The king of demons….
Was this poison made by that demon whom Taro had previously referred to as their king?
“They say just one drop mixed in the air can annihilate all knights in the vicinity.”
…That’s a lie.
My eyes trembled aimlessly.
I could tell what this person was trying to say without hearing the rest.
Looking at me, Lucian suddenly smiled a strangely sinister smile.
“To survive in a small room filled with such poison…”
But that was brief. He continued with his original bright smile.
“How lucky would one have to be for that? Darling?”
Thud. It felt like my heart had dropped to the ground.
I didn’t want to be swayed by such absurd lies.
But I couldn’t hide my anxious feelings.
If, if Adriel really died…
I quickly shook my head.
No. Let’s not think such nonsense.
There’s no way Adriel could have died.
The novel hasn’t even ended yet.
There’s no way Adriel, the villain in the novel, could die already.
So… so…
“Let’s stop talking about other men now.”
My stomach churned as if I might vomit.
“Being jealous of someone who’s already walking the path to the afterlife. It seems a bit pathetic.”
At Lucian’s words, spoken with clear boredom, I finally couldn’t hold back and ran to the window.
“Teacher…!”
I heard Echo calling me, but it didn’t register in my mind right now.
I immediately asked Wit, who was outside the window.
“Please, Wit, save Adriel.”
“Master, that human is dangerous. If Wit goes, I can’t protect you. Kekeke.”
Wit glared at Lucian, not letting his guard down.
“I’ll be fine. That man might be crazy, but he’s not someone who would k*ll me. You know that too. So please find Adriel now.”
“No, Master! Wit can’t leave you behind!”
There was no time for this.
Even at this moment, Adriel might be dying.
“Please, I’m begging you, Wit.”
I gently held Wit’s cheeks and looked into his eyes. Wit, with his lips protruding like a duck, opened his eyes wide.
“Ma, Master….”
“I desperately need your help.”
Wit continued to hesitate. But hearing my trembling voice, he finally squeezed his eyes shut in reluctant surrender.
“I’ll just look around a bit and come back! I won’t go far, so wait, Master!”
After confirming that Wit had flown upstairs, I turned around again.
Lucian was leaning against the doorframe, leisurely looking at me, and Echo was looking at me with confused eyes.
“Teacher… who were you talking to…?”
Whether it’s fortunate or not, it seemed that from Echo’s position, Wit was hidden by my body.
“Echo seems curious about your secret friend. Why don’t you tell her?”
Lucian teased me, knowing full well that I couldn’t speak honestly.
I glared at him and then approached Echo’s side.
“Just now… it was a friend who came to help me.”
“Teacher’s friend…?”
I nodded.
Echo was looking at me with visible surprise.
Well, what I said wasn’t wrong, so I decided to gloss over it for now.
“I expected you would come looking for Echo.”
And hearing Lucian’s voice that followed, I raised my head again.
“But I didn’t expect you to find her in such a reckless way.”
“…You knew I would come.”
Lucian answered with a smile in his eyes.
“Would I not know you?”
I wish he would stop knowing me now.
I let out a small sigh and hid Echo behind me.
Lucian, who was watching me with obvious amusement, proposed to me.
“Although it’s trespassing. Since we’re all gathered here, it would be good to settle this cleanly now.”
Settle it.
It sounded like he wanted to conclude the bet right here, right now, about who Echo would choose.
I looked down at Echo.
I had been in the middle of persuading Echo until Lucian appeared.
Since I hadn’t yet had enough conversation, honestly, I wasn’t confident that Echo would choose me.
“Teacher…?”
Sensing the ominous atmosphere from Lucian’s words, Echo tightly grabbed my sleeve.
I bent my knee to meet Echo’s gaze.
“I have something to tell you, Echo.”
Echo looked at me in surprise at my suddenly more familiar tone.
“As I just said, I want to become family with you.”
“Me… with you, Teacher?”
Echo opened her mouth as if she couldn’t believe it.
I smiled gently at Echo.
“Although we’re not siblings connected by blood, you trust me like a real family. I also think of you as my younger sister.”
Echo’s expression, with her eyes wide open in surprise, began to change, tears threatening to spill.
I carefully extended one hand to Echo.
“So will you be my sister?”
“Teacher….”
Tears rolled down from the child’s purple-red eyes.
Just as the child, who seemed overwhelmed, was about to raise her trembling hand.
“Think carefully, Echo.”
Echo, who was about to take my hand, stopped abruptly.
Is this what they call throwing cold water on something?
I slowly raised my gaze to glare at Lucian, who had shattered the atmosphere in an instant.
“Right now, she might say everything is fine. But once you become penniless, you’ll be the first one she resents.”
At Lucian’s following words, Echo trembled.
“Th-that’s wrong, Brother. Teacher wouldn’t do that…”
“Oh my. Echo. My poor sister. I can clearly see you getting hurt by people.”
Echo’s eyes, with her head bowed, began to tremble, revealing her inner conflict.
“But please don’t resent my darling. People are just like that. When cornered, even hearts that seemed unchangeable will turn away.”
This person really…
I bit my lip and hurriedly called out to Echo.
“You don’t need to listen to that person!”
Echo’s widened eyes turned toward me.
“What’s important is that you…”
Swoosh-
That’s when it happened.
A chilling sound came from directly above my head. A familiar threatening sound, like the venomous snake Lucian had previously sent to k*ll me.
My gaze naturally moved upward.
“Teacher…!”
“……!”
And immediately, my eyes met with a giant snake coiled around the ceiling light, gradually extending downward.
My heart dropped in shock, but I couldn’t move. I feared that if I moved carelessly, I would be swallowed by the snake in an instant.
“Let’s do this, Echo.”
My body stiffened with tension.
Lucian, looking at me calmly, said to Echo.
“If you go with her now, your teacher will die.”
“N-no….”
Echo trembled pitifully at Lucian’s threat. The frightened child tried to let go of my hand while large tears fell one after another.
“T-Teacher, I’m sorry….”
I barely managed to take my eyes off the snake and looked down at Echo.
“Hic, hiccup… I… I can’t go with you….”
Echo finally burst into tears.
Glancing at Lucian, I saw him watching us like we were merely entertainment for his pleasure.
He must think everything is going according to his plan.
I clenched both hands.
Absolutely not.
I will absolutely not let that happen.
“Echo.”
When I embraced Echo’s back, her sobbing grew louder.
She was small enough to fit perfectly in my arms. I wished this small child wouldn’t suffer any more emotional wounds.
“If you don’t want to stay here, come with me.”
“B-but then Teacher will….”
“It’s okay.”
Echo, who had rested her head on my shoulder, slowly looked up at me.