IAYA 11

Chapter 11

“Aah, it hurts.”

At those words, the grip of Teansis, who had been holding my hand tightly, suddenly loosened, as if it had been a lie. Judging from how quickly he relaxed his grip at a simple word, it seemed like he had unknowingly been holding it too tightly.

However, Teansis didn’t show any sign of weakness and spoke again.

“…If you don’t answer the questions I ask, you won’t be able to leave here.”

“What?”

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide at Teansis’ unexpected words.

I never thought he would try to imprison me.

“I’m not a criminal.”

I hadn’t committed any crime. There was no reason for me to be locked up.

“But you’re suspicious.”

Teansis quickly countered, not backing down. While his words weren’t wrong, I couldn’t back down either.

“There’s no law that locks up suspicious people.”

I hadn’t committed a crime, so it didn’t make sense to lock me up just because I seemed suspicious. But despite my words, Teansis didn’t change his expression.

“That’s what I’m capable of.”

“What…?”

“If I judge someone to be suspicious, I can imprison them. That’s the power of the Akruse family, and my power.”

I already knew very well how noble Teansis was and the kind of power the Akruse family held. I didn’t need an explanation.

But I didn’t want to experience that power firsthand in this situation.

‘He’s even impressive in moments like this…’

Even as Teansis was threatening me, part of me found him admirable. I must be completely smitten with him.

I forced myself to clear my mind and focused on Teansis in front of me.

I couldn’t back down here. I had to work as an assistant pharmacist and receive a salary, and I still had to study medicine in my spare time.

If I wanted to prepare for independence, there was a lot I had to do. Moreover, this youth was a side effect of an experimental drug.

This meant it wouldn’t be strange for me to return to my original state at any time. No one could guarantee that this youth would last forever.

That’s why I didn’t have time to waste.

“If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to report that I was unlawfully detained.”

Teansis gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile at my words.

“You’re free to report it if you wish. But I expect it’ll take a long time for that report to be processed. Wouldn’t it be faster to be honest with me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your name, age, where you live, and what purpose you had for entering the storage room. If what you say convinces me, I’ll let you go.”

“I didn’t go into the storage room for any purpose!”

At my innocent outburst, Teansis’s purple eyes, which had a mysterious tint to them, stared directly at me.

“I think that’s what I believe for now, which is why I came to the reception room. If it were anything else…”

Teansis’s finger casually pointed at the floor.

“You would have gone to the underground dungeon.”

That made no sense. There was an underground dungeon at the Kamaar Academy dorms?

It was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

But the fact that Teansis was saying it made it oddly convincing. It almost felt like there really was an underground dungeon in his residence.

“I’m really innocent. I just ended up in the storage room by chance. I have no idea why this is happening. The reason I can’t tell you my name is because there’s an unavoidable situation.”

“Even if what you say is true, the reaction from the monsters was something I can’t ignore. I have an obligation to look into it.”

“I really don’t know anything about that. This is all so sudden, and I’m really confused. What exactly do you think my identity is?”

“Well, I suppose you might not be a complete human.”

“That’s nonsense. I’m human! I’m a good citizen!”

“I’m just considering one possibility. After all, no human has ever spoken with a monster.”

It was incredibly frustrating, but I didn’t have anything to counter that with. I, too, was losing my mind trying to figure out how this situation had happened.

But I couldn’t allow myself to be imprisoned by Teansis like this. I had just started working in the pharmacy and the thought of skipping my first day made my head ache.

But no matter how I looked at it, there seemed to be no way out.

Then, suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a deep male voice was heard.

“Lord, it’s Fabian.”

Teansis turned his head toward the door and spoke softly.

“What is it?”

“I have an urgent report.”

Hearing those words, Teansis’ gaze suddenly turned colder.

“Come in.”

At Teansis’s permission, Fabian quickly stepped into the room.

He was a tall man with dark skin and broad shoulders, exuding an intimidating presence.

Fabian glanced at me briefly before whispering something in Teansis’s ear.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but as soon as Fabian finished, Teansis stood up abruptly.

He didn’t express his anger outwardly, but I could tell he was angry.

Fabian lowered his body deeply in an apology.

“I’m sorry. If it were at the main house, I would never have allowed this, but because we’re at the Kamaar Academy, security is limited.”

“Enough. It’s not your fault. It’s true that this isn’t our territory.”

Teansis walked over to the window and checked outside before returning to the table where I was sitting.

I had been listening to their conversation quietly, but I still had no idea what was going on.

As I stared at Teansis with a confused look, he spoke to me in a much softer voice than before.

“As I said, if I had thought you were a person with bad intentions, you would have gone straight to the underground dungeon. The fact that you haven’t means… I must consider you a good citizen to some extent.”

I looked at Teansis with a happy expression.

‘Finally, he believes me!’

But his face remained serious, and his husky voice continued.

“Could you promise me one thing? Don’t tell anyone about what happened in the storage room. Let it be our secret.”

I didn’t have any reason to tell anyone about what happened in the storage room. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant memory to share.

In fact, every time I thought about how the monsters had sacrificed themselves for me, it hurt.

So Teansis’s request wasn’t difficult for me to accept.

“Alright. But in return, please do one thing for me.”

Teansis looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“What is it?”

“The monsters that died in the Kamaar Academy storage… Please bury them in a good place. It feels like they died for me, and I want to do this for them.”

Teansis looked at me with an expression of surprise, but then nodded with a smile.

“Understood. I promise.”

“Then I promise not to tell anyone either.”

Teansis nodded slightly and then looked back at Fabian.

“Tell them I’m going outside.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Fabian, who had been standing as still as a statue, nodded and left the room.

Teansis put his jacket back on and donned a pair of white gloves. I still had questions about the marks he had mentioned earlier, but there was no time to ask.

He then extended his hand toward me.

“Shall we go?”