“Hwaak!”

“Wit, calm down first,”

“Master! Wit is dying now! Dying without even marrying Master!”

What? When did this skeleton even think about marrying me?

No, no. That’s not the issue.

“Wit, calm down. Calm down and look at your body.”

“Hwaaa… huh?”

Finally checking that he was fine at my words, Wit looked at me in confusion.

“Master, Wit doesn’t hurt.”

I let out a small sigh.

“Geez. That’s why I told you to be careful. It’s fortunate nothing happened. What if something serious had happened?”

“Master, are you worried about Wit? Are you worried because you like Wit? Kekeke.”

“No, that’s not it…”

This guy asks if I like him no matter what I say.

I waved my hand and said.

“You said our souls are bound together, right? What if you die? That means I would die too.”

I reconsidered my words as I put the Fairy’s Tear back in my pocket.

Right. As long as the contract connects us, Wit and I are essentially one.

In the end, both Wit and I need to value each other’s lives as our own.

“So Wit, for my sake too, please value yourself.”

“Maaaster…”

Though I didn’t say it to move him, Wit stared at me intensely with his sparkling amber eyes.

“That’s right, Master. If Wit dies, Master will die.”

“Yes, yes. And if I die, you’ll die too.”

“No, Master. If Master dies, Wit doesn’t die. Kekeke.”

“Yes, yes. If I die, you… what?”

“Kekek. Should I tell you again, Master? If Master dies, Wit… huh? M-Master! Wit’s mouth is moving on its own!”

What is he blabbering about?

“What did you just say?”

Could it be…

“Are you saying that even though our souls are bound, the effect only applies to me?”

“That’s right, Master!”

Wit exclaimed excitedly and blinked his large eyes.

Then he grabbed his cheeks and screamed.

“Hwaaa!”

I stared at Wit with a dumbfounded face and asked.

“You’re joking, right?”

He’s just playing with me, right? He’s just acting to tease me?

There’s no way that’s true.

“What kind of ridiculous contract is that? Huh?”

“Contracts are originally unfair, Master!”

“……”

“Ack! W-Wit’s mouth is strange! Strange!”

What is this?

“This…”

Such a ridiculous…

“Hey, you devil!”

I grabbed Wit’s collar with my index finger and shook him.

“You, you call yourself a fairy? How could you do this to me!”

“Kek, kegek! Wit is a fairy, Master…!”

“Shut up!”

Does this make sense? Does this make any sense!

Did the original Rosemary know this fact when she made the contract with Wit?

No, that can’t be.

Surely this damn devil had omitted just that fact when recommending the contract.

“Do it again.”

“M-Master?”

“Let’s make the contract again! Bring that contract fairy or whatever and correct the terms!”

If my death has no effect on that devil, what reason would he have to risk his life to protect me?

At this rate, my safety cannot be guaranteed.

He’s like this now because he drank the potion, but…

“Kekek. Master, are you afraid of dying alone?”

“Yes!”

“Don’t worry, Master! Wit can’t live without Master. If Master dies, Wit will be buried with you!”

I don’t need that kind of consideration!

An ending where I’m buried with a skeleton was never in my plans!

“Forget that, Wit. Let’s make the contract again, okay?”

“But Master, the contract can only be broken when the purpose is achieved.”

The purpose of the contract.

Without even asking, I was certain that the purpose was for Rosemary to win Adriel’s heart.

“What if that purpose isn’t achieved?”

“Master and Wit will be together forever!”

“…Or the contract ends when I die?”

“That’s right, Master! But then Wit will die together. Master and Wit will be together even in death! Kekeke.”

Slump-

The strength naturally drained from my hand holding Wit’s collar.

This is a nightmare.

As I slumped down trembling, Wit panicked and slapped my cheeks repeatedly.

“Master, you can’t die yet! There are still so many things Wit wants to do with Master! Making tomato juice with Master, tomato couple rings, tomato…”

You really…

Talking about tomatoes in front of someone who’s fallen into despair.

I asked in a weak voice.

“Stop with the scary talk about dying… Why are you telling me this only now?”

To make me collapse from anger?

Then Wit cried out as if wronged.

“That’s strange, Master! Wit didn’t want to tell Master, but my mouth kept moving on its own!”

What kind of excuse is that?

“Hwaaa! It’s still moving on its own! It’s strange, strange!”

…Is it not an excuse?

Well, that simple devil probably can’t act well either.

Then why did Wit suddenly confess the truth to me?

“…Could it be.”

Suddenly, I remembered touching the Fairy’s Tear right before this happened.

Goosebumps rose as I blinked blankly, while Wit continued to act frantically in front of me.

“Master, Wit will never let Master die!”

Is it really because I touched the Fairy’s Tear that he’s acting like this?

“So don’t abandon Wit and make a contract with Taro!”

Gulp.

Just as I was about to take out the Fairy’s Tear again after swallowing.

Thud-

“…!”

“Huh?”

At the sound of something hitting the window, both Wit and I turned our heads toward it.

“Master, someone’s outside. Kekek.”

“Shh.”

I put my finger over Wit’s mouth and signaled him to be quiet.

Then I went to the kitchen, grabbed a ladle, and tiptoed toward the window.

Swish-

I paused as I was about to swing the ladle at the unidentified person hiding below the window.

“Huh? No one’s there? I definitely heard a sound? Heard a sound? Kekeke.”

There was no trace of anyone below, beside, or anywhere near the window.

“…Well, the wind might have rattled the window and made that sound.”

I checked around the window once more before closing it.

***

“Ahaha. That was close.”

Lucian Berto, who had hidden around the corner of the building before the toy store owner opened the window, quietly laughed.

“An unexpected harvest.”

His purple eyes couldn’t hide his excitement as they gleamed with a strange light.

Who would have thought the toy store owner had made a contract with a demon?

What kind of demon could that be?

According to what he had coaxed out of Taro, there were four demons in total.

The demon of wealth, the demon of contracts, the demon of power, and lastly, the demon of love.

The demon of contracts was said to avoid humans extremely and live in hiding so that one was excluded.

It wouldn’t be the demon of power either, as that one was about to contract with Prince Deus.

Then what remained was…

The demon of love.

So that’s the demon of love.

According to Taro, they called themselves fairies, but Lucian didn’t care what they really were.

Whether they were fairies or actually demons.

As long as they could provide him with entertainment. As long as they could provide the driving force to continue this boring, tedious life.