethan—was never going to be that forgiving.
I stopped my silent relief and looked at him with slightly frightened eyes.
‘Now this feels like the Ethan I know.’
The mild expression he’d worn just moments ago was gone; in its place was his usual mischievous smile.
The way he crooked one corner of his mouth was infuriatingly smug.
Just imagining what twisted, frightening schemes might be forming in that head of his sent a chill down my spine.
“Did you really think a single apology would be enough?”
“I did put my heart into it, at least—”
The moment I mustered the courage to add that, the look in Ethan’s eyes darkened instantly.
It was like… the ferocious gaze of a predator that had spotted its prey.
Sensing danger instinctively, I tried to pull away from him.
But with my heavy body leaning against the wooden pillar, I couldn’t increase the distance between us.
In the end, unable to flee, I had no choice but to surrender.
“…Of course not. There’s no way something like today could be brushed off so easily.”
I had hoped, just a little.
But I couldn’t bring myself to finish that thought, lowering my head and falling silent.
Seemingly pleased by my compliance, Ethan approached me with that wicked smile still in place.
The closer his shadow crept, the more I wanted to retreat.
But I knew that moving clumsily now would only provoke the Mad Dog’s foul temper, so I froze in place.
Ethan stopped in front of me and spoke in an even, casual voice.
“What did I say back then?”
“…Pardon?”
“Didn’t I say I’d add a new condition every time you broke the contract?”
He asked casually, his tone bold enough to make his dark intentions seem almost nonexistent.
The way he rubbed his chin, pretending to ponder, was infuriatingly teasing.
If I truly couldn’t remember, I might have tried to play dumb—but thinking back, I had said something like that once.
‘Just so you know, every time you break a promise, I’m adding a condition?’
But that was something I’d said to use against him whenever he threatened me.
“Th-that doesn’t apply to this situation—”
“It applies perfectly.”
Before I could finish my weak rebuttal, Ethan cut me off.
As if that weren’t enough, he bent one knee and lowered himself to my eye level.
When his handsome face suddenly came so close, I instinctively sucked in a sharp breath.
As tension spread through my already stiff body, sharp pain shot through me.
“I almost ended up in a situation dangerous enough to void our contract.”
“……”
“While protecting my precious fiancée.”
“…Ah, yes. How very noble of you.”
Once Ethan pulled out the fiancée card so shamelessly, I could no longer argue.
Our engagement was both a tool he used to control me—and my strongest shield against him.
Too exhausted to fight back, I resigned myself.
Still, Ethan stared at me with piercing eyes, demanding an answer.
“Answer properly, Eunice.”
That look—he genuinely looked like he’d kill me if I didn’t.
“…Do I even have a choice? Of course I’ll follow my one and only fiancé’s wishes. Yes.”
When I backed down pitifully and agreed, Ethan smiled in satisfaction and finally pulled his face away.
Even after taking his words at face value, I couldn’t shake my unease and glanced at him cautiously.
“…So what are you going to do?”
The moment I asked, I regretted it.
They say staying quiet gets you halfway there.
Had I just poked the Mad Dog unnecessarily?
But as always, when you realize it’s too late—it really is too late.
“You’ll find out once we’re back at the estate.”
“…What?”
“You’d better prepare yourself, Eunice. It won’t be easy.”
Ethan’s red eyes gleamed dangerously.
Under that perilous gaze, all I could do was dart my eyes around nervously.
‘Somehow… I feel like going back to the estate will be even more dangerous than this.’
Am I really going to die at Ethan’s hands?
Well… he did say he wasn’t going to kill me anymore, so—
‘Isn’t it better to suffer pain worse than death, rather than die outright?’
…Is it really?
Once again, facing a familiar threat to my life, I pressed a hand to my forehead.
