episode_0140

“I have something to tell you.”

“… What is it?”

Ellen took a step back.

Let’s be together for the rest of our lives now.

I was thinking of confessing that I wanted to be with you as a companion, not as a teacher and student.

But isn’t it possible that Luke reflected and faced the truth?

I would be more than happy if Luke confessed first.

“First of all, I sincerely congratulate you on becoming an adult.”

“Thank you.”

Elin listened to Luke’s words with some anticipation.

“From the time I first took office until now, haven’t I been through quite a few things?”

I have experienced events that are difficult to summarize in one word.

How much had to happen for Elin, who was treated worse than an insect in her family, to become the head of the household?

Cures curses.

Make friends.

Be aware of your mind.

Stop the large demon.

The events were too twisted to have occurred within a period of seven years.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard. But it was always fun being with you, Princess.”

“… I also enjoyed being with you, teacher.”

Elin’s stupid hair was on the rise.

This is because the topic being brought up was positive.

Now, if you just say, ‘Now that I think about it, I think it’s right that I like you, Princess’… … .

“The detailed story is included in the letter here.”

When you think about it.

Luke handed me a letter.

“…Why the letter?”

If you have something to say, just say it face to face.

Why are you writing a letter when you’re not going anywhere?

“Is a handwritten letter also a coming-of-age ceremony gift?”

If that were the case, I could gladly accept it.

If it is a letter filled with the teacher’s sincerity.

I planned to pass it down to my children later.

“Yes, this is the last gift.”

“… … What?”

Ellen doubted her ears.

“What are you talking about?”

I asked, suppressing my anxiety.

This is the last one.

Now that I’m an adult, does that mean I won’t be giving you gifts anymore?

I tried to think hopefully.

however.

“… … Your Majesty.”

thud.

My heart sank when I saw the bitter smile on Luke’s lips.

◦Don’t do %◦.”

Elin shook her head, not even knowing what she was being told not to do.

An unknown fear sounded an alarm in Elin’s intuition.

I told him not to listen to Luke any more, and to stop him.

“Your Highness, you will be able to become an even greater and more outstanding wizard in the Empire.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Thank you so much for following my words so far. Now I… … .”

Luke forced the corners of his lips upward.

He held out something with trembling hands.

A small piece of paper like a letter.

The moment I saw the words ‘resignation letter’.

“I will quit. Princess’ tutor.”

Stop-

Something snapped in Ellen’s mind.

* * * * *

“No.”

I wasn’t even fully aware of what was happening.

Boohoo! Boohoo!

First, I tore up my resignation letter into pieces.

“Your Majesty.”

“What are you talking about? You quit?”

“Do you know the contents of the contract I made when I entered Bertain?”

“… I don’t want to hear it.”

Luke continued, trying to ignore it.

“I will be your tutor until the princess becomes an adult. That was the condition.”

Luke took a deep breath.

And then he added,

“The contract ends today.”

“What does that mean?”

A sharp voice came out of Elin’s mouth.

Even if you suddenly bring up the subject of contracts, I don’t understand it at all.

Luke covered his face with his palm.

He let out a deep sigh as if he had known this would happen.

“… I am no longer a tutor. I have no reason to be here.”

“Teacher, were you by my side because of the contract?”

That can’t be true.

The affection Luke gave me throughout our time together was so warm it was addictive.

The sincerity I received for 7 years was absolutely not a lie.

“I guess… that’s right.”

“… … What?”

Feed them nutritious food.

It lifted up my self-esteem that was buried deep down.

When I was sick, you took care of me, and in the end, you even cured my curse.

Why are you trying to push me away like this?

aha.

Are you saying this because you’re sick right now?

Anyway, the teacher has had a habit of trying to handle everything by himself since long ago.

Ellen is not a child anymore.

He lifted his head and raised the corners of his mouth to indicate that it was okay.

“What does that mean?”

If only Luke would need Elin.

If you just ask for help,

I was ready to give up everything to cure Luke’s illness.

But Luke understood Elin’s gaze.

I just watched quietly without saying anything.

“… Teacher?”

Luke doesn’t expect anything from Elin.

He declared that he would quietly disappear from here.

Why on earth?

We can figure out a way together.

You don’t believe me?

Ellin, overcome with emotion, cried out in frustration.

“… … Lie.”

Why do you have to leave, making ridiculous excuses like you were there because of the contract period?

“… … ”

Luke still didn’t answer.

If that’s the case, Elin had a way.

“If we renew the contract, that’s it.”

Ellen remembers the contract Luke showed her.

I copied it as is onto new paper.

Packed with benefits you won’t find anywhere else.

The period was set to permanent.

“Just sign here.”

A document that is no different from a hastily prepared marriage certificate by Elin.

Luke glanced over.

“Who makes the contract period permanent?”

He only spoke in a theoretical manner, his voice deadened with emotion.

“There’s nothing more you can learn from me now, right?”

“… … ”

Before Ellen opened her mouth.

Luke looked somewhere into the air.

“I have to go to the top of the tower now. It’s an old promise.”

“Are you going to where he is now?”

When you think of the rooftops, the first thing that comes to mind is Lanian Rochefort.

A woman I didn’t like from the moment I first met her.

I heard that these days, they are not satisfied with the academy’s research lab and are even using the magic tower.

Are you trying to take the teacher there?

Or it could be another magic tower.

Luke’s network extends beyond the oceans of the East.

Because there are many people who don’t know Elin.

Of course, wherever the tower is, whatever Luke’s promise is.

One thing was certain.

“Don’t go.”

That I won’t let Elin be left behind.

He took a step closer and held out his hand.

“Stay with me.”

At first, Luke was the first to extend his hand.

He gave hope to Elin, who had been scared and resigned to her fate, by telling her to grab hold and get up.

So now it’s Ellen’s turn.

So that your hands, which have become as cold as ice, can become warm like before.

I was trying to tell you that you don’t have to do it alone.

“… That can’t be.”

Even that was rejected.

A weak breath escaped from his mouth.

“Yeah. The teacher was always like this.”

Ellen took a step closer.

Luke took a step back.

“When I take one step closer, the teacher takes three steps back.”

I gave a drop of affection to Elin who was thirsty.

When Ellen tried to approach, Luke kept his distance.

I took another step closer.

As expected, Luke stepped back.

“As if this is the distance allowed between us.”

Bam.

Luke, who was running away, hit a wall.

okay.

I was mistaken in thinking that we had made a lot of progress so far.

It was like this every day.

When Ellen approaches persistently, Luke runs away.

Then you’re backed into a wall.

Only then did Ellen hug me, kiss me, and put me to sleep next to her… .

Luke barely accepted it.

As if he was backed into a wall and had no choice.

“You approached me first. But when I tried to approach you, you just ran away.”

“I’m not running away.”

“Then why did you hide it until now? Why are you leaving now of all times?”

Having written your resignation letter in advance can only mean one thing.

Luke was planning to leave today.

From the moment you step into the Bertain mansion.

For a moment, my vision became blurry.

It was tears that came without me even noticing.

Ellen forced her eyes to look straight at Luke.

“Your Majesty, we need some time.”

Luke didn’t have time to babble on about what he didn’t know.

“Time? Why do you need that?”

I let out all the anger that was rising from deep within me.

“You said you would always be with me. You said you were always on my side.”

I met Luke and became a lot of people to me.

If it weren’t for Luke, neither Benado nor Nia would have known.

I have never met a person so capable that I would wonder how I could live without her.

But now Elin has been thoroughly betrayed.

Anne hid the fact that Luke was sick.

Luke had been planning on leaving from the beginning.

Gulp.

I was deceived by those closest to me.

The feeling of betrayal was so intense that tears eventually flowed down my cheeks.

“Was it all a lie?”

“… … ”

A look of guilt appears on Luke’s face.

Ellen didn’t miss that moment.

“You can’t run away anymore.”

“… !”

Chorus.

A chain stretched from the wall and grabbed Luke’s arm.

Chains rose from the floor and bound his ankles.

“Your Highness… !”

“I didn’t want to do it like this either.”

I thought I might use it someday when my teacher runs away.

I didn’t really want that to happen.

But there’s nothing I can do…?

If the teacher disappears, it will definitely fall apart.

Ellen strode towards Luke, who was tied up tightly all over his body.

I looked at Luke with sincerity and without giving up.

Luke turned his head away.

As if he had never intended to listen to Elin’s feelings in the first place.

“… … ”

There was silence as if time had stopped.

What broke the suffocating silence was the chatter of people downstairs laughing and chatting.

Elin was the sound of people who didn’t care.

“They all came to congratulate the princess. Why are you doing this on such a good day?”

Why are you doing this?

The person in question is shamelessly asking.

I was so shocked that my anger subsided.

“When the teacher leaves, it will be the worst day.”

“It’s finally your chance to be recognized as a proper noble and adult.”

A proper nobleman, an adult.

What the heck does that matter?

“If only the teacher would look after me properly, I don’t need anything else.”

“… … Let’s start with this first and then talk.”

“I hate it. Do you think I don’t know that you’re trying to escape by teleporting?”

If the teacher is not ready yet, he or she can wait as long as he or she wants.

Instead, you have no choice but to force yourself to stay by her side until she understands your true feelings.

Ellen put her hand on Luke’s cheek.

“Look carefully. It was you who made me like this.”

A distance so close that our breaths collide.

I forced myself to turn my head and make eye contact.

The spirited and witty teacher was no more.

There are only cowardly patients who are full of weakness and fear.

The disease that made my beloved teacher like this.

I just can’t stand the curse of Berthain that is the root of this situation.

“Give me a reason to live… .”

I bit my lips hard.

Red blood flowed down.

It stung though.

It was nothing compared to the hurt in my heart right now.

“You made me like this. You want to leave?”

The next head of the Bertain family.

The great wizard who will lead the future of the empire.

A hero who saved the capital from the devil.

and.

A woman who loves only Luke.

Because all of this was nothing short of a masterpiece created by just one person.

“… Absolutely not.”

No matter what happens.

No matter how much Luke pushed, he couldn’t give up.

“… Cool.”

That’s when something strange happened.

“Princess sleep― gulp, gulp… .”

Suddenly Luke started coughing up blood.

“Breath… ugh, kekeke… … .”

A cough that makes you feel like you’re about to suffocate.

A quantity of blood that is hard to believe came from a human body.

“Seo, teacher.”

I was confused by the non-stop coughing up blood.

“… chain.”

Elin took a step back.

It was only then that he realized that the chains were draining Luke’s mana.

“Sorry, sorry… I’m sorry―”

You’re probably already sick.

How painful it must have been to have mana forcibly extracted from the mana heart.

Elin felt the pain as if she was vomiting blood.

I tried to control the chain though.

I couldn’t control myself properly because of my fluctuating emotions.

Sucking out mana at will and then blowing mana back in.

“Kooluk… Guweak… .”

Luke, who had been abused by Mana Heart, turned pale as if he was about to die.

Ellen’s face also turned pale.

Because of me, the teacher is suffering.

I need to see a doctor right now… To do that, I need to break the chains… But then he’ll run away, right?

Reason is paralyzed.

A crazy situation.

I can’t think normally.

Excessive pressure forces Elin to make a choice.

“Go… Princess, please let me go first, gulp… … .”

“… … !”

Luke spits out a handful of gore.

If this continues, I’ll definitely die before I can get to the doctor.

Elin made a split-second decision.

Chorrrruk-

The chain was released.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to open the portal since my body was in shambles.

…and that was an obvious mistake.

Woof-

A scroll taken out of Luke’s inventory.

“… … !!”

Elin’s eyes widened as she confirmed her identity.

“I’m sorry… …your majesty… .”

Just because Luke was a space wizard didn’t mean he had to use portals.

A teleport scroll written in advance in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

“No!!!”

Boohoo-!

With Elin’s scream, Luke tore the scroll.

“… … Why, why?”

In the quiet room, there was dark red blood that Luke had spat out.

Boom, boom.

Only Elin was left, shedding tears as if she had broken down.

Someone said.

If you want to ruin someone’s life in the most cruel way, first become a part of that person.

After becoming something absolutely irreplaceable.

It disappeared at an unexpected time.

“Why on earth… … .”

Bam.

Elin sat down like a doll with her strings cut off.

The light disappears from the eyes.

The world is dyed in black and white.

I keep getting chills.

Unable to control my trembling, I curled up into a ball and buried my head in my knees.

Just like when I was an abused child… before I met Luke.

“… … Oh, ahh… !”

Today, one person’s world came crashing down.