Chapter 10
Then what do I do! I was counting on the brainwashing working!
“You seem quite talented yourself.”
Is talent the problem right now? This is a disaster. Look at his eyes—he’s totally suspicious!
“What talent? What are you two whispering about over there?”
“Ah, it’s nothing!”
Noah’s neatly shaped eyebrows shot up.
“Nothing, huh? And what do you mean, magic all of a sudden…”
“Oh! I suddenly feel dizzy…! I must have stayed under the sun too long.”
“Dizzy? Why would you go out for a walk when you’re not feeling well?”
Wait a minute. I think I just dug my own grave. Whatever!
“I should go lie down. Let’s talk later!”
I rushed out the words before Noah could stop me and patted Herace on the shoulder.
“Quick.”
I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. As if waiting for that, Herace quickened his pace.
“Siena!”
“Later, brother!”
I escaped from Noah’s sight like I was fleeing.
Fortunately, Noah didn’t chase after me.
He must have gone to shower since I told him not to come near me while I hadn’t washed.
“Heren, call the family doctor.”
“Why? You’ve got me.”
Muttering something about how I always underestimate him, Herace placed his hand on my leg.
“Hold it so it doesn’t slip.”
Startled, I grabbed the hem of my skirt, and his large, firm hand wrapped around my calf.
“Wait.”
“Bear with the sting. It’ll be quick.”
Each time his hand brushed my skin, it felt like I was being burned.
‘It’s not painful—it just feels… weird…’
I flinched at the ticklish sensation, and Herace’s grip tightened slightly.
“Embarrassed?”
“Wh-what do you mean, embarrassed!”
I jerked my head sharply to the side with a loud snap.
Honestly, I was embarrassed.
I’d never really had physical contact with the opposite sex. I hadn’t even properly dated anyone.
Even with my ex-fiancé, Rio, the most we did was hold hands or link arms.
So I had zero immunity to this kind of situation.
Herace, quick on the uptake, immediately caught on.
“Relax.”
His gaze softened as he looked up at me.
“The way you’re acting, it’s like I’m going to eat you or something.”
“W-what?”
Eat—eat me?! How can he say something so indecent?!
Appalled, I tried to scoot away, but he caught me right away.
“Trying to run?”
“Maybe we really should call the doctor…”
“Yeah. This is gonna sting a little.”
Cutting off my words, Herace cupped my knee.
Pain throbbed as his hand touched the wound, but it didn’t last long.
Just like the day he patched up the hole in my bedroom floor, a white light flared from Herace’s hand and gently wrapped around the wound.
The warm energy loosened the tension in my stiff body.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand, and the wound had completely vanished.
“You can use healing magic too?”
“To a certain extent.”
As soon as the treatment was done, Herace adjusted my skirt and clicked his tongue.
“Fall twice more and something might actually break.”
“It’s not that bad.”
Despite my protest, he sighed deeply.
“Can’t carry you around in my pocket either.”
“Say something that makes sense.”
“…Maybe I can shrink you with magic? If I modify an object-shrinking spell, I could probably shrink you too. If it works, wanna live in my pocket?”
He glanced between his jacket pocket and me with a serious face.
“I’ll cherish and adore you.”
“Stop saying weird things.”
“Weird? I’m always sincere.”
“Enough. You really sound insane now.”
“Even your insults are cute, Sisi.”
Cute…?
Clearly, he’s never heard a real insult before.
“You psycho piece of ****, you seriously sound like a ****ing perverted bastard, so shut your goddamn mouth.”
At the sudden burst of profanity, Herace blinked slowly.
“You…”
Trailing off, he stared at me before the corners of his eyes creased gently.
“Wow. You curse pretty well. It’s a surprising charm.”
“I’m gonna lose it…”
Faced with this formidable opponent, I tightly shut my eyes.
Noah Winter.
The eldest son of the Winter Duchy, and Siena’s older brother by five years.
With the silver hair and red eyes passed down through the Winter bloodline, his cold expression made him one of the Empire’s five Sword Masters.
His main duty was to search for rare artifacts, magical tools, and relics that could help cure Siena’s illness, alongside his Winter Knights.
You ask why a Sword Master wasn’t protecting the Empire?
“Let the others do that.”
To Noah, the Empire wasn’t important—his dying sister was.
That’s why he desperately chased after every lead related to a cure.
In that process, he heard a rumor about an abandoned dragon’s nest.
It had been deserted so long that impure energy had gathered, and monsters frequently appeared.
Still, it was a dragon’s nest—there had to be something useful.
Noah immediately rushed there.
That was already a month ago.
Having killed the monsters and gathered the remaining treasures, Noah returned home in high spirits—only to sense something strange.
“Young Master. Thank goodness you’re safe.”
Chester, Noah’s aide, greeted him with a tearful expression.
“How have you been, Chester?”
“Oh, well…”
His sentence trailed off, but his pale skin and sunken eyes spoke volumes.
“You’ve had a rough time.”
“If you really appreciate my hard work, could you please stay at the mansion for a while?”
Due to Siena’s medicine, Noah was away from home often, so Chester had been handling most affairs.
“I will. It’s time I stayed by Siena’s side.”
“…She’ll be very happy.”
“Pick something useful from the treasures I brought and give it to Siena.”
“Understood.”
He hoped what he’d brought back this time would be of help to her.
“Also—there’s someone named Herace with Siena. Do we know his exact identity?”
“Ah, the magician. He’s Lady Siena’s magic teacher. Arrived at the mansion two weeks ago.”
“How did he find the duchy? Did Siena bring him herself?”
“No. She never left. Apparently, she summoned him, and he came on his own.”
Something felt off.
There were no magicians in Siena’s life.
Ever since she received her terminal diagnosis, she’d shut herself in and severed all outside contact.
So how did she summon a magician?
“Anything suspicious?”
“No. They seem to get along well.”
“Really?”
Knowing her personality, Siena wouldn’t let anyone near her unless necessary.
Still… something doesn’t sit right.
Even when he asked Chester, the butler, and others in the mansion, the answer was always the same.
A magician who appeared two weeks ago.
Unpacked in the room next to Siena.
Always by her side.
That was all they knew.
“Not parrots, are they? Everyone’s saying the same thing. Like they’ve all been brainwashed.”
“Well, they’ve only known him a short while. It’s unavoidable.”
Igus, vice-captain of the Winter Knights, shrugged.
“Still, isn’t it weird Chester and the butler know nothing about the guy? Not even his origin or surname.”
“Yeah, that is suspicious.”
No information—no family background, social status, age, or history.
“…Captain, could it be he’s some kind of conman trying to seduce Lady Siena and make a score?”
“A conman?”
“I mean, he’s got a handsome face and even charmed the whole staff. It’s possible, right?”
Possible, my ass.
Siena had high walls—she didn’t open up to people easily. Not even for a pretty face.
There’s a reason she’s called “the Iron Wall.”
“Nonsense…”
Just then, a scene flashed through Noah’s mind—
Siena smiling in the magician’s arms.
Crunch.
The document in Noah’s hand crumpled.
“No way… Siena, with a guy like that…”
“Doubt can kill, you know. You said all we have is a name. The rest could be fake too. It’s obvious he plans to take advantage of her and run.”
Igus launched into a passionate speech, saying even the name might be fake.
Even if society called her a villainess, Siena was the precious jewel of the Winter Duchy.
If some shady man was hanging around her, it couldn’t be overlooked.
“You know a lot about these tricks, Igus.”
“…My little sister fell victim to one recently.”
“Oh no.”
“It’s fine. I broke his legs. He won’t be doing that again.”
Igus wiped his nose triumphantly.
“Good job. Scumbags like that deserve it.”
“Anyway, if this magician guy is one of them—!”
“Then I’ll cut off his head.”
“Huh?”
Noah rose from his seat and strapped on his sword.
“C-Captain?!”
“If he’s approached Siena with impure intentions, I’ll deal with him first.”
Did he just say cut off his head?! Like, for real?!
As a cold aura flowed from Noah, Igus slowly backed away.
“Well, we can always check if he’s really a conman or not…”
Slam!
The door slammed shut.
Igus finally let out a breath.
“Why take it out on me? Captain…”
People probably don’t know—
That the man called cold-blooded is, in truth, a hardcore siscon.
