On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 20

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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 20
I grumbled as I accepted the paper envelope and opened it.
Inside were the official documents I’d dropped in the office, all of them smudged and grimy from the fire.
‘Right, of course.’
If the characters hadn’t burned so badly that they were completely illegible, I should have grabbed the documents even with my hands on fire—but in the chaos, I’d forgotten.
As I examined them one by one, I found documents I hadn’t taken with me. They seemed to be ones Aster had prepared.
“Thank you, Lana. This is all—?”
I was about to organize the documents and slip them back into the envelope when I stopped.
“Wait. What’s this?”
An odd scrap of paper was wedged between the official documents. More than half of it had burned away, leaving only the top portion, and the paper’s texture was different from the kind used for Imperial Government documents.
There was no Imperial Capital seal, no Magical Beast Survey Bureau seal—it was an unmarked document.
「Crystal Whale Private Protection Facility Establishment Plan (Supplemented)
……
Investors: Kameli Chil, Owen Parsus, …….
Administrator: Ast…….
Advisor: 」
Many of the names had been cut off where the paper burned.
But even what remained was suspicious enough.
‘A Crystal Whale private protection facility? I’ve never heard those words come out of the Survey Bureau’s mouth.’
Administrator Ast……. Ast……ter?
Aster’s family name was Chil. He was family with Kameli Chil, one of the investors.
I couldn’t be sure if the administrator’s name was Aster with the letters cut off, but it was clear his family was involved in whatever this was…….
‘How is a private entity supposed to protect a Crystal Whale? Protect it from what?’
The title was far too strange and suspicious.
‘I won’t return this to Aster. I’ll keep it. He won’t give me proper answers anyway.’
After setting the documents aside and tucking them away separately, I noticed Lana’s eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“I’m curious about something, Inspector.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you interested in our Tower Master?”
“What?! No? Not at all!”
I was so startled that I hurriedly lowered my voice, which had risen sharply.
Why was Lana suddenly asking such a question? Could I have seemed lingering—no, interested?
At my strong denial, Lana tilted her head.
“If you’re not interested, why were you looking for the Tower Master earlier? You even called his name.”
“That’s not—it’s just that someone I know has a similar name, so I was testing the pronunciation.”
“At a time like that?”
“…….”
Even I could tell my excuse made no sense.
Lana giggled and asked another question.
“Inspector, do you happen to be seeing anyone?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Perfect! How about our Tower Master? I think you’d be a wonderful match.”
“……What?”
“He’s tall and handsome, which I’m sure you’ve noticed. Our Tower Master doesn’t have the best reputation, and he’s always wearing that cryptic smile, but he doesn’t needlessly bother people or spout nonsense like that other inspector today.”
I’d known for ages that Cade was tall and handsome……. But sensing how odd this situation had become, I asked carefully.
“Did the Tower Master perhaps ask you to introduce him to someone?”
“No. From what I can see, you’d be such a perfect couple, so I wanted to introduce you myself. True beauty with true beauty!”
Lana’s answer had the ring of a typical girl her age.
Despite being a proper Wizard, the fact that she was still a student attending school seemed unavoidable.
It was endearing enough that my bewilderment faded and I found myself smiling.
“If I were to meet the Tower Master, how long do you think it would last?”
“Since you two are such a good match, you’d be happy together for a long, long time.”
“Lana.”
“Yes! Shall I introduce you?”
“Your eye for people seems hopelessly poor.”
“Huh? That can’t be right?!”
Lana clutched her head with both hands as if the idea were absurd.
But I already knew how a relationship with Cade would end.
I’d lived through it once before.
“The Tower Master and I couldn’t possibly be compatible. Even if we were to meet, we’d break up after at most two years.”
“Oh dear. The Tower Master’s temperament has ruined everything. Still, two years means he’d endure his own temperament for quite a while.”
Lana’s shoulders sagged dejectedly.
“Well, I could be the one dumped.”
“That’s impossible. If the Tower Master dumped you first, I’d go kick his shins myself.”
“……I appreciate the sentiment.”
If I’d honestly told her that Cade had already dumped me a year ago, Lana would have looked ready to march off and kick the Tower Master’s shins right then and there.
Now I needed to send Lana home. If it got any later…….
‘……Is a young Wizard on the night road safer than an adult who can attune to Magical Beasts?’
I wasn’t sure, but I decided to send her back quickly anyway. But first, there was one thing I needed to ask her.
“Lana. Will you keep what happened here today with Aster—no, with that obnoxious man—a secret from the Tower Master?”
“Oh……. A secret? Um?”
She didn’t give me a straight answer, just rolled her eyes in a way that made me uneasy.
“Lana?”
“Ah, ha-ha. The thing is. I already cast Cuckoo Magic.”
Lana winked sweetly and made shooting gestures with both hands.
I didn’t know what Cuckoo Magic was, but the name alone was enough to guess.
‘So Cade already knows.’
When would I finally stop showing Cade such pathetic sides of myself?
“I’m sorry. I was born a tattletale and couldn’t help myself; I told him right away.”
Sleep, which hadn’t come easily before, evaporated completely.
***
The Cuckoo Magic circling inside the Tower Master’s office faded as it exhausted its power.
Cade’s mouth corners rose slowly. The situation transmitted through the cuckoo was so absurd that a languid laugh leaked out.
A short dagger that had been turning slowly at his fingertips pierced Aster’s portrait on the desk with a sharp thunk.
Magical pens charged with power followed, viciously skewering Aster’s face.
‘At least spoil your nonsense appropriately.’
When Lana, who’d been sent on an errand, transmitted Cuckoo Magic, it turned out that Aster had been spouting nonsense to Vivian, and it was all recorded.
Along with a question asking whether it would be all right to punish him without getting caught.
Cade didn’t care if he got caught. He only regretted not going there directly to administer the punishment.
‘Why did he push Vivian around and humiliate her in front of me? Marriage? A shameful bride candidate?’
A mirthless laugh escaped through his lips.
It seemed Aster believed that if Vivian couldn’t endure the harassment and humiliation and gave up, she’d marry him anyway out of desperation for money.
‘He doesn’t know Vivian at all. Or rather—if he thought such a method was necessary, that means he’s aware she’d never marry someone like him under normal circumstances. So he’s not completely stupid.’
Cade had disliked Aster from the moment he first came to the Magic Tower.
It was obvious he was obsessed with overshadowing Vivian and drawing attention to himself.
The fact that he’d visited the observatory directly today was to observe that bastard.
According to information Ben had quickly obtained…….
Even glancing at the paper with the information again, Cade let out a quiet scoff.
‘His Attunement Ability seems decent enough, but he’s more suspicious than appearances suggest.’
Even if the documents left in the office seemed questionable, it would be hasty to conclude anything without Ben’s thorough investigation.
Actually, the questionable documents didn’t matter. What bothered him was the way Aster treated Vivian.
No matter how ruined her household had become, Vivian was still a noble lady of the Empire. What hardship was she enduring, coming all the way here on her own?
While the Empire’s royal power was strong and the nobility’s influence weak, a noble lady shouldn’t be subjected to such humiliation at an inn without even a servant in attendance.
‘We shouldn’t have met again like this in the first place.’
Ever since he’d taken his leave with a dagger to the heart, every time he found himself entangled with Vivian, he only seemed to hurt her.
Today had been difficult, but hadn’t it been the same at the Magic Tower yesterday?
“You’ve come at a bad time.”
“So you’re resorting to excuses about dates now?”
“Meeting outside the Magic Tower isn’t any better. In the first place, we shouldn’t have met again at all.”
If their reunion had happened somewhere else, he might have been happier. As he’d told Vivian, the timing now was truly terrible.
Ever since Cade became Tower Master, the Grand Duke of Melgote had been pressuring him, trying to suppress the Magic Tower’s influence.
‘Even yesterday when I was talking with Vivian, a spy tried to breach the Barrier.’
If his relationship with Vivian became known in all this, it would complicate matters for them both.
‘Vivian would be taken hostage or face suspicion, and I…….’
No matter that they’d broken up, they’d once been closer than anyone—he couldn’t allow Vivian to be put in danger.
‘Should I frighten her into fleeing back to the Imperial Capital 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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