Chapter 66
What does the Tower Master think of my proposal? If you truly intend to refuse, then I’ll take Eunice and leave right now.
…Very well. I will accept the Grand Duke’s proposal. I will allow her to remain in the Mage Tower.
I had expected a long, exhausting tug-of-war, but Theodore accepted Ethan’s offer far more easily than anticipated.
It seemed Theodore, too, quickly realized that he had no room left to retreat when dealing with Ethan.
Only after watching Ethan skillfully talk Theodore into it did I finally understand what he’d said earlier.
Now that we’re officially engaged, shouldn’t we make a proper impression on the Tower Master as well? He seemed quite curious the last time.
It was immediately clear why Ethan had come not as “Claude,” but as the Grand Duke of Clovis.
To put it simply, it was the best possible choice.
Ethan had infiltrated the Mage Tower out of necessity under Claude’s identity, but there was very little he could do while wearing that face.
As himself, however, it was a different story.
Ah. And I should mention that Claude is quite useful, so I left him at the Clovis estate.
What?!
Well, since I’ll be staying in the Mage Tower for a while, if you need anything, feel free to put me to work.
…Listening to that utter nonsense, my future already looked bleak.
Watching Ethan barge into the Mage Tower, seize whatever he wanted, and walk away unchallenged made it painfully obvious—he had every intention of roaming this place freely from now on.
“So? And then what happened? Keep going, Eunice!”
Ah. I try to think seriously for once, and they won’t leave me alone for even a moment.
I snapped back to reality at the sound of voices calling my name.
Only then did I notice the mages in front of me, eyes sparkling as they eagerly waited for more.
Completely unaware of the turmoil burning inside me, they looked thrilled—like they’d caught an especially juicy piece of gossip.
“Excuse me? Someone here is barely surviving after dealing with a deranged Tower Master and a temperamental fiancé… and you’re all having fun?”
“Of course we are! We were worried you’d rot away in the tower without ever holding a proper man’s hand, Eunice!”
“Exactly! When did you secretly snatch up such a fine man, huh?!”
“Wait a second—why does everyone assume I did the snatching? Isn’t it obvious that the villain here is Ethan, who snatched me?”
“If anyone’s doing the snatching, it’s you. You’re not the type to be snatched, judging by how you’ve got all the eccentric mages wrapped around your finger.”
So much for loyalty.
I mourned the betrayal of the very mages who had survived the Tower Master’s madness alongside me.
Watching them observe my predicament like spectators at a distant fire was downright infuriating.
Then again, in a tower this unbearably dull, a rumor exciting enough to shake the place would naturally thrill them.
“So this thing finally found its match, huh. I wouldn’t be surprised if a wedding invitation shows up any day now.”
“If you ever have a marital spat with His Grace and have nowhere to go, come back to the tower anytime. We’ll always welcome you.”
“…Pfft. We’re not even married yet, okay? And even if we fight, I’ll win.”
And yet, I knew—the emotions hidden beneath their teasing were genuine affection.
I understood why my fellow mages reacted so eagerly to news like this in the otherwise suffocating monotony of the Mage Tower—
“By the way, if Eunice leaves the tower, who’s going to absorb the Tower Master’s excess mana now?”
“Right? He goes berserk, but one word from Eunice and he shuts right up.”
“Ah… are we going back to the tower’s old hellscape again?”
“…That’s what you’re worried about? That’s it, isn’t it?”
…What nonsense!
So this is what it feels like when tears instantly dry up.
Suppressing the fist that was slowly curling upward, I shook my head.
Amused by my reaction, the mages continued chatting cheerfully.
“Man, I can practically hear Kedis crying in his room from here.”
“What? Why would that obnoxious executioner be crying?”
Don’t tell me… because he’s scared of Ethan?
A rabid dog really is the cure for a rookie executioner.
Oblivious to my thoughts, they just snickered.
Then one of them suddenly flicked my forehead and clicked their tongue.
“Tsk. You really are as clueless as the Tower Master.”
“Hey! That’s cruel! How am I anything like him?!”
“Tsk. That’s not the point. The point is that Kedis is crying because he got tragically rejected after having a crush on you.”
“…What?”
Who had a crush on who?
When I froze with my mouth hanging open, the mages began whispering uneasily.
“Why that face? You look like the Tower Master after a failed experiment.”
“….”
Despite their chatter, I couldn’t respond for a long while.
Only after taking time to collect myself did I finally speak.
“Wait. Hold on. So… who liked whom?”
Kedis? That deranged executioner?
I was already losing my mind after getting bitten by a mad dog—and now that lunatic had feelings for someone?
The guy who deliberately told me morning training was evening training, got me worked like a dog by the Tower Master… that guy?!
“Say it properly! Who liked who?!”
“Yeah, I want to hear this too.”
“Right? I’m not the only one who didn’t know, am I…?”
I was ranting in agitation when I suddenly froze mid-sentence.
Even through the chaos, a familiar voice embedded itself into my mind.
Please let it not be so. Please let my guess be wrong.
But when I turned my head—
“…Haha. Well, well. Look who it is.”
“So distracted by other men that you can’t even recognize your own fiancé now?”
“Oh—of course not! There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize this handsome face! Hahaha!”
I forced a playful laugh and shot a glance at my fiancé, who looked… no—very annoyed.
I worried Ethan might explode, but he showed no obvious reaction.
“Indeed. There’s no way my fiancée wouldn’t recognize me.”
“…?”
“Unless she was too busy staring at other men to notice the fiancé who looks only at her.”
“….”
“Isn’t that right, Eunice?”
Ethan pressed me gently, his voice soft.
Overwhelmed by his presence, I shut my mouth obediently as he slipped naturally in beside me.
“You were having an interesting conversation. Mind if I join?”
“…Excuse me?”
The mages instantly realized what they’d been talking about and couldn’t dare speak.
The only relaxed one here was Ethan, who continued effortlessly.
“Who had a crush on Eunice? Who’s crying?”
The mages knew instinctively—
If they answered honestly, Kedis wouldn’t see tomorrow’s sun… or even tonight’s moon.
Unable to choose, they all turned their heads in unison.
Toward me.
…Save us, Eunice. At this rate, your fiancé is really going to kill us.
You brought this on yourselves. Accept your fate gracefully.
W-we believe in you. Don’t abandon us, Eunice.
Being treated like a savior didn’t feel all that bad.
After all, just as they thought, I was the only one who could handle Ethan right now.
In the end, unable to abandon my pitiful colleagues, I smiled confidently at Ethan.
Then I leaned close and whispered so only he could hear.
“Careful. Your fiancée is this charming.”
“….”
“You saw it, right? Even the Crown Prince brought me tons of cake just to get on my good side.”
Let’s all calm down and be reasonable, okay?
Hiding my fear, I teased him lightly.
But then—
“Should I make it so no one else dares look at you?”
“…What?”
“Would you be satisfied if I locked you away somewhere their filthy gazes can’t reach?”
“…Excuse me?”
“If I do that… will this disgusting feeling finally go away, hmm, Eunice?”
…I think I touched something I shouldn’t have.
I only meant to soothe him, but he looked genuinely irritated now.
It felt like I’d poked a sleeping madman.
Ah. This is bad.
If Ethan lost control here, it wouldn’t be just me who suffered.
My precious colleagues already endured Theodore—I couldn’t let them suffer Ethan too.
“Haha… E-Ethan?”
I carefully grabbed his collar, afraid he might snap.
But Ethan didn’t even look at me.
“What do you think? With my fiancée being this easily distracted, do you think I can relax?”
“Y-Yes?!”
“When my fiancée trembles and runs away whenever she sees me, yet laughs so freely with other men—how do you think that makes me feel?”
“W-Well… probably not good…”
“Exactly. And to make matters worse, I was already angry seeing Eunice surrounded by men like this.”
“H-Hii!”
Ethan didn’t bother to sugarcoat it.
He was plainly saying the mages before him were an eyesore.
Veterans at reading the Tower Master’s moods, the mages understood Ethan’s intent immediately.
“Ah—ah! Then we’ll take our leave! Please enjoy your time together! Farewell!”
Their intuition was terrifyingly fast.
They bolted before I could even reach out.
“W-Wait! Where are you going?! Don’t leave me behind!”
“And where do you think you’re going?”
I tried to chase them, but Ethan tightened his grip, stopping me cold.
When even my last struggle was blocked, fear faded—replaced by frustration.
I hadn’t seen the mages in ages, and now Ethan was being petulant and chasing them off.
It was irritating.
“Seriously! Why are you being so petty, Ethan?!”
“Petty?”
“Yes! You kept interrupting, and now you chased them all away!”
“And if I hadn’t?”
“What?!”
I’d been sulking, but Ethan latched onto something strange.
“What would you have done if I hadn’t chased them away?”
“…Well…”
“If you stayed with them, were you planning to go find that idiot who supposedly has a crush on you?”
“…What?!”
Why is this going there again?!
I thought he was just teasing, but now he was genuinely sulking.
“Answer me. What exactly are you dissatisfied with?”
“Y-You look more dissatisfied right now…”
“You told me to stop being petty earlier.”
“W-Well, that’s because you were interrupting me and the mages…”
“What was I interrupting?”
“Well, uh—!”
“You sticking close to other men?”
“…What?”
“Or running off to meet another man?”
I froze mid-complaint, suddenly embarrassed.
Is he… actually angry at me?
I couldn’t tell.
“Th-That’s not it… Why—why are you like this, Ethan?”
Ironically, I wasn’t the only one confused.
“…I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I don’t know either. Why I’m like this.”
“…?”
“All I know is… when I see you smiling beside them, it makes me angry.”
“What?”
“The you who trembles and looks scared in front of me—seeing you laugh happily in front of other men makes me so angry I feel like I’m going insane.”
“……!”
Before he could finish, my mouth fell open in shock.
Ethan said he didn’t understand it himself—but I did.
“Th-That can’t be!”
I shouted without thinking.
Ethan frowned, confused.
But I had no time to explain.
That can’t be!
There’s no way—
“No way Ethan feels that way about me…!”
