Chapter 2. Don’t Pick Up Random Things
“She fainted.”
As Sienna suddenly lost consciousness and fell backward, Herace caught her. His blue eyes contorted in discomfort.
“Was it really that scary?”
Fainting the moment she recognized who he was—it was a situation that left even him flustered.
He’d seen people tremble in fear before, but fainting? That was a first.
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong with her body, too?”
Pale complexion, dark circles under her eyes, and a body so thin she looked sick at a glance.
“At this rate, we might as well prepare a funeral.”
Not willing to wait for her to wake up on her own, Herace teleported to where her energy was strongest.
Snap.
With a snap of his fingers, he arrived in Sienna’s room, laid her gently on the bed, and looked around.
‘How much time has passed?’
Soon after, he found a calendar and discovered that 500 years had passed.
“Five hundred years, huh. That’s quite a long time.”
Losing interest, Herace casually pulled a red gem out from within his robe.
‘Should I destroy it or not?’
As he debated, he recalled Sienna—who had fainted the moment she heard his name—and loosened his grip on the gem.
‘Let’s keep this as insurance.’
Instead of destroying it, he placed the gem neatly on the table.
Then, he sat by Sienna’s bedside and stared at her face for a long time.
As he gently touched her cheek, a familiar energy radiated from her.
So the aura he’d sensed from within the gem hadn’t been his imagination.
“If only she weren’t a descendant of Agave.”
To be unsealed by the descendant of the very person who had sealed him—it was an ironic fate.
Herace placed his hand over her chest and slowly gathered mana.
A flicker of static, like a tiny lightning bolt, sparked and vanished without a trace.
“Just as I thought…”
He slowly withdrew his hand.
“Well and truly bound.”
Despite his words, there was no hint of annoyance in his tone. If anything, he looked amused.
“You don’t seem to want me around…”
But it didn’t matter.
Herace couldn’t afford to let go of this golden opportunity—perhaps the last one he’d ever get—in 500 years.
A smile broke across his otherwise listless and bored face.
It was the first smile he’d shown since that day.
* * *
If only all this were a dream.
But reality was cruel.
“She’s waking up.”
“Gasp!”
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Herace’s face—and I gasped.
‘Y-you’re way too close!’
He was so close I could feel his breath. My vision spun.
“Didn’t expect you to collapse on the spot like that. I thought you died.”
Grumbling, Herace leaned back slightly.
“Ugh. Cough, cough.”
I clutched my wildly pounding heart and groaned.
‘That face is bad for my heart…!’
I’d nearly fainted again right after waking up.
I pulled the blanket over my head and curled up tightly. Herace clicked his tongue.
“You’re seriously weak. Even that potted plant over there looks healthier than you.”
“I was born this way, what do you want me to do?”
Feeling faint, I weakly lifted my face from the pillow to glance at Herace.
He was tall, built, had golden hair that shimmered, and a handsome face. He radiated a bored, languid aura.
He must’ve sensed my stare, because he turned to me and asked,
“Are you scared of me?”
“Uh, wh-what?”
“You fainted the moment you recognized me.”
“Well… to be honest, yeah. You’re the Contractor of the Demon, after all.”
A Contractor of the Demon. Literally someone who made a contract with a demon.
The man right in front of me.
Herace had once used the power of demons to destroy the First Empire.
‘No one knows exactly why he destroyed it, though.’
After committing an unforgivable sin, he had been sealed away.
By none other than his own teacher—Agave.
“I must be famous, huh? You recognized me even though I’ve been sealed for 500 years.”
“No, normally people wouldn’t. You’ve been erased from history.”
No one knew who he was. More precisely, his name had been erased.
All that remained of him was the label: Demon.
As 500 years passed, he faded into obscurity.
“Is that so? Well, it’s been a long time, after all.”
No one was curious about the demon’s name anymore.
After all, it was just a legend now.
‘And stories like that always get exaggerated or changed over time—most people just think of them as folktales.’
These days, his legend was reduced to a simple warning: If you cry, the demon will get you.
The only reason I knew the truth was because I was the descendant of Agave, the one who sealed him.
Naturally, the Winter family had a trove of documents and magical tools passed down from our ancestor Agave.
That’s how I recognized Herace’s identity the moment I heard his name.
‘The problem is, I didn’t know he was sealed in our house.’
If I had, I would’ve never gone near that place.
I glanced nervously at the sealing gem Herace had placed on the table.
“Um… Is that the Ruby?”
“It is.”
Damn it! No wonder it sparkled differently from a normal jewel!
Ruby—named for its crimson color—was a legendary magical artifact created by Agave himself, using his mana and 100 holy relics.
It was the only sealing tool in existence, made solely to imprison Herace.
“Then… how did I even break the seal?”
“You did it unknowingly?”
“…If I knew, I wouldn’t have done it, would I?”
We both blinked at each other, wearing similar confused expressions.
Herace regained his composure first.
“You must’ve done it unconsciously.”
“I have no idea what that means. Could you maybe explain it to me?”
“You unconsciously used magic and broke my seal.”
What the hell?
“But I’m not even a mage…”
“That’s impossible. You’re overflowing with talent.”
“Excuse me?!”
“You breaking the seal is proof. Normal people can’t even see the Ruby.”
Gasp—so that’s why Rina couldn’t see it? I thought it was her eyesight, but turns out I was the weird one.
“You really didn’t know anything, huh.”
“Yep… that’s the truth I learned after 20 years of life.”
Herace gently patted my slumped shoulder.
“Be happy. You’ve got the opportunity to use a legendary Archmage however you like. Why not take the chance to learn magic from me?”
What glory? I don’t want to command anyone! I just want a quiet life!
“Hey, could you stop calling me Master, please?”
“Then what should I call you?”
After a moment of thought, he said playfully,
“How about darling?”
His gentle voice sounded sweet, but knowing who he really was made it nothing short of creepy.
“Are you insane?”
“If you hate that, at least tell me your name.”
“Sigh… It’s Sienna Winter.”
At that, Herace’s face hardened.
“…Sienna?”
His reaction worried me. I asked cautiously,
“Is there something wrong with my name?”
“No. It’s just… a name I like.”
Somehow that made it worse.
While I cringed, Herace seemed unusually pleased.
“Sienna. My name is Herace Eckbert.”
“…I know. You’ve introduced yourself like three times now.”
Every time I hear it, my heart skips a beat—it’s exhausting.
“Um, Mage? Demon contractor?”
“Just call me Herace.”
“…I’ll stick with Mage.”
“You’re stubborn.”
I pretended not to hear his complaint.
“I may have woken you, but it was an accident. Why don’t you find another master? Or maybe go enjoy your freedom?”
“That’s impossible. I can’t leave your side.”
“Why?”
I tilted my head, and Herace showed me the back of his left hand.
Three rugged lines crossed it—looking like scars or perhaps tattoos.
“A mage poured all their power into casting this on me 500 years ago. It’s like a geas.”
“A geas?”
“Exactly. It prohibits certain actions. One of them is that I can’t leave my master’s side.”
What?! So I’m stuck with Herace?
“Can’t you break it?”
“Technically yes… but not right now.”
“Ugh… Why did Agave put such a bothersome spell on you?”
Herace just smiled silently.
“…So what are the other prohibited actions?”
“One: I can’t leave your side. Two: I can’t disobey your orders. Three: I can’t die.”
The first two I understood, but the last one… what?
As I pondered the strange rule, a thought flashed through my head.
“Wait. You can’t leave my side—but can’t you return to the Ruby? That would still count, right? It’s a command.”
“…Sharp of you. Yeah. I can’t leave your side—but if it’s the Ruby, I can go in.”
Thank goodness. A silver lining at last!
“Then—!”
“Before that.”
Herace quickly cut me off.
“Let me see your hand.”
“…Why?”
Suspicious, I stared at him, but he only shrugged innocently.
I looked at his outstretched left hand.
‘Doesn’t seem dangerous… it should be fine, right?’
Okay. Just think of it as a goodbye gesture.
As I placed my hand in his, I heard a faint hiss—like air escaping.
“Didn’t anyone teach you not to give your hand to strange men so easily?”
“You asked politely.”
“Even if they ask politely, you still shouldn’t. It could lead to big trouble.”
Herace chuckled softly and smiled as our eyes met.
“You gave me your hand—so don’t blame me later.”
“…Huh?”
“You’ve got slender fingers. This will suit you.”
As he gently played with my hand, he slipped a ring onto my ring finger.
His smooth motion left me no time to pull away.
“…It really suits you.”
“Wait, this is the Ruby!”
I looked between the now-empty table and the gem on my finger in shock.
‘When did he turn it into a ring?!’
I pushed him away and stood up.
“What are you trying to pull?!”
“It’s not a trick. I just want to stay with you.”
With a sweet voice like melted candy, Herace took my hand again.
Then he kissed the Ruby ring on my finger—
—as if swearing an eternal vow.
The heat spread across my face again.
“W-what do you think you’re doing…?!”
“There.”
Still holding my hand, his drowsy gaze curved in satisfaction.
“What do you mean there?! Go back into the Ruby. Now!”
“That’s a problem. We’re already bound.”
My flushed face went pale.
“…Why?”
“One, we exchanged names. Two, I gave you the Ruby, the sealing tool and medium. Three, I pledged to follow you.”
He whispered softly,
“We’ve fulfilled the three conditions for a contract. Too late to refuse.”
“This is fraud! You tricked me!”
“You tried to get rid of me. That’s on you, Sienna.”
“No, you’re the one at fault!”
I never wanted to be his master! Who in their right mind wants to be the master of a demon contractor?!
‘I don’t need a servant—I just want a long, quiet life!’
I tried to remove the ring, but couldn’t pull my hand away from his.
He looked at my flustered expression and smirked wickedly.
“By the way, the contract lasts until you die.”
“…What?”
“It’s a lifetime contract. You innocent little lady.”
As he caressed my ring finger, Herace smiled deeply.
