On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 15

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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 15
No one questioned what had happened.
The reckless Tower Master had simply done what he always did.
Cade waved his hand dismissively, gesturing them out.
“Ben. Get them both out.”
“Yes, Tower Master.”
Before Aster and I had even left the office, Cade turned his back to us.
I still couldn’t fathom how I’d managed to escape the Magic Tower with my wits intact.
‘Of all people, in front of Cade……. Why did it have to be him…….’
Only after the Magic Tower’s door slammed shut behind me did I taste copper on my tongue.
I released my lower lip, which I hadn’t realized I’d been clenching so hard.
Aster, as always, regarded me with an untroubled face.
He’d shown veiled hostility toward me even in the Imperial Capital, but he’d generally been quite good at hiding it.
This was the first time he’d rebuked and mocked me so openly—and in front of others, no less.
The moment our eyes met, he smiled thinly.
“So a Magic Tower assignment is a leisure trip for you, I see. You look so carefree. How nice.”
“The uniform—there were circumstances—”
“I heard you managed quite well in Melgote. But you haven’t been going to the Magic Tower; you’ve been holed up at the observation post, haven’t you? Oh, but you don’t wear uniforms to work there either, do you?”
“…….”
If he knew that much, he’d surely know how frantic the observation post had been these past few days.
Yet Aster deliberately left that part out and spoke to me as if advising.
“Vivian. You don’t understand how lightly you started this because you don’t know any better. Even with a parachute appointment, there are lines you have to respect. I’m worried about you.”
“Why are you here?”
“I told you. Because you haven’t been bringing back Magic Tower news—”
“I’m asking why you really came.”
The moment I cut him off, Aster’s model-student composure cracked.
He stepped closer, looking straight at me, and lowered his voice.
“You think meeting the Tower Master and coming out unscathed is because you’re competent?”
“……So you’re disappointed my head didn’t burn?”
“It’s not that you did well—the Tower Master’s just gotten lenient. See, I’m fine too. Only the papers burned.”
Aster smiled brightly and stepped back.
I understood then why he wasn’t afraid of the Tower Master.
He must have heard from someone at the observation post that I—a ‘parachute’ appointment—had survived unscathed.
‘Does he think he’ll take the credit I lost, to make up for his promotion being cancelled?’
He’d likely figured that now—when the Tower Master wasn’t burning civil servants—was the perfect time.
It was foolish.
Interfering would’ve cost him dearly too.
“Aster. You’d be better off hoping I succeed in this.”
“……What?”
“Leave me alone. Then that position they assigned you will come back to you as it should.”
“Are you trying to manipulate me with that position now, after all this?”
He looked unconvinced, but I didn’t feel like explaining further.
Since he’d said he was here on an emergency assignment, he’d return to the Imperial Capital soon enough, and we wouldn’t run into each other while I stayed in Melgote.
“You’ll understand eventually that what I’m saying is true. Safe travels.”
“Ah, Vivian Solling.”
As I turned to leave for the carriage, Aster called out in that characteristic half-amused tone of his.
“I forgot to mention—I’m assigned to the observation post too. Just short-term. I’ll be here a week. Let’s work well together.”
He climbed into the carriage, leaving me frozen in place.
My heart pounded with unease.
‘A week…….’
I watched the carriage recede down the road. It felt like the longest week of my life was waiting for me.
***
“Rana’s here.”
Rana entered the office cradling a thick book.
Ben had hinted she should stay away from the office today, but Rana couldn’t.
She was receiving a punishment every evening as payment for slipping into the Monster Subjugation Squad and delivering the Third Princess’s invitation to Cade.
‘The assistant said he’d let me off today, but I want to finish as soon as possible.’
As Rana loitered near Cade, he glanced away from the window and waved his hand absently.
“Start.”
“Okay.”
Rana settled at the side table and opened the old book.
Cade’s punishment was to copy Magic Circles and Applied Incantations—fifty of each over ten days.
Scratch, scratch.
As she moved her pen diligently, she stole a glance at the unusually quiet Tower Master.
The atmosphere had been cold these past few days, but today felt subtly different.
‘He seems lost in thought.’
While Rana peered sideways at him and carried out her punishment, Cade was indeed deep in thought.
It had been some time since the carriage carrying Vivian had vanished from view, yet he remained at the window.
‘A parachute appointment?’
That word didn’t fit Vivian in any way whatsoever.
Knowing Vivian’s pride and her honest nature—the kind that abhors shame—it was obvious she’d refuse such an offer.
But her reaction had made that civil servant’s words seem almost true.
‘……There must be some misunderstanding.’
After thinking it through, Cade concluded as much.
The idea of Vivian having a parachute appointment was simply too absurd.
‘His intention in saying that right in front of me was so obvious it’s almost laughable. What was that fool thinking?’
More than anything, it was that civil servant who’d spoken of a “parachute appointment” despite Vivian’s objections that rankled him.
He’d wanted to set the man’s head on fire rather than just his papers, but it had been in front of Vivian.
‘I can’t let her see that side of me.’
Hearing something secondhand was very different from witnessing it firsthand.
……Come to think of it, Vivian wouldn’t have wanted to be called a “parachute” in front of anyone either. Her pride must have been wounded.
‘Is that why she tried to hide that we know each other?’
It seemed worth taking the trouble to look into that irritating fellow personally. Once Rana finished her punishment today, he’d call Ben.
‘There’s no reason I should bother investigating that kind of person directly.’
Meanwhile, Rana, who’d been stealing glances at Cade, was now openly staring at the back of his head.
The fact that he didn’t notice even with such obvious staring suggested he truly did have a lot on his mind.
‘Is he upset about meeting two civil servants?’
Then she suddenly remembered hearing at school that even rough people soften when they fall in love.
‘His disposition must’ve gotten worse because he’s not dating anyone.’
Already crude by nature, his temperament had grown even more intolerable these past few days, leaving the wizards on edge.
‘Then it’s my duty as the cute youngest to help out.’
The truth was, drawing Magic Circles was so tedious she was desperate to do something more interesting.
“Tower Master.”
“Already finished?”
“No.”
As Cade turned to face her, he narrowed his brow at the junior wizard’s bright expression.
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you try dating someone? There are plenty of senior mages in the Magic Tower who like you.”
Cade immediately deflated and sighed.
“Enough.”
“Ah, you don’t like people in the same profession? How sensible. Then should I introduce you to someone I know?”
“Everyone you know is just schoolchildren, isn’t it?”
“What about that inspector?”
“……Who?”
“The female inspector who was here today.”
Cade flinched, and Rana, seeing his reaction, grew animated and continued.
“You might not have noticed because you blanket-hate all civil servants, but that inspector is really pretty.”
“…….”
“She’s not flashy, but her hair is black, her eyes are like a forest—she looks strong and intelligent. I think you two would get along well.”
“…….”
“You have puppy energy and she has cat energy, so you’d look so harmonious standing together, don’t you think? Hmm? They’d really match.”
The more Rana thought about it, the more sincere she became.
Cade was the Magic Tower’s official beauty, after all, with excellent facial proportions.
That inspector had a nice voice and a pretty name too. Vivian, if she’d said it right.
“Rana.”
Cade brushed his hair back and approached her with deliberate steps, speaking seriously.
“You have better judgment than I expected.”
“You like the idea? Should I put in a good word with the inspector for you?”
Rana bounced, her eyes sparkling, her whole body trembling with anticipation. It was already festive and thrilling.
Cade turned back with a cold face.
“Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve only learned strange things at school.”
“Aw, my festival.”
Rana’s shoulders slumped at the sudden cancellation of her fantasy.
But at his next words, her shoulders shot back up excitedly.
“Go on, get out for today.”
“Huh? But I have forty more to go?”
“Finish them or don’t.”
“Thank you for everything!”
Lest Cade change his mind, Rana hastily gathered her things and bolted out of the office.
‘Whatever it was, his mood must’ve improved!’

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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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