Chapter 49
‘How long is Master planning to stay sulky?’
Eki glanced toward Cassius, who was standing at a distance, drawing a magic circle over a potion. His expression was as indifferent and composed as ever, yet his lips were still firmly shut.
Those lips that had always been busy scolding her. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, those very lips had been letting out muffled sounds of pleasure.
“I want to hear it again.”
She muttered without thinking, then startled herself and shook her head wildly.
But apparently, Cassius had heard her. He asked reflexively,
“What do you want to hear?”
“Ah, that…”
Eki was still under the lingering effect of the truth-inducing potion. In the end, she blurted out the truth.
“Y-Your, um… your voice, Master.”
“……”
“I’m sorry.”
The apology came out fast, but Cassius’s hand, which had been shaking the flask, froze mid-air. His shoulders trembled slightly, and he pressed his lips together again.
The tips of his ears, visible beneath his hair, were burning red. Seeing them, Eki was struck by an absurd urge to bite them. And of course, that thought didn’t stop at merely being a thought.
“Now I kinda want to bite your ear too… ah, I’m really sorry.”
Eki screamed inwardly.
That cursed potion! Should she just make an antidote and drink it now?
Her master had said that ordinary antidotes wouldn’t work on a potion crafted by Association Head Lagus, and that she should wait until the effect wore off. So she had been quietly waiting for time to pass, but it seemed that wouldn’t do anymore.
“I’ll, um, try making an antidote for the truth potion myself.”
“…No need. We don’t have the time anyway.”
Cassius relaxed his stiff shoulders and resumed shaking the flask. He stammered as he spoke.
“Ikelid’s potion is far stronger and more complex than you’d expect. So even for me, analyzing it and creating a counteragent would take a long time. For now, just… endure it.”
“But I keep bothering you, Master.”
“Doesn’t matter. There’s no time for it anyway.”
Then Cassius accidentally nudged the pile of parchments beside him with his elbow.
Before either of them could react with magic, the papers came crashing down in a heap across the floor. Eki jumped and hurried toward him. She didn’t even have time to think whether this was another effect of the luck potion or not.
“Are you alright? Please be careful. These are the parchments with your magic circles drawn on them.”
Cassius again chose to remain silent. Normally, he would have grumbled, “It’s not like I knocked them over on purpose!” but instead, he simply bit his lip and stepped back.
As Eki bent down to gather the fallen parchments, she noticed something odd about Cassius’s posture. She glanced sideways and her eyes met a rather suspicious-looking part of his trousers.
‘…Did I see that wrong?’
Straightening again, Eki deliberately looked at the space between Cassius’s legs. He quickly turned his body aside, grinding his teeth.
“What are you looking at.”
“Master.”
“What.”
“Are you hard right now?”
A bright flush spread across Cassius’s pale cheeks. He turned his head away with a rough exhale.
“Just clean up and go back to your seat.”
“But you really are, right now. Is it because of what I said earlier?”
“Go back to your seat!”
Eki wanted to, but her unruly voice spoke ahead of her thoughts.
“Can you even keep making potions like that?”
“Eki!”
Cassius finally raised his voice again, but his face, blushing like a peach blossom, made him look anything but intimidating.
Eki’s heart thumped hard, like a drumbeat. As if drawn by gravity, her gaze kept flicking toward his lower body.
In the end, she opened her mouth.
“Should I… help you again?”
“What?”
Cassius stared at her in disbelief. His eyes, usually calm and sharp, trembled like spring water. He flinched, shaking his shoulders, and quickly shook his head.
“N-No. That won’t be necessary. I’m never asking you to do something like that again…”
“Master, it’s getting worse.”
“Damn it.”
Cassius covered his mouth with the back of his hand and steadied himself against the desk. His chest rose and fell heavily with each heated breath.
Eki felt horribly embarrassed by her own words, yet she couldn’t look away from her master’s unfamiliar, discomposed state.
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