“Uh…? That’s a bit…”

Serena said with a sour expression.

That’s because at that moment, she felt like she would become an evil employer.

“Of course, I mean just entrust the overall management and you just receive reports. I’ll have Pamel hire some experts.”

“Hmm… but that’s something I should do…”

“Serena.”

Magnus said seriously, making eye contact with her.

Serena nodded.

“You don’t have to do anything. I’ll give you a life where you’re living off others.”

“…Huh?”

“I love you, Serena.”

Magnus said, kissing Serena’s nape.

“Let me fulfill your wish for you.”

“…That’s…”

Serena’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Yes?”

Magnus, who had come close to her face, lightly bit her earlobe.

“…Okay.”

After pondering for a moment, Serena nodded.

A life of living off others.

She thought she had messed up, but if someone is going to spoon-feed her, there’s no reason to refuse.

Actually, it feels a bit uncomfortable.

Pushing work onto others.

“You’re hiring people for everything, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then… alright.”

After a while, permission fell from her lips.

The corners of Magnus’s mouth curved into an elegant arc.

* * *

“Master, the meal is ready.”

“Alright. Serena, stop eating snacks and let’s go have a meal.”

“Okay.”

Serena, who had been munching on cookies while sitting in Magnus’s lap as he processed documents, naturally put down the cookie.

Magnus headed to the dining room with one arm holding Serena.

She, who was comfortably leaning on him with her arms around his neck, was seated in a chair and froze as she was about to eat the food Magnus was feeding her.

“…Isn’t, isn’t this a bit much?”

Serena asked with wavering eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“I can eat on my own, at least!”

Serena, who had finally come to her senses, shouted with a bright red face.

“And bathing too! I can do it alone, you know.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to live off others?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Isn’t this exactly the situation you wanted?”

Magnus said in a nonchalant tone as if it was nothing.

While saying this, he picked up a well-cut piece of meat with a fork and held it out to Serena.

Serena ate it with trembling eyes, chewed thoroughly and swallowed, then opened her mouth again.

“Of course that’s true, but you don’t have to do such trivial things…”

“Serena.”

Magnus opens his mouth while putting a nicely grilled mushroom into Serena’s mouth.

“This is living off others.”

Magnus said without a hint of hesitation.

At those unwavering words, Serena flinched instead.

“This is living off others?”

“Yes, you are now excellently living off others.”

“…It does seem that way…”

While agreeing with his words, Serena wondered if this level wasn’t just living off others, but rather living like a parasite.

“By the way, the young marquis of Lavernia has requested to meet you.”

“Nocturne wants to see me?”

Serena frowned.

“Why? Did he bring documents to kick me out of the family?”

“Well… he said he had something important to talk about.”

Serena closed her mouth.

She had no intention of meeting him again.

She seemed to ponder for a moment, turning her head, and then slowly shook it.

“I’m sorry, but could you refuse for me? Or maybe you could meet him and listen on my behalf…”

Magnus nodded readily to Serena’s mumbling words.

It was the answer he had been hoping for.

“I’ll do that.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Magnus held out some salad. Serena ate it and then put her hand to her forehead.

“I really should eat on my own.”

“Serena. I decided not to let even your fingertips move.”

Magnus said seriously while scooping up some meat from the stew and holding it out to Serena.

Serena, who had been nibbling on whatever came close, put her hand to her forehead.

“You’re not really planning to turn me into a pig just because you said pigs are cute, are you?”

“You are a human.”

“…I’m glad you seem to know that at least.”

Serena scratched her cheek.

“By the way, how are you feeling these days?”

“Feeling? Just the same as always. Why?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just wanted to ask how it feels to live off others.”

Serena shrugged her shoulders at Magnus’s bland words.

“It’s just that I feel too idle and like I’m living like trash, so I wonder if this is okay…”

Serena smiled faintly.

“It’s not bad. This kind of life.”

Magnus nodded lightly, saying ‘Is that so?’ with a smile.

‘…What on earth was that aura of evil.’

Magnus narrowed his eyes as he fed Serena, looking her up and down.

Magnus recalled the conversation he had with Drukan, who had visited after the day Serena suddenly emitted a black aura and became strange.

* * *

“Aura of evil? What are you talking about?”

“Before I explain that part, let me explain my situation in a way that’s easy to understand. I am a contractor who has made a contract with the World Tree.”

Drukan, who had suddenly come saying he had something important to say, explained.

“The contract condition was that I would share the power of the World Tree and annihilate the evil existing in the world.”

“…I’ve heard rumors like legends that there were people who shared contracts with the World Tree, so it was true.”

Magnus responded with a subtle expression.

That’s because the existence of the World Tree’s contractor had never been properly confirmed until now.

Such rumors had only been heard like the wind.

“Well, even so, there have been almost no revelations until now…”

Drukan trailed off, looking at Magnus.

Magnus looked at Drukan’s sunken eyes and then nodded slightly.

As if to say, go on.

“A second revelation came down recently.”

“A second revelation? So there was a first one?”

“Yes, long ago, it was about slaying a rampaging dragon.”

“Ah…”

Magnus recalled Drukan’s alias.

Dragon Slayer, and Dragon Killer.

Realizing that the reason for that alias was not voluntary but involuntary, he nodded.

“As you know, I didn’t kill that dragon.”

“Right, you took her as your wife.”

“That’s incorrect.”

Drukan shook his head.

“My wife accepted me as her husband.”

That’s the same thing.

Magnus looked at Drukan with a cold gaze, seemingly asking what’s the difference.

“If I say I took her as my wife, she gets angry. Please forgive me.”

“Ah, if that’s the case, I can understand. It’s tough when you make your wife angry.”

Magnus quickly agreed.

It was a moment of shared understanding between two men who were living under their wives’ thumbs.

“Thank you for understanding.”

“So, what is it you want to say?”

“The revelation was to annihilate the dragon, but I didn’t annihilate her, that’s what I mean.”

Drukan said that as if he wanted Magnus to understand in advance.

Magnus waited for his next words without answering.

“The second oracle that came to me was to watch over Serena Lavernia.”

“……”

A chilling smile settled on Magnus’s previously indifferent face.

Feeling the murderous intent prickling his skin, Drukan took a deep breath and clenched his fists.

This murderous intent emanating from someone who’s just sitting still is insane. It’s enough to make one wonder how such a monster can live like a normal human with a calm face.

Suppressing the instinct to draw his sword immediately, Drukan swallowed hard.

He only felt this kind of feeling when he’s fighting his wife who was a dragon.

Only when he went to kill the rampaging dragon that had lost its reason.

‘…The light-hearted remark that coveted the title of Dragon Slayer wasn’t just empty words.’

He truly must have the strength to fight a dragon single-handedly.

Just because it’s a dragon doesn’t mean it’s omnipotent or absolutely invincible.

Dragons are mythical creatures and many beings worship them, but their power has limits too.

They can’t just unleash magical abilities at will, can’t use their world-melting breath continuously, and even the endless stamina from their huge bodies isn’t eternal.

That’s why even Drukan, who was merely human, could defeat her.

“Continue.”

Magnus nodded slightly, still speaking in a monotone voice.

If Drukan couldn’t sense his murderous intent, he would have thought Magnus didn’t care about this matter at all.

“…And I was told to observe and make a choice.”

“Observe and make a choice?”

Magnus only eased his aura a bit after confirming that the order wasn’t to kill.

“I’m not sure exactly what the World Tree meant to say yet.”

Drukan answered.

“What does this have to do with annihilating what you called the aura of evil as soon as you arrived?”

“Let me explain. First, the aura of evil… can be seen as the so-called ‘root of evil’ that I agreed to annihilate when I made the contract with the World Tree.”

Magnus folded his arms at Drukan’s words.

It wasn’t something he could understand at once.

“And on that day, I felt an enormous aura of evil from Lady Serena.”