On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 38

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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 38
Returning to the Magic Tower, Cade made straight for the Mirror Library in his office.
Navigating past the intricate passages and traps with ease, he arrived at a shelf where books were guarded with unusual severity.
The moment Cade’s hand touched the bookcase, the Protection Spell that had coiled around it like chains unraveled with a soft sound.
Every book on that shelf was a forbidden tome concerning Dark Magic.
Cade began withdrawing them one by one, spreading them open to compare against the remains of the Magic Circle he’d discovered at the tavern.
The other wizards seemed to have sensed nothing in that half-finished Circle, but from the moment he’d climbed to the upper floor of the tavern, he’d been seized by a gnawing unease.
Most people now treated it as an obsolete art, something relegated to the pages of history—inevitable, perhaps, but frustrating nonetheless.
Yet Cade harbored a conviction so strong it bordered on revulsion: that small scrap of paper bore the mark of Dark Magic.
That was the nature of old wounds.
‘Better to tell myself I’m chasing traces from some ancient antique. More believable that way.’
He painstakingly compared the Ancient Language arrangement and character count of the barely visible Magic Circle until he found the closest match.
‘This can’t be.’
Reverse-engineering the incantation from a Magic Circle’s structure was no ordinary feat, but “genius wizard” and “youngest Tower Master” were Cade’s credentials.
In his mind, the decomposed Circle took on a terrible and vivid purpose.
‘…… A Sacrifice Mark.’
An inscription designed to use sacrificial victims for Dark Magic incantation with absolute efficiency, wasting not a single hair.
Cade’s hand trembled as he pressed it hard against his chest, as though black Magical Power had pierced straight through his heart.
But even clamped down as it was, the rage that broke free swept across the bookshelf.
Rumble. Boom—
Books cascaded down as the shelves shook as if an earthquake had struck.
‘Damn it.’
Only because Cade gritted his teeth and swallowed his fury did it stop after a few minutes.
Yet the wall was left clawed and gouged by the brutal Magical Power that had torn through it.
A year’s worth of accumulated rage, scarred into the stone.
Cade wiped his sweat-soaked brow and ran a hand through his hair.
‘Not fit to be seen by Vivian. I need to make sure she never sets foot in here by mistake.’
Then he pinned the remains of the half-finished Magic Circle to the wall with a pin beside the gouged surface.
It was where he’d been collecting traces of Dark Magic all this time.
***
‘Something’s off.’
I thought this as I walked through the passages of the Mirror Library, following Cade’s lead.
It had been several days now of waiting for new Official Documents and coming and going from the Tower Master’s library.
There was definitely something strange about Cade lately.
“Watch your step. This way.”
“Mm.”
Whenever I tried to walk even slightly ahead, he’d pull me back to his side as though traps lurked everywhere.
At first I thought I was imagining it.
But the same thing happened every single day, and it was the same when we left the library today.
“Don’t get distracted. You never know what might jump out.”
“Mm.”
Cade had been acting lately as though he wanted to prevent me from even thinking about exploring other passages in the Mirror Library.
Sometimes it seemed like he’d become gentler; other times it felt like he was hiding heightened sensitivity.
I couldn’t tell which, but there was nothing natural about any of it.
‘Things seem to be going better with Cade than I worried about when I first came to Melgote, so that’s a relief…’
Just days ago I’d been thinking exactly that, but now I was beginning to wonder if he was drawing a line.
……It wasn’t unusual to set boundaries with an ex-girlfriend, but instinct and intuition existed for a reason, didn’t they?
There was something vaguely unsettling, something that nagged at me.
‘I can’t exactly ask him directly.’
As I climbed out of the Mirror Library, muttering inwardly, Ben was waiting with a look of clear disapproval on his face.
“The Grand Duke of Melgote has sent someone.”
“…….”
For a moment Cade’s expression turned sharp and menacing, then he quickly smoothed it away.
Though his face was hidden by his large hand, the unease radiating from him was palpable even through Tris, his familiar.
“Should I bring them to your office?”
“No.”
Cade shook his head immediately, then removed his hand from his face and turned to look at me.
“Wait here a moment. I’ll be right back.”
“Huh? No, I mean—I should probably head back to the Inn anyway……”
But before I could finish, he kicked open the office door and left.
Left alone with Ben, I awkwardly reached down to stroke Tris instead.
But since Ben kept glaring at me with obvious disapproval, I eventually couldn’t ignore it and had to speak.
“What’s wrong?”
“…….”
Ben simply sighed without answering my question.
The truth was, Ben confused me more than Cade did.
When we’d first met at the Monster Sanctuary, we’d gotten along well enough.
We exchanged greetings and traded jokes—that kind of easy relationship.
But at some point he’d turned cold toward me, and I had no idea why.
Unable to bear the frustration, I asked again.
“Did I make some mistake?”
“Don’t you make them daily?”
“……?”
This time an answer came immediately, but I was still baffled.
Seeing that I genuinely had no idea what he was talking about, Ben seemed just as exasperated. He pointed sharply at the mirror and spoke.
“That Mirror Library is not a place for just anyone to enter.”
“Oh……”
Now I understood why Ben had been looking at me so disapprovingly.
I wasn’t sure how many other wizards knew I’d been going in and out of the Tower Master’s library.
Rana seemed aware of it, but she didn’t seem to mind, so I hadn’t taken it seriously either.
“I didn’t just barge in—I had the Tower Master’s permission and went in with him. Is that still a problem?”
I asked carefully, but the question seemed to only exasperate Ben further.
He pounded his chest indignantly as he spoke.
“Do you not understand how absurd it is for someone from the Imperial Government—not even a wizard of the Magic Tower—to enter that place? That’s what I’m saying.”
“Well……”
“I have no authority to question the Tower Master’s decisions, I know. But I thought you were supposed to be smart—I’m disappointed. How can you possibly enter the Mirror Library? I’ve never even been inside!”
“Um……”
Ben spilled out his words in righteous fury, then left before I could come up with an adequate excuse.
“…….”
Suddenly I found myself alone with Tris, guarding the office.
The Tower Master’s library must have held some significant meaning for wizards.
“Tris. He’s not being like that with you, is he?”
[Chirp?]
I asked Tris, but the fluffy magical beast just rubbed its head against my hand, asking for more petting.
‘Is it because Tris is a familiar? I can’t tell if it’s really a problem that I’m going in, or if he’s just upset he can’t get in himself.’
I decided that when Cade returned, I’d cautiously bring up whether we could take Ben in with us sometime.
Just then I heard a commotion from outside the window that was slightly ajar.
‘What’s happening?’
I looked out the window with Tris and saw a man who appeared to be a servant fleeing frantically in a carriage.
A bright red liquid dripped along his trail. Looking closer, I saw that one of his sleeves was completely torn open to the shoulder, and his entire arm was drenched in red.
‘Is, is all of that really blood……?’
The magical beast he was holding trembled with fear, and the terror was so deep and intense that it traveled on the wind itself.
An uncomfortable feeling twisted in my chest, and I found myself frowning.
The carriage carrying the man away bore the emblem of a Rose with Thorned Vines and jeweled patterns—the Grand Duke of Melgote’s crest.
However bad relations were between him and the Grand Duke, how could anyone do such a thing?
I suddenly remembered when Cade had cast Fire Ball Magic at me on my first day at the Magic Tower.
From that beginning, I recalled the string of officials from the Imperial Government who had trembled in fear or tears when meeting the Tower Master.
‘Even if he threatened them with flames hot enough to singe hair, it seemed he never actually hurt them……’
Just then Cade returned to the office, and Tris made a full circle around his feet.
“I hope you didn’t wait too long.”
Cade’s tone was gentle and kind, as though completely unrelated to the terrified servant who’d fled bleeding just moments before.
That very incongruity made me unable to hold back, and I opened my mouth.
“Cade. Don’t you think that was too much?”
Cade seemed surprised that I would say such a thing and stood there for a moment with an unreadable expression before answering.

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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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