Chapter 3: A Perfect Plan to Avoid a Death
What did I just hear?
A lifelong contract…?
I felt like my brain had stopped from the shock.
Heraith, seeing me frozen with my mouth agape, gently pushed up my chin.
“You’ll catch a bug like that.”
As soon as I saw that smug grin of his, heat surged up to my head.
“You con artist!”
“Just now figured it out?”
The sweet, sugar-melting demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by sheer shamelessness.
“With how naïve you are, how do you expect to survive in a world full of malice?”
“Naïve…?”
Naïve? If anyone was the farthest from that, it was me.
“No helping it. I guess I’ll have to protect you.”
“Protect me?! From what?!”
I glared at the ring and clenched my teeth.
This is the symbol of the contract? Then I’ll just throw it away!
I yanked the ring off my finger and hurled it at Heraith. But it never reached him.
As if it bounced off a transparent wall, the ring ricocheted and flew straight back at me.
Whack!
“Ow!”
I flinched and crouched down as the ring struck my forehead precisely. Above me, Heraith laughed.
“No use. The symbol of the contract can’t be removed that easily. Even if you take it off, it’ll always come back to you, so don’t waste your energy.”
He mockingly smiled as he slipped the ring back onto my finger.
“Let go of me! You damn—! Cough! Ugh… haah…”
As my anger spiked, my heart began to pound painfully.
I clutched my chest and gasped for breath. Heraith, clearly startled, reached over and rubbed my back.
“You’re fine. Deep breaths now.”
I followed his instructions, slowly catching my breath. Once I regained a bit of composure, I glared at him sharply, forgetting even my fear.
“Judging by that look, I’d say you’re feeling better now.”
As if!
“You bastard! Go rot in a dungeon somewhere!”
“Oh dear, but I can’t leave your side—”
Heraith trailed off. At the same time, both the ruby on my finger and the back of his hand lit up.
“Damn it.”
He cursed under his breath—
BOOM! KA-BANG! THUD!
With a loud crash, he was suddenly slammed downward.
Dust clouded my vision as I blinked in shock.
What just happened? Did Heraith fall through the floor of my bedroom…?
It was as if an invisible force had smashed him down through the floor, sending him crashing endlessly below.
“…Wizard?”
Whoosh—
A cold breeze rose from the gaping hole in the floor, blowing my hair into the air.
The sight of that bottomless dark pit sent chills down my spine.
“Wizard! Are you alive?!”
No response.
“Hey, Heraith? He-ra-ith!”
Heraith— Heraith—
My voice echoed endlessly. That’s how deep he had fallen.
Even after some time, he didn’t return, and I slowly clenched my fist.
“…I didn’t mean to get rid of him like that, but… Mission accomplished?”
Just as I said that—
Whack!
“Ouch!”
“What mission accomplished?”
I knew it. He wouldn’t die from something like that.
“What just happened?”
Feeling like I might be in trouble, I rubbed my sore forehead and asked. Heraith dusted off his clothes with a sigh.
“You used a Word of Command.”
“A what?”
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.
Heraith flicked his finger toward the hole in the floor.
Whoosh—
Light swirled and gathered at the gap in the floor, and in the blink of an eye, the hole was completely sealed.
“The hole disappeared…”
Was this the power of an archmage? My eyes sparkled as I carefully tapped the floor with my foot. Heraith chuckled and continued.
“I told you—I can’t disobey your orders.”
He raised the back of his hand toward me, and the faint glow of the magical mark reappeared.
“‘Word of Command’—exactly what it sounds like. I have to obey my master’s commands, no matter what.”
“What if you refuse?”
“Then the contract’s restrictions kick in and force me to act, like earlier.”
He glanced at the ruby on my ring finger.
“Since that lit up too, it means the contract worked properly. We’re bound.”
Despite his calm explanation, I was still a mess inside.
“Wait. So you mean you fell through the floor because I told you to disappear underground…?”
“Exactly. And depending on how strongly or sincerely you wish for something, the command’s power changes.”
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and gave a crooked smile. A strange light flickered in his drowsy eyes.
“Siena… You must’ve really wanted me gone. I didn’t expect to get buried that deep.”
“…You were the one who tricked me in the first place.”
How was I supposed to know it would go that far?
“Well, this much is getting off easy. At least you didn’t curse me to die.”
“…What happens if I do?”
No way… Could something that serious—life or death—also be forced?
“I’d probably stab my own heart. Or slit my throat.”
He’s insane. Even if you hate being sealed, agreeing to a contract like this is just absurd.
“But my heart stopped beating 500 years ago, so I wouldn’t die. If you’re curious, give it a try.”
“…What?”
“The final restriction: I can’t die. Because of that, my body’s time is frozen. Naturally, my heart too.”
Heraith shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“Are you… immortal?”
“Yep.”
“Must be nice. Not dying, I mean.”
As someone with only a few months left to live, I was admittedly envious. But Heraith didn’t seem thrilled.
“Immortal? Sounds good, right? But do you know how awful it is to live in the same space for 500 years without being able to die?”
His blue eyes flashed like lightning. It was the look of someone half-crazed.
“I finally escaped that cursed place. There’s no way I’m going back. Like it or not, I won’t leave your side until you die.”
I could understand his desperation—but honestly, he picked the wrong person.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“I’m terminally ill.”
Silence fell between us.
When Heraith finally opened his mouth, his face was filled with genuine panic.
“Terminally ill? I waited 500 years… and the person I meet is terminally ill?”
“Yup. Ter-mi-nal.”
With each syllable I emphasized, the crease between his brows deepened.
“…How long?”
“Five months.”
His blue eyes wavered in shock. For the first time, his expression turned hollow.
He actually looks good like that.
For once, I felt like I got the upper hand on him.
Heraith was clearly shaken by the revelation and flailed helplessly in despair.
“Terminally ill… and only five months? No wonder your body’s all weird… That can’t even be called a body…”
“Excuse me? I’ve lived twenty years with this ‘weird’ body, you know. That’s a rude thing to say.”
“Twenty years… in that kind of body…”
“That kind of body?! I’ve been doing my best to maintain it and live properly, you know! Want me to throw some cold water on you?!”
Even if it creaked with every step!
“Siena… you’ve been through a lot…”
Pity filled his eyes as he looked at me.
Wow. I must be the only person in the world to receive pity from a literal devil.
Not that I felt honored. If even a guy like him pitied me, that just meant my body was trash.
As if to assess my condition, Heraith looked me over from head to toe, then suddenly turned toward the door.
“So noisy.”
As he said, the hallway outside had grown loud. Rushed footsteps approached, and then—
Bang! The door slammed open.
Maids and servants burst in like a tidal wave.
“Milady! You’re here!”
“What’s all the noise?”
They didn’t even knock. I raised an eyebrow at the rudeness.
“Are you alright, milady? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“We were so worried when you disappeared!”
“Then there was this huge crash like the building was collapsing—we thought something terrible had happened…”
All of their eyes turned toward Heraith, full of suspicion.
“Who is that man?”
“Oh, well, he’s…”
Crap. How was I supposed to explain Heraith’s sudden appearance?
“A guest.”
It was the safest excuse I could come up with. But Lina wasn’t easily fooled.
“What kind of guest exactly? Please explain why he’s in milady’s bedroom.”
Some of the servants subtly started backing away, probably to go report to the steward.
“I’m Siena’s magic tutor. I’ll be staying in the room next door from now on, teaching her magic and managing her health. Understood?”
With a snap of his fingers, the servants’ eyes glazed over, their focus vanishing.
They stared at him blankly like broken dolls, then answered in unison:
“Yes.”
I got chills. They were like puppets on strings.
“Unless you have business with Siena, leave.”
“Yes.”
They all shuffled out, and only Lina remained. She approached me.
“Milady, it’s time for your medicine.”
“This way.”
Heraith gestured casually, and Lina handed over the tray with pills and water. Without turning back, she left.
Thunk. The door shut.
What the hell just happened…?
I stared at Heraith—the cause of it all—as he flexed his hand and smiled in satisfaction.
“Looks like I’m not rusty.”
“What did you just do?!”
“Mind manipulation magic. To put it simply—brainwashing.”
