Chapter 70
They said you’d be punished if you made a mistake.
It seemed I was being punished right now.
The charge was… yes.
The crime of rudely opening the mad dog’s door without even knocking.
If you’re wondering what that means…
“…Yunis?”
“……”
“What is this all of a sudden…?”
…It means I opened the door without thinking and saw something I really shouldn’t have.
Or was it something I shouldn’t see…?
I froze in place with the door flung wide open, my eyes darting wildly while the rest of my body refused to move.
Nothing dramatic was happening.
I opened the door, and Ethan was looking at me.
The problem was…
Ethan was in a very defenseless state.
And by “defenseless,” I mean—
“…Why are you undressed?”
Exactly that kind of defenseless.
When someone is shocked beyond measure, they say the body just freezes—and that was precisely what happened to me. I stood there, unable to do anything.
Watching me, Ethan slowly approached with a wicked smile.
Not knowing where to look, I desperately dragged my gaze upward as it instinctively tried to drop.
When I finally managed to look him in the eye, he smiled smugly.
“I didn’t expect you to come barging in like this. And especially not you, Yunis.”
“……”
“No matter how urgent it was, you could’ve knocked first. Or what—was this intentional?”
“…Huh? What?”
The one who should have been startled was Ethan—the victim of the sudden intrusion.
Yet somehow, I was the one looking like I might pass out.
Ethan deliberately stretched his arms out.
With that leisurely movement, his well-tanned upper body was revealed in full.
“Can’t you tell what I was doing? Really?”
Unlike me, frozen stiff, Ethan’s voice was as confident as ever.
If anything, that confidence felt excessive today—and it definitely wasn’t my imagination.
Blinking dazedly, I finally snapped back to my senses.
There was only one thing I needed to do.
“W–WAAAH! I—I’m sorry! Aaaah!”
Startled far too late, I tried to retreat while screaming.
It was pure reflex.
“Mm—!”
“Shh. Want to summon every mage in the tower?”
Before I could move, Ethan swiftly covered my mouth.
I looked at him pleadingly, asking him to remove his hand, but he only lifted the corner of his lips mischievously.
“Well… it’d be a shame to let you go just like this.”
He pushed me lightly into the room, closed the door firmly behind us, and only then released me.
“H–Hah… wait. What is this…?”
I stopped mid-breath and froze again.
The strange sense of déjà vu irritated me for no reason.
‘You… don’t tell me… Ethan Clovis?’
…Ah. I see now.
Getting caught in this once was unlucky enough, but twice?
The culprit behind all this nonsense was—
Heat rushed to my head, and I sharply turned toward Ethan.
I meant to glare at him for yanking me toward him again without warning.
But…
That might not have been the best decision.
‘…His muscles are insane.’
Even in the middle of all this, my eyes timidly wandered as I slowly took in the sight before me.
I’d thought this last time too, but…
He really did look good with his shirt pulled off.
The solid muscles packed without a single gap, the beautifully tanned skin—it was… really… nice.
Despite myself, my eyes traced the contours of his muscles one by one.
After staring far too long, I cautiously lowered my gaze.
It was completely unconscious.
‘…Tsk. That’s a shame.’
Thankfully, only his upper body was exposed.
Truly. Thankfully.
I meant that sincerely.
…Probably.
“If you look at me like that, how do you expect me to react?”
“Eh? Who? Me?”
“You were sneaking glances at my body just now. Your eyes were moving in a very suspicious way.”
“…Sorry. I couldn’t help it—it was instinct.”
Instead of making pointless excuses, I quickly admitted my desire.
So what?! Good things are meant to be appreciated!
Ethan clearly hadn’t expected such an easy admission and let out a hollow laugh.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know you were changing.”
“If you’d known, would you have stayed out?”
“That’s hard to say.”
“…Haah. Just turn around already.”
Ethan looked away from me, as though he’d lost interest.
But he wasn’t the only one who hadn’t looked away.
“…Why are you still standing there?”
“Why?”
“I told you to turn around. Can’t you see what I’m doing?”
“You’re changing?”
I blinked innocently.
My gaze was still fixed on Ethan—more specifically, on his still very exposed upper body.
Noticing my blatant stare, Ethan frowned.
“Tch! Fine! It’s not like it’ll wear out just from looking!”
With my entertainment gone, I finally turned around as he wanted.
I should hurry and take Ethan to Theodore.
That was when—
“…Huh?”
Sensing movement behind me, I turned back without thinking.
“I turned around like you asked—AAH!”
I yelped and stumbled back.
Ethan, who’d been taking his time changing, suddenly stepped right up to me.
“What—what are you doing?!”
He pressed his lips together, looking down at me with cold eyes.
“Why… what’s wrong?”
When I asked timidly, he stepped even closer.
“N–No, I didn’t mean come closer—!”
Ignoring me completely, Ethan leaned down slightly.
His sharp features were suddenly right in front of my face, and his fierce gaze burned even clearer.
“You’re far too defenseless.”
“Huh?”
“I’m coming this close, and you still don’t resist. Do you have any idea what I could do right now?”
“Well… if I run, you’d just kill me, wouldn’t you?”
I’d be caught before I took two steps.
I was very aware of my own limits.
Between the odds of escaping safely and the odds of Ethan catching and beating me senseless, I knew which was higher.
Feeling oddly proud of my sound reasoning, I looked at him.
I really did.
“…What now? What’s wrong this time?”
Ethan frowned deeply, clearly displeased.
When I tilted my head in confusion, he ran a hand roughly down his face.
He looked incredibly frustrated.
“Ha… Now I’m boiling over in a completely different way.”
“Are you sick or something?”
“…Yeah. You’re giving me a headache. You did back then, and you’re doing it now.”
“Back then?”
“In the Forest of Beasts. When I was losing control.”
“Ah. That time.”
How could I forget?
“When you sneakily stole my lips?”
“…I didn’t steal them.”
“Oh please. You looked like you were going to devour me whole!”
In an instant, the situation flipped.
Just moments ago, Ethan had been teasing me—now it was my turn.
Smiling smugly, I lifted the corner of my lips.
But unfortunately, the fun didn’t last long.
“I told you not to say things like that lightly.”
“Huh?”
His voice dropped, icy once more, and I froze.
“If I wanted to, I could devour you right now.”
“…Devour me? Me?”
I asked cautiously.
Ethan didn’t answer.
Though he’d been the one to threaten me, he fell into silence, lost in thought.
Only his burning red eyes told me that his thoughts were anything but peaceful.
How long did that tense silence last?
Without warning, Ethan stepped back.
Only then did I finally release the breath I’d been holding.
Watching me, he spoke with a complicated expression.
“You should be careful. Being devoured happens in an instant. And…”
“……”
“I won’t let you off so easily next time.”
After leaving behind those cryptic words, Ethan turned away.
Even after he stepped back, I remained standing there, stunned.
What he’d shown me just now…
“You seem to be lost in pointless thoughts again.”
Before I could finish thinking, a fully dressed Ethan approached me.
As if he’d completely forgotten the ominous words he’d spoken, his expression was calm as ever.
“So? What brings you here?”
“Ah—ah.”
Hearing his cool voice snapped me back to reality.
“Theodore told me to bring you. That’s why I came, but…”
Who would’ve thought something like this would happen?
I swallowed the rest of my words and smiled awkwardly.
Grumbling about “that crazy tower master plotting something again,” Ethan suddenly held out his hand.
“Huh?”
“Let’s go. You said he called for me.”
“Oh. Right. Yes, we should.”
“Then grab on.”
Prompted so casually, I took his hand without thinking.
As if he’d been waiting, Ethan clasped my hand firmly.
Feeling inexplicably awkward, I tugged him along instead.
“C–Come on! Theodore’s going to start nagging—”
Still holding his hand, I boldly opened the door.
Everything was fine up until then.
“W–WAAAH!”
The moment the door opened, a figure blocked my path, and I screamed again, stumbling backward.
“Careful there, Yunis.”
If Ethan hadn’t quickly caught me from behind, I would’ve fallen in a very undignified heap.
After making that irritating comment, Ethan gently set me back on my feet.
Only then did I look up at the person blocking the doorway.
“What is it, Theodore?! You scared me!”
“I went looking for you because you took too long bringing Duke Clovis, and now you’re the one getting startled?”
“You suddenly popped out! Of course I’d be surprised!”
I pouted at the innocent Theodore.
He looked momentarily flustered, then brushed it off.
“I’ll listen to your complaints later. Come on—there’s someone I want to introduce you both to.”
“But who on earth is it that you’re making such a fuss over?”
“You’ll see when you meet them. They’re in the reception room—ah, there they are.”
As Theodore turned his head knowingly, Ethan and I followed his gaze.
And in that moment—
Both of us froze, wearing the exact same expression.
