A Bracelet That Won’t Come Off

A bracelet meant for physical safety. For protection from disasters and accidents.

“You… made this bracelet for me?”

That meant it wasn’t for anyone else. It had been made to pray specifically for Lucian’s safety.

He blinked slowly.

“I made it back when you said you were joining the Imperial Guard.

I figured you’d be facing a lot of dangerous battles.

I never got the chance to give it to you, though.”

At the end of her sentence, the unspoken words were obvious.

‘Because you completely ignored me and shut me out.’

He couldn’t take his eyes off the small bracelet.

“…Shasha, can’t I take it now? This one will do, won’t it?”

“No. You can’t.”

“Shasha. Please.”

Lucian began circling her like a huge, restless puppy.

Faced with those desperate eyes, Shana felt cornered.

It wasn’t that she absolutely couldn’t give it to him.

But making him wear it now was embarrassingly awkward.

She’d made it on a whim, before even graduating from the Academy.

‘It’s already mortifying that I made it as a matching pair.’

“This is that thing, right?

The one where if you keep a pair of bracelets worn while praying for each other’s safety from breaking, you’ll know the other person is safe even when you’re far apart.”

“…That’s right, but— hey, stop that!”

The instant she finished answering, Lucian pulled her into a crushing embrace.

It felt like her bones might shatter.

“How. What do I have to do to make you let me wear this?”

Pressed down by his solid muscles and massive frame, Shana spoke breathlessly.

“…Enough. Get off me!”

“If I let go. Okay, Shasha.”

Lucian released her immediately.

At some point, the pair of bracelets had already moved into his hands.

Holding one of them, he closed his eyes and began murmuring a spell in a low voice.

The bracelet glimmered faintly gold, then went still.

“…What did you just do?”

“I just added a protection spell.

Since we’re going to deal with monsters, I figured you’d need it.”

Then, smiling, Lucian personally fastened the bracelet around Shana’s wrist.

‘Well… having extra safety measures isn’t exactly a bad thing.’

With a single spell, a bracelet that had once been nothing more than a wish became a genuine magical item.

“Is this enough? To pass as Kallis believers?”

“Mm. The rest is just acting like we respect and believe in their doctrine.”

“What kind of doctrine? I know they prioritize love above all else.”

Lucian stared straight at Shana as he spoke.

“They worship love itself. Pure love, without caring about anything else. It’s very different from imperial values.”

“Is that so?”

Not caring about anything else. Did that mean wealth? Status?

Shana pondered silently.

Didn’t imperial citizens do that too?

She wanted that kind of love as well. It had just been delayed slightly… because of debt.

Someday, Shana would get married too. And then her family would finally be completely happy.

“That’s why I hear the Kallis faith has been quietly gaining popularity among young imperial nobles.

Breaking free from rigid systems and traditions probably feels liberating.”

“Love that overcomes status or family opposition?”

“Not just status. From what I’ve heard…Very freely. With multiple people.”

Lucian whispered into her ear with a teasing smile.

Shana’s cheeks flushed bright red at the sheer boldness of it.

“They say some people even secretly convert because the doctrine allows multiple partners at the same time.”

“Who would convert for such a reason—”

Shana froze, mouth hanging open, her hands trembling.

“Are you interested, Shasha? That kind of thing.”

“Multiple lovers? One is more than enough, obviously—”

Halfway through her answer, Shana realized Lucian had been testing her.

“That’s a relief. So Shasha only looks at me.”

“You’re drawing conclusions all on your own……”

“When you choose someone to date, Shasha, what’s the most important thing?”

“…Money?”

Shana had never really liked anyone properly before.

There had been plenty of absurd cases where she felt like she’d been rejected without ever confessing.

Back at the Academy, the men who seemed to hover around her would eventually come to her and always say the same thing.

‘You know I don’t like you, right? Don’t get the wrong idea. And make sure you tell Lucian Rithardt that too.’

Well.

Who was she supposed to blame for not being popular?

“Perfect. That’s me. I have plenty of money.”

Lucian smiled in satisfaction and leaned closer to her.

“Shasha.

I’ve heard the people near the border who believe in Kallis are real fanatics…

Don’t get swept up by the atmosphere there, okay?”

What did he mean by ‘swept up’?

Did he seriously think she’d get caught up in the chaos and start sleeping with multiple people?

Ridiculous.

“I’m going there to work. What are you even saying, Lucian?”

The idea that she’d be distracted was laughable.

“…So if it wasn’t work, you would be?”

Shana ignored him and started packing.

“Shasha.”

“……”

“Shasha? Did I suddenly get hit with an invisibility spell?

You’re not even looking at me. Lucian is sad.”

At the ridiculous third-person talk that didn’t suit him at all, Shana burst out laughing.

“I might get distracted if I’m stuck with a man who can’t even pack his own bags.”

“Shasha. Don’t move a finger. I’ll do everything.”

***

Before heading toward the border region where the Kallis believers were, Lucian cast a transformation spell on himself.

His dark black hair turned into a calm silver. His ocean-colored eyes shifted into a vivid red.

“My face is too well known, so I figured I should disguise myself.”

Considering Lucian’s face had been plastered across every imperial publication imaginable, there was no guarantee people in another country wouldn’t recognize him.

“I’ll change you too, Shasha.

What if some guy falls for you and follows you all the way back to the capital?”

She wanted to say that would never happen.

But Lucian clearly wasn’t in a rational state of mind right now, so Shana let it go.

As a result, her distinctive pink hair turned brown, and her blue eyes faded into light hazel.

‘These colors feel… very ordinary.’

Was it just her imagination, or had he deliberately tried to make her less noticeable?

“Shasha, you look like a puppy.
You’re too cute.”

Lucian hugged her tightly and rubbed his head against hers.

Her neatly combed brown hair was instantly messed up.

Shana smoothed it back down with her hand.

‘He doesn’t actually think I’m a puppy, right?’

She sighed.

Then, just as she tried to take off the bracelet Lucian had given her—

“…What? Why won’t this come off?”

“What? You need to take it off now?”

“Lucian… what kind of spell did you put on this?”

Even if it had a protection spell, not being able to remove it by her own will was deeply uncomfortable.

Lucian spoke gently, like he was soothing a sulking younger sibling.

“Shasha. This is necessary for your safety. So you can’t take it off whenever you want, right?”

Lucian patted her head.

Seeing his reaction, Shana swallowed hard.

‘This feels… very wrong.’

This didn’t feel like a bracelet. It felt like a restraint.

“Well then, since it’s urgent, shall we get going?
My Shasha.”

“Wait—”

Before she could finish speaking, Lucian lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

Light flashed before her eyes.

A massive magic circle engraved on the floor activated, space warped, and the scenery around them changed in an instant.

A vast grassland with an open horizon.That was how it appeared on the map.

But what lay before them was completely different.

The grass nearby had grown grotesquely tall, reaching human height.

The sky was an ominous mix of red and blue, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

“…Are we already here? In the monster-infested area?”

“Yeah.”

Shana wrapped her arms around herself as goosebumps rose along her skin.

Areas where monsters suddenly surged tended to have unnaturally overgrown vegetation.

It had been the same when her fallen family’s land, the Crowell Barony, had been overrun by monsters.

“To think I’d watch the sunset alone with Shasha. This is perfect…….”

Even in such a dire situation, Lucian was saying nonsense.

“First we need to find the rift. It doesn’t seem to be nearby.”

Lucian swung his sword once.

At a speed too fast to see, the surrounding brush was cleanly severed in a straight line.

The leaves above were green, but the roots near the ground were blackened like a corpse.

“You can tell the degree of demonic contamination by the color.”

Lucian continued cutting through nearby vegetation.

He checked the brush he’d cut to the east, west, south, and north.

To Shana’s eyes, there was no visible difference.

Lucian’s red eyes flashed.

“The rift is that way.”

“Wait, that direction—Doesn’t that cross the border?”

“Mm. That’s the Kingdom of Phthalin’s side.

According to the map, we’ll have to pass through the Kallis holy land.”

Just as the imperial court had feared, the newly formed monster stronghold lay within foreign territory.

And the fact that the contamination had spread this far meant Phthalin hadn’t been able to deal with it.

If they tried to dodge responsibility through diplomacy, they’d simply play ignorant.

Even if that put both imperial and kingdom citizens at risk.

“Then let’s just use teleportation, secretly deal with the rift, and come back. Quickly!”

“We can’t use it in there.

The entire border is covered in anti-spatial movement barriers.

They’re not impossible to break… but we’d be discovered immediately.”

“Then… we have to enter through the front like everyone else? Openly?”

“As long as we look like lovers completely absorbed in each other.”

Lucian naturally wrapped an arm around Shana’s waist and pulled her tightly into his chest.

“I’m confident.”

‘Confident about what exactly…?’