My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 56

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

Chapter 56

I looked up at him with suspicion, but his perfectly composed face made him seem almost too innocent.
Carlo wore a formal uniform tonight, unlike the comfortable clothes he’d had on earlier.
Ordinarily, if it weren’t for reporting something critical to the king himself, he’d wear dress uniform perhaps once or twice a year.
‘…So it’s not surveillance after all. He really did visit the Royal Palace.’
I relaxed the frown that had creased my brow.
Truth be told, I’d never intended to press him with serious suspicion. I was simply unsettled by the sheer strangeness of the scene.
“All right. I believe you.”
“That’s a relief, Miss Rose.”
“But I’d prefer we change the location for this conversation. I heard the crown prince is waiting for me upstairs.”
If Lucas happened to notice my absence from the room and opened a window, things would turn disastrous.
Better to move somewhere safe and have a proper talk with Carlo.
At my suggestion, Carlo tilted his head as though surprised.
“…Lucas, at this hour?”
“Yes. I only heard that he’d come by—I haven’t seen him yet—”
I never got to finish.
Carlo seized my wrist urgently.
“Miss Rose.”
In an instant, he traced an intricate spell through the air, etching a dark Magical Mark into the inside of my wrist.
It resembled a Protective Magic of exceptional complexity and precision.
“What is this?”
“Lucas is at the Magic Tower right now.”
“At the tower? What do you mean?”
Bewildered, I glanced back toward the window.
“That can’t be right. Just moments ago the attendant said he was waiting in my chambers—”
“Did you confirm the face of the attendant who brought that message?”
“I…”
Carlo examined the dense formulae he’d inscribed like a bracelet inside my wrist, then spoke.
“Don’t worry. I came to protect you.”
* * *
If Carlo was telling the truth, there were only two possibilities.
Either the ‘attendant’ who’d brought me the message was an impostor, or the ‘Lucas’ who was supposedly waiting for me was a fake.
‘So this is what palace politics is like.’
On my very first night in the palace, I was caught in something that chilled me to the bone.
According to my knowledge, Rose Stein’s ending was annulment during the wedding ceremony, followed by the destruction of her family at the hands of the crown prince.
The plot had clearly twisted in ways I couldn’t have foreseen—I’d nearly lost my life two days before the ceremony itself.
But since Lucas was supposedly at the Magic Tower, his involvement seemed unlikely.
‘Who could it be? Who would want to…?’
I tried to guess, but frustratingly, no name came to mind.
My information was limited to what appeared in the original novel.
In this twisted world where I’d become someone I was never meant to be, how could I possibly identify which villain was which?
Still, I’d made peace with death before arranging this marriage, and I was prepared for the end.
There was no way for me to escape.
“Thank you for saving me.”
I spoke calmly as I stepped out of the garden, offering my gratitude to Carlo beside me.
“But I’m curious—which one was the fake? And more than that, why would someone want to put me in danger?”
“…Have you ever been granted an audience with His Majesty the king?”
“No. He hasn’t summoned me, and honestly, I doubt he has any desire to call upon me.”
Though Delpinia’s royal house and Stein had been bound by marriage agreements for generations,
the relations between the two families were effectively catastrophic.
And I couldn’t bring myself to request an audience with the king outright—my parents had warned me sternly against it.
My mother, as the bloodline carrying on Stein’s legacy, had once told me an ancient legend about the Delpinia royal house.
‘What was it again…?’
Searching my memory, I recalled it was a tale that spiraled endlessly toward tragedy.
The founding king of Delpinia supposedly possessed a unique ability—the power to cast a Curse.
In our Stein family, we regarded such a curse as a wretched “betrothal”.
‘It’s hardly much of a curse, if I’m being honest.’
Just thinking of it made my parents’ faces swim before my eyes—the ones they’d worn while warning me never to meet the king alone in private, even after the wedding.
Since Carlo had brought it up, I told him plainly that I had no intention of meeting with the king.
“And from what I’ve heard, unlike his predecessors, hardly anyone actually knows what the Current King looks like. For that reason alone, I’m too frightened to meet him.”
“…That’s true.”
Carlo nodded quietly.
“I was asking because I’d prefer it if you didn’t meet His Highness if at all possible.”
“But what if I do end up meeting him tomorrow?”
“My magic will activate against you first.”
He pointed to the Magical Mark he’d placed on my wrist.
I’d wondered why he’d suddenly cast Protective Magic, but it seemed the target wasn’t me at all—it was the king himself.
The way he put it made it sound as though the one trying to put me in danger was the king.
‘Good heavens.’
I let out an involuntary murmur of surprise.
Death prevention between two ordinary people was one thing, but a kingdom against one person seemed a bit much. My bar for survival had certainly been raised.
First the son, now the father—both of them determined to ruin my life.
The mere thought of it made my head throb, and I found myself pressing my fingers to my temple without thinking.
Standing in the middle of a garden in some unfamiliar Separate Palace, I asked Carlo a question.
“What happens to me if, hypothetically, the first layer of magic doesn’t work?”
“There’s no such hypothetical. I’ll be right there with you.”
“A day has twenty-four hours, and every one of those hours is long. You’re not going to be my husband, so how could you possibly stay at my side all day?”
This was absurd.
But when I pressed back against this unreasonable answer, an even more unreasonable one came back.
“Lucas is the one who will be your husband. Can you truly be certain he’s someone who could stay at your side all day?”
“Why would I be certain of that? The Crown Prince doesn’t even love me.”
“Then I love you, so it will be possible.”
“…Why does it have to sound like that? Does a confession settle everything?”
And if he was going to confess, he could at least set some mood for it. The man was ridiculous.
I shook my head at this absurd quarrel and turned to leave, but Carlo stepped in front of me and spoke calmly.
“The important thing is that even those with the greatest power may have no immunity to ancient magic.”
“…And?”
What did ancient magic have to do with anything?
“Magic that carries the weight of centuries is like mana that has grown damp. It doesn’t break easily and often leaves aftereffects. Even the most refined magic can falter against the passage of time… What I mean is that inexperience in dealing with such magic can bring helplessness.”
“Yes, I understand, but advice like that seems necessary only for a high-ranking archmage.”
Not that you’d know I am one.
I ruffled my hair carelessly before turning back to him with careful composure.
“Never mind. Did you take tomorrow off? You said you’d protect me.”
“…It’s a day off. I still have business at the Royal Palace anyway.”
“And I’m asking just in case—I haven’t somehow gotten caught up in some power struggle within the royal family, or been taken hostage or anything like that, have I?”
“No. I did fall under Sleep Magic for a while, but I came out of it soon enough.”
“Ah. That explains it.”
I’d been drowsy the moment I arrived at the palace.

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