Come to think of it, when Ariel was Whitey, she had made such a fuss about dying by the Tower Master’s hand and even made Ariel form a death contract as the Tower Master.

Given that, wouldn’t it be a bit strange to ask what kind of person the Tower Master is?

“I received a revelation… something similar, about possibly dying by the Tower Master’s hand, but I ended up not dying, right? So I got curious.”

She avoided his penetrating gaze while making vague excuses.

Anyway, in the original story, she was supposed to die by the Tower Master’s hand, and since she’s a Saint, it should be fine to call it a revelation.

“Besides, he’s your brother, right?”

Who else would she ask about blood relations if not him?

Having decided to switch to a more brazen approach, Merrien faced Ariel confidently again.

“I just suddenly became curious about the Tower Master.”

Perhaps the brazen approach worked. Ariel instead lowered his gaze.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled up one corner of his mouth.

‘This seems ominous.’

Merrien’s premonition wasn’t wrong.

“You’ve read ‘How to Survive Without Getting Bitten by a Mad Dog,’ haven’t you?”

“W-what?”

“Seeing how flustered you are, I must be right.”

“No, that’s not true! Not at all. How do you even know about that?”

Merrien, whose forehead had immediately turned red, realized something was seriously wrong and jumped up with a shout.

There was no way Ariel could know about the book the butler had secretly brought her.

Not understanding Merrien’s internal turmoil, Ariel calmly shared his thoughts.

“Because I instructed the butler to send it to you. I quite liked that part. The scene where the male lead kneels at the female lead’s feet and finally submits.”

“Oh, I did too… No, that’s not the issue here!”

She almost fell for his words again!

Wow, so was that why the male lead’s setting was similar to Ariel? No wonder it felt familiar. Ariel had instructed this?

‘Best friend? From today on, you’re a traitor, butler.’

Merrien glared at the butler who was somehow already standing far away.

The butler, despite her persistent stare, didn’t even glance her way and checked his watch.

“I should go check on the large bathroom.”

He left while speaking loudly to himself.

‘……You’ve never left at this time before?’

Was this really the same person who always calculated time so precisely?

Unless Ariel ordered it, the butler had never left his surveillance post during healing sessions.

Merrien could only point at the butler’s retreating back with a gesture full of lingering attachment.

‘Ugh, really!’

Then she withdrew her helplessly outstretched hand and clenched it into a fist.

Her small fist, which probably wouldn’t even hurt if she hit someone, trembled. Now it wasn’t because of the betrayal.

‘How much is Ariel going to tease me…..’

She couldn’t bring herself to turn her head back toward him.

Merrien stared pointlessly at the firmly closed door. She would have to endure the playful laughter that would soon pierce her ears.

But what she heard instead was a low, serious voice.

“The Tower Master isn’t as bad as you think. Though he is crazy.”

“……”

“If you heard about the past, you might find it sadder than you expect. You might even cry.”

She hadn’t expected the conversation to go as far as discussing the past.

Merrien also became serious in response to Ariel’s sudden emotional voice.

“Both father and mother passed away in an accident.”

Until then, Merrien had been deliberately avoiding looking at him, but her head whipped around.

‘……Then this is about Ariel’s parents?’

Since Ariel was the Tower Master’s brother, that meant he was talking about his own parents’ passing.

Even though she unconsciously gaped in shock, Ariel didn’t mock her as usual. He just continued speaking as if it were nothing.

“After that, he just kept eliminating magical beasts indiscriminately or leading the empire’s desired wars to victory.”

His voice, which had been emotional for a moment, became so detached it made the previous emotion seem like an illusion, as if he were talking about a very distant past, a forgotten memory.

However, his blue eyes that met Merrien’s reflected nothing.

“But it’s okay. He says he’s happy now. He doesn’t have even the slightest intention of killing you. Isn’t that fortunate?”

“…Yes, that’s fortunate.”

Following his faint smile, Merrien just smiled too. It was fortunate.

Yes, it was truly fortunate.

***

“Hello, last leaf? Are you still hanging on? Keep fighting and survive!”

“Is that praise or criticism?”

Merrien leaned out the window and spoke to the lone remaining leaf. Ariel let out a laugh of disbelief at her back.

In front of the bed where they both sat, empty plates were neatly arranged, suggesting they had just finished their meal.

“I never knew the morning air could be this refreshing until today!”

Finally, her body that had been leaning out the window returned to the room.

Merrien’s face was clear and radiant as if it had absorbed the sunlight itself.

Early morning, it was the first time she maintained such clear consciousness, unlike usual when she could barely open her eyes due to sleepiness.

“……”

Ariel felt his heart suddenly racing.

He absolutely must not make eye contact.

Fortunately, since Merrien was busy grinning while looking out the window, he only needed to avoid her gaze by looking away.

“…Are you that happy about not having dance lessons?”

“Yes!”

Her energetic response came before he could even finish speaking.

Actually, today was supposed to be a dance lesson day with Agnes. However.

[Saint, I have a busy schedule this week, so I’ll have to skip the lesson. I apologize.]

She had been lazily clutching her blanket when the butler handed her the letter, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

Saying she couldn’t enjoy such good news alone, she immediately came to Ariel’s room.

“If you hate it that much, you don’t have to do it.”

“That won’t do. I think just resting this week will be fine.”

When she thinks about the upcoming banquet, she worries about her clumsy body.

…But still, she wants to rest this week!

Thus, they finished breakfast comfortably. Since Ariel’s healing time was after lunch, they had plenty of time.

Ariel wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. His eyes narrowed mischievously as he watched Merrien slowly closing her eyes while leaning comfortably against the wall.

With his hands behind his back, he silently snapped his fingers, and a book appeared from thin air, falling onto the bed.

Determined, he picked up the fallen book and quietly approached Merrien.

“Did you know there’s a side story for ‘How to Survive Without Getting Bitten by a Mad Dog’?”

“Really?!”

Merrien’s eyes, which had grown heavy with drowsiness, suddenly opened wide as if they had never been sleepy.

“Here you go.”

“……!”

She naturally received the book but then covered her mouth.

Whether it was Ariel’s scheme or the butler’s betrayal, she had rushed to finish the series because she couldn’t stop thinking about it, and now there’s a side story?

Without further questions, as Merrien immersed herself in the book’s text, numerous romance books began to scatter around her.

As if someone had planned not to let her leave until evening.

“By the way, about this part. At this point, isn’t it less about surviving a mad dog and more about being tamed by one instead?”

Apparently, Merrien wasn’t the only one focused on the text; Ariel, who had somehow stuck close to her side and was reading together, pointed at a sentence while grumbling.

“I know, right? I wish the female lead would control the male lead, but it’s frustrating how she gets wrapped around his finger instead.”

“Me too. I wish the male lead would hand over his leash to the female lead.”

Merrien nodded with furrowed brows.

She was about to fall for Ariel’s words again.

“The male lead should… Wait a minute.”

She had been agreeing continuously until she finally realized something was wrong.

“Yes, what is it?”

When she turned her head, she saw Ariel so close that their noses almost touched.

He tilted his head innocently as if wondering what the problem was. Merrien, momentarily dazed by his blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight from the window, mumbled slowly.

“Did you cast some spell on me?”

“What spell?”

“I feel like I’m under some kind of enchantment?”

“What are you talking about, Merri.”

Did you eat something wrong? Ariel even placed his hand on Merrien’s forehead with genuine concern.

But Merrien smacked his hand away with a sharp sound.

“…Why am I reading romance novels with you?”

Why do our tastes match so well? Moreover, when she came to her senses, the bed was full of romance novels.