Master, I Swear I Didn’t Mean To! - Chapter 37

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Eki had always been quite an honest woman.

If she liked someone, she approached them easily, and if she didn’t, she cut them off in one go.

It wasn’t until she entered the Academy that she learned to hide what she really felt.

‘Your name’s Mila? Let’s be friends!’

‘Uh…?’

Mila had been the prettiest girl in the Department of Magical Development at the time.

Her soft, fluffy brown bob, the gentle downward slant of her eyes, and her plump, inviting lips were all so perfect that every student’s attention was drawn to her.

Naturally, Eki was among them, and she started hanging around Mila, determined to befriend such a beautiful girl.

‘Sorry. You’re kind of too much for me.’

That was how Mila rejected her, coldly and bluntly.

Eki was taken aback. In her couple short decades of life, not a single beautiful person had ever turned her down before.

Embarrassed, she didn’t lash out but instead reflected on herself. She thought about her behavior, wondering how she could make friends without coming across as rude or overwhelming.

As a result, Eki eventually succeeded in befriending Mila.

‘You’re actually not a bad person, huh?’

When Mila smiled softly and said that, Eki had been so happy she almost floated into the air.

It had taken two full years of attending the Academy to reach that level of friendship, but Eki was content.

That happiness dimmed a little when Mila began dating Giyote and the three of them started spending time together, but still, through that experience, Eki had learned how to hide the overflowing desires that came so naturally to her.

‘In short, I learned how to fake innocence.’

Even around Cassius, she thought she’d done a good job concealing the indecent side of herself.

He’d noticed that she liked beautiful people, sure, but the baser desires beneath that… those, she had hidden perfectly well.

And yet…

“Ah.”

While carrying several long sheets of parchment, Eki didn’t see where she was going and bumped straight into Cassius.

He reflexively reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. Her body fit neatly against his. Suddenly, she found herself staring up close at his elegant jawline and throat.

‘It’s the luck potion event again!’

Thankfully, she hadn’t grabbed his chest or g***n this time, so maybe she could laugh it off.

But her mouth refused to stay shut.

“Master’s hands… are big and warm. It feels nice. I want you to keep holding me.”

“……”

“Ah, uh. I’m sor—”

“Enough.”

Cassius cut her off sharply, releasing her at once. He strode out of the lab in quick, heavy steps.

“Master? Where are you going? You haven’t finished drawing the magic circle yet!”

“Going to get magic stones.”

“The storage room? But I already brought them here—”

“Forget it. Just do your work!”

His snow-white hair vanished down the corridor in an instant.

Eki blinked blankly after him.

Only after she set the parchment down on the desk did she realize that… he had left because he was embarrassed.

She slumped into her chair and dropped her head onto the table.

“Ah, what am I supposed to do…”

It had been two days since Ikelid’s visit.

He’d said it would only make her a little more honest, but having every unfiltered thought slip out of her mouth was utterly mortifying.

Eki had been trying her hardest not to talk at all.

But the cursed potion wouldn’t even allow silence. Her inner thoughts just kept bursting out.

‘Master! Your expression right now is so handsome!’

‘By the way, what kind of soap do you use? Why do you always smell so nice?’

‘Master, can we invite a painter to the tower? I think someone needs to paint your portrait.’

Eki had always treated Cassius with familiarity, but it was still within the boundaries of what was acceptable between a master and his disciple.

She had never once blurted out things like, “Master, you look handsome again today,” or “I think your shoulder line is really beautiful.” She swore she hadn’t.

Thanks to Ikelid’s truth potion, she felt ashamed over and over again, but truth be told, Cassius’s reactions were even more intense than hers.

He would pretend not to hear and run away, or his face would turn bright red, or he would snap irritably.

So every time Eki realized she had crossed a line, she was left with a strange feeling.

‘I thought he’d despise me for it… but he doesn’t, does he?’