#Episode 87
‘He certainly has a strikingly handsome face….’
Vasha rested her chin on her hand as she gazed at Todd. Despite wearing clothes that would likely make an ordinary person feel overwhelmed by their grandeur and cost, he carried himself with absolute ease.
It was hard to imagine that the same Todd had once been dressed in tattered, worn-out clothes when they first met. Now, he looked every bit like a young noble who had been wrapped in silk since birth—a picture-perfect aristocrat.
‘Well, he was indeed the sole heir to the Duke’s family… No one would ever believe he once roamed the slums so freely.’
Even the maids, who had spent an entire day tending to Todd’s whims, were left in awe when they saw the final result of their work.
“He looks like a young hero straight out of a legend.”
“There’s no one this handsome, even in the capital.”
Though Todd was accustomed to constant praise and flattery, he scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
“Hah, what a dull thing to say.”
Then, turning to Vasha, he confidently shrugged his shoulders.
“What do you think? I had to wear something like this to make sure that outdated relic of a pendant doesn’t stand out too much. If I had gone with my original outfit, the pendant you gave me would have looked completely out of place.”
“So you changed your clothes on purpose?”
“…Who said it was because of you? It just happened that way!”
Though he had acted so smug at first, Todd immediately raised his voice in protest when Vasha questioned him, as if offended by the mere suggestion.
But strong denial often signals strong affirmation.
At that moment, the maids realized what had truly motivated this sudden change of heart.
‘He really dotes on his sister…’
Of course, Todd himself would never admit it, but among the household staff, it was widely rumored that he had an extreme case of sister complex.
To be fair, with such a beautiful sister, it was understandable.
Eager to please their young master, the maids chimed in with more compliments.
“Oh, I thought I had never seen that pendant before! It must be a gift from the young miss.”
“Hmph.”
“Wow, I’ve never seen such a large gemstone before. The young miss must really cherish you.”
“Hmph, hmph.”
“It suits you perfectly, young master!”
“…Are you saying that this tacky pendant looks good on me? Are you calling me tacky?”
Todd, who had been listening to the compliments in silence, suddenly narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on the maid who had just spoken.
The poor maid turned pale.
‘He seemed pleased when the others were speaking… so why this reaction?!’
She wanted to explain herself, but she had no idea what had offended him.
Not knowing what she had said wrong, the maid nervously darted her eyes around, unable to come up with a proper excuse.
Unable to watch any longer, Vasha intervened.
“Oh, c’mon, Todd. You’re all dressed up, so stop acting mean. Relax that cute face of yours.”
“Who said I’m cute?!”
Todd shot a sharp glare at Vasha.
While his attention was focused on her, Vasha discreetly gestured to the maids to leave the room.
The maids, finally relieved, quickly scurried out as if afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
***
With the maids gone, only Vasha and Todd remained.
Todd let out a sigh, fully aware of Vasha’s little tricks, yet choosing to go along with them. Still, he couldn’t resist throwing in a snide remark, his expression turning mischievous.
“Are you trying to become some kind of noble-hearted vampire? Paying such careful attention to a mere human maid—how refined of you.”
“There’s no reason to cultivate a bad reputation. The kinder I act, the easier it’ll be to brush off any suspicions in case something ever comes up.”
Vasha responded calmly to Todd’s sarcasm as she approached him.
Sunlight streamed through the gap between the curtains.
Standing just within the shade, Vasha reached out and adjusted Todd’s shirt collar, a smile playing on her lips.
“But I must say, you do look quite dashing like this. Just like a proper young master.”
“I am a young master.”
Todd retorted in exasperation, as if offended by her overly indulgent tone.
Then, recalling what Vasha had said earlier, he furrowed his brows and lowered his voice menacingly.
“Now that I think about it… you keep calling me ‘cute’ as if it’s some kind of joke….”
But with his voice not yet deepened by puberty, his attempt at sounding threatening came off more like an irritated kitten hissing.
Vasha barely held back her laughter as she looked at him, amused, but she decided to play along.
“What do you mean ‘mocking’? I mean it when I say you’re cute.”
“Calling someone cute is mocking them. That’s a word you use for small, weak creatures.”
But Vasha’s words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
Seeing Todd glare at her so fiercely, completely missing the point, she decided to call out his past behavior.
“You used to act cute on purpose whenever you wanted to get out of trouble. What was that then?”
“That was just a tactic—pretending to be weak to lower people’s guard.”
Todd’s cold and calculated response left Vasha momentarily speechless.
‘How did he end up so twisted?’
She let out a sigh. While she wasn’t exactly the most sociable person either, she still didn’t compare to Todd’s level of cynicism.
Vasha had wanted to tell him he was being too pessimistic and closed-off, but she hesitated. She was reminded of something that happened not too long ago.
‘Last time I pointed out Todd’s distrust of humans, he refused to speak to me for days….’
With the auction coming up soon, she figured it was best not to stir up unnecessary trouble.
But she couldn’t just keep ignoring it forever.
After all, Todd was her familiar.
The longer their [Binding Contract] lasted, the more their synchronization would increase, making it easier for them to resonate with each other’s emotions.
If Todd, already hot-tempered, grew up to be a man who took every little comment the wrong way, it wouldn’t be good for either of them.
‘I can’t let him stay this twisted forever… Maybe after the auction, I should sit him down for a proper talk. By then, he’ll have gotten his family’s relic and be in a better mood—maybe he’ll actually listen to me for once.’
For now, she decided to focus on a smaller goal.
Before anything else, she had to fix Todd’s perception of the word cute.
At this rate, Todd was going to think she was mocking him.
Before the gavel of judgment came down in his mind, Vasha had to correct the misunderstanding quickly.
“No, Todd.”
Her voice was calm yet firm.
Todd instinctively opened his mouth to argue, but when he looked up at her, the words died in his throat.
Gone was the usual carefree, absentminded expression she always wore. What remained was a face so breathtakingly beautiful that it was almost intimidating.
In the reflection of her red eyes, Todd saw himself—completely dumbstruck.
He knew he needed to snap out of it and move, but as Vasha stepped closer, his heart pounded uncontrollably, and he found himself frozen, unable to move a single finger.
Lately, this had been happening more often.
Vasha wasn’t even acting threateningly, but for some reason, whenever she got close, his body tensed up on its own.
‘…Did she cast some kind of binding spell on me?’
But with Vasha’s current level of skill, it was impossible for her to perform magic without triggering Van Drake’s keen senses.
As Todd stood there, paralyzed by the sound of his own heartbeat, Vasha slowly reached out and gently patted his cheek, as if mocking his stillness.
“The word cute is used for things that are lovable. It has nothing to do with being small or weak.”
She spoke softly, like she was teaching a child.
And the gentler she was, the more Todd’s face flushed, his pale skin slowly turning red, mirroring the color of her eyes.
Refusing to acknowledge the fact that he was flustered, Todd abruptly jerked back, putting distance between them.
“Y-you have no shame! Saying things like that so casually!”
“Shame? About what?”
Vasha simply took a step forward, closing the distance again.
Seeing that she wasn’t letting him escape, Todd squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“Calling me lovable and all that nonsense!”
Like a snail shriveling up at the touch of salt, his small frame curled in on itself in sheer mortification.
