“…Sir Harris.”
I didn’t want to do it.
‘Am I insane?’
Even as I thought that, I reached out and touched Harris’s forehead.
“Ow—hot.”
“…!”
Harris didn’t expect me to come closer again and failed to dodge my hand. His ruby-red eyes widened in surprise.
“You have a high fever.”
Maybe… I really am crazy.
Trying to help Harris when I’m just an extra slave, not even a proper Guide?
No—this whole situation, where I think I’ve transmigrated into a novel, is already insane.
‘Yup. Definitely crazy.’
A soft chuckle escaped me. If I really am crazy, then I might as well go wild and do whatever I want.
“You seem to have a high fever. I’ll look for a thermometer.”
“…Get lost.”
“Okay, okay. If I’m wrong—if it turns out I’m actually a cold-blooded animal and your temperature isn’t that high—I’ll leave immediately!”
“I don’t need it.”
“What do you mean you don’t need it! A high fever is a serious symptom—it could even damage your brain—”
“Shut up!”
Was it the shout first, or the crash of the bowl exploding into pieces on the table beside me?
Harris, growling with rage, loomed over my crouching figure.
“Cut the crap.”
Even the black energy swirling violently around him was intimidating.
“No matter what nonsense you spout, I will never accept guiding!”
At the same time, the mana-stone restraints wrapped around his limbs sparkled ominously.
Those magical restraints were meant to suppress his power—but on someone like Harris, an S-Class Esper, they served another purpose.
If he used a certain amount of strength, the restraints would attack and injure him.
In other words, Harris was so furious he was willing to risk self-harm.
‘Why?’
Why was he so adamantly rejecting guiding?
“Ah.”
That’s when I remembered—what the Duke of Godwin did to “correct” his son who couldn’t control his strength.
When Harris first awakened, the Duke couldn’t accept that his only son was an abominable Esper.
So he publicly claimed Harris was sick in bed, while privately conducting all kinds of experiments to make him “normal.”
‘First, he tried to suppress Harris’s power with magic tools.’
Then he locked him in a cell and starved him until he lost all strength.
When none of that worked, finally…
‘He brought in Guides from all over to forcefully guide him.’
“Why the hell can’t you do it?! That’s what you people—these so-called human tranquilizers—are for, isn’t it?!”
“I apologize, Your Grace, but… there’s such a thing as compatibility between a Guide and an Esper—”
“Cut the excuses! Are you saying you’re useless trash?!”
“S-sorry, Your Grace, but we’re at our limit—ugh!”
When the Guides he’d gathered refused, the Duke responded simply:
Bang!
He used a gun.
No matter how powerful the Guides were at calming Espers, they were still human. They could be killed.
“So… you’re saying you won’t do it?”
The surviving Guides, having witnessed their colleague’s death, were forced to face the barrel of the Duke’s gun.
No matter how futile, in the face of survival instinct, Harris’s refusal meant nothing.
“W-we’re sorry, Young Master.”
“We have to survive too…”
Restrained with magic tools and suppressants, Harris could only watch as the Guides approached one by one.
And…
‘In the end, Harris lost control and went berserk.’
After that day’s catastrophe, even the Duke could no longer assign him Guides.
So he locked him in a basement prison—and since then, Harris became a violently anti-Guide fanatic.
“…Understood, Sir Harris.”
To him, everything I did must have seemed like an attempt at guiding—any physical contact an insidious trick.
“I swear to God, I will never attempt to guide you against your will.”
I raised my hands like I was praying. I don’t actually believe in God, but it’s fine—I don’t even know how to guide anyway.
“But in exchange…”
“I don’t care what for—just get the h—ugh?!”
I threw medicine right into Harris’s open mouth as he shouted.
“Urgh, cough, cough—!”
“Swallow it! It’s a fever reducer!”
There had been medicine among the spilled items under the broken side table.
‘I picked it up while crawling on the floor.’
The servants didn’t want to interfere with Harris when he was sick—but they didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his violent outbursts either.
‘So the emergency kit was in the prison, and Adrian used it in the original story…’
Never thought I’d be the one using it.
“Cough! Cough!”
Maybe I forced it too hard, or maybe he swallowed it wrong, but Harris clutched his chest and kept coughing.
Yeah, swallowing medicine wrong really does hurt.
“Here’s some water!”
Thankfully, a water bottle hadn’t broken. I quickly handed it to him, but Harris didn’t take it.
Not just that—his bloodshot eyes glared at me with such menace, I thought he might slice off my hand for reaching out.
“You… how dare you…!”
Blood-stained lips. Inflamed eyes.
Berserk states usually occurred when a transcendent couldn’t control their own power.
‘Especially when there’s physical or psychological trauma.’
Maybe I was imagining it, but Harris seemed to be suffering from both.
“I-I didn’t guide you! That was just medicine! A fever reducer and painkiller! And—”
“Shut. Up!”
His red eyes gleamed as if they would pierce me dead on the spot.
Before, he looked at me like I was an annoying fly—now, more like a mosquito that needed to be squashed instantly.
I’m really going to die this time!
My instincts screamed at me. I hurriedly blurted out,
“I-I’m sorry! But instead…!”
“Instead, what!!”
“I’ll give you what you want most!”
“…?”
Harris’s thick eyebrows twitched. For a moment, I felt like he was considering it.
“Hah. What bullshit.”
Guess that didn’t work.
Well, I am a slave right now. Can’t blame him for not trusting me. I tightly shut my eyes.
At that moment—
“Damn it…”
Thud.
A falling sound.
When I opened my eyes, Harris had collapsed on the bed.
“…Hah.”
I almost died just now!
My legs gave out. I sat down in front of the bed, pressing down on my loudly pounding heart.
‘The medicine’s finally kicking in.’
Turns out, it wasn’t just a fever reducer—it was a sedative with pain-relieving properties. These cold-hearted servants definitely didn’t stock medicine out of concern for Harris’s health.
‘It was meant to knock him out like he’s dead.’
The label even said it could put an elephant to sleep.
‘Anyway… I did it.’
I had subdued the violent patient. Only one task remained.
‘Basic nursing care!’
His room was a complete mess, but fortunately, I managed to find what I needed.
The private bathroom had a sink and basin that released clean water with a little magic, and even towels.
‘Well, even if it’s a prison, they couldn’t have treated Harris like an actual criminal.’
Luckily, Jade’s body—being part of this world—still had a bit of magic in it.
I started tending to the wounds on Harris’s wrists and ankles, caused by the restraints, using water and the emergency kit.
That’s when it happened.
“…What are you doing?”
A hoarse voice leaked from between his closed eyes.
‘This was supposed to knock out an elephant!’
Even if he’s a transcendent, he managed to force himself awake?
‘Of course he did. He’s my favorite character—he’s got grit.’
Now that’s what a villainous duke should be. I gave him a mental thumbs up and said,
“You need to sweat it out. Just sleep a bit.”
“Answer me.”
Still watching me warily even in this state—so cool. I smiled sweetly and replied,
“Can’t sleep? Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
“Are you insane?”
“♪ Mommy goes to the island shade~ ♪”
“…”
“♪ To gather oysters~ ♪”
“…You’re seriously insane.”
I don’t know if the elephant-strength sedative finally kicked in, but Harris didn’t say anything more.
“♪ Baby stays home alone~ ♪”
I gently patted the blanket and whispered softly.
“♪ And falls asleep~ ♪”
Sleep well, my violent favorite.
Crack—
Harris clenched his fist so tightly it sounded like bones would snap. The heat inside him still hadn’t subsided—it felt like it was consuming him from the toes up.
‘Aaaahhh!’
His senses became hyper-sharp as his mind drifted far, far away.
‘Monster, he’s a monster…’
‘Die! Monsters like you should die—!’
Someone’s despair. Someone’s hatred. Harris wanted to cover his ears.
But the screams and curses echoed endlessly in his head.
‘No one loves you.’
‘No one wants you.’
‘You have no worth. No purpose. You’re just human trash!’
Then, something deep in his heart, dark and rippling, whispered:
[Then let’s kill.]
As if that was the only way to end this pain, this torment, these unending screams.
[Just kill them!]
His senses, sharpened to a knife’s edge, quickly located a living presence.
His uncontrolled power burst forth, crackling with black energy.
Rumble rumble— Sharp blades formed in the air, shrouded in dark smoke, trembling ominously.
[Kill them all. Erase them! Everyone, everything—!]
Instinct roared wildly, and his power was about to explode again—
“Sleep tight~”
A gentle, humming voice whispered.
“My baby~”
That soft murmur pierced Harris’s ears.
‘…My baby?’
