"Scraaaatch!!"
“Kyah?!”
Ethan suddenly grinned, slipping his hand under the collar of my nightgown and tearing the fabric apart. Not just a button popping off—he ripped a piece of cloth vertically, as wide as his hand.
“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!”
“You don’t listen, Lilith, so I’m re-educating you.”
“Education?! You’re insane!!”
He tossed aside the torn piece of my sky-blue nightgown and reached for me again. His blatant crossing of boundaries left me no choice but to prepare a spell.
I really tried to talk things out...!
Now that things had reached this point, I had no option but to use force. Ethan had clearly crossed the line first. Even though we were indoors somewhere in the Blackwood estate, magic was my only viable way to face him.
“He doesn’t even have his sword right now, so I’ll just need to subdue him without causing too much injury.”
With that thought, I conjured a spectral arrow in my right hand, aiming it at his thigh.
-Swoosh.
“...Huh?”
Before I could release it, the arrow dissipated into fragments of mana in my hand.
Did I miscast the spell?
I was sure I’d recited the incantation properly. This was a spell I’d cast countless times, so there was no chance I made a mistake.
This time, I created two spells simultaneously with both hands—an energy bolt in one and a spectral arrow in the other. But as soon as the mana took shape...
-Swoosh... fizzle...
“What?!”
Once again, the spells shattered into fragments just before activating.
“What the hell...?”
“Why are you so surprised? You’ve seen counter-dispelling before.”
“...Counter-dispelling?”
“I learned a few techniques to bring you back, Lilith. Did you forget the last time you faced this?”
Ethan knows counter-dispelling?
Confused by this unexpected revelation, I quickly assessed the situation, aware that offensive spells were ineffective. Wasting time on attacks that wouldn’t work wasn’t an option, and without magic, I had no physical advantage against him.
My daggers... obviously, he took them.
The four daggers I always kept on me had likely been confiscated, so I had no choice but to create a temporary weapon.
-Zing.
A silver blade materialized atop my hand using spectral energy, and I swung it toward Ethan’s forearm. It felt wrong to target a swordsman’s arm, but I couldn’t allow him to continue disrupting my spells. Severing his arm was the safest # Nоvеlight # way to subdue him.
Just as I was about to cut his left forearm, his right hand intercepted my spectral blade.
-Clang!
“Gah?!”
I couldn’t quite register what happened. I only knew that my spectral blade had been blocked by something sharp. Ethan held a dagger bearing the Blackwood family crest—one he’d given to me as a gift.
“Really, just like when I first caught you. As soon as your magic fails, you switch to your spectral blade and aim for my arm.”
“...”
“Nothing surprises me anymore, Lilith. Thanks to you, I learned this from my father.”
I thought he came in unarmed, but he must’ve concealed weapons under his clothes.
If he could counter spells, then it wasn’t surprising he was skilled with daggers, especially with Harold around to train him.
“Damn...”
-Zing.
Determined to defend myself, I created a second spectral blade in my left hand and swung it toward Ethan’s arm again. Given that he was skilled in counter-dispelling, I knew he’d be proficient with daggers too.
I couldn’t forget that he was the son of Grand Magus Thanatia and Swordmaster Harold.
-Clang! Clang!
“Ugh...!”
-Clang, clang!
“Argh! Aaagh!”
As expected, Ethan pulled out another dagger and blocked my second spectral blade with ease.
I had no idea what kind of progress he’d made over the past year, but as we exchanged blows, I felt a creeping sense of dread.
...It was becoming clear that I might not even manage a single scratch on him.
-Clang!
“Calm down, Lilith. This is nothing new. We’ve done this many times.”
“As if, you bastard...!!”
“You may have disliked it at first, but lately, you seem to enjoy it. Just three days ago, you even suggested a walk.”
“Shut up! Who the hell would enjoy this?!”
“There’s no need to be shy, Lilith. I can accept that you have...unique tastes.”
“Argh!!”
I swung the spectral blade toward him again, intending to silence his nonsense. I gave up on holding back or avoiding vital points. I couldn’t inflict even a minor wound on him with anything less than my full effort.
-Clang! Clang!
“Die!!!”
“...Hah. Now you’re serious, Lilith.”
Even as I aimed for his life, Ethan seemed to welcome it, smiling at me. I wondered if he’d keep that smirk even with a blade to his face. Fueled by irritation, I sharpened my spectral blades, swinging them with renewed ferocity.
Ethan may have been the son of a Swordmaster, but he wasn’t used to daggers.
Plus, he was focused solely on defending himself, not launching any attacks toward me.
“He probably doesn’t want to harm his ‘pet’ or his supposed ‘slave.’”
His overconfidence might be the chance I needed to gain the upper hand. As long as I had mana, I could sustain the spectral blades, and my mana pool was comparable to that of a future archmage.
With that thought, I engaged in a clash of blades with Ethan for several minutes.
-Clang!
“Gah...?!”
Ethan’s left-hand dagger flew out of his grip and landed behind him.
Now’s my chance!
With his weapon out of reach, his defense would be weaker. Blocking two spectral blades with a single dagger was practically impossible.
If I stab into an open space, he’ll be forced to dodge. I could use that opening to slice his arm.
With that plan, I blocked his remaining dagger with my left-hand blade, aiming my right blade for his exposed throat.
“...”
-Swish.
You... insane bastard...!!
To my shock, Ethan didn’t try to dodge. Instead, he leaned forward, practically presenting his neck to my blade.
Damn it, no!!
It was too late to pull back. My hand had already gained momentum, and turning it aside would only lead to his shoulder or chin getting pierced, both of which could be fatal.
Killing Ethan was unthinkable, so I had no choice but to retract the blade.
-Zing.
“See, Lilith? You could never kill me.”
Oh, no...!
Realizing too late that I’d fallen into his trap, I hastily tried to summon another spectral blade, but the brief opening didn’t escape Ethan’s notice.
-Snap!
“W-wait...!”
-Clink!
“Damn it...!!”
In seconds, Ethan restrained both of my wrists, binding them with the Chain of Obedience. After ten minutes of combat, he emerged victorious, with a faint red line of blood on his neck from my blade’s close call.
“I knew you’d pull back, Lilith.”
“You... idiot!! Are you insane?! Why would you expose your neck like that?! You nearly died!!”
“But I’m still here, thanks to you holding back.”
“Don’t act like that was nothing!! What if I’d actually tried to kill you?!”
“And if you did? Then I’d just die.”
“...What?”
The chill in his words made my blood run cold. Then, his following remark stunned me even further.
“If you hate me enough to kill me, Lilith, then I don’t mind. Dying by your hand wouldn’t be so bad.”
“W-what kind of nonsense...?”
“Besides, you didn’t kill me, so you must not hate me that much, right? Even after being treated like a pet and locked in a cage.”
“...”
“Are you finally ready to listen to me? Or do you still want to resist?”
Despite the red line of blood at his neck, Ethan’s voice remained calm as he asked if I’d continue.
Seeing his collected expression, I felt a chilling fear down my spine.
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Because no matter what, I couldn’t kill him.
I could never kill the man I’d come to love.