My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 37

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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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Chapter 37

“…Something’s odd about this.”
“What is?”
“You always end things decisively. Once you’ve refused, it’s finished — or so I thought.”
“You remember that? Your powers of observation are sharp.”
I nodded lightly.
Each shallow breath we took let warm air escape from the corners of our mouths.
The dawn air was cold.
Even wrapped in a shawl over my nightclothes, I wore the Jacket that Carlo had draped across my shoulders.
“If you’re cold, you can go back inside.”
“This is refreshing. No need to worry.”
Despite his concern, I walked slowly through the Garden.
He strolled alongside me toward the Annex Building, occasionally watching my hands as they reddened from the cold, but neither of us reached for the other’s hand.
‘What are we to each other, anyway.’
I’ve always been sensitive to cold, even in summer.
My only real reason for seeing him off was the promise I’d made to myself — that once the sun rose, I’d sort through this strange tension between us.
The simple truth was, we’d done nothing.
Neither spoken nor acted.
I never believed that mere thought could reshape the space between two people so completely.
‘In a fortnight, he’ll marry his childhood friend anyway. That much is certain.’
Was I supposed to confess some fondness I felt for him?
Carlo was a careful man, and he didn’t seem the type to put me in an awkward position.
“To be honest, it troubles me.”
“…Pardon?”
But apparently I was wrong.
* * *
I’d felt something amiss about Carlo from the moment we first met.
“…You’re my co-worker?”
“Something like that.”
“You don’t look like a junior.”
On my first day, after passing the special recruitment examination for Water Magic specialists at Elinee’s recommendation, Carlo had become my direct supervisor.
Despite being my same cohort, he had been assigned as my direct mentor.
He was either a senior or an aggrieved same-year recruit — depending on how you looked at it.
Word had it he was a special case who’d transferred from the Special Management Department — the rumored center of real power within the Magic Tower — to the Security Department.
“…How should I address you, then?”
“Carlo.”
“That’s informal.”
“You can call me Carlo or use the formal title. Whichever you prefer.”
“No, I think the title suits better.”
At first, I’d thought him an odd person.
Or simply someone with a very distinctive personality.
He was so quiet, and his bangs fell across his eyes so heavily that for a long time I couldn’t see his face clearly.
It wasn’t until about a month had passed that our eyes met directly, and even then I hadn’t realized his eyes were so beautifully shaped.
“Oh!”
“…Are you all right?”
One day, after our bodies collided and I tumbled to the ground, I’d carefully picked up his fallen Glasses and asked him carefully.
“Don’t your eyes feel cramped with that limited view?”
“It’s comfortable. I can see fine this way.”
“But you wear Glasses, and the prescription looks thick, and your hair covers even those…”
“…They’re experimental. The heat from fire is intense.”
“I see.”
I dusted myself off quietly and handed the Glasses back to him.
Good at magic too, yet claiming the heat made them necessary — anyone could hear that was an excuse.
I’d wondered if he simply found it tedious to explain.
‘Or perhaps he finds it difficult to be around people.’
When we happened to make eye contact in the silence, we’d both wear that helpless expression, as if we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
The moment my Glasses came off, Carlo snatched them from me and quickly hid his eyes beneath his hair.
I used to think he’d contracted some disease where eye contact meant death, but as time went on, I found myself growing quieter too.
“You seem like a composed person, Roze.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
The work was just too demanding.
That brief exchange about Glasses was our first and last personal conversation.
After that, we spoke only about research related to our duties. With so much overtime, we could spend half a day just discussing reports and still have more to cover.
After a month or two had passed that way, it was Carlo, not I, who began initiating conversations.
“Roze.”
“Yes?”
“…Why don’t you drink this while you work?”
“Oh. Thank you.
It started at some point.
“Strawberry Juice.”
I began accepting Strawberry Juice as a regular bribe from him.
And so I came to understand something naturally.
That Carlo was quite a decent person.
“Energy drinks aren’t good for your health.”
“Overtime seems worse for it.”
“…Still, I don’t believe I’ve ever scolded you severely.”
“You’ve scolded me mildly, though. Thanks to that, I’ve adjusted to the Tower.”
“…Is that a compliment?”
“Half joking, half serious.”
As the days accumulated when I’d casually lean against the research lab wall and crack open juice bottles, I grew closer to him.
Working at the Magic Tower, Carlo’s presence—along with Elinee’s—was invaluable to me.
Elinee was helpful as a colleague, but since she specialized in Earth Magic and I worked with Water Magic, she couldn’t directly involve herself in my duties.
Carlo was the one who filled every gap in what I lacked.
As a Fire Magic specialist and a former Ace of the Special Management Department, he taught me Water Magic duties with his exceptional magical prowess.
His skill level was such that at first, I actually mistook him for a mage who possessed all Four Elements.
“Roze, where are you going?”
“To get some water.”
“Most people don’t pack a gym bag just to get water.”
It’s funny now, but there was a time when I tried to flee the Magic Tower and he caught on as if he had a sixth sense, stopping me in my tracks.
“I was struggling. My mind just… blanked out for a moment.”
“Hang in there. There’s a bonus coming next month.”
“How much?”
“About this much.”
“I’m unpacking my bag right now.”
That day, at a gesture from Carlo, my spirits returned, and I swore then and there that I would lay my bones to rest in this place.
I don’t know when he came to the Tower.
He was simply a senior, my direct mentor and supervisor.
And yet, he felt like a colleague of the same cohort.
We were exactly that kind of relationship.
The Carlo I knew was someone who respected boundaries in relationships.
Of course, there were days when he was strict and harsh if research failures extended our workload.
“Roze, listen. About Carlo…”
“Spit it out, Elinee. I’m busy.”
“I don’t think he’s just an ordinary person. Actually, no—he’s not even ‘human’ at all!”
“…?”
“Honestly, he’s so cold about everything.”
Not sharp like a blade, but hard and unyielding like stone.
Elinee had even spoken seriously before about how he seemed like a rock pretending to be human.
“Again.”
“This time too?”
“Yes. It’s insufficient.”
“…This design should be adequate.”
“Defensive Magic Circles for the Border Region are directly tied to residents’ lives. Approach the work with greater diligence, Roze.”
There were certainly days when I thought he was unreasonable.
Looking back, he was never wrong—I just stayed silent about it.
But as time went on, Carlo grew increasingly ambiguous with me alone.
There were moments when even I felt confused.
“Are you all right?”
Whenever I worked late, he would always check on my complexion and ask how I was doing.
“…Take care of yourself while you work.”
The Strawberry Juice he left on my table every day without fail—or sometimes handed me directly—was an added touch.
And then….
“To be honest, I find myself concerned about you.”
“Pardon?”
My mind went blank.
I’d sensed the peculiar current between us long ago, but I never expected him to confess it to me directly.

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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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