Father, I Won’t Do Anything

“Watch your mouth, Mikael.”

“Why should I?”

“Don’t ask like you don’t know. Because the Tower Lord might hear.”

“…”

Mikael immediately closed his mouth at Hilvenzia’s words, but she felt strangely more uneasy.

“Let him hear if he wants to hear.”

No, perhaps she had been trying to avoid it all along.

If Diamid had given any positive signal, Mikael would have reacted immediately.

“Hilvenzia.”

Hilvenzia startled. It was the first time Mikael had ever addressed her by name.

“This kid’s father doesn’t care what happens to her.”

“…What?”

“That man, no, not even a man. I’ve never once seen the Tower Lord act human.”

“Are you saying the Tower Lord said such a thing?”

“If I had pushed it a little further back there, I might not be standing here right now.”

Mikael’s blue eyes deepened as if sinking. An unfamiliar serene, chilling aura emanated from him, unseen before.

“But… I can’t just leave it at that. That bastard might try to harm Jaina again.”

“Leave it to me.”

Hilvenzia spoke up.

“Dealing with those who instigate disorder is my responsibility from the start.”

* * *

“Moben.”

“Eek!”

Moben whirled around in startled fright. His fellow magician then stuttered in an even more shocked expression.

“Wh-What’s wrong, Moben? How many times did I call you? I called you so many times!”

“No… I’m just not feeling well. But why?”

“I’m heading back to the dorms first. Really, you’re not acting like yourself.”

Moben did acknowledge that his current state was abnormal, both mentally and physically.

His entire body ached from the powerful strike of Jaina’s tail.

He had thought acquiring the dragon would solve everything.

But things didn’t go as planned.

No, the situation had only worsened.

‘Who knew a dragon’s tail could hit so hard. I thought binding her limbs would be enough…’

It was a lapse beyond common sense that couldn’t be excused as a mere mistake.

‘Dammit, what do I do now?’

His heart raced rapidly. The pounding sound echoed deafeningly in his head. He inwardly cursed in feigned bravado, but the unease wouldn’t dissipate.

‘No, nothing will happen.’

Hadn’t Mikael said that Jaina wasn’t an official Magic Tower member?

This would just blow over.

It had to blow over…

‘Only a handful of people saw me collapsed next to Jaina. Just the initial witnesses and maybe one or two others.’

As long as the Tower Lord didn’t intervene, it would be a brief topic of gossip before fading away.

There was no clear evidence that he had tried to abduct Jaina…

They had simply been found collapsed together, hadn’t they?

Even if Jaina accused him of wrongdoing, everyone would just shrug it off as a child’s exaggeration.

‘Yeah, I’m worrying too much…’

After repeatedly reassuring himself and momentarily regaining composure, that was when it happened.

“Moben Klaff. Am I right?”

A chilling breeze brushed past his ear.

Shhha!

A bundle of woody vines erupted and ensnared his body. The vines tightened around Moben to their limit, bulging out the flesh they couldn’t constrict.

Moben thrashed about like a flailing fish.

“Krehheok!”

Even amidst the agony, Moben attempted to gather his mana.

As a tower magician, even if caught off guard, he could easily break free once he regained his senses.

Easily break free…

‘Wh-What is this?!’

He wanted to scream, but the vines invaded his mouth. The vines’ dark aura seemed to penetrate into his very core.

As Moben continued thrashing wildly, someone entered his line of sight.

‘Eh…?’

Moben froze. An existence that shouldn’t be there stood before him.

‘The Emerald Hilvenzia…?’

A woman in an elaborate dress with a short hood draped like a cape stood holding a vial.

Moben wanted to deny the situation before him.

For all this to be a dream, a poor nightmare.

But the disheveled hair and swaying silver locks were too real.

“You seemed so thoroughly prepared, yet ended up caught by me. What a pity.”

She continued in a melodious voice while surveying the surroundings, nodding intermittently.

“You seemed aware that despite Jaina’s appearance as a child, her dragon heritage makes her quite heavy. You prepared very well. But…”

Hilvenzia gave a bright, dimpled smile.

“I’m afraid this sister who came to catch you is even more formidable.”

How did she know he had tried to capture the dragon? And why had Hilvenzia, an alchemist, appeared in a place of no concern to her?

Moreover, Mikael had said Jaina was someone even he could mess with freely without repercussions, so why…?

‘I thought she wasn’t even acknowledged as the Tower Lord’s daughter! Wasn’t she not a tower member, free to be messed with?’

But the situation before him proved his thinking was wrong. Dark despair filled Moben’s eyes.

“You were simply unlucky, Moben.”

He then lost consciousness from the immense pressure, as if his very innards were being crushed.

* * *

The place Hilvenzia took Moben was the Magic Tower’s hidden underground.

In one labyrinthine cell, the suspended Moben hung.

His body was quite literally in ‘tatters.’ Despite the lingering agonizing aftereffects, Hilvenzia had tortured Moben after healing him.

“Ughh…! Please, let me go…!”

Hilvenzia shrugged and laughed.

“Fufu, after a week without food or sleep, you must be at your limit now. But is this still not enough for you?”

“Please, I beg you…”

“Keeping you alive like this is annoying me.”

Hilvenzia grinned broadly as Moben’s body shook violently, consumed by regret and terror.

Had he known this would happen, he would never have targeted Jaina.

-You came saying you’re the Tower Lord’s daughter, but you’re not acknowledged as such. So who will protect you?

-If you suddenly disappear one day, I won’t be able to officially search for you, you know.

Believing those words led him to decide using her as an experimental subject for the Magic Tower exam, resulting in this outcome.

He twisted his body, shedding bitter tears of remorse.

“I didn’t intend to harm or kill Jaina. I just wanted a small favor…”

“You wanted a small favor from Jaina, so shall I receive a small favor from you, Moben?”

At those words, Moben squirmed in his bindings, desperately trying to escape this place. Hilvenzia’s laughter grew louder at the sight.

“If you intended to use someone as an experimental subject, you should have been prepared to become one yourself.”

Hilvenzia spoke with a cold gaze.

“Now you will experience the same.”

Hilvenzia took a vial from her robe. Inside, something snake-like writhed, emitting black smoke.

As she opened the vial’s mouth, an ominous entity slithered out and crawled up Moben’s body.

“Now, Moben. Let’s have some fun with this sister, shall we?”

Hilvenzia gave a sweet smile as she gazed at the tearful Moben.

* * *

Everything was a blur. Her emotions, the world around her , nothing felt distinct.

Some torment had swept over, and she seemed to have lost consciousness from the inability to endure it…

‘What happened?’

Ah, was it just another ordinary occurrence?

Attempts to exploit her, hatred rooted in her birth circumstances, and unspecified reasons earning scornful glares from others.

‘Yeah, it’s nothing.’

Jaina tried to open her eyes, attempting to dispel the heavy darkness weighing her down.

But her strength kept fading.

No matter how much she flailed, she felt herself being pulled into the darkness.

“I wonder when Jaina will wake up?”

“The reason she still can’t open her eyes…”

However, at those familiar voices…

Jaina managed to part her heavy eyelids. Her gaze met the two people looking down at her, their eyes reflecting surprise and delight.

“Jaina?”

“Shorty!”

Jaina tried to respond, but her voice was caught in her throat, refusing to come out immediately.

She cleared her throat with a light cough, prompting the two to caution her.

“What are you gurgling about as soon as you wake up? Keep your mouth shut.”

“Just lie still. You’ve been asleep for a while, so don’t overexert yourself.”

Jaina rolled her eyes. All she saw was white. Completely different from her own dark room.

“What happened during that time?”

“…”

“Why am I here?”

Jaina touched her smooth forehead with her small hand.

Some memories were hazy like dreams, while certain visions vividly materialized like reality.

Perhaps due to having just awakened, the boundary between dream and reality blurred.

She posed questions to learn the truth, but instead of answering, Mikael and Hilvenzia said something else.

“You know, you were sleep-talking something fierce while you slept.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, stuff like wanting to eat tarts or how could a calf be so tender and melty…”

As Mikael snickered, Jaina blinked her eyes vacantly.

‘I sleep-talked?’

She recalled an instance from the past when her cousin Tailor woke her up with a kick, and she had asked if she had been dead asleep to confirm.

So she had thought she didn’t sleep-talk, but had her habit changed?

Since she always slept alone, there was no way to know.

As she pondered seriously, Mikael let out a snort of laughter.

“I’m joking. Why are you being so serious?”

“Ah, it was a joke?”

“Getting flustered over a few words. You really are quite the fool.”

“Hmm…”

She hadn’t exactly been flustered… But just as she thought that, a strange sense of discomfort arose.