Chapter 67
“Did you hate me that much?!”
When I shouted at Ethan, his expression twisted into something even colder.
“You have quite a talent for spouting nonsense,” he said flatly. “What ridiculous thing is it this time?”
“Nonsense? It’s true!”
“What part of it is true?”
His features were sharp to begin with, but with his expression hardened like that, his approach felt downright threatening.
Ethan stepped closer.
Instinctively, I raised my guard and retreated.
“I—I mean, it’s not like you actually hit me or anything… right?”
“When did I ever say I would?”
“You’re acting like you would…”
“That’s unfair. You’re accusing me of something I’ve never done.”
Frowning deeply, Ethan shot me a sharp look.
Even that restrained glare made me flinch, but I forced myself not to lower my guard.
“L-Look! You hate everything I do anyway! That’s why you keep picking fights with me, isn’t it?!”
So when I’m spending time with the precious angelic male lead, you just want to tear us apart for no reason!
And when I’m relaxing with the mages, you butt in just to harass me!
It felt absurd that I’d only realized this now.
“Oh. Ohhh. So that’s what it was?! Right?!”
I widened my eyes dramatically and clapped both hands over my mouth, putting on an exaggerated display of shock.
As a bonus, I trembled and stumbled back a step… then another.
“Haa. You should’ve stopped while I was still being lenient.”
“Y-Yes. I’ll stop.”
The moment Ethan’s sigh and crooked voice faded, I immediately dropped the act.
Timing your retreat was important in situations like this.
“Thanks for going easy on me. You’ve mellowed out a lot, you know?”
When I casually switched attitudes, Ethan let out another frustrated sigh.
I’d always thought he only knew how to snarl and lash out, but apparently, he could rein himself in.
Seeing him tolerate my nonsense more than usual made it feel like I was holding the leash of a mad dog.
It was… a strangely complicated feeling.
But one thing was certain—it wasn’t unpleasant.
Feeling oddly buoyant, I stepped closer to Ethan.
This was the first time my steps toward him had felt this light since I’d realized he was Claude.
“Right! There’s no way you hate me! We’ve gotten pretty close, haven’t we?”
“…Close?” Ethan repeated.
His low voice lifted slightly, as if it didn’t quite fit him.
It sounded like expectation—or perhaps cautious curiosity.
I immediately latched onto his reaction.
“Of course! We’re comrades who survived those brutal trials together! A sort of camaraderie born in the hopeless Magic Tower!”
“……”
“You feel it too, right? I knew it the moment you generously let my nonsense slide earlier!”
…Okay, I know I’m exaggerating.
I also know mad dogs don’t change.
But if I scored points while he was in a better mood, maybe he’d go easier on me later when he decided to actually ruin me?
I glanced at him with hopeful eyes.
“At this rate, we might even have to thank that damn Tower Master for—”
“…Do we?”
The brief thaw vanished instantly as Ethan’s expression turned icy again.
“That’s an interesting thing to say.”
“…Huh?”
“So interesting that any urge I had to be lenient just disappeared.”
This time, Ethan didn’t seem inclined to go easy on me at all. He strode forward, casting a cold shadow over me.
“H-Hey, this is a little too close—”
He leaned in threateningly.
His face was suddenly right there.
So close that his hot breath brushed against my skin.
At this distance, I could clearly see the dangerous flicker in his red eyes.
“…So what you’re saying is.”
His voice cut off, cold and sharp.
Then it continued—low, heavy, and frightening.
“That what I’m feeling is just some flimsy sense of camaraderie because we went through a few petty incidents together.”
I desperately wished he would stop talking.
“And I should swallow this bullshit nicely and thank the Tower Master for it?”
I had no idea how to respond to his cynical tone.
‘…What is wrong with him?’
Ethan had threatened me countless times before.
But this was the first time he’d spoken so deliberately, weighing every word.
“E-Ethan…?”
Flustered, I pushed lightly against his chest.
He didn’t budge.
Thud.
“Ah—!”
“What? Trying to run away again?”
“No, just for a moment—”
“Then what do we do about this?”
Instead, he grabbed my wrist.
I couldn’t escape him now.
“I’m tired of letting you go gently.”
“H-Haha… I thought you were the type to block those who come but not chase those who leave…?”
“Funny. That’s how it used to be. So why does that feeling vanish every time I see you?”
“…What?”
“When you keep trying to run away from me, it just makes me want to hold you tighter.”
“Th-That sounds kind of dangerous…”
“What’s dangerous about it?”
“I-I mean… you really shouldn’t be doing this here…”
“What do you think I’m about to do?”
“…Huh?”
“I haven’t even started anything, yet you’re already trying to run. That’s irritating.”
Watching Ethan look ready to explode made my hands shake.
“E-Ethan…!”
“My fiancée is supposedly very charming, isn’t she? Why don’t you show me that charm too?”
“Aaaah—! That’s not what I meant—!”
I shook my head frantically, protesting my innocence.
But the cold-blooded mad dog didn’t even acknowledge it.
“What, you showed that smile so easily to the Crown Prince, but you don’t want to show it to me?”
His voice twisted with unmistakable irritation.
He merely stared down at me as I trembled beneath him.
The ferocity burning in his red eyes made unease crawl up my spine.
And my bad feeling was quickly confirmed.
“Who knows? I might fall head over heels for that damn charm.”
“…What?”
“And then… maybe I won’t kill you.”
Ethan smiled leisurely, as if he couldn’t see me frozen in shock.
“That’s what matters to you, right? Whether I kill you or let you live.”
He stopped speaking.
When I cautiously lifted my head, Ethan shoved his infuriatingly handsome face even closer.
A clear smile spread across his lips.
“If I fall for you…”
“……”
“Then I won’t kill you. And I wouldn’t threaten you like this either. Right?”
He asked casually, raising the end of his sentence.
But even after he finished speaking, I couldn’t answer.
Goosebumps covered my entire body.
‘What the hell is this mad dog saying now?’
Fall for me?
Ethan Clovis?
To me?
‘…Haha. Maybe it’s because he’s crazy. He really knows how to talk nonsense.’
I dismissed his words as pure insanity and forced an awkward smile.
Based on past experience, if I laughed like this—
“Then answer me. What kind of charm did you show to make even that damn Crown Prince fall for you?”
—He wasn’t going to let it go?!
“Aaaah… Why—why are you like this?”
I asked cautiously, trying to calm him down.
But it only seemed to aggravate him further.
“Hah. Why am I like this?”
Ethan sneered coldly, tightening his hold on me.
“You shouldn’t be asking me that.”
“…What?”
“I don’t even know why I’ve turned into a crazed bastard who’s lost his mind.”
The tightening grip around my wrist showed just how violently he was suppressing his emotions.
As if that wasn’t enough, he cupped my cheek with his large hand.
His calloused fingers brushed my sensitive eye, making me shiver instinctively.
Ethan chuckled lowly, as if he enjoyed my reaction.
“Somehow, this feels unfair.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m the one going crazy because of you, yet you just complain and ask what my problem is.”
Because of who?
I swallowed the words that nearly burst out.
Because the answer suddenly became clear.
“…Because of me?”
This time, I asked while desperately hoping my guess would be wrong.
“…Really?”
“Are you pretending not to know?”
Unfortunately, this time, my guess was perfectly accurate.
His answer turned my suspicion into certainty.
The conclusion came quickly.
“So because of me… you’ve become a crazed bas— mmph.”
I cut myself off, clamping my mouth shut as something surged up my throat.
I’d moved fast, but a short laugh still slipped out.
‘Turns out he knows he’s a crazed bastard.’
The fact that Ethan admitted it himself—and in such a calm voice—was what made it hilarious.
Forgetting that I was thoroughly trapped, I lowered my head and stifled my laughter.
Ah. I really shouldn’t be doing this.
He might get angry.
“Snrk—”
“You look like you’re having fun. Is it that amusing that I’ve gone insane?”
“Kh— You don’t exactly look upset about it either.”
When I finally lifted my head, the shadow on Ethan’s face had disappeared.
He even gently wiped the tears pooling at the corner of my eyes.
After staring at me for a moment, he let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.
“Haa… Maybe I won’t come to my senses unless I actually go crazy and devour you.”
“…What?!”
While I was still dazed by his bizarre behavior, he muttered something ominous.
I tried to pretend I hadn’t heard it, but Ethan leaned in again, closing the distance I’d barely managed to create.
“Ah—!”
Someone, anyone—
‘Please stop this man!’
I pushed weakly at his chest with trembling hands, but he had no intention of backing away.
“Hmm? You tell me.”
“W-What?”
“If I do this to you right now…”
As Ethan started to say something, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
Bracing myself for whatever insane thing was coming—
“Would you let me devour you?!”
…I accepted it?!
