MTFBMP Chapter 33

If I stepped back, I’d have to do it all over again.

 

Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for a firm voice. Adelaine watched my chest heave, eyes tracing the rise and fall of my chest, chin tilted at an angle.

 

“But next time you take on human form, make sure you’re dressed.”

 

This time, her tone was more of a command.

 

“You’ve changed your tone.”

 

“I’m going to start taming you seriously now, and to do that, I need to ensure proper behavior.”

 

I shrugged, thinking it was the last word in respect.

 

“So that means I’m starting to talk back.”

 

Taking a few very slow, deep breaths, I let myself be brainwashed.

 

The man in front of me was not the ruthless killer of my visions. Not the crown prince of an empire who would kill me, but a wounded, captured flying beast that I have healed.

 

If I follow the quest, I could tame him as a pet.

 

As I pondered that thought, I looked at Adelaine.

 

Staring straight into his eyes, never looking down, I vowed to myself that I would never, ever bend over and enter this place.

 

Adelaine didn’t say anything else about my vow. Instead, he extended his hand toward me. It resembled the gesture of an escort.

 

“Are you coming in?”

 

As he spoke, there was a squeak, the sound of rusted hinges. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door to the cage, which had been firmly shut a moment ago, open.

 

As a beast, it might have looked like a cage, but now that it was human, it was clear that it was a prison.

 

I started to take a step, as I had done so many times before, but stopped. I realized I had to take the initiative now.

 

“I see you responded.”

 

“Hmm. I wonder what kind of answer you want.”

 

My heart sank. I felt like the words were going to come out of my mouth at any moment. I stood up as straight as I could and faced him.

 

“First of all… thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

“The coin. For helping me out while you were watching.”

 

The first thing I did was thank him. Without his help, it would have been impossible to display Rhodon’s name above his head, and Simon’s gold would have been taken from me.

 

I shuddered at the thought. I don’t know what I was thinking when I accepted the bet.

 

“But how were you able to transmit your voice up there?”

 

“I’m glad you recognized my voice.”

 

“That’s not an answer.”

 

The words came out like a natural question. Maybe I was more of a hothead than I’d given myself credit for.

 

 Or maybe my lowered tone had worked.

 

“Did you find a new way to do that thing you said before?” I asked Adelaine, never letting up.

 

“As I said, your soul and mine are connected. Have you not felt that connection grow deeper over the time?”

 

“How can a normal person feel such a thing…”

 

“It has grown deeper every time you’ve come here, but am I the only one who has felt it?”

 

He looked away from me briefly, his tone wistful.

 

“That distance is no more than a whisper in your ear now.”

 

Again, Adele looked back at me. Something about what he said tickled my ears, as if it had been whispered in my ear.

 

My jaw dropped. This was one of the reasons I decided to get Adelaine as a pet.

 

I don’t know how it works, but as Adelaine said, we were clearly connected somewhere. If I ran away, it would only be for a moment.

 

“The conversation upstairs, did you hear the whole thing?”

 

“What conversation are you talking about, the one where you said you might sail away in the middle of it?”

 

So, he was paying attention.

 

In those few short words, it was clear that he was displeased. This was no fantasy, either. Adelaine, the Emperor of the Empire, was not to be trusted.

 

‘He may be obsessed with me, but for different reasons.’

 

It’s not like he’s trying to kill me. He seems to thirst to find the human form he’s lost.

 

‘Until he regains all his memories, it’s safe to stay with him.’

 

So Jade’s offer wasn’t the most appealing option at the moment. I didn’t have to reject it outright, but it ranked very low on my list.

 

If anything, Jade’s offer pushed me over the edge.

 

Surely within Adelaine’s power, he’d already heard our conversation.

 

“What would you do if it did?”

 

“You don’t ask that because you don’t know.”

 

In an instant, his voice dropped in pitch. Adelaine raised his eyes and glared at me. I felt as though he would tear through the bars and come at me at any moment.

 

The mere mention of the word offended him, and he acted as if he couldn’t stand it. I could feel a chill in the air that wasn’t even there, and goosebumps rose up my spine.

 

I knew this was coming, and while it was scary, it wasn’t surprising because it was all expected.

 

“Like I said before…, I’m going to help you keep your human form. Now you must obey my commands.”

 

Pfft!, Adelaine laughed. 

 

Then he slowly pulled himself upright and looked down at me.

 

Once he was fully on his feet, he fluffed one of his dangling wings. It was only one wing, perfectly spread, but it still filled the cage. 

 

The wing had shone beautifully enough before, but nothing compared to this.

 

The wings, with their dazzling, blindingly brilliant glow, quickly stole my sense of reality. 

 

My knees nearly buckled beneath me as I was enveloped in a marvelous field of light that seemed impossible for humans to create.

 

Shifting my gaze slightly, I caught a glimpse of the clothing I’d strapped to his wings, which had stretched to accommodate his powers.

 

I focused on the area, steadying myself.

 

‘No, I can’t let myself get carried away here. I must hold on.’

 

I was determined to be his master, and I could not come and kneel before him now.

 

“How can a person who claims to give orders and yet asks for favors be my master?”

 

The softness of Adelaine’s voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I realized how my words from earlier must have resonated with him.

 

‘I can’t lose. This just means a second chance.’ 

 

And I needed to be a little more determined. I bit my lower lip once, sharply.

 

“If you’re going to make it so hard for me to become your master, do you think you can keep me around?”

 

Pet and Master.

 

No matter how hard I tried not to use the word, Adelaine got to the point. He seemed to be asking me if I was worthy of being his master.

 

If this was the way Adelaine was going to come out, I couldn’t back down anymore.

 

“Don’t come any closer. Sit there on your knees.”

 

I said in the sternest voice I could muster. Adelaine stopped in his tracks and looked at me curiously.

 

“You clearly want something from me, don’t you?”

 

The desire to be fully human again.

 

It was the one weapon that could bring him down. As long as I held it, I knew I had the upper hand.

 

“If you want to get it from me, you’ll have to listen to my orders until then.”

 

“…”

 

Adelaine didn’t answer right away. Instead, he watched me carefully, unblinking, like a beast of prey.

 

I’m not sure how long our confrontation lasted. It seemed like a while to me, but in reality, it could have been only a second.

 

To be honest, I was on the verge of collapsing from nervousness.

 

I couldn’t take it anymore. It was time to drive a wedge.

 

“From now on, I will be your master.”

 

“You’re making a soul contract with me.”

 

Becoming the master of a divine beast was never supposed to be simple. But I also didn’t expect to hear such grandiose words.

 

‘Still, it’s fitting.’

 

Even in my previous life, I would have labeled him with such a grandiose description, even though he seems so detached from reality.

 

“Yeah. Right.”

 

“Interesting.”

 

As if to say how he felt, the wings on his back fluttered from their tips. 

 

A few feathers fell to the ground, and I focused on him, trying hard not to follow them with my eyes.

 

‘Well, he doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood.’

 

It seemed more like he was observing me with interest.

 

“Then…”

 

Adelaine began. Slowly, my heart began to beat faster.

 

“Hmph!”

 

Trying to hold it together, I couldn’t help but gasp in surprise when he dropped to one knee in front of me.