Chapter 59
When I shoved the book I’d bought today toward Ethan, he let out a low hum.
“Hm.”
“I was in the middle of fulfilling our contract, you know?! I ran around like this trying to save you even once! Where are you going to find a partner as diligent as me?!”
Honestly, this was the best thing I’d done all day. Truly.
For once, I spoke boldly without shrinking back.
But contrary to what I’d expected, Ethan didn’t look impressed at all.
“What’s with that reaction? Aren’t you going to praise me?”
“Would you like me to?”
“……Forget it.”
“Right. I almost got chills just now.”
At Ethan’s indifferent response, I pouted slightly.
Of course, he didn’t care in the slightest.
“So,” he said, “what did you gain?”
“Huh?”
“With how confidently you’re talking, it sounds like you got an incredible haul.”
……I didn’t.
I mean, I bought this today.
And I almost had it stolen by a pickpocket.
I scratched my head awkwardly, my eyes darting around for no reason.
Ethan seemed to grasp the situation immediately and let out a heavy sigh as he looked at me.
His eyes clearly said, Figures. Startled, I flinched and hurried to speak.
“It’s not like I got nothing!”
“Hm. Let’s hear it, then.”
Under his testing gaze, I swallowed and began.
“There are three mana crystals officially known on the continent right now. One in our Mage Tower, one owned by the Ricetta family, and one in another empire.”
“And?”
“Well, you see… we can’t exactly steal the one in the other empire, so…”
“So?”
“……What if we shamelessly ask the Ricetta family for help?”
That seemed better than dealing with our Mage Tower.
I recalled Theodore acting smug as if the mana crystal were bait, and shook my head with a hopeless look.
It’s way better to use the cheat code of being Rose Ricetta’s childhood friend than to try to sweet-talk that infuriating Tower Master.
Satisfied with my conclusion, I nodded—but Ethan’s response was firm.
“No.”
“Why not?!”
His answer was unexpected.
Wouldn’t it be easier for Ethan, too, to ask help from his childhood friend’s family rather than deal with the Mage Tower Master?
I tilted my head, unable to understand his decision.
Ethan hadn’t completely dismissed my idea; he spoke with an unusually serious expression.
“The Ricetta family can’t help us.”
“Why? Is there a reason?”
“The mana crystal the Ricetta family owned was used when Rose was dying from mana exhaustion.”
“Oh, then…”
“That means it’s no longer something we can use.”
Only then did I understand why Ethan had no choice but to end up clinging to the Mage Tower—the worst possible option.
There was no point thinking further. The last lifeline left for Ethan and me was the Mage Tower.
The conclusion was clear… but something else bothered me.
“By the way, Ethan.”
“Go on.”
He allowed me to speak without much change in expression, but I hesitated before forcing the words out.
“……Rose died from mana exhaustion?”
When I first heard that she had died, I’d been so shocked by the fact of her death that I hadn’t thought about anything else.
It was my oversight not to question the cause of death of the female lead who was supposed to carry the original story forward.
Still, considering that Rose had often been described as physically weak in the original work, it didn’t seem that strange.
But if the daughter of the empire’s most renowned magical family died from mana exhaustion, that was a different story.
It was a contradiction that made no sense.
Unable to hide my shock, I stared at Ethan.
“That doesn’t make sense. The Ricetta family was a magical house famous enough to catch even Theodore’s attention. So why would Lady Rose Ricetta—!”
“Shh.”
Before I could finish, Ethan pressed a long finger lightly against my lips.
It felt different from his usual threats to make me shut up.
Only then did I realize my mistake and closed my mouth.
No matter how flustered I was, speaking so loudly about something so sensitive to Ethan…
And Ethan didn’t like even mentioning Rose’s death.
I cautiously glanced at him.
Contrary to my worries, his expression remained as composed as ever.
After soothing me absentmindedly, Ethan let out a low sigh and spoke slowly.
“You’re right. There were many strange points surrounding Rose’s death. She had an exceptional amount of mana, yet she died like that.”
“…….”
“But we couldn’t find any other irregularities. Count Ricetta had no choice.”
“……I see.”
At Ethan’s calm voice, I didn’t know what to say.
Digging into Rose’s death now would be pointless—I knew that.
And yet her death lingered in my mind… probably because she was the original female lead.
…Yeah. That must be it. That’s all.
I forced away the vague unease.
If Ethan, who had been close to Rose, could speak so calmly, then I—who’d never even met her—had no right to get emotional.
“Haa…”
As I sighed softly, Ethan casually changed the subject.
“So? Did our fiancée come all this way just to learn that one thing?”
“Wow, are you seriously dismissing all my blood, sweat, and tears right now? Do you know how hard it was for me to get out here?”
“…….”
“……What now? What are you unhappy about this time?”
“If you’re going to lie, you should at least put in a bit more effort.”
……?
No, I can let a lot of things slide—but not this!
“This isn’t a lie! I really came out to investigate properly! Look at this!”
I boldly shoved my bag toward Ethan.
It held today’s ‘results.’
Granted, until just a moment ago it had been holding my precious snacks—but that could wait.
Surely now Ethan would have nothing to say.
Heh. I’m curious about his reaction.
That was when—
“So? You’re saying you didn’t come out to have fun?”
“O-Of course!”
“Then what’s this?”
I saw something in Ethan’s hand that absolutely should not have been there.
I froze, staring blankly at him.
Why are you there of all places?
My confident expression collapsed into a daze.
“Hm? I’m asking you. What is this?”
“……That’s my bag.”
What Ethan was holding was my bag.
And what I was holding was also my bag.
Which meant the one dangling from Ethan’s hand was the fake bag—the one that pickpocket kid had stolen earlier.
Ethan seemed thoroughly amused, watching my expression stiffen.
“Why do you have that?!”
Snapping back to my senses, I reached out toward him—
—or rather, toward my bag in his hand.
“Ah—!”
“Trying to take it just like that?”
He pulled his hand back before I could even touch it, leaving me flailing at empty air.
I stuck my lips out and complained.
“N-No! Why do you have it—no, that’s not it! How did you even find it?!”
“Curious?”
“Huh?”
“If you’re really curious, I could tell you.”
“……Hah, forget it. I don’t even want to know.”
Even as I asked, I knew the question was meaningless.
He’s the insane mad dog ruling the underworld—catching one pickpocket is nothing.
No matter how hard I ran, everything was still within the palm of Ethan’s hand, the man who moved the empire’s hidden shadows.
Which meant there was something else I should be questioning.
“Then when did you start following me?!”
Trying to gloss over this was too much!
I’d thought he ran over when he saw me at the dessert café—but no. He’d been watching me long before that.
If he even saw the pickpocket steal my bag, then how long had he been tailing me?!
As my expression stiffened in shock, Ethan instead grinned, clearly enjoying himself.
I could see right through the scheme hidden behind that smile.
“Did you never think it was strange how easy your escape was today?”
“……Don’t tell me.”
The thought forming in my head turned into certainty.
“You followed me from the moment I left the Clovis estate?”
“‘Followed’ sounds a bit hurtful. Say I was worried about my precious fiancée and came along.”
Precious fiancée, my foot!
He was just watching me enjoy my so-called freedom!
My earlier excitement drained away instantly.
Realizing I’d been dancing in the palm of Ethan’s hand left me utterly deflated.
Slumping my shoulders, I shot him a glare and muttered,
“I’m reporting you as a stalker.”
“To where? The Reinhardt Imperial Palace?”
“Huh? Ah, w-well… yes?”
“Heh. Go ahead and try.”
“……?”
“If you want to see the Reinhardt imperial family go up in flames and disappear.”
“…….”
Terrifying.
Even more terrifying because he meant it.
And most terrifying of all because he was someone who could actually make such nonsense a reality.
“……I’ll let it slide this once.”
“I’m overwhelmed by your generosity.”
In the end, for the sake of the bright future of the Reinhardt Empire, I decided to shoulder the mad dog alone.
When I obediently tucked my tail between my legs, Ethan nodded, clearly satisfied.
That reaction was starting to feel ominous when—
“You look good.”
“Pardon?”
What did he just say?
Did those words really come out of Ethan’s mouth?
Well… I have been eating and sleeping better these past few days.
I absently touched my cheek, conscious of his comment.
But that brief reprieve didn’t last long.
“Yes. You look very good.”
“……?”
“Seeing you stroll around the capital like nothing’s wrong, I suppose it’s time to go back to the Mage Tower. Right?”
…The most dangerous traps are always the most alluring.
Only then did I realize what his gentle words truly meant.
Ethan knew far too well how to torment me effectively.
My face stiffened in alarm.
“A-Ah! I’m actually really sick! Waaah! It hurts so much! Aaaah!”
I put on a belated act of crying in pain, but Ethan didn’t even glance at me.
“A girl who claims she’s that sick doesn’t stay quietly at the estate—instead she goes wandering around with another man?”
“When you put it like that, it sounds like I really did something wrong.”
“You did.”
“……Well, that’s true.”
“Right? Then this time you’ll listen to your overly worried fiancé.”
…Wow. That’s just pure evil.
He really has a talent for leaving me with nothing to say.
Sensing that I’d half given up, Ethan started doing whatever he pleased.
“This place where you keep getting tangled up with useless men isn’t as good as the Mage Tower, where flies won’t swarm around you.”
Ah, I can’t lose ground here.
“……Didn’t you hate the Mage Tower?”
“I’m thinking of liking it from now on.”
“Theodore’s getting ready to mock you thoroughly when Claude comes back.”
“Then our fiancée will protect me. Just like I did.”
“……But I already asked the Tower Master for vacation today.”
“Return it. You don’t need it.”
“……Yes, sir.”
There was no escape.
I never had a chance of winning against a determined Ethan in the first place.
…You jerk.
Bad Ethan.
Truly awful.
You’ll get punished someday.
“You’re cursing me again in your head. Have you moved on to doing it openly now?”
“……It’s your fault for being able to read minds.”
I didn’t bother hiding the fact that I was badmouthing him—behind his back… no, to his face.
Ethan, apparently used to it, merely warned me calmly, “We’ll talk again once we’re back at the estate.”
Then, as if he’d seen all he needed, he stood up and extended his hand toward me.
“Let’s go back. To the Clovis estate.”
The hand offered to me was steady and unwavering.
In the past, that hand would have been nothing but terrifying.
But now, it felt a little different.
Because I knew that the hand I’d thought only capable of threatening me could also protect me.
“Will I get scolded when we get back?”
“Well. That depends—did you do something worth scolding?”
“……I do feel a bit guilty.”
“Haa. I can’t decide whether to praise you for being honest or scold you for not listening.”
“Wouldn’t praising me be better?”
Even though it probably wouldn’t protect me right now… I clasped Ethan’s hand tightly.
Contradictory as it was, his hand felt incredibly reassuring.
