Chapter 20
“It wasn’t a bad deal for me. It’s not like I had any interests outside of magic anyway.”
Indeed, Cassius indulged in no hobbies or leisure of any kind. He simply developed magic, and developed more, and more, like a workhorse.
‘I thought he was just a workaholic.’
It was because he was a dragon. Dragons, by nature, had no interest in anything outside of what captured their attention.
“So the Association knows your identity, Master?”
“No. Only the Association head and his close aides.”
“So it’s still a secret, huh?”
“That’s right. It’d turn the world upside down.”
To humans, dragons were criminals. They had ripped apart the dimensional barrier and migrated to another world simply because they didn’t like humanity’s progress. They had done so knowing full well what would happen to the world if the barrier were torn.
‘I read about how dragons tried negotiating with humans multiple times, but…’
Just because diplomacy failed didn’t excuse the slaughter that followed. Eki had never seen dragons in a positive light.
‘Ah, this is too much. Master being a dragon? How am I supposed to process this?’
It was terrifying to accidentally stumble upon someone’s monumental secret. Even more so if that someone was the cold, irritable, sharp-tongued Cassius.
‘What if Master decides to get rid of me?’
As if reading her turmoil, Cassius spoke in his usual curt tone.
“I was going to tell you in three years anyway.”
“What?!”
“If you’ve been working in this tower for ten years, I’d take it as a sign you’re ready to commit your life to this place.”
“What?!”
“Am I wrong?”
“…No.”
He was right. Eki had every intention of staying as Cassius’s disciple indefinitely if nothing major happened.
“The truth will come out eventually, no matter how much you hide it. This just moved up the timeline.”
“And if I freaked out and ran away?”
“…Then I’d have to let you go.”
Oh. That was… unexpected.
‘I thought he’d tie me up and lock me in the dungeon.’
Hadn’t she been trembling in fear of exactly that?
Eki looked at him with wide, questioning eyes. Cassius raised one corner of his mouth.
“What, did you think I’d cut out your tongue?”
“Master! I wasn’t imagining something that extreme!”
“Then what were you imagining?”
“Uh… being imprisoned?”
He snorted.
Cassius snapped his fingers, and an intricate magic circle bloomed in the air, seeping into the potion. He finished brewing it and moved toward the shelf as he spoke.
“You always assume the worst.”
“What are you talking about? The worst?”
“Am I wrong? You always made that vacant, dazed face every time you looked at me.”
“I did?”
“…Forget it.”
Did she really look at him that strangely?
Eki touched her cheeks alternately, then reminded herself this wasn’t something to get sidetracked by.
“Master.”
“What.”
“Either way, you revealed your identity because of… what happened down in the basement, right?”
Cassius, who’d been lazily shifting vials with one hand, froze. He dropped his head slightly, answering in a voice that was low and somewhat heated.
“That’s right.”
“But isn’t it strange? You said you’re a dragon.”
“And?”
Cassius muttered the word through clenched lips.
“Was it… that strange?”
“Huh? …Ah.”
He must be talking about that deformed, scale-covered c**k unique to dragons. It had to be. No way would such a cynical, cold man react like that otherwise.
“N-No, that’s not what I meant. Dragons normally have no s****l desire, right?”
Cassius frowned and glanced at her. His cheeks were flushed a deep, alluring shade.
“Normally, yes.”
“But you had such an… intense, ahem, reaction.”
“……”
“Um. Maybe it was because of the luck potion?”
The black sleeveless shirt stretched tight against his chest, then loosened again as Cassius took in a deep breath and clenched his jaw. An awkward silence settled between them.
Did… did she hit a nerve?
Eki slowly edged away from him.
“I just meant… staying apart probably isn’t enough to counteract the potion’s effects. That’s what I was trying to say.”
“……”
“Master?”
“…Yeah.”
“You’re okay, right?”
She’d forgotten for a moment, but Cassius had just shown an utterly humiliating side of himself to a disciple so much younger than him. There was no way he was fine talking about it now.
“…Eki.”
“Yes.”
“I want to be alone.”
“Okay!”
She quickly tidied up her station and left the lab. But just as she was about to close the door, she peeked back in and spoke softly.
“But Master, we only get a thirty-minute break.”
“Just go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thud. The lab door closed.
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