Chapter 39
“You were standing just fine a moment ago. Why did you have to fall and make a mess of things?”
“I don’t know. Someone pushed me on the back…”
“Pushed you?”
“Yes. But there’s no one else in the tower except us. Maybe it was the wind…?”
Eki rubbed at her back with a troubled expression. Honestly, what bothered her more than being trapped in a wardrobe with Cassius was the fact that someone had shoved her.
“C-Could it be that there’s a ghost here too?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Ghosts, honestly.”
As always, Cassius cut off her worries with his usual cold tone.
While she pouted, he sighed and ran a hand through his long, smooth white hair.
“Either way, looks like we’re both stuck in here.”
“Looks that way.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Why are you asking me? You’re the one with better magic skills, Master.”
Cassius was the one who had developed the wardrobe’s magic in the first place… and the one who had failed at it.
It would obviously be faster for him to handle the magical analysis and find a way out than for her to struggle with it.
“……”
But Cassius didn’t respond. He stayed silent, lips pressed together.
Eki grew uneasy and tugged at his sleeve.
“W-Why aren’t you saying anything? We can get out of here, right?”
“…Probably. I think so.”
He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead.
“It’s just… this is an old spell. I don’t remember it well. I abandoned the project halfway because of the side effects, so I’ll have to recheck it slowly.”
“That’s fine. I thought you’d need time to analyze it anyway. We’ll just wait.”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Eki could make out the outline of Cassius’s sharp, handsome features contorting slightly in thought.
“Is something bothering you, Master?”
“It’ll take at least an hour.”
“An hour?!”
“Yes. Why do you think I got trapped in here and couldn’t get out on my own?”
“…Because Master’s an idiot who trapped himself?”
“What?”
Clang! Cassius jerked in outrage, and the entire wardrobe shook. Eki squealed and grabbed his arm.
“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!”
“Of course you didn’t! You just called me an idiot, didn’t you?!”
“It was a joke! …Actually, no, it wasn’t. I have thought that sometimes. Ah, seriously!”
“Eki Provanet…”
There was no point in arguing any further. The stifling air inside the wardrobe was already exhausting them both.
Eki was the first to apologize.
“I’m sorry. Anyway, I didn’t mean idiot exactly. I just thought you might’ve panicked a little and couldn’t get out, that’s all.”
“……”
“Anyway, even if it takes an hour, we can get out, right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
She didn’t like the idea of being stuck in there for an hour, but since it had all happened because she’d fallen, she just wiped her cold sweat and smiled faintly.
“As expected of a genius archmage! I’ll count on you, Master. Please hurry and dismantle the magic circle.”
Cassius’s eyes narrowed.
He looked down at her as if judging whether she meant it, then seemed to remember that she had drunk Ikelid’s truth potion.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. It seemed he didn’t actually dislike the genuine praise.
“Then wait for a bit.”
“Yes, sir.”
After that, Cassius began analyzing the magic circle in earnest.
Eki stood there quietly, still pressed close to him, and admired his handsome face.
‘I don’t exactly welcome being stuck like this… but still, it’s kind of nice getting to look at Master’s face up close for this long.’
Their knees and thighs were close enough to touch.
If Cassius so much as leaned forward, their bodies would overlap. But instead, he pressed his back flat against the wardrobe wall, as if his one and only pupil were something poisonous, desperately trying to maintain distance.
Eki stared at him openly, and Cassius deliberately ignored her gaze. His sharp green eyes were fixed only on the glowing magic circle suspended in the air.
“…Master.”
“What.”
“I want to touch your adam’s apple.”
The silence didn’t last long.
That damned potion of Ikelid’s was still working perfectly.
Eki flinched and covered her mouth.
“…My adam’s apple?”
Cassius let out a short, incredulous laugh. He pressed one large hand down on the top of her head.
“What, planning an assassination?”
“Ugh, stop pushing me!”
“Stop spouting nonsense and just breathe quietly. You’re distracting me.”
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