My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30

Carlo ordinarily kept his magical power well-concealed, so it appeared the brothers had failed to notice anything amiss.
He seemed to have no particular desire to reveal his identity, and chose instead to remain silent without a word of correction.
George and Joseph then spoke to us with satisfied expressions.
“As a service exclusive to our regular customers, we’d like to give each of you one free piece of letterhead so you can participate in this month’s event in advance!”
“Once you’ve written your letter, you can choose a timeframe—three, six, or twelve months—and we’ll deliver your future self’s letter using magical power.”
In other words, it was much like a time capsule.
My eyes lit up with interest.
“That sounds wonderful.”
Normally there was a set fee to participate in the event, but since they were offering this for free, it was an appealing proposition.
‘Perfect. I’m saving money.’
After accepting a pen and letterhead from them and settling onto a stool inside the shop, Carlo soon followed and asked.
“…Are you planning to participate in the event?”
“Well, it’s an interesting concept, so for now, yes?”
“However―.”
As I answered while uncapping my pen, he continued with a somewhat bewildered expression.
“The Time Magic spell will fail. No matter how attuned to wind they claim to be, they’re only at Apprentice Mage level…”
He was saying that serious effort would be futile.
I shrugged without showing any surprise.
“I know. That’s why I was thinking of modifying the magical formula myself, just for mine.”
The George brothers’ workshop had a separate patron who assisted with magical consultation.
The reason I made a point of visiting that person at least once a month and getting my name stamped was much the same.
Because that patron was me.
‘If I hadn’t been involved, these guys would’ve gone under long ago.’
The workshop was filled with ingenious magical artifacts that came just a hair’s breadth away from never seeing the light of day due to flaws in their magical design.
I had involved myself because I found it regrettable.
I wanted to help fledgling mages as much as I could within my capacity.
By now, half a year had passed, and I’d moved beyond simply providing magical consultation to offering modest financial support as well.
Their ideas often stirred a nostalgic longing from my previous life.
Just look at this—a time capsule, they said.
Time Magic involved complex design work linking past and future timelines, so this project would ultimately come to nothing, but the attempt itself was sound.
The letters from residents participating in the event would fail to reach the future and remain in the present as they were.
Though I thought it wouldn’t be terrible if one or two of them managed to arrive at the right moment.
Someone like me and Carlo, for instance.
Once you moved beyond Intermediate Level, simple Time Magic like this was quite manageable.
“What are you doing? Come sit and write with me.”
I looked at him standing there blankly and patted the bench beside me.
Then I handed over the remaining pen and letterhead, and Carlo quietly accepted them from me.
Whether he would write or not was his choice, but he soon began moving the pen slowly.
“How many months ahead will you be sending yours?”
“That’s a secret.”
“…I’ll set mine for one year from now.”
Why did he have to spoil the fun like that?
I turned to look at him mid-sentence while writing with our backs to each other, my brow furrowed.
Surely he wasn’t going to reveal the contents too.
I had no intention of ever telling him what I’d written.
‘Three months felt too soon, and one year felt too far away.’
Six months was just right.
Because these were things I’d always been thinking about anyway, the letterhead filled up quickly.
First, I asked myself how I was doing, what goals I wanted to achieve.
My recent actions, the thoughts occupying my mind, the emotions I felt and the confusion in my heart.
Worried he might read it, I folded the paper closed immediately after setting down my pen, concealing the densely written lines.
Not long after, the George brothers cast a spell on the outside of the envelope containing the letter.
The paper inside would vanish soon, they said.
Looking at it, it was a spell requiring dual, perhaps triple layers of wind-attributed magic woven densely together—barely sufficient, if that.
‘I’ll send you a consultation bomb soon enough.’
For now, it was nothing but a spell with a thirty-minute effective window.
The time-setting incantation varied wildly depending on the mage’s magical reserves and technical skill.
“Thank you so much. I have companions waiting, so I should be going.”
“Do come again, big spender!”
You two make quite the striking pair, if I may say so!
George’s whistle cut through the air with cheerful brightness.
“…Lord help me.”
I wondered what would happen if they found out I was the Stein family’s eldest daughter.
Even among the territory’s inhabitants, precious few knew my true identity.
Ever since Rose Stein—notorious for her frail constitution—had awakened as a mage, I’d kept my information classified for my family’s safety.
After telling the Joseph brothers I’d take the envelope as a memento, I reset the spell with Carlo in the back alley.
The postcard that had vanished moments before reappeared in the envelope as though it had never left.
“You’ll trigger them separately?”
“It seems the return times differ.”
“…I’m going to keep it secret, so you’ll need to pretend you don’t know.”
“As you wish.”
Carlo’s mouth curved into the faintest smile. He appeared to be suppressing laughter.
Puff.
The letterhead transformed into birds and butterflies on currents of fire and water mana respectively, dissolving into dust that scattered before my eyes.
‘Safe travels.’
I only hoped they’d reach me safely, six months from now.
I brushed the dust from my hands and turned to Carlo with a suggestion.
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
The sightseeing was done; on a sweltering summer day, a cool treat was practically mandatory.
“There’s a café I frequent not far from here.”
I pointed solemnly to a building one block away across the street.
“True healing always comes down to carbohydrates, after all.”
* * *
I returned to the café where I’d visited with Elline not long ago.
The moment my foot crossed the threshold, I suddenly remembered an awkward moment I’d shared with Carlo in this very place.
‘That was genuinely uncomfortable.’
We barely knew each other, yet we’d been pressed so close I could hear every breath—mortifyingly so.
If I could have crawled into a mouse hole and disappeared, I would have.
And yet here I was, returning to my beloved café with this coworker, this man who’d been nothing but an extra in my life until recently.
“Let me start with some dessert.”
But that didn’t mean I was consciously aware of him now.
The only real difference was that Elline had been replaced by Carlo in the seat beside me.
We’d weathered enough turbulent moments in recent weeks that we’d become comfortable even in silence.
I claimed my favorite spot on the terrace and carefully selected the cakes and drinks I wanted to order.
Meanwhile, Carlo’s face had gone pale the moment he approached the counter, as though the memory of that day was vivid in his mind.
Out of courtesy, I pretended not to notice.
Besides, there was too much I wanted to eat right now.
“I’ll have a pudding, a cake, and a pie—one of each. And chamomile tea, please.”
“…You’re welcome to order more.”
“You do the same. I’m paying, so feel free to order whatever you’d like.”
I’d barely set down the menu and rung the bell when the server arrived at our table.
Just as I was about to place my order, Carlo spoke first.
“Yes, are you ready to order?”
“Everything from here to here. For tea, chamomile for her and whatever you have for me.”
His finger swept rapidly across the menu in a blur.
“Um….”
In the blink of an eye, even though Carlo had rattled off his choices casually, he’d ordered more than ten varieties of dessert.
I’d only ordered three. I found myself staring at him blankly, wondering if he’d seized the moment because I’d said I was treating.
Then understanding dawned.
“You… you ordered all that so we could share, didn’t you?”
I’d thought perhaps he simply had a voracious appetite.
“I don’t particularly enjoy sweet things myself.”
“Excuse me?”
“I prefer watching the other person enjoy themselves. As for payment—I settled that entirely the last time, so there’s no need for you to pay separately.”
He’d already paid before the server even brought the bill.
At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.
But the moment desserts filled our table and I saw that strangely familiar sight before me, it clicked.
‘…It was you.’
You were the one who’d blessed Elline and me with such abundance back then.
“As for the payment,” the server said, “a very handsome gentleman took care of it for you.”
At the time, I’d wondered if even the crown prince—supposedly the world’s most beautiful man—had stopped by the cafe.
My guess was wrong.
“It looks delicious. Funny thing is, these are all exactly my favorites.”
The desserts Elline and I had enjoyed without knowing who’d bought them matched perfectly.
Carlo nodded at my words with an air of inevitability.
“I’m glad.”
……
“I’m rather fond of this place myself, actually. I come here quite often.”
Had he perhaps seen me here before, given how regularly I visited?
“Is that so? I’ve only ever come to this cafe since childhood.”
The thought struck me then.
Perhaps our connection had begun far earlier than I’d ever realized.
But even if that were true, it wouldn’t change anything between us.
‘As if that could be.’
I picked up my fork and dismissed the idle hope.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy this meal.”
There was no way he’d been watching over me for the past six years.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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