Chapter 30 – A Relationship That Bothers Me (5)
But why is someone like him curious about me? He even asked what I really am.
I gulped and looked up at Jade’s face. I still didn’t know why he’d come to see me or why he was digging into my identity.
But I knew one thing.
“Um, excuse me…”
As long as this man stood in my way, getting out wouldn’t be easy.
So I decided to lie low and play along.
“I’ll answer all your questions—could we just leave this place first? Everything is so white that it’s making me dizzy…”
I clutched my head and staggered a little, putting my whole soul into the act.
Me alone with this guy in a blank white space? That’s torture.
If it were Eclipse with me, I could manage.
He’d calmly handle work even in a place like this.
That would steady my nerves too—Ah, His Grace is the same as always. It’s nothing serious; I can calm down too.
“Hm.”
Jade tilted his head at my words, then nodded.
“Well, I suppose.”
He snapped his fingers again.
The white space slowly crumbled, and Eclipse’s office reappeared.
“Better?”
Magic strong enough to flip the whole room in an instant…
Yep. A great mage really is different.
While I was still impressed, Jade spoke.
“Now it’s time to answer my questions.”
His gentle tone somehow pressed on me.
With a soft smile, he glanced behind me.
“They can’t hear us, so don’t worry. Of course, we can’t hear them, either.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Really? There’s magic that convenient?
I want to learn that.
Anyway, if I received something, I should give something back.
I decided to answer him.
“Kid, you know it too, right? The power you have is much greater than you think.”
I’d already realized that in my very first lesson with Lynette—
my mana was double Lynette’s, and she’s got the heroine’s buff.
Still, something had been bothering me for a while.
This man keeps calling me “kid.”
The thing I hate most in this world is people teasing me by calling me “kid.”
Back on Wendelton 7th Street, running a stall alone, I had a rough time because I was petite and looked young.
I hated that humiliating label so much that I started wearing a robe bigger than my body and a wide-brimmed hat.
I can stand being insulted—if they pay me. But calling me “kid”? I wouldn’t tolerate that for all the money in the world!
…Or so I thought, boldly.
No, wait. If they really paid me that much… maybe I could live with it…?
My bravado collapsed instantly in front of money.
I shook my head hard to shoo away the silly thought, then put on my angriest face.
“Excuse me, I have a name.”
“Ah, right. Elsie Bloomhire, wasn’t it?”
“…You knew?”
So he knew and still didn’t use it?
I stared at him in disbelief; Jade smiled.
“Of course.”
“In that case, please call me by my name from now on. ‘Elsie’ or ‘Bloomhire’—either is fine.”
“Hm.”
He thought for a moment, then said cheerfully,
“How about ‘Little Elsie’?”
“…Please drop the ‘Little.’ I really hate that.”
“Really? That’s a shame. I thought it sounded cute.”
He genuinely looked disappointed.
“Then I’ll call you whatever I feel like.”
With this man, he probably would.
At this point I’d be lucky if he used my name at all.
“The reason I came to find you is just one thing, Bloom.”
There it was—he’d just called me “Bloom.” He really does whatever he wants, doesn’t he?
“You look like you’d make an excellent research subject.”
“A research subject? That sounds… ominous.”
“Ominous? That’s the highest praise I can give.”
Is that how praise works these days? Amazing.
I shot him a cautious look—different from before.
“So then…”
At that moment, the flow of magic around us shifted—
more precisely, the caster canceled his spell.
“How about joining my tower?”
He smiled sweetly when—
“Nooo!”
Lynette suddenly yelled and wedged herself between us.
The feeling of déjà vu was strong—hadn’t something like this happened recently?
“Elsie is my teacher, mister. I won’t give her to anyone.”
She hugged me tightly, her face set in anger.
How did that slight body have so much strength?
I was just completely bewildered.
“Ahaha, how scary. The hedgehog’s spines are standing straight up,” Jade laughed.
He was so amused that tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, and he even clapped his hands.
It’s clear—he dropped the spell on purpose.
Otherwise, why cancel his magic at that exact timing?
This man is no ordinary piece of work.
I was thinking what an oddball he was in a hundred ways when—
“Jade.”
Eclipse—rarely raising his voice—walked toward us.
Still hugged by Lynette, I looked up at him.
“Bloomhire is formally employed as a tutor by the House of Ledaire. You can’t just take her.”
“I know, Your Grace. Don’t worry so much. I only came to leave my mark on a promising talent for the future.”
Promising talent—did he mean me?
Just then, a sheet covered in dense writing and a fountain pen appeared in front of me.
No matter how I looked at it, it was a contract.
“The term is two years, right, Bloom?”
“Uh, yes. That’s right.”
“Don’t answer, Elsie. And ‘Bloom’? What’s with that cozy nickname?” Lynette snapped.
“Exactly…” I kept my mouth shut.
Eclipse’s expression was sharper than usual.
“As soon as your contract with this terrifying archduke ends, come to my tower, Bloom. I’ll offer you very favorable terms.”
“Pardon? That’s…”
“Just read it.”
Jade smiled and tapped the paper—then—
“That’s enough.”
Eclipse, unusually stern, snatched the document and tore it apart.
I gasped.
Lynette must have been shocked too; I could feel her heartbeat racing.
“…”
Eclipse’s eyes on Jade were icy.
Even more surprising was Jade—he looked completely unfazed as the “contract” was ripped to shreds, as if he’d expected it.
“Let’s stop with the meaningless theatrics.”
“Meaningless? What’s that supposed to mean?”
This whole situation revolving around me was so entertaining I could hardly stand it.
Anyone selling popcorn?
“The contract expires in two years anyway,” Jade said.
He wasn’t wrong—my contract ends in two years.
Of course, my dream is a lifetime contract, but extensions are entirely up to Eclipse.
No matter how skilled I am, if the employer drops me, that’s that.
Maybe that’s why—
The Hern Mountain Tower scouting me? I can’t believe it.
I couldn’t deny I was tempted.
Like most people with mana, I’d always had a bit of a romantic dream about joining a tower.
Though the “research subject” thing worries me a little…
It’s not like they’d do human experiments on me, right?
No matter how weird Jade is, surely not that far…
Wait. Hold on.
…Maybe they would?
Isn’t a tower’s entire purpose “magical research”?
And Jade runs that lab.
And he just called me a research subject?
This is starting to feel risky…
At that moment, Eclipse’s steady gaze fell on me.
I felt a strong certainty in his eyes.
When I met his gaze, he shifted it from me back to Jade.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Jade. Bloomhire asked me for a lifetime contract.”
