The Chains Tighten
Solia must have flipped some kind of switch. With a bright, giggling smile, she asked me for everything she wanted.
“Aren, hold me.”
“Aren, kiss me.”
“Aren, let’s make a baby together…”
“Enough.”
Solia really did seem to suffer from some kind of affection deprivation. She kept demanding physical contact from me without pause.
I sighed and quietly pulled her into my arms.
Her full, soft body pressed against me unmistakably, but instead of pleasure, what I felt was closer to discomfort.
‘Hoo… How the hell did things end up like this?’
It was hard to believe she was the same person who had treated me so coldly before.
I let out another sigh and spoke.
“…Solia. You haven’t even heard what kind of ‘favor’ I’m going to ask for yet.”
At my rebuke, she turned her head away and answered in a small voice.
“Mmm… Yeah. But no matter what Aren asks for, I’ll do anything for you.”
“You’re thinking about this way too lightly… Solia, what if I asked you to kill someone? Would you still do it?”
She froze.
Solia’s entire body stiffened in an instant.
That was how shocked she was.
She looked up at me with trembling eyes.
“K-kill…? Aren, what are you saying?”
‘As expected. She thought I was just joking.’
Even if it wasn’t a joke, it seemed she had assumed my request would be something far more trivial than this.
Given how soft-hearted Solia was, asking her something like this was probably too much.
To drive her away, I deliberately spoke in a threatening tone.
“Why are you panicking now? Solia. You should have been prepared for at least this much.”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Aren, did someone hurt you? Then I’ll kill them. Who is it…?”
“Huh…?”
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
Had I heard her wrong?
Solia muttered in a chilling voice, as if she were ready to go deal with it right this second.
“Um…”
Maybe it was because I could feel her sincerity so clearly, but I was the one who became flustered.
‘…I was only trying to set the mood.’
I didn’t actually want Solia to kill anyone for me.
I simply needed someone to investigate a certain target.
As the eldest daughter of the Korpen family—one of the Empire’s most prestigious houses—and the greatest talent the Academy had produced since its founding, Solia more than met the qualifications. She exceeded them.
‘The problem is… the opponent’s status.’
Not only was the target’s social standing high, their martial prowess was nothing to scoff at either. Facing them wouldn’t be easy.
While I was lost in thought, Solia continued speaking as if it were nothing.
“Aren, you don’t throw around the words ‘kill someone’ lightly.”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
It seemed Solia still saw me as some kind of saint.
I was anything but a good person.
Even now, just looking at her slender neck made me want to snap it.
I wanted to pin her down, crush her completely, torment her, savor the way her face would twist in agony. I wanted to break her thoroughly, make her regret everything, and watch her cry until she had no tears left.
A single conversation and apology weren’t nearly enough to dissolve the knot inside me.
The ‘time’ during which those emotions had piled up was simply too vast.
I tried to act like nothing was wrong in front of Solia, but deep in my heart, something was still rotting away.
When my expression began to darken, Solia suddenly leaned in and bit the tip of my ear with a soft chomp.
She didn’t bite hard, but the sensation made my ear tingle intensely.
“Ugh. W-what are you doing…?”
Her moist, warm tongue brushed against my ear.
She savored it for a moment before speaking again.
“You looked like you were blaming yourself too much.”
“What…?”
“Aren. As your partner, I can promise you this—you’re not the kind of person who could kill someone. Look. Even when I approach you this shamelessly, you can’t push me away. You might hate me, you might loathe me… but you’re still trying to understand me, aren’t you?”
“What would you know…!”
For a second I thought she was mocking me, but her expression was utterly serious.
It was a face completely different from the clingy, dependent one she had shown earlier.
I sighed and deliberately avoided her gaze.
“Hah… Solia. I don’t know how you see me, but don’t make assumptions.”
“…Mmm, okay. So, Aren. Who is it that you want to kill? Just tell me! I’ll kill them right away!”
“……”
Watching Solia speak so cheerfully, I was at a loss for words.
How on earth had she changed this much?
“…I’m not asking you to kill anyone. I just need you to do some background investigation.”
“Background investigation…? Ah, so you need the power of my family?”
Solia’s brilliant mind instantly grasped the truth.
Proud of her house’s formidable influence, she spoke with confidence.
“So, who’s the target…? If you need the Korpen family’s strength, they must be no small fry. And… if I finish it quickly, will there be some kind of ‘reward’…?”
I looked at Solia, whose eyes had taken on a dangerous glint, and dropped the single sentence that would shatter her fantasies.
“The Saint.”
“H-huh…?”
Confusion flooded Solia’s eyes.
“Investigate the Saint, Cecilia. From her past to her most recent activities. Everything.”
“Y-you want me to investigate the Holy Order’s Saint…?”
“Yes. That’s my request.”
Solia’s body trembled uncontrollably.
No matter how talented she was—called the second coming of a grand mage—and no matter how powerful the Korpen family behind her, the opponent was the Holy Order. The state religion of the Empire. Its very heart.
Even the Emperor respected the Pope. How could a mere noble house dare challenge the Order?
Even if she was the Korpen family’s heir, this would not be easy.
If she were caught by the Inquisitors, the entire family might face annihilation. It was that dangerous.
Would she really be willing to take on such a risk?
“Solia. You don’t have to force yourself. Honestly, forgetting everything and pretending we don’t know each other… I think that might be for the best.”
I truly meant it.
Our relationship had already twisted beyond repair. There was no way to untangle the knot.
In that case, the best option was to cut it off completely.
Even if we couldn’t part with blessings, it would still be better than ending things while cursing each other.
As I stared at her, waiting for an answer, Solia lowered her head and shouted.
“I’ll do it! I-I’ll do it…!”
“Hmm, really?”
I hadn’t expected Solia to like me enough to take on even this kind of danger.
Of course, it was probably closer to obsession than genuine affection.
“But…! You’re not sleeping tonight.”
Solia declared it with solemn intensity.
“Huh…? What do you mean…?”
“Aren, stop pretending you don’t understand. We have to make a baby together…”
“Eh…?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Solia slowly lifted her head.
By now, her expression had become incredibly lewd.
Her smile was no longer innocent. It had turned sly, almost sinister.
Instinctively, I tried to kick off the ground, but—
“Stop.”
Before I could move, Solia bound me with magic.
‘Fuck. Not again.’
Was I really going to fall for this again?
Less than a day had passed.
With an excited expression, Solia dragged me toward the bed.
Using all her strength, she somehow managed to push me down onto it.
Thud.
Solia carefully pulled me close and offered her lap as a pillow.
Her breathing had already grown rough.
“Haa… haa. This time we’re going to do it properly, face to face, while fully conscious. Got it…?”
“…Solia. Can’t you release the magic first?”
“Don’t worry, Aren. I’ll be gentle so it doesn’t hurt… I’m experienced now…”
“Are you even listening to me…? Solia? Hey, wait—that’s not—”
Unlike last time, I spent the night with Solia completely conscious.
…Separate from the emotions I felt toward her.
Unfortunately, my body was brutally honest.
“As expected, magic grass is the best in the morning.”
Huuu.
The sweet yet bitter scent of magic grass drifted softly through the room.
I threw on some clothes and forced my heavy, aching body to stand.
When I got up, Solia was already gone. From what I remembered, she had spent nearly the entire early morning indulging herself before leaving.
She hadn’t stopped until the sun began to rise. That said everything.
—Aren, how many children do you think we should have…?
I shook off the sticky echo of her voice still clinging to my ear and, for the first time in a long while, put on the Academy uniform.
After nearly a year of seclusion, the uniform was worn and faded, but at least it didn’t look too bad from the outside.
‘I never thought I’d actually attend class properly again.’
Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really going to listen to lectures.
It was more about avoiding suspicion from the Saint, Cecilia.
After slipping several sticks of magic grass into my pocket, I stood in front of the door.
‘……Wait a second.’
Something felt itchy in the back of my mind.
It was as if I had forgotten something incredibly important.
‘Now that I think about it… yesterday, I…’
I was sure I had been trying to leave the Academy.
So why was I suddenly so curious about the Saint’s true identity…?
No matter what her identity was, shouldn’t I just focus on my own happiness?
Why was I going through all this trouble to uncover Cecilia’s secrets?
All I had to do was leave the Academy. It was that simple…
Knock, knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the door cut off my fragile train of thought.
“Aren…? Are you in there?”
A familiar voice came from outside the room.
It was firm, slightly husky.
‘This voice… no way.’
The very person who had knocked me unconscious and carried me to the infirmary.
The successor of the Sword Saint and the Academy’s student council president.
“Senior Isila…?”
Isila had come looking for me once again.