I'll Definitely Catch You, Teacher

I'll definitely come catch you. Teacher.

Had there ever been a morning so peaceful, so languid?

The morning sunlight pouring through the gap in the curtains was unusually dazzling. The sky was piercingly clear, and even the breeze tickling her ears was sweet as sugar.

"Mmm……."

Ruby Scarlet opened her eyes with a wet, nasal moan. Her entire body felt as limp as waterlogged cotton. Yet it was by no means an unpleasant fatigue—more like a strange sense of fullness, as if every joint in her body had melted away.

Instinctively, she nuzzled her flushed cheek against the pillow and groped for the warmth beside her.

"……Teacher?"

But what met her fingertips was not hot body heat—only the chill of a bedsheet that had already gone cold. A peculiar sense of loss climbed up her fingers.

"What, already up? Always so diligent……."

Ruby brushed her messy hair back and let out a soft snicker. The memories of the previous night were hazy. They had definitely played chess, and she was fairly sure he had said he lost the bet. After that…… it was as if the film had snapped; whole chunks of memory were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simply gone.

But the absence of memory did not mean the absence of evidence. When she lightly lifted the blanket, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her completely bare body was laid bare without a single thread.

……!

Her face flared hot. The half-formed suspicion instantly hardened into certainty. The throbbing ache in her lower back, the strangely languid feeling in her belly, and her dress and undergarments carelessly discarded by the bedside—there was no doubt she had done the deed with that Teacher Aris.

Lying here naked like this, how could nothing have happened?

"……How hard did you go at me to make me black out completely?"

Ruby freely spun her own fantasies. The fact that it had been intense enough to snap the film was proof of how badly he had wanted her. Imagining the way a mere human had charged at her like a beast sent a shiver down her spine.

She picked up the loose shirt lying by the bed.

"Haa…… I'm exhausted."

She was complaining of fatigue, yet her face was flushed and a smile hung on her lips. Unlike the venomous gaze of the past, her eyes were now languidly, seductively unfocused.

"Probably…… that sturdy thing of Teacher's…… pierced right through me……♥"

She pieced together the dreamlike sensations of last night in her own way. In truth the soreness was probably just from drinking too much and sleeping in an awkward position, but to Ruby right now this muscle ache was nothing less than a medal of love.

At last she sat up. When she roughly threw on the white shirt, the hem that slipped down between her thighs stirred lewd imaginings. Staggering, she made her way to the table.

There, the result of last night remained intact. The white king knelt in utter defeat before her phone.

Checkmate.

"……Heh."

Ruby picked up the king and rolled it in her palm. The sweet, dangerous proposal Aris had made last night still lingered in her ears.

— If Lady Ruby wins, I will do whatever you desire tonight.

"……So Teacher Aris is mine now, right? Since we did it…… and also……"

Giving a bow to an elf virgin…… meant a proposal of marriage. Whether he had understood the meaning or not, Aris was now as good as her fiancé. And so their coupling had been the seal of that vow.

"……He said he'd do whatever I wanted."

She smacked her lips and grinned from ear to ear. The victor had the right to claim everything from the vanquished.

But the expression of Ruby, drunk on victory while clutching the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠king, suddenly froze solid.

"……?"

A single note lying beside the chessboard. She carefully unfolded the paper.

And yet the loser had refused to become the spoils of war and simply vanished?

"……That's against the rules, Teacher."

Ruby picked the letter up from the table once more. As she tore open the envelope and read through the contents, her expression remained surprisingly calm. No—it was eerily composed. What burned deep in her eyes was not sorrow.

It was the lust for conquest at the sight of her own possession walking away on its own two feet.

"Ha? Leaving for my sake……? Because I have to stand alone……? Don't make me laugh."

Crunch……!

Her grip on the paper tightened.

"Who the hell gave you permission……? I never said I was letting you go……?"

They had mixed their bodies…… confirmed each other's hearts…… and he had even lost the bet……

You bastard……

A cold sneer slipped between her red lips. Head of the family? Brilliant future? Ha, what a ridiculous excuse.

In Ruby's hand the crumpled letter was instantly engulfed in crimson flames.

Fwoosh──────!

She stepped on the paper scraps that turned to ash and scattered across the floor, then flung the king she still held onto the chessboard.

"This is a breach of contract, Teacher……. The terms of the bet were that I get to do whatever I want."

What she wanted was not freedom or anything of the sort. It was her victory prize—Aris Mardia. Only him.

"You have to take responsibility. Spending the whole night devouring someone like a beast and then sneaking off in the morning…… that's the kind of shit only the lowest scumbags pull."

Dangerous possessiveness glittered in her eyes. Still wearing only the shirt, barefoot, she roughly flung the door open.

Bang─────!

As she stepped into the corridor, the elf servants who would soon work for the Scarlet family startled violently and scrambled out of her way. Her attire was practically half-naked, yet the killing intent pouring off her was more threatening than any armored knight.

"Hey, you there."

"Y-yes?!"

"The human teacher—did you see him?"

She frowned and seized the shoulder of a passing maid.

"I-I didn't see him……!"

"……Fuck, where the hell did he go!"

When she grabbed a random maid and snarled, the girl screamed and collapsed on the spot.

"You really don't know?"

"W-well…… I-I don't know much, but if it's R-Rina who was on night duty……."

"Ha? Rina……?"

"Sh-she's over there……."

The maid pointed a trembling finger toward the end of the corridor. There stood the girl who had seen Aris off earlier—Rina—fidgeting anxiously.

Ruby's eyes narrowed sharply. She strode over and snatched Rina by the shoulder.

"You."

"H-hiiik! Lady Ruby?!"

Thud, jingle────.

The heavy pouch in Rina's hand dropped to the floor. With a clear metallic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chime the mouth of the pouch spilled open, scattering brilliant gold coins across the corridor floor.

"Th-this is……!"

Rina's face went deathly pale as she looked back and forth between the floor and Ruby's face. Ruby's crimson eyes coldly swept over the gold coins.

"Teacher gave them to you, huh? Hush money……."

"Th-that's……."

"What time did he leave? Teacher."

"Th-that……!"

"Spit it out."

At Ruby's urging, Rina mumbled in a voice that barely escaped her throat.

"……A-around midnight……."

"Ha……? Midnight?"

Ruby's brow twitched. He left at midnight…… The time they had been playing chess and making the bet had been roughly approaching midnight. Which meant……

In that short time he drove me crazy like that and then just left?

Ruby's face flushed scarlet. He had embraced her so fiercely she blacked out, then fled without even catching his breath? Like a thieving cat that had committed a crime?

"……In quite the hurry, aren't we, our Teacher."

Ruby let out a hollow laugh. She was now certain he had finished his business and bolted. There was no other way to explain the throbbing traces left on her body.

"Teacher said something like this……."

"Teacher said what. What did he say?"

Ruby growled low. The heat contained in that voice felt ready to set the entire corridor ablaze.

"Th-that leaving was the best thing for Lady Ruby…… that Lady Ruby should become a splendid noble who can manage perfectly well on her own now……."

"So? He gave you money and told you to forget me?"

"I-it wasn't exactly that…… he said he was entrusting it to me."

"Entrusting……?"

"Y-yes…… he asked me to assist Lady Ruby well…… that even though you look strong on the outside, you get lonely easily……."

Ha.

Ruby barked a short laugh and released Rina. She straightened the rumpled collar of her shirt and crushed one of the scattered gold coins under her bare toes.

"So this is like child-support money for leaving me in your care……?"

"N-no…… he said to use it for Lady Ruby's sake…… I asked if he would come back, but he didn't answer. But…… if you become a splendid noble, I got the feeling he might return!"

"A splendid noble?"

Aris's voice echoed inside Ruby's head.

— ……You are no longer a daughter who needs someone's care, but the 'family head' who must lead the house.

"Right…… so he wants me to become a proper noble, is that it?"

Ruby Scarlet suddenly began to chuckle under her breath. A strange chill clung to that laughter.

"Hey, Rina? Do you know what a splendid noble actually is?"

Ruby gazed into empty air with calm yet manic eyes. Rina shook her head in terror.

"I-I don't really know……."

"My kid, my person, my things. Guarding everything inside my fence with my life."

Her crimson eyes gleamed coldly.

"And…… if some bastard runs off with what's mine, chasing him to the ends of the earth and dragging him back. That's a real noble."

Whining after being robbed was for losers. When Teacher told her to become a 'splendid noble,' this must have been what he meant.

If you want me, take me by force.

Something like that…… right?

"You rotten bastard…… you dare take a taste and run?"

"Y-yes……?"

Ruby clenched both fists tight.

"Fine. I'll become a capable noble and catch you thoroughly……."

And once she caught him……

She would make sure he never took a single step outside her bed for the rest of his life. So that he would never even think of running without her permission again.

"Teacher is…… like a father to me, after all……."

Ruby wore a quiet yet dangerous smile.

"All right, work starts now. Everyone move! Form a search party immediately!"

Because she had to go find her man.