Chapter 14

‘Poblian, promise your mother one thing. Never, ever show or use your ability recklessly in front of others.’

The words her mother had desperately pleaded as they left Anif echoed in her head, but that was all they were now—echoes.

‘If I don’t do this now, either I die, Lani dies, or we both die! One of those three!’

“What do you think you’re—!”

I grabbed Beth’s hand and instantly began draining her mana.

In that moment, Beth’s eyes went wide, then rolled back as her body collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.

As soon as I let go of her hand, the stolen mana collided with the mana already inside me, and a fever began to burn through my body.

The words Beth had spoken moments ago rang in my mind like a recurring nightmare.

‘Don’t feel too wronged. Esteban will rampage regardless—whether it’s from eating the food with the medicine or from seeing your dead body.’

“……Who… who’s going to let that happen?”

“W-what on earth is going on……”

“Lani, where is Esteban?”

Perhaps because my body wasn’t in its normal state, the mana wouldn’t settle properly even though I hadn’t absorbed that much. At this rate, I might revert to my animal form just to stabilize the mana raging out of control.

‘I have to hurry before that happens. Before Esteban rampages……!’

“I asked where Esteban is!”

Lani, who had been staring blankly as if she couldn’t comprehend the situation, finally snapped out of it and stammered an answer.

“T-the Young Master is in the dining hall. He’s hosting a meal for Sir Ellen…….”

“Then the Grand Duke? Where is the Grand Duke right now?”

“His Grace? He isn’t at the mansion. He left three days ago on business and hasn’t returned yet…….”

I sprinted out of the room immediately.

‘Don’t tell me Esteban’s first rampage from the novel is happening today? No, Esteban! Don’t eat it! You mustn’t eat anything!’

As I ran toward the dining hall, my head throbbed and the fever spiked again. My vision spun wildly, but I held on through sheer grit and spite.

‘Whether I die of a fever or die in a rampage, dead is dead!’

The dining hall came into view in the distance, but for some reason, the area around it was eerily silent. That unnatural stillness felt like the calm before a storm, sending shivers down my spine.

‘No one has realized it yet. That Ellen is a monster!’

Of course! That’s why he was being treated to a meal!

Short, ragged gasps escaped me as my mind grew dizzy. If I hadn’t regained consciousness until now, I would have died without ever knowing why.

I caught the dining hall doorknob, my breath hitching in my throat.

Just as I was about to burst in, I froze at the sneering voice leaking through the slightly ajar door.

“Why did I target that fox brat? Because a wretch like you would rampage even over the death of a mere fox! And once you lose control, you and the Winchesters will eventually vanish forever!”

With his lips twisted in a cruel smirk, Ellen mocked Esteban with everything he had.

Ellen continued to hurl curses at Esteban, who stood perfectly still, offering no reaction.

“Hahaha! No matter how hard you try, it’s useless. Winchesters are doomed to rampage at the slightest provocation because you can’t control a single emotion.”

“…….”

“In the end, you’ll kill everyone around you, Esteban.”

Ellen’s intention to provoke Esteban into a rampage was transparent.

‘Esteban…….’

I could see Esteban’s back—or rather, the back of a small, vulnerable child—standing before the dining table.

“Because of that power you were born with, you will eventually slaughter everyone you love! Only then will you realize… that you were a seed of evil that should never have been born!”

There was no reason to endure such words any longer. I was about to rampage myself before Esteban even got the chance.

“Hahaha! Poor Esteban Hadel Winchester! I can see it now—you, slowly going mad in a world where everyone is dead and you are left all alone! A crazed Winches—!”

The moment I threw the door open with all my strength, I saw Ellen clutching his throat in agony and collapsing.

Ellen hit the floor with a thud, his eyes bloodshot and bulging as he gasped for air. His eyes darted around frantically, as if trying to calculate what had just happened to him.

I blinked at the sudden turn of events and looked at Esteban.

“……Esteban?”

Even at my call, Esteban didn’t turn his gaze toward me.

He looked down coldly at Ellen, who was writhing in pain, crushed by the weight of the mana Esteban was emitting.

“The idea that I will one day lose my mind and devour everyone around me isn’t a curse, Ellen.”

“…….”

“It’s simply a fact.”

“…….”

“Isn’t that right, Poblian Fennec?”

Only then did Esteban’s gaze shift toward me.

If I hadn’t looked into his empty, hollow eyes, perhaps even I would have been fooled into thinking that he was unaffected by those cursed words.

But as I met his eyes, I was breathless at the depth of emotion I never expected to see in a thirteen-year-old boy.

“…….”

Even though I had only read about it in a book……

Even if the ‘you’ in the book overcomes this trauma to become a wonderful adult, it didn’t mean this moment wasn’t painful.

Why did I think the pain you feel as a child would be light enough to easily overcome, Esteban?

“Poblian?”

Esteban’s eyes narrowed as he saw me striding toward him.

Because my vision kept blurring, I couldn’t see his face clearly even when I was right in front of him. My stomach churned, and my throat felt tight.

“……Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time?”

“…….”

“That no matter what, you’ll rampage and kill everyone around you?”

Esteban’s face hardened at my words.

Glaring at him with all the strength I could muster, I grabbed his hand.

The mana that had been surging threateningly along with his precarious emotions began to fade. Through our joined hands, Esteban’s mana began to flow into me.

“What are you doing……!”

For the first time, a look of pure bewilderment crossed Esteban’s stiff face.

“You won’t rampage, Esteban Hadel Winchester.”

“…….”

“Because I’m going to make sure of it.”

Esteban’s mana was incomparably rougher and more violent than Beth’s. It was almost laughable that I had once wondered, after swallowing that pill in the greenhouse, if Esteban felt that kind of pain every time. Compared to his mana, mine was soft, no matter how much it accelerated.

‘D-danger.’

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if the mana flowing through my body could withstand what I had just absorbed from him. One thing was certain: if I tried to take all of his mana, my body would explode and I would die first.

But even so, despite that……

My vision darkened, and my body became a furnace, far hotter than before. I knew that letting go of this hand would bring me relief, but I couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t because of the contract anymore. I simply didn’t want Esteban to brush off those cursed words as if they didn’t matter. I wanted him to stop believing that those thorns were the truth.

I wanted to protect this boy who was staring at me so blankly, who was still so young……

I wanted to protect the young and fragile male lead of this world.

I gripped Esteban’s hand with all my might and spoke.

“For the five years we spend together, whenever it feels like you’re going to rampage, I’ll stop it. I’ll take your mana like this, over and over, until you’re absolutely unable to lose control.”

“…….”

“No matter who comes to hurt you, no matter what tricks they play to break you, you won’t be able to rampage.”

“……Poblian Fennec.”

“Because I’ll make it so.”

Due to the high fever, I couldn’t even see Esteban’s face right in front of me anymore. I forced my swaying body to stay upright and squeezed out the last of my strength to say: “In the end, you’ll live a long, happy life with the people you love.”

With those words, my consciousness vanished.

***

“He will eventually rampage! A lesson like this can never stop it!”

“He’s a monster, pure and simple. If that amount of mana loses control, no one in this vicinity will survive!”

Whenever he heard such things, he felt as if he were pouring water into a shattered bottle. He thought it might be better to live alone on a deserted island than to spend time on a hopeless task. No, if that wasn’t possible, he wondered if it wouldn’t be better to simply end the Winchester bloodline so that no one else would have to suffer.

“You must endure it. It’s only five years. After five years, they generally stabilize.”

“We need their blood. To get it, the line must continue. They must be kept where we can see them. Because the life of one of them is more important than dozens, no, hundreds of insignificant lives.”

“If the Winchester line is cut, the shield protecting Idelio will vanish.”

In the end, he was a chess piece.

They needed a bulwark to protect the Empire, and it didn’t matter how many people died to maintain it. All they wanted was the power the Winchesters possessed.

Not a single person wished for a Winchester’s happiness.

“No matter who comes to hurt you, you won’t be able to rampage.”

“You’ll live a long, happy life with the people you love.”

There had been no one. He was sure there was no one, but then……

“Y-Young Master! Are you alright?”

Rendel, having heard the news from Lani, rushed into the dining hall.

Inside, Ellen lay unconscious with his eyes rolled back, and the negligee Poblian had been wearing was discarded on the floor.

Esteban, who was silently watching Poblian—who had reverted to a fox—covered his face and let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha…….”

“Young Master…….”

“……That damn fox placed a curse on me, Rendel.”

Esteban’s face, stained with a myriad of emotions, contorted. Biting his lip as if trying to suppress the feelings surging within him, Esteban picked up the unconscious Poblian and stood up.

As he walked away, a strange, new emotion settled over him.