Chapter 15: What Elise Wants to Become

Upon hearing Ian’s words, Aetherinra’s finger, which had been pointing toward the training ground, froze in midair.

“Huh?”

“What!”

Ian had refused.

He actually refused!

Aetherinra could not believe it.

The condition she had proposed after gathering so much courage had been dismissed by Ian so nonchalantly.

She stepped forward quickly, grabbed Ian by his collar, and spoke angrily.

“What kind of joke is this? Why are you refusing?”

“Didn’t you say you liked my body?”

“Do you have any idea how much courage it took for me to say something like that?”

“Just accept it already!”

Hearing Aetherinra’s unreasonable words, Ian gently brushed her hand away and spoke with a cold expression.

“I will not use Elise as a wager. Her fate should be hers to decide.”

“Therefore, no matter what conditions you offer as a bet, I will not accept.”

“If there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave.”

Hearing Ian’s words, Aetherinra was momentarily stunned.

What he said sounded very reasonable, leaving her unable to find an argument to counter it.

However, after thinking it over carefully, she realized something was slightly off.

If Elise was to make her own decision, it should only be after she understood Ian’s true nature.

Taking advantage of Aetherinra’s daze, Ian opened the door to the hall, hoping to escape.

He did not believe for a second that his words could change Aetherinra’s mind.

Once Aetherinra set her mind on something, it was incredibly difficult to change.

Ian had experienced this firsthand within the game.

Thus, he wanted to seize the opportunity to flee and avoid further conflict.

Unexpectedly, even this small movement was noticed by Aetherinra.

“Stop right there.”

Aetherinra continued to point her sword at Ian as she spoke.

“I almost let your nonsense deceive me.”

“Before Elise makes her own decision, I will expose your hypocritical facade.”

“If you have any conscience left, you should accept my duel.”

Hearing Aetherinra’s words, Ian was somewhat dazed.

‘Where exactly am I being hypocritical?’

‘My relationship with Elise is clearly one of pure, innocent exploitation.’

He was only doing this to pass the Adelan Magic Academy’s Entrance Test.

Was that some kind of heinous crime?

Of course, Ian only dared to think these things in his head.

He knew that Aetherinra would absolutely not listen to any explanation right now.

Could he really expect Aetherinra to believe that he intended to team up with this frail little maid to participate in the Adelan Magic Academy’s Entrance Test?

She would likely never believe it!

“And what if I don’t accept? What can you do?”

Ian bolstered his courage and looked into Aetherinra’s vibrant eyes.

“Try me.”

The sword in Aetherinra’s hand moved forward another fraction of an inch, nearly touching Ian’s neck.

Ian, however, maintained an air of calm and indifference, acting as if he didn’t care about Aetherinra’s threat at all.

The two of them stood in a standoff within the Duke’s Mansion.

For a moment, it felt as if the temperature in the hall had dropped by several degrees.

With swords drawn and tensions high, neither was willing to back down.

Even though Ian appeared calm on the surface, his heart was incredibly restless.

‘This isn’t going to work. Someone, anyone, please step in and resolve this.’

‘Who knows if Aetherinra’s hand might slip?’

‘If it does, won’t I just drop dead? How could I not be afraid?’

But he couldn’t show weakness on the outside.

If he backed down now, his little maid would be snatched away by Aetherinra!

This was a situation he was absolutely unwilling to see.

The situation for Aetherinra, who was facing off against Ian, was not much better.

Seeing Ian’s nonchalant attitude, Aetherinra found herself at a loss for what to do.

‘How can this guy be so calm?’

‘If it were the old him, he should have accepted my proposal by now.’

After all, the previous Ian would never have allowed Aetherinra to provoke him repeatedly.

And now, even with a sword pointed at him, why was there still no reaction?

Aetherinra had originally only wanted to scare Ian into accepting her proposal.

She couldn’t actually do anything to him, but now the scene seemed to have reached a stalemate.

After the long standoff, Aetherinra’s arm began to feel sore and strained from holding the sword.

But she certainly couldn’t lower her weapon now.

Wouldn’t lowering the sword be an admission of backing down to Ian?

The proud Aetherinra could never accept that.

‘So, is there really no one who can break this deadlock!’

Aetherinra shouted inwardly.

After the two continued their standoff for a while longer, Elise’s soft voice drifted over from the side.

“Um, may I say a few words?”

Hearing the voice, both Ian and Aetherinra showed joy in their eyes simultaneously.

‘Saved.’

Aetherinra immediately retracted her arm, which was so numb she could barely feel it.

“Elise, you don’t need to be afraid. You can tell me everything about how Ian has mistreated you.”

“I will get justice for you.”

Hearing Aetherinra’s words, Ian was suddenly displeased.

Why did she automatically assume he was mistreating Elise?

He hadn’t done anything of the sort!

“No, it’s not like that. Young Master hasn’t mistreated me at all,” Elise said hurriedly upon hearing Aetherinra’s claim.

“Are you sure?”

Aetherinra asked repeatedly.

One had to remember that even with a disguise, it was impossible to hide all of a person’s evil deeds.

There would always be some traces left behind.

“If you want to know what Young Master has done for me… he saved me when I was being bullied.”

“What?”

Aetherinra looked at Ian with disbelief after hearing Elise’s words.

‘Would this scumbag actually save a bullied maid?’

“When I fainted from hunger, Young Master personally fed me.”

“It was also Young Master who helped me awaken my Magic, allowing me to start the path of magical cultivation early.”

“Young Master hasn’t bullied me. Instead, he has been helping me all along.”

“That’s why I like Young Master very much.”

Elise’s eyes sparkled as if she were confessing her love.

Hearing Elise’s words, Aetherinra shook her head.

“If those things are true, they are indeed moving.”

“But what if all of those things are just Ian’s facade?”

Aetherinra walked over to Elise, crouched down, and patted her head.

“Elise, everyone’s fate should be decided by themselves.”

“Have you thought about what kind of person you want to become in the future?”

“Become what?”

Elise didn’t quite understand what Aetherinra was saying.

“I mean, what profession do you want to have? What do you want to do?”

Aetherinra explained patiently in a soft voice.

Aetherinra’s purpose in asking this was to help Elise while simultaneously exposing Ian.

No matter what Elise said she wanted to become, Aetherinra would do her best to help her achieve it.

That would give her a reason to take Elise away from Ian’s side.

If Ian jumped out to stop her from helping Elise achieve her dream, then his disguise of kindness would crumble on its own.

Therefore, no matter what Elise’s answer was, Aetherinra was in a win-win position.

It was an incredibly shrewd move.

As she listened to Aetherinra’s words, memories of the past flickered through Elise’s mind.

The criticism from her father at home, the oppression from her seniors at the Duke’s Mansion — she had thought about leaving this world more than once.

Just when she thought the world was entirely dark, a brilliant white light had suddenly illuminated her life.

So, when she awakened her Magic, she hoped she could awaken a powerful spell to help the Young Master.

Now, the Young Master said he needed her to help him pass the Adelan Magic Academy’s Entrance Test.

How could she not help him?

After all, she had already decided to become someone useful to the Young Master, hadn’t she?

Thinking of this, Elise paused for a moment before speaking to Aetherinra with a firm tone.

“I… I want to become Young Master’s sword!”

“What?”

Aetherinra was dumbfounded by Elise’s words.

What did she mean by becoming Ian’s sword?

How was she supposed to help her with that?

Not only Aetherinra, but even Ian, who was standing to the side, frowned upon hearing Elise’s statement.

He had never asked Elise to become his sword!

After all, once they passed the Entrance Test for the Adelan Magic Academy, he planned to give Elise her freedom so she could pursue the life she wanted.

Therefore, becoming his sword or whatever was simply impossible.