Chapter 75
“Main point? Main point, you say?”
I awkwardly looked up at Ethan, neither able to push him away nor step back.
“W-what are you… doing…?”
“Do you think I’m doing this for some reason?”
“Well, obviously…”
“Obviously?”
Because we’re on the bed… so…
“AAAH! I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”
Even with my eyes wide and my expression exaggeratedly shocked, Ethan didn’t budge.
Instead of stepping back, he watched me with that wicked, teasing smile, as if he were enjoying the situation.
I didn’t want to think anything, but unwanted thoughts kept creeping in. I felt like I was going insane.
“AAAH! Good thoughts, good thoughts!”
Every time I tried to switch my mind elsewhere, I could see the wicked fire burning in Ethan’s crimson eyes.
No! Good thoughts, my foot!
With that face, that gaze… what was I supposed to do?
“Hmm, Eunice? Don’t just think to yourself—answer me.”
“……”
“Why is your face so red?”
Ethan’s voice, unusually low today, sent shivers down my spine.
He was coaxing me gently without knowing a thing about what I was thinking… truly a master.
“You’ve got such an interesting expression, I’m curious too. What exactly were you thinking?”
What I was thinking was…
I tried to speak slowly, almost hypnotized by his voice.
But at that moment, I caught the slight upward curve of Ethan’s lips.
‘A trap!’
I finally realized that I had almost fallen for Ethan’s sweet trap.
If I stayed like this, I might completely give in to him!
As I thought that, to make matters worse, Ethan began to slowly move closer.
As the already small distance between us shrank further, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
Why? I don’t know… it just felt like the right thing to do.
‘…Yeah, that’s how it felt.’
Even after I tightly shut my eyes, Ethan didn’t react at all.
Eventually, unable to wait any longer, I peeked through my lashes.
“…Huh?”
Despite cautiously opening my eyes, I was dumbfounded.
“…Ethan?”
“Why?”
“…Why are you there?”
I asked, utterly confused, but he just shrugged nonchalantly.
When I finally opened my eyes fully, he had taken a step back.
In other words, he had caught me thinking all sorts of naughty thoughts alone.
“…Ha, you really are an expert at messing with people.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Embarrassed, I shook my head and muttered under my breath.
Then Ethan, who had taken a small step back, came forward and lightly tapped my head—not hard enough to hurt.
“See? I don’t know who’s the one with the naughty thoughts here.”
“……”
“What were you thinking to be so scared?”
“…Shut up.”
I couldn’t bear to look at his teasing face, so I turned away sharply.
Ethan, seemingly satisfied with teasing me, didn’t press further and stepped back.
Soon, he pulled a chair to the bedside and sat in front of me.
“This is a warning.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t foolishly sneak into a man’s room at this hour.”
Ethan gently tapped my forehead with his elegant fingers.
His playful yet heavy voice made me pout and grumble.
“But… this is your room, Ethan.”
“So?”
“Well… since it’s okay, I came running here.”
It was Ethan, of all people. I looked at him, wondering what was wrong.
Ethan frowned slightly, seeming uncomfortable, and sighed deeply.
“Ha. Should I even say you did well?”
“…?”
“For not realizing the most dangerous guy?”
“Excuse me?”
He muttered under his breath, and I tilted my head in confusion.
Ethan didn’t seem willing to answer and instead crossed his arms firmly, erasing all expression.
“Alright. Enough with the frustrating stories. Why did you come all the way here today?”
Having survived that inexplicable whirlwind of emotions, Ethan returned to his usual calm demeanor.
I also remembered the firm resolve that had brought me here and felt a pang of ‘oh no.’
‘I even made a firm decision not to be swayed by Ethan!’
Before I could even voice that resolve, Ethan had already shaken it out of my hands.
Clinging tightly to my fading sanity, I stared at him unwaveringly.
“I think I momentarily forgot our objective.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s find the magic stone together.”
A short statement, but with many meanings.
“We came back to the tower to find the magic stone, right?”
“…Right.”
“I know you went searching for it on your own while I wasn’t paying attention. Let’s look together from now on.”
“Hmm. Seems like my fiancée is quite busy for that.”
Ethan muttered in his usual flat tone, but I noticed something hidden behind his words.
“Are you sulking?”
“What?”
He looked at me as if I were speaking nonsense, but I shrugged lightly.
Discovering something in him I didn’t expect made me smile.
“You are sulking, right? Because I was looking elsewhere, you got upset. Isn’t that it?”
“……”
“Were you hurt? Because I didn’t keep our promise and only enjoyed myself with Julius?”
“Why did that guy’s name come up here?”
See? See? He reacted immediately.
Seeing rare reactions from usually indifferent Ethan, I felt like teasing him.
“Well… Ethan particularly dislikes Julius. So you must dislike me being with him too, right?”
“……”
“See? You can’t answer, so you are sulking.”
Haha. Teasing this stubborn guy is actually pretty fun.
I looked at Ethan with my most mischievous expression.
Pretending not to care but clearly affected…
“Hmm, I see.”
It was actually quite fun…?
Ethan’s previously emotionless eyes held interest now.
Just as I shrank slightly at that unspoken meaning, Ethan suddenly leaned in close.
“Sulking, huh. Is this what you call sulking?”
“…?”
“I like how you nervously coax me.”
“…?”
“The way you hesitated and finally mustered courage to talk to me looked admirable.”
“…When did I do that?”
I tried to deny it, but he lightly ignored me, raising a hand to slowly brush my eyes.
“Watching that makes me want to tease you more. Is this… sulking? Huh?”
“……”
“If that’s the case, sulking with you doesn’t seem so bad after all.”
After saying that, Ethan gave me a slight glance.
Seeing me shrink slightly, he quickly stepped back.
A brief laugh escaped him, so it seemed he found it amusing as well.
“Now tell me your true feelings.”
“Excuse me?”
“After keeping my mind in turmoil for days, why are you suddenly acting all cute?”
Ethan casually touched what I had tried to hide.
I had never thought I could hide anything from Ethan, so I answered honestly.
“We haven’t seen each other much these past few days.”
“…Right.”
“I’ve been thinking a lot too, about why you act the way you do.”
“Oh? And did you get a satisfactory answer?”
I hadn’t given one yet.
But just saying that seemed to satisfy Ethan enough.
I answered without avoiding his red gaze.
“No.”
“…?”
“I still don’t know why you act that way, or how this situation works.”
“…Then.”
“But I’ve decided to figure out the answer.”
Yes, that was the conclusion.
I didn’t know what Ethan was thinking, but I just had to act to keep my promise to him.
“Ethan, act like usual. Threaten me, tease me, or sway me like always.”
“……”
“Then I’ll figure out how to deal with it… slowly.”
“…Finally, you brought an answer I’m satisfied with.”
Ethan, silently listening, smiled with satisfaction, and I followed suit with a small smile.
Though I usually irritated him, today I seemed to understand him well.
“Think of it as an effort to keep my heart from wavering.”
“…Effort?”
…No, right?
When I added more words, Ethan frowned slightly, breaking the peaceful expression.
But I couldn’t back down, so I continued slowly.
“I want to remember what you said.”
“What do you mean?”
“You told me…”
‘I didn’t spare you to meddle in such trivial things.’
‘I want you to remember that we’re together because we need each other.’
“We… no, I’m with you because you need me.”
“……”
“Our promise only goes this far. To find the magic stone in the tower and lift your curse.”
“…Eunice.”
“So let’s solve that first. After that… we’ll think again.”
Ignoring Ethan’s words, I concluded my statement.
Ethan looked uncomfortable and brushed his face with his large hand.
“…I thought you finally brought a satisfactory answer.”
His heavy voice suddenly chilled the briefly warm atmosphere.
But we both ignored it—well, I did, at least.
“Ethan, so…”
“Stop.”
“……”
“That’s enough, stop.”
I called him anxiously, but he cut me off.
“Fine. Go find that damn answer, whatever it is. I’m curious too.”
“……”
“And… don’t forget your promise to lift my curse.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Like you said, you can’t escape me until you keep that promise.”
“……”
“Even if you’re just a nominal fiancée, I have to keep you close.”
Ethan’s cold, warning-like words made me freeze briefly.
But without another word, he got up and turned away.
His broad back looked unusually weak tonight—it wasn’t my imagination.
“It’s late. We’ll start moving from tomorrow. Get some rest.”
With that, Ethan left the room.
