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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Finals were next week.
And after finals, it would be winter break. It had been almost a year since I arrived in this world.
It was a strange feeling, looking back.
I had been transported into a novel, I had fought demons, and I had gained superhuman strength and stamina.
I had given the teddy bear I won at the auction to Sepia. It was a bribe. I needed her help to learn more about possession.
Yuffie, the Wise Witch.
Sepia’s magic tutor during breaks. Professor Cassia had said that Yuffie might know something about possession.
I still didn’t understand how I had ended up in this world, or if I would ever return to my original life.
So, I wanted to ask the Wise Witch about it.
Sepia had seemed pleased with the teddy bear and readily agreed to my request.
‘Sure! I’ll contact Master Yuffie!’
‘Thanks! Let me know if you hear anything.’
‘But… don’t get your hopes up. It’s not easy to contact her, even for me.’
I had expected that. Even Sepia, the heiress of the Logness family, had trouble contacting her.
Tesha had been acting strange lately.
She kept glancing at me, lost in thought. Was it because I had taken the Blue Gem?
I had explained my reasons, but she might have been disappointed.
After all, the vampires had regained their power.
Vampires.
In this world, vampires were known as bloodsucking creatures. The excommunicated Thirteenth Apostle had turned humans into vampires to build his army.
As a result, they were vulnerable to sunlight and craved human blood.
Tesha, like most people in the empire, considered vampires a threat to humanity.
It was understandable that she was worried about them regaining their power.
Even though I had explained the blood oath,
“Let’s begin our alchemy lesson!”
Professor Cassia clapped her hands, and the students’ attention turned towards her.
“Focus! Focus! This will be our last practical alchemy lesson of the semester. Pay close attention to the Mana Signal Flares.”
Mana Signal Flares.
A type of firework used for communication between party members. Like signal flares used in the military.
I was the leader of Group 3. Anya, Tesha, and I were the members.
We carefully added the ingredients to the boiling cauldron.
It was a delicate process. We added a handful of mana herbs and a spoonful of gunpowder. The mixture bubbled.
Then we had to add the powdered troll bone. But the bone powder wasn’t added.
“Tesha, what are you doing? The bone powder!”
Anya and I looked at Tesha. She seemed to snap out of her daze and hurriedly scooped up a spoonful of the powder. But she accidentally dropped the entire container into the cauldron.
“Oh…!”
Tesha’s eyes widened in dismay. The mixture began to bubble violently.
This was bad. I quickly created a mana barrier over the cauldron.
Bang!
The mixture exploded, splattering against the barrier.
If I had been a moment slower, it would have been a disaster. I glared at Tesha.
“Tesha! Are you even paying attention?!”
“I-I’m sorry, Ethan.”
Tesha’s eyes were filled with remorse. I could see Professor Cassia looking at us from the podium.
“It’s okay, Tesha! No one was hurt!”
Anya tried to comfort her. But Tesha remained silent, her head lowered.
The class ended.
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On the academy rooftop.
Tesha and Ethan stood in silence, the cool breeze calming our nerves.
‘…I almost caused a major accident…’
Tesha was overwhelmed with guilt. It had been an accident.
‘Tesha, are you even paying attention?!’
Ethan had yelled at her.
He hadn’t said anything else. Neither had Professor Cassia. They had simply dismissed it as an accident.
But the guilt was accompanied by a strange sense of pleasure. It was a shameful feeling.
“I’m sorry, Ethan…”
“It’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
She had been lost in thought, and that had led to the accident. Tesha looked up at Ethan, her eyes glistening with tears.
She had already apologized to Anya. Anya, with her cheerful and optimistic personality, didn’t seem to mind.
“Tesha, what’s been wrong with you lately? You seem… distracted. I’m worried.”
Tesha lowered her head. She couldn’t tell him that she had been thinking about him.
They had made a pact not to confess their feelings. And she felt ashamed that she had almost caused an accident because of her distraction.
“Is it because of what happened at the auction house?”
“No… it’s not that.”
“Then what is it? You seem out of it.”
Tesha remained silent, then finally spoke.
“I’m… confused.”
“Confused?”
“Yes… confused.”
“About what?”
Silence. Ethan waited patiently.
“You’ll think it’s strange.”
“What is it?”
Ethan’s gentle prodding made Tesha speak.
“Ethan… have you ever heard of… masochism?”
She immediately regretted saying it.
It wasn’t something you discussed with a friend. Ethan would think she was strange.
It would have been better to confess her feelings. But it was too late now.
She had been distracted by her thoughts about her unique tendencies, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.
‘Ah… she’s realized she’s a masochist… and she’s confused and troubled…’
But Ethan’s reaction was different from what she had expected.
“Ah…”
He seemed to understand. Tesha felt a surge of hope.
“I know it’s strange… so… I wanted to… confirm it.”
“…I see.”
Tesha looked up at Ethan.
“So… please… scold me…”
Ethan seemed to be thinking.
“Are you sure?”
She was a princess. Even though she was hiding her identity, she was still royalty.
“I’m sure.”
“Really? You’re not going to hold this against me later? Get revenge or something?”
“Of course not! You can even use… bad words. Actually, that might be better.”
Tesha’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Ethan took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of verbal abuse.
“You crazy bitch! Get your head out of the clouds! Don’t you know how to do anything right?! You almost got us killed today!”
It was the first time anyone had spoken to her like that. She had never been insulted before.
Tesha was stunned. She lowered her head, a smile playing on her lips.
‘Ah… I like it… I want more…’
Tesha clutched her chest, her heart pounding. A thrill of excitement, a sense of shame, and a surge of energy coursed through her veins.
“One more time! Please say it again! Something… worse… I… I don’t know yet…”
Ethan scratched the back of his head.
‘Really…? Maybe once isn’t enough. Something worse? What should I say? Should I insult her parents? No, that would be a disaster…’
Tesha was a princess. Her father was the emperor. Insulting the emperor could get him executed.
“Tsk, you look so happy being insulted. How pathetic.”
He felt like he was becoming a bully. He looked at Tesha.
She was clearly enjoying it.
‘Could it be that… she caused that accident on purpose… so that I would scold her?’
That was a problem. What if she did something else to provoke him?
“I want to try something else…”
“Something else? What?”
“Could you… punish me…?”
She almost asked him to spank her.
“Punish you…?”
“I think that would confirm it.”
Her reasoning was strangely persuasive.
It wasn’t Ethan taming the princess. It was the princess taming Ethan.
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