My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 8

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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 8

I understood Elineh’s heart.
They say sneezing, love, and photocopiers can’t be hidden. That’s the way of things.
It wasn’t anything new, really. Though Elineh seemed to have only recently guessed that I knew what lay between them.
“The scones here are delicious, you know. Why’d you order something else today?”
“Rosé, I’m trying to tell you something really important right now.”
“Lattes are just carbohydrates. Clearly you don’t know how to enjoy your food properly.”
When I peered at the menu and deflated her attempt, Elineh’s eyes began to grow mournful.
But that wasn’t my concern.
It had been half a year since the Royal Family and Count’s family began discussing marriage.
It had also been half a year since Elineh and Lucas fell for each other at first sight and began dating.
‘Really not much time left now.’
The wedding was already scheduled, and every day I counted down until I could resign from the Mage Tower.
After all, my wedding could only be completed through Elineh’s interference.
Elineh’s ambitions, her promises, her resolutions—none of it mattered.
Because there was someone else who would be the one causing a scene at the wedding.
“All love has its timing, and I’m just a fleeting love to the Crown Prince.”
“For something fleeting, you sure are limping along.”
“No, I’m almost better now, see? I’m going to run at full speed from here on!”
For all that, the only place your future groom will run toward is where you are.
“Don’t strain yourself. Don’t force things that won’t go your way.”
“Rosé… you’re so negative.”
“I’m facing reality. It’s easier to live that way.”
Apparently recognizing the truth in my words, Elineh turned her head away with a dejected sigh.
Beneath pleasant sunlight, as a warm breeze began to drift across the terrace, our coffee and desserts arrived.
For some reason, along with items we hadn’t ordered.
‘Hmm?’
By the time I realized something was amiss upon reaching for my cup, Elineh had already picked up the call bell.
But no matter how many times she rang it, no sound came out.
“Good heavens. It must be broken.”
Following the flustered Elineh’s movements, the large ribbon on her hat fluttered back and forth.
I watched her for a moment, then stood up without protest.
“I’ll go. You start eating.”
“No, I can go…!”
“I’ve got a cramp in my leg. Let me have this one.”
Without waiting for a reply, I left the terrace and descended the stairs.
A woman of principle like Elineh would naturally demand a refund, but I’m a cowardly opportunist.
I’d pay for all the wrongly delivered desserts without complaint.
‘They looked so delicious anyway. I’ll just tell them we’ll eat them all.’
Weekends are for indulging my appetite. Coming to the Coffee House was meant to heal my weary soul through eating.
Once I reached the floor below, I could see staff clustered behind the counter through the crowd.
The moment I took a step toward them—
“Oh, wait…”
A burly customer collided with me, and I was pushed backward toward the stairs.
I wouldn’t have minded just being shoved back, but I happened to stumble straight into the open storage closet beneath the stairs.
Click.
The door slammed shut in front of me, and in the same instant, someone grabbed my arm and pulled. My vision flipped in a heartbeat.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
I found myself face-to-face and chest-to-chest with a stranger, blinking slowly before realizing my mistake.
“Who are you?”
“Shh.”
“Telling me to be quiet in a situation like this is kind of scary…”
When the person pressed their index finger to my lips, I felt thoroughly flustered.
They were so tall. When I tilted my head to try to see their face, my neck went stiff.
I found myself gripping the back of my own neck as a soft whimper escaped me. I’d nearly given myself a real injury.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah, yes….”
But there was something oddly familiar about the voice.
“It is I, Rosé.”
“Carlo…?”
No wonder I couldn’t place his face at first—it was the dark hair that threw me off.
In the gloom, his coal-black locks fell across his eyes and down to his horn-rimmed glasses, barely visible. It was a face I knew all too well.
Carlo steadied the back of my head firmly with one hand so I could meet his gaze easily.
“You should be all right now.”
“Yes, I am.”
I wanted to correct my awkward posture, but the space was impossibly cramped.
Aside from trays and a few boxes of café supplies, there was barely room for two adults to stand—perhaps two steps in either direction.
When I burst into the narrow storage room, he’d apparently found no better solution than to pull me close.
‘He could have just pushed me out.’
Carlo was truly a considerate man.
I reached along the wall to find the light switch, but his hand stopped me.
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid the lights must stay off.”
“But what are you doing here?”
“…Circumstances required it.”
“I see.”
I didn’t press for details—I had no real desire to know.
‘Not like I’m a creature of darkness myself.’
I just squinted and gave a vague nod of understanding.
Well, it happens. We both had our secrets we couldn’t speak of.
The storage room was rather eerie.
Without a trace of sunlight, it felt slightly cold.
‘I’m getting chills.’
There was no reason to linger.
“I should be going.”
“Of course. Let me make room for you.”
“Please, don’t move. I’ll manage on my own.”
I pulled my face away from the chest I’d been staring at and shifted one step to the side.
But the space was far tighter than expected, and our limbs only tangled more deeply.
To be this close to someone whose fingertips I’d never normally brush—it was mortifying.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw him turning his head awkwardly away.
“…I’m sorry.”
I was just making an awkward apology when—
“Where are you hiding? Cal?”
A voice called from outside the door.
“Forgive me for a moment.”
“Mm?”
Without waiting for my response, Carlo raised one large hand and gently covered my mouth.
The voice outside grew louder.
“I will accept your proposal personally.”
“….”
“What is it? You said I should accept, didn’t you?”
I can’t find him anymore. Come out now!
The man sighed with deliberate nonchalance, and he was almost certainly addressing Carlo.
I watched Carlo with only my eyes. The man’s voice grew urgent, then stopped abruptly.
“W-well, I’ll be heading out then!”
In the silence that followed, only our breathing remained.
“Rosé? Where on earth did you go!”
That was Elineh’s voice.
“I… I really do need to leave.”
Carlo immediately created a gap and opened the door for me.
As I grasped the handle, he spoke in a slightly quieter voice.
“I will support what you mentioned yesterday.”
“Don’t worry about the blind date.”
A farewell had never sounded so clumsy.
I shrugged.
“Marriage was always going to happen anyway. I’m the type who accepts reality fairly well.”
“Ah… so that’s the kind of person you are.”
He nodded as if understanding something.
At his reaction, I couldn’t help but laugh despite myself.
‘What a strange man, after all.’
* * *
When I returned to Elineh, the dessert bill had already been paid.
According to the server, a very handsome gentleman had settled it and left.
It didn’t seem to be Carlo, and I still had no idea who it was.
Could the Crown Prince—supposedly the world’s strongest and most beautiful—have stopped by the café for a moment?
‘Free dessert? Score.’
Back at our table, we finally picked up our forks with peace of mind. I can’t say how delightfully we devoured everything—tarts, the newest donuts, more than a dozen varieties in all.
And before I knew it, I’d become the kind of employee who reported to work on weekends.
“What is life, anyway…”
All there is to do is go to work and get trapped in the tower.
Somewhere in a fairy tale, a woman with impossibly long hair waited for someone to rescue her; in this world, there was no male lead to save me, no prince waiting in the wings.
When I’d already lost my groom at the wedding itself, what was there to hope for? Salvation had to be self-made.
“I thought the report wasn’t due until next week. Working on a day off—it’s absolutely dreadful.”
Elineh’s expression as she stepped down from the carriage behind me said it all.
We’d talked through the night at the Count’s Residence and fallen asleep, only to have the team leader summon us at the crack of dawn the next day.
“It’s a request for collaboration with the Special Management Division. You need to complete everything within two days, so conduct as many experiments as possible and record your findings thoroughly.”
The reason was that the Mage Tower’s security design, which protected the continent from the Demon Realm, was woefully inadequate.
The Special Management Division meant one thing: the Crown Prince’s orders.
I had a blind date scheduled with him in approximately six hours.

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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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