My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 46

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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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46

After our second meeting with Lucas ended, we made a simple agreement on the way back.
First, we would meet two more times.
Second, we would see each other outside the Magic Tower.
The first condition was mine.
With the wedding less than a week away now, I wanted to draw a clear line with Carlo if I could.
It was selfish, but truthfully, the meeting was for my own peace of mind.
‘From the way Carlo behaves, he doesn’t seem like he’ll get over this easily….’
What else could I do? I had to keep my distance.
Since Lucas had a lover he cared for and was using me as a stand-in anyway, I figured we were both getting what we wanted.
Let’s call it a win.
The male lead would propose to the female lead with a grand flourish soon enough, and I would be soundly rejected and start a new life.
Alimony wasn’t necessary for that.
‘The worst-case ending is the family’s ruin and seizure of assets anyway.’
I’d already given up on demanding any financial compensation from him for the engagement dissolution.
During our recent second meeting, Lucas had displayed an odd attitude about the wedding that was drawing so near.
“The fact that there’s still so long until the wedding… it does sadden me.”
“No… let’s not think about it.”
The man’s impossible. I’ve decided to stop dealing with him.
The male lead is inherently fickle.
Who knows when or where he might change his mind and turn hostile toward me.
Meanwhile, the rule I thought would be a one-time thing was restricted by Lucas’s request to meet outside the Magic Tower.
It seemed he was being considerate of Elinee.
If Lucas and I were to meet in the Tower, she would surely be deeply hurt.
I found myself impressed by that.
‘So he does have a conscience.’
Even so, whether he was conscious of his role as the male lead in a story, he was extremely cautious about meeting me.
The restriction on where we could meet was one thing, and his hesitant behavior was another.
He acted as though there was something he couldn’t let be discovered—and whoever that someone was, it was obvious.
“Yawn… good morning, Roze.”
“You look exhausted.”
“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much yesterday… wait, no, that’s not it. I actually should have slept really well!”
The next morning, Elinee’s cheerful voice rang out again in the Security Department Research Lab.
Her hastily spoken words tangled as she yawned, and her face turned flustered as she quickly waved them away.
Dark circles hung beneath her eyes, unmistakably the mark of someone who’d lost sleep.
I clicked my tongue silently.
Soft-hearted crybaby, Elinee Ros.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Hm? Oh, no….”
“There’s a Porridge Container with Heat Preservation Magic in my bag. Take it out and eat it before it cools.”
“Porridge? Roze, did you make that yourself?”
Elinee stopped rubbing her eyes and asked, her tired gaze suddenly wide awake.
She had reason to be surprised.
I’d never even packed a water bottle in the mornings before—and now suddenly I was cooking.
‘Even I have to admit it’s unexpected.’
To be honest, as she said, it was my first cooking experience in this life.
I couldn’t fall asleep early at dawn either, so I’d spent the middle of the night boiling stew instead.
The Porridge Container I’d brought held exactly what was needed, with extra to spare.
‘I left the finished portion at her door this morning before coming in.’
Since I’d slept through the night anyway, I’d come in early, before dawn broke.
I was avoiding the possibility of running into Carlo.
“Eat it alone before the rest of the team arrives. The magical effect only lasts about five minutes.”
“Slurp… it’s the perfect amount to drink quickly. Thank you. I’ll eat well, Roze.”
Elinee flushed shyly and hugged the Porridge Container to her chest.
‘…She’s really happy about it.’
I’d suggested it casually, but then felt oddly guilty about it.
It was just thin stew anyway, and the portions were so meager that I’d originally planned to eat it myself without much care.
Besides, the more substantial portions had already been delivered to another household.
I said nothing and tossed back an Energy Drink, exhaling a long breath.
Then I unfolded the unfinished Report to resume the research I hadn’t completed yesterday.
As I began channeling Mana diligently through my hands, Elinee’s eyes went wide.
“Huh? That research isn’t your assignment—it’s Carlo’s.”
“He left early yesterday because he wasn’t feeling well.”
I rolled my neck and shoulders loosely while pushing my Mana output to its maximum.
One hour.
I’d finish this no matter what within an hour, then move on to the next project.
“For the next few days, I’m going to handle Carlo’s duties along with my own.”
“Why the sudden change?”
“It’s complicated to explain. That’s just how it is.”
There was no grand reason for the kindness I was showing.
I just thought my conscience might feel lighter if I did it this way.
Elinee only murmured in confusion at my restless gaze.
“What happened yesterday, I wonder….”
If I had to answer, then nothing happened, of course.
Since nothing happened at all, that’s precisely why I felt this guilt gnawing at me.
A man I was interested in was ill, yet I pretended not to know and went to a Meeting anyway.
By any measure, I was selfish and wrong.
‘This should settle my conscience debt, at least.’
To pick up the pace, I’d activated dual spells in both hands since early morning.
As I quickly filled in the blanks of the Report, Elinee, seeing this, hurried over to me and began replenishing my depleting Mana.
“Hey! What are you doing, pushing this hard before you’ve even clocked in!”
“Just keep me from hitting Exhaustion. I’m going hard today.”
“What are you—you really…!”
“I can handle it.”
If Lucas had called his consideration limiting the Meeting location to somewhere other than the Magic Tower, then my consideration was this.
Swift task delegation.
Providing meals for a working woman.
Or arriving as early as possible and leaving as early as possible, trying not to be noticed.
I was confident about this sort of thing.
‘I need to hide well and move carefully.’
I wasn’t bright enough to enjoy something I couldn’t avoid.
If I couldn’t escape, my only options were hide-and-seek or tag.
“Roze, leaving early today?”
“I have something tomorrow.”
The human heart was a thing that never cooperated with what one actually wanted.
Then the solution was to skillfully navigate around it all.
“Roze, early morning again?”
“I have something today.”
And so two and a half more days passed, bringing us to four days before the wedding.
I hadn’t crossed paths with Carlo on a work level for more than two days.
I’d arrive at the crack of dawn, leave in the morning, return when everyone else was leaving, and mechanically barrel through the work.
“Remarkable. Your stamina has rejuvenated!”
“That’s not how you use that word.”
“Anyway, you’re back to being sparkly and sharp.”
Elinee was so struck by it that she even stuck her tongue out, saying I’d reverted to how I was as a newcomer.
Well, for those two days, I really did nothing but work like a madwoman.
Of course, I hadn’t just done my own work—I’d also handled some of Carlo’s duties.
As a result, I occasionally heard that Carlo was looking for me from somewhere, but I completely ignored it.
After completing the Report and carefully condensing the magic into butterfly shapes to send them fluttering up to the Administrative Department, I left work immediately.
Today’s work had just finished.
“Yawwwn. It’s morning now. You’re not going to eat before you leave?”
“I have an appointment in the afternoon, so I thought I’d sleep a bit longer and eat then.”
“Sure. Ask him to buy you something expensive. You worked so hard….”
“You too, Elinee. Same to you.”
After confirming the completed spell, I carefully draped a blanket over her as she leaned against the table, already asleep.
Elinee now spoke of the Crown Prince without hesitation and cheered on my meeting.
It seemed she’d guessed in her own way why I’d gone so far as to rearrange my work schedule to avoid Carlo.
Or perhaps, since she’d altered her own patterns to support me, she no longer had time to see the male lead, and her feelings had grown indifferent.
Whatever I said to Elinee would be unfair, but I had my third meeting with Lucas scheduled for today.
“The appointment’s at 3 p.m., so I could sleep another half day.”
Now that the urgent work was done, Elinee’s schedule would return to normal starting today, unlike mine.
‘Carlo probably won’t have to work late anymore either.’
This much counted as reaching my target. My heart felt considerably lighter.
According to what Elinee had told me, Carlo’s complexion had returned to its usual state.
Since he rarely fell ill in the first place, I wondered if that day had simply been an off day for him.
“Cough, cough!”
Unfortunately, it was I who’d fallen ill instead.

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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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