Didn’t he clearly answer that he would hide from me? I had naturally assumed he would go into the snake’s passageway, so I was baffled as to why he suddenly opened the door and appeared in front of us.

Erhan, who was supporting me, soon furrowed his brows mercilessly. It seemed he had also immediately recognized that the person who opened the door to my room was Zachary.

Fortunately, Zachary looked no different from the other servants. He had a cloth with a ghost’s eye drawn on it draped over his face, and he was wearing an immaculate servant’s uniform with a dark blue bandage. There was nothing to nitpick, but…

‘It’s too strange for you to come out of my room…!’

The point of appearance was wrong.

Just yesterday, I had told Erhan that I sent Zachary away because his condition was strange. So for Zachary to come out of my room the next day, I was dumbfounded, but how much more absurd would it be for Erhan? Sure enough, he was looking at Zachary with a furrowed brow and his head tilted.

“……”

The attitude of Zachary, who had actually come out, was nonchalant. He looked in stark contrast to Erhan, who had his head cocked crookedly. His attire was neat and unruffled, his back straight. Even his head was upright.

Zachary, who had completely come out, quietly closed the door. Then he looked at me and Erhan, politely bowing his head and raising it, an action that was no different from any other servant, with no room for criticism.

“Uh, uh!”

If he hadn’t made an unexpected move, that is.

It was really in an instant. Zachary approached as if to wedge between me and Erhan, and without a moment’s hesitation, he swiftly lifted me up. Erhan’s hand that was supporting me became useless. Erhan, unable to grasp the situation unfolding without a chance to comprehend it, also let go of his grip on me.

Due to being abruptly lifted into the air, my posture was unsteady. I reflexively wrapped my arms around Zachary’s neck, startled that I might fall, as I was suddenly held by him. Because of the height difference, my field of vision was much higher than usual.

‘I’m screwed.’

Look at Erhan’s expression right now. Rather than trying to understand the situation, it was an expression that Zachary’s very existence was irksome.

Well, he disliked Zachary from the beginning. He reacted negatively to Zachary back then too, so why would it be any different now?

“That’s……”

Let’s say something.

Erhan, who had been coldly staring at Zachary’s face, looked at me. My mouth went dry at his chilling face, as if telling me to explain what kind of situation this was.

What excuse should I make? Something that would not go against Erhan’s mood as much as possible, yet sufficiently plausible…

“…My leg hurts so much.”

“……”

“It hurts so much that I called him.”

How embarrassing. Like a grown-up acting like a child throwing a tantrum.

I couldn’t bear to see Erhan’s reaction and turned my head to the side. Of course, there was a limit to averting my gaze while clinging to Zachary’s shoulder, so it was the best I could do. It was better than facing Erhan, who would probably look at me pathetically.

At that moment, I felt Zachary’s arms tighten. He used more force to press me against his chest.

“…Put me down.”

Pressed close to Zachary, I whispered softly. But Zachary showed no reaction. Of course, he couldn’t answer because Erhan was there, but I hoped he would listen to my request.

“Put me down, I said…?”

Then I felt a hand taking off my shoes. Startled, I saw that Erhan, who had approached at some point, was shoving his hand towards my shin.

“Brother!”

It seemed Erhan was trying to hold me instead of Zachary. I wanted to tell him not to, but I felt like I would lose my balance and fall to the floor if I moved clumsily.

But Zachary was no pushover either. He held me tightly and didn’t let go, and I, swaying helplessly between the two, had no choice but to grab Erhan’s arm and plead.

“I, I asked him to do it. I feel so sick, so please stop.”

I was the one getting crushed between the whales. When they were tugging at me, my head was pounding so much that it was hard to lift it properly. At my words, Erhan’s actions stopped.

“……”

Contrary to my expectation that he would look at me as if I were doing all sorts of nonsense, his expression wasn’t entirely chilling. He let out a short sigh and gave up on trying to lift me, instead frowning as he looked at my red, swollen ankle.

“This looks more swollen than yesterday.”

“It’s fine.”

I was too embarrassed to show my foot anymore.

But Erhan seemed unconcerned, and on top of taking off my shoe, he even carefully touched my ankle. His large hand enveloped my ankle, and then his fingertips lightly pressed on the injured part. As I involuntarily let out a small groan at the stinging pain, Zachary took a step back while holding me. It was a gentle yet firm movement.

As a result, Erhan’s touch on my ankle fell away. His hand awkwardly sliced through the air. Erhan briefly looked down at his hand, then immediately gazed at Zachary, slightly tilting his head. Zachary remained motionless.

“……”

A chilly atmosphere enveloped the three of us. The expression completely vanished from Erhan’s face.

He had been frowning until just a moment ago, but now there was none of that either.

What on earth was Zachary thinking?

I couldn’t tell anything by looking at Zachary either. Because everything was completely covered by the cloth. As if having the same thought as me, Erhan was also staring intently at Zachary’s face beyond the cloth, as if observing him.

‘I’m fucked……’

Watching those glass-like eyes scan over Zachary, cold sweat trickled down my back. For a moment, I had a hunch that Erhan was suspecting Zachary.

“Hey.”

Sure enough, Erhan moved. He strode over and stood face to face with Zachary. And before I could stop him, he roughly ripped off the cloth on Zachary’s face.

In an instant, Zachary’s face was fully revealed. The face beneath the cloth was eerily expressionless to the point of giving me goosebumps. Beautiful features, but the dead, dark blue eyes like those of a fish and the tightly closed lips looked extremely creepy.

“Who are you?”

Anyone who saw that face would think he was a servant under hypnosis, but Erhan seemed to sense something alone. On top of that, he was narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing Zachary closely.

“……”

Even though it would be surprising to have the cloth suddenly removed, Zachary didn’t make any move. He just stood there in the same posture, holding me.

I couldn’t sit still any longer in the face of Erhan’s threatening attitude, as if he would pounce at any moment. Feeling that there would be big trouble if I let the two face each other any longer, I tried to twist my body, but Zachary didn’t budge an inch.

He was only staring into Erhan’s eyes that were fixed on him.

The confrontation between Zachary and Erhan was fierce. Maybe I was just being overly wary, but in case Erhan noticed that Zachary’s spell had been broken…

‘No.’

At that moment, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over me, and I came to my senses. If Erhan found out here and now, I couldn’t predict how the situation would unfold.

Would Zachary turn everything into a mess like in the original story, or…

“Let go.”

As my mind turned cold, what I had to do became clear.

Immediately, words colder than chilly spilled out of my mouth. Zachary slowly brought his gaze to my face. Erhan also followed Zachary and looked at my face, but from beginning to end, I only stared at Zachary.

“……”

With a rustle, Zachary carefully set me down. Of course, he didn’t forget to support me. It was obvious that he was being cautious not to strain my ankle.

Amid the stinging pain rising from my ankle, Zachary gently wrapped his arm around my waist.

At that, I irritably shook off Zachary’s hand. The moment Zachary flinched and stopped moving, my body swayed. The one who immediately supported me was Erhan.

“Oscar, you don’t seem to like your servant either.”

There was a kind of satisfaction in Erhan’s voice that I couldn’t understand. For some reason, he looked like he was in a good mood. Erhan reached out his hand towards Zachary’s face and asked.

“Can I kill him?”

It was a situation on the verge of exploding. Zachary, as if intending to maintain the act of being brainwashed, only stared at the hand approaching his face without even blinking.

I was the only one watching this entire scene, paralyzed with fear.

“Brother.”

I immediately pushed away his support and grabbed Erhan’s wrist. And seeing Erhan’s gaze, which had been smiling brightly, turn to me, I snatched away the cloth that Erhan had ripped off Zachary earlier.

My body swayed from the action, but I didn’t care. I looked up at the surprised Erhan and said coldly.

“…Stop messing with him now. He’s my slave.”

Erhan’s expression, which had been looking at me with a smile, gradually hardened. Erhan, with the smile gone, no longer looked satisfied.

It was cold, so cold that it was frozen.