"Elflame," he muttered. "So this is the anchor point."
Elflame was the city just outside the Academy—controlled by the Academy, in fact. They had arrived in a hotel room, but now he had stepped outside. From where he stood, he gazed out at the streets. They were quieter than usual. That meant the Academy was no longer in session.
"Haah… haa… haa..."
He turned at the sound of heavy breathing and found Anna stumbling behind him, barely managing to keep her dress on. A few men on the sidewalk had already started eyeing her—some with crooked grins, others just gawking like idiots.
"Can you not look like a slut? You're drawing attention," he said sharply.
What he hadn't realized was that while his face had been reconstructed, it had also been altered. The scarf he used to hide his face no longer served a purpose—his face was no longer recognizable.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue, tugging her dress down. It had ridden up far too high as she'd scrambled to fix her bra in a rush, unintentionally giving those leering bastards something to fantasize about.
"Where... are you taking me?" she asked, unease tightening her voice. Ever since he'd mentioned killing her, she knew—her life was in his hands now, and he had no intention of letting her go.
"You'll see," he replied without even a glance.
"Teleportation gate," she muttered as she recognized the route.
He didn't respond.
His mind was elsewhere.
She looked around. The city felt hollow. A shell of what it had been. The merchants were gone, most having returned to their home kingdoms to chase profits. No one stayed behind when the Academy wasn't in session.
She glanced at her palm.
The tattoo was gone.
She still didn't understand how it worked, only that it reacted whenever she resisted his commands. Her jaw tightened with frustration as she looked up at him. What have I gotten myself into? She should be with Auston right now. She didn't even know if he had recovered. Her teleric crystal was lost in the destruction—she couldn't contact anyone. Not Nora. Not even her brother.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She clutched her head.
She couldn't even forget what happened this morning. For a moment, she thought she had lost the one thing she'd saved for Auston—something she wanted to give him on his nineteenth birthday next month. That night would have sealed their relationship.
But this morning… in that awful moment, left vulnerable and exposed, she'd felt—
Horror.
She thought someone else was going to take it.
Someone she hated. A cowardly, pathetic weakling who had hurt the love of her life. But... he hadn't.
She should feel relief. And she did.
But she was also annoyed.
That look he gave her—cold, detached. Like she was nothing special. Like she was just average. As if she were the only one fooled every time she looked in the mirror and thought herself irresistible.
Was it her pride?
Did he not find her appealing?
Would Auston?
Now, for the first time, she began to doubt herself.
"We're here," he said.
She looked up. A long queue had formed ahead.
The teleportation gates.
"Go," he ordered.
She turned toward him. He handed her her ID from his spatial ring, then shamelessly summoned her own money and passed it to her.
"Go buy tickets for Frosten," he said.
She frowned. "The North Pole?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," he said flatly.
"Are… you stupid?" She couldn't help herself.
The North Pole?
Who the hell randomly goes to the North Pole?!
He looked at her, expression unreadable. "Do you want to find out?"
Those cold, indifferent eyes again. She hated them. They made her feel powerless.
But she was anything but powerless.
She could kill a billion weaklings like him in a minute.
Yet here she was, walking toward the counter, defeated.
What do I do? I have to do something.
But she still didn't understand the full nature of the contract. There was nothing—absolutely nothing—she could do right now but obey.
Still, that didn't mean she wouldn't plan. She was already cycling through everything she knew about slave contracts. There had to be something. Some loophole. Some salvation.
"Where to?" asked the young man at the counter.
"...Frosten," she said after a pause.
The man blinked at her. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place from where.
"Frosten?" he echoed.
"Yes..."
"Can I see some ID?"
She sighed and handed it over.
The moment his eyes scanned her name, then the surname—
His expression froze in shock.