Chapter 08
A few days later, in the morning.
The moment I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the ropes tightly binding my body.
‘No wonder my dream felt weird.’
I had a dream of being crushed to death under an enormous blanket.
I sighed and looked around.
“Where… am I?”
The moment I realized where I was, my sleep vanished as if it had been swept away.
“This is… the master’s room!”
I bolted upright as if someone had poured cold water on my head—well, I tried to. At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind the backrest of the sofa where I was lying.
“Master…?”
It was still morning, so the voice was hushed, but I couldn’t mistake it. It was Eiden Croydon.
“No, I mean… Master! You must have heard wrong!”
I shouted reflexively. Call it survival instinct.
Tears nearly came to my eyes at the sight of myself struggling on the sofa while shouting.
Footsteps approached, and Eiden Croydon’s face came into view. He leaned over the back of the sofa to look at me.
“Uh… Master.”
“Why?”
I decided to look pitiful.
“Could you… untie me?”
But he stared at me and asked bluntly:
“Master?”
“Master.”
“Master?”
“Master.”
“Master…?”
“Master….”
He smirked and crossed his arms.
“No.”
“Why…! Why not…? What’s the reason?”
I almost yelled but held it back. Eiden Croydon answered brazenly.
“If I untie you, you’ll run away.”
“I won’t run.”
“I heard Nomilton said he aged ten years running around after you this past week.”
“He’ll be fine even if he ages ten years.”
“Can I tell him that?”
I shook my head desperately, and his smile deepened.
“People will be coming soon, so take a nap until then.”
“What people?”
A slave trader coming to sell me?
But his answer was far worse.
“To go to a party, you have to dress up.”
‘Oh, God…’
If the world sent me here just to destroy me, I prayed for it to happen now. I closed my eyes and silently begged a god I didn’t even believe in.
I looked at Eiden Croydon’s handsome profile and asked, for what felt like the twenty-fifth time today:
“When are you planning to destroy the world? Can’t we just do it today?”
“No. Not yet. If it collapses, Arthur Camellon has to be pissed while it happens.”
‘Typical personality.’
Eiden Croydon hated Arthur Camellon intensely, simply because Arthur was extremely kind and possessed a lot of magical power.
Born a commoner, Arthur became a hero during the first outbreak of monsters by saving people and later entered the Camellon dukedom. He was the epitome of a good hero. The charity party today was hosted by the Camellon family. And Eiden Croydon was taking me there—precisely to provoke him.
‘Seriously?’
Calling him the “final villain” felt too generous. This guy was more like a minor character who gets wrecked in one chapter. Surprisingly, Eiden Croydon was quite resilient. Even as the world decayed and monsters increased, he survived.
‘He survived just to watch people he hated die.’
Probably his absurd stubbornness helped him live this long. He had to see me die before he did. That’s probably why he was taking me to the party.
Yes. The party.
Currently, I was sitting across from Eiden Croydon in a carriage. The dress I wore was a simple one chosen according to his taste, my shoes matched it perfectly, the headpiece was some jewel he had found somewhere in his mansion, and the destination was Arthur Camellon’s charity party.
“Don’t you mind riding a carriage with a maid?”
Could I just get out here, please?
He simply shook his head.
“Don’t you know? My father raised me like a commoner since I was little, so it’s fine.”
“I’m not fine…”
Eiden Croydon turned from looking out the window to look at me.
“Being with the master is too much of a burden for me. I know my place as a lowly commoner… I shouldn’t even be here with someone as magnificent as you… so please, let’s stop…”
“Not ‘Master,’ but Eiden.”
“…What?”
Did I just hear that? No, I must be mistaken.
I wasn’t. My master patiently corrected me again.
“Not ‘Master,’ but Eiden. Not ‘Master,’ but Eiden.”
“E-Eh….”
“Yes, Eiden.”
That damn bastard…!
My face turned red and pale repeatedly from sheer rage. The air in the carriage became unbearably tense because of my anger.
I instinctively reached for my thigh—the spot where my magic gun was.
Just as I tried to pull it out under my dress, Eiden Croydon’s hand gently stopped my arm.
“You shouldn’t show under the skirt already, darling.”
“Darling.”
“What… Darling?”
“Are you insane?”
He burst into laughter so loud the coachman driving the carriage even looked back in surprise. I couldn’t stop my face from twisting in frustration as I watched him laugh.
He laughed so hard that tears hung at the corners of his eyes. When the laughter finally faded, he looked at me with a truly joyful expression.
“You’re the first person to ask if I’m crazy after my parents died.”
‘Well, I guess that makes sense.’
“Where did someone like you come from? Are all people sent by God like this?”
“Probably not.”
“So you’re the only crazy one?”
“Crazy…?”
“Exactly. God sends a messenger when the world’s collapsing, and a crazy one shows up.”
I gave him a look that clearly said I’m disgusted.
He continued laughing all the way until we reached the party.
“By the way, isn’t it dangerous for you to be in a place with so much magic?”
I suddenly remembered. He leaned on the window frame, and his sharp profile showed a rather unpleasant smile.
“That’s why I hate Arthur Camellon. Just being near him makes me feel awful.”
“Ah.”
Then what about space?
I glanced, and Eiden Croydon seemed to expect my question, smiling faintly.
“Unless someone tries to kill me, there’s no way they’d artificially gather magic like that.”
“If they tried…”
“Do you think the hero Arthur Camellon would be stupid enough to try and kill me in front of everyone? Though… that would be amusing. Haha!”
‘This guy is definitely insane.’
He stopped laughing and looked serious.
“Scared? Afraid Master will die?”
“…No way.”
“You said you had magic, right? Then there’s no need to worry about dying.”
I ignored his muttered words.
Before getting off the carriage, Eiden Croydon held me and explained the “role” he had set up for us:
“You’re my business partner.”
“The… world-destruction business, right?”
“We’re a perfect team.”
“You’re desperate to destroy the world together with me.”
He grinned.
“What did I ask you? The world?”
“Rotten.”
“Humans?”
“Garbage.”
“Excellent.”
