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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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“I lost a game, so I’m… performing a penalty.”
I couldn’t help but laugh loudly at those words.
Caiden bit her lower lip hard and opened her eyes as wide as possible.
It seemed she was trying her best not to blink, afraid that more tears would fall if she did.
Seeing her like this, she looked so naturally feminine that I wondered how she had managed to hide it until now.
“Senior.”
“I’m listening.”
“Come here.”
At my words, Caiden moved sluggishly.
I watched quietly as Caiden flinched with each step, startled by her movements.
“Kneel down.”
Caiden’s eyes widened at my words.
Then she stared at me like a fool, confused about what my order might lead to.
“Senior.”
But in the end, she knelt before me.
Caiden looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.
I gently extended my hand to Caiden’s side.
“Senior. Your cheek.”
Caiden hesitated, then brought her slightly tear-dampened cheek to my hand.
Then she looked up at me with innocent eyes filled with various emotions, as if she couldn’t understand my intentions.
I slowly wiped away the tears under Caiden’s eyes, starting from her cheekbone as if smearing them.
When my hand touched her, Caiden’s entire body trembled finely.
Just as I finished wiping away the tears from her eyes, tears burst forth from her eyes again.
It seemed she wanted to cry out loud, but she held onto that as if it was her last shred of dignity.
As a result, only small, suppressed groaning sounds escaped her mouth.
“Stay still.”
I lowered my lips slightly and whispered.
My hand gently caressed Caiden’s face bit by bit.
I touched her heated round ears, tear-soaked eyes, reddened nose bridge, and then her trembling, soft lower lip.
Then, as if pressing down, I pulled her lower lip, revealing part of her white teeth.
The trembling of her body in contact with mine intensified.
Caiden tightly closed her eyes as if she thought I was about to do something terrible.
Of course, I had no such intention.
“Senior, you’re quite the pervert.”
At my words, Caiden’s eyes flew open.
Her eyes were contorted with unbearable humiliation.
Caiden’s expression changed moment by moment, flushing red and blue.
The fact that she had to follow someone else’s orders as if commanded and endure even having her face touched must have been breaking Caiden’s heart piece by piece.
She suppressed it, held it in, and finally uttered words that now sounded more like crying.
“What’s so fun about doing this? Isn’t tormenting me enough?”
Of course, I wasn’t doing this just to torment and enjoy Caiden.
I needed to know how far Caiden could go to keep her secret.
Ultimately, even to the point of being able to throw away her own life.
By this point, it seemed to have been proven how far Caiden could go.
However, she was still rebellious, so I wasn’t sure if I should end it here.
“Senior, I’m curious how far you can go.”
I used magic to bring the sword hanging on the wall of the room.
As the sword fell into my hand, fear-filled Caiden’s eyes.
Shing.
When I slightly unsheathed the sword, a cold blue blade was revealed.
A sword like this could probably pierce through a person’s body in an instant.
I put the sword back in its scabbard and threw it to Caiden.
Caiden, who had caught the sword without knowing what was happening, looked at me with fear.
“How far can you go to keep this secret?”
Only then did Caiden seem to understand the meaning of my words.
Caiden covered her mouth and then drew the sword.
At first, she looked at her own legs.
I shook my head.
Startled, Caiden moved the sword to her arm.
I chuckled.
Fear filled Caiden’s eyes.
She had finally understood what I meant.
“Senior, are you ready to die?”
Caiden closed her eyes tightly.
Then, she slowly brought the sword to her white neck, which had looked relatively slender for a man.
Tears flowed incessantly down Caiden’s cheeks as she hesitated again and again.
“Please…”
Caiden pleaded in a small, frail voice.
She looked as if she wanted to cling to my trouser leg if she could.
“Senior.”
I cast a cold gaze at Caiden.
Only then did Caiden seem to realize that I wouldn’t forgive her.
Various expressions flashed across her eyes, changing from surprise to defiance to resignation.
And finally, a suppressed gasp-like word escaped from Caiden’s throat.
“…I, I can… do it. Hic.”
With trembling hands, Caiden emitted aura onto the sword she had brought to her neck.
With a pale face, Caiden took several deep breaths.
She looked at me until the end with eyes begging for mercy.
“Senior.”
When I called her again, Caiden finally brought the sword down on her neck.
And she cut her throat.
No, she would have.
If I hadn’t stopped her.
I grabbed Caiden’s wrist and gently removed the sword from her neck.
“You should value your life, Senior Caiden.”
I spoke softly as if comforting her.
Only then did Caiden burst into the tears she had held back, sobbing loudly.
“I, I really… I really thought I had to die… hic… waaah!”
Feeling sorry for Caiden, I gently patted her back.
Then, Caiden burrowed into my arms and pressed her cheek against my chest for some reason.
Seeing Caiden frantically rubbing her cheek against the person who had just been forcing her to commit suicide, I realized anew how scared she must have been.
Even though she was trembling with fear to this extent, she had overcome that fear and tried to bring down the sword in her hand on her own neck.
The weakness I held was enough to shake even her life.
I inwardly felt satisfied and also sorry as I stroked her back.
“I’m sorry, Senior. I won’t make you do things like this anymore.”
“You’re despicable…”
Caiden slowly nodded her head.
Surprisingly, she looked happy, as if genuinely relieved.
“Except for just one more time.”
At these words, Caiden’s body, which had been tightly gripping my clothes, froze as if turned to ice.
Caiden stiffened with shock, looked at me with blurred eyes.
I smiled apologetically at Caiden, whose breathing was gradually becoming faster.
Caiden knew there was something she had to do, even knowing her life was in danger.
It required resolve to be able to throw away her life for it.
“I’m sorry.”
Caiden desperately clung to my clothes.
It seemed to be to prevent herself from fainting.
When I gently brought my hand to stroke her head, Caiden hesitantly touched my cheek as if remembering the earlier command.
Well, this wasn’t what I had wanted, but it didn’t matter.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on too, Senior.”
Caiden sobbed pitifully.
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Late at night, slightly after Leonhart had left.
A beast made of shadows appeared in Caiden’s room.
The Phantasmal Projection that creates Livia’s mask as a magical beast.
The mask beast created in this way took a form that looked like a leopard made of darkness.
However, the beast moved slowly through the shadows as if it had no physical form, searching for its prey.
It seemed to exist only within the darkness.
And finally, the beast discovered Caiden sleeping in bed.
The beast slowly poked its head out, emerging from the shadows.
The beast’s sharp teeth were revealed as it stood on the bed.
Caiden, pretending to be asleep in bed, held her breath at the beast’s rough breathing.
The beast might tear her throat out, but there was a reason she absolutely couldn’t run away.
If her secret was revealed, it wouldn’t just be herself in danger.
If the secret was revealed, how much shame would she and her mother die with?
Just imagining it was too terrifying.
Caiden thought it would be better to die herself than for that to happen.
And she understood why Leonhart had ordered her to do such a thing.
If she hadn’t experienced that moment, Caiden would indeed have run away now.
In fact, she wanted to run away right now, but… Caiden endured the fear, tightly gripping the blanket.
The leopard opened its mouth wide as if to tear out Caiden’s throat.
Sharp beast fangs and hot breath.
“Hic…!”
The moment Caiden couldn’t hold back and let out a moan, the beast moved in an instant.
Just as the beast’s teeth were about to grab Caiden’s neck and snap it.
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“Got you.”
I put a dog collar woven with magic around the beast’s neck and yanked it back hard.
At that moment, the beast started to thrash about.
As the beast thrashed, the surroundings began to be destroyed instantly.
It wasn’t quite at the level of a destruction-class magical beast that could demolish castle walls, but it seemed to be just one level below that.
I mounted the leopard’s back like riding a rodeo and tightly squeezed its neck.
“Senior! Get away!”
At my shout, Caiden hurriedly got up from her seat.
She gripped her sword and emitted an aura, taking a stance to charge, but I shouted once more.
“Stay still! It’s dangerous!”
No matter how well she could manifest aura, it would be difficult for someone at Caiden’s level to handle a magical beast of this caliber.
Since I didn’t want Caiden to get hurt, I warned her and trampled the magical beast.
Just as the beast was about to return to the shadows, I recited the setting I had prepared.
Something that needed to be applied right at this moment.
“Since the magical beast created by Phantasmal Projection is ultimately Livia, shouldn’t it be obsessed with me?!”
*Ding!*
Then, the beast gradually stopped moving and became docile.
The magical beast created by Phantasmal Projection approached me and licked me with its enormous tongue.
When I patted its head, the beast wagged its tail as if pleased.
“H-how… did you do that? The, the magical beast is obeying you.”
I smiled at Caiden, who was huddled up in fear and confusion.
“Want to touch it?”
Caiden shook her head quickly from side to side.
Trying to act composed but trembling like a girl, she looked pretty cute, and I wondered again how she had managed to hide it until now.
This unusual situation probably made such aspects stand out more.
The plan to capture the magical beast that only revealed itself for a moment to kill its target had succeeded.
This meant I had cleared the first stage of the strategy to deal with Livia.
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