On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 60

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

Episode 60
Startled, I opened my hand to find a small candy sitting in my palm.
It was an adorable piece wrapped in transparent purple cellophane.
Before I could ask what kind of candy it was, Rana had already bolted away.
“Tower Master!”
She waved her hands at Cade before flinging a candy at him.
“Have some sweets, won’t you?”
Cade caught the same candy I held and let out a soft laugh.
The next instant, my hand holding the candy was suddenly pulled toward him, snapping against his palm.
Our hands had stuck together, candies and all.
……!
While I froze in shock, Cade remained perfectly calm.
It seemed he’d already known this was one of Rana’s pranks.
I spread my fingers wide, hoping the candy would fall free, but it clung fast to my palm.
The candies pulled at each other like magnets, determined to stay bonded.
I shot Cade a look as he sat there unbothered and opened my mouth.
“Shouldn’t we punish Rana for this?”
“Isn’t it impressive? Making even a small magical tool like this isn’t easy.”
……Just say nothing.”
I’d thought Rana would behave herself for a while, but it was all wishful thinking on my part.
After the Magical Candy incident, her mischievous pranks continued unabated.
One day she locked the Office door from outside when only the two of us were inside; another day she crafted an Enchanted Hat that made us hear each other’s voices constantly ringing in our ears.
Cade could undo it all with a single wave of his hand, and none of it posed any real danger.
So neither he nor I took it very seriously.
Rather, as Rana’s magical skill improved by leaps and bounds, Cade began suggesting they move on to advanced magic training.
I had to admit, watching her new spells was entertaining.
Though all these traps she kept setting up between Cade and me did create awkward, embarrassing moments.
……Perhaps I was growing accustomed to maintaining that ambiguous distance between Cade and myself.
I couldn’t deny the strange thrill I found in that delicate tension.
The feeling of him—the one I knew and the one I didn’t—slowly burrowing deeper into me day by day.
‘Cade wronged me, that’s true. He’s definitely a bad person. But why do I keep…….’
That feeling was so like the time just before we’d started dating that it tickled at me with an almost wistful anticipation.
What if this time was truly different?
What if this time he really did feel something genuine for me?
Such foolish hopes even crossed my mind.
But perhaps I should have been more careful, less distracted by those fantasies.
When a small Cube suddenly transformed into an Iron Cage that trapped both Cade and me, everything unfolded differently than before.
“Since setting traps inside the Office doesn’t work anymore, now she’s put something like this at the office entrance.”
I tapped the cramped iron bars and muttered to myself.
But instead of Cade’s usual apathetic reply, I heard only ragged breathing.
Something was wrong. When I turned around, his complexion was ashen.
“Cade?”
“No, no, this won’t…….”
Clinging to the bars, he sank to his knees, gasping for breath.
And more than that—his magical power began to crackle violently, like static electricity surging outward.
“Cade! What’s wrong?”
From inside the Office, Tris, who was Attuned to him, was growling as well.
I probed Tris’s emotions through the door using my Attunement Ability, and a chill ran through me.
“This is……?”
His state and Tris’s were strikingly similar to those of the Magical Beasts we’d rescued from the Crystal Whale Whaling Ship.
Beasts that had been confined for long stretches in some terrible place.
Beasts being exploited under coercive circumstances.
“No, stop……!”
I didn’t know what was happening, but his magical power was growing rougher by the second, and I couldn’t leave him like this.
“Cade. Calm yourself. Look at me.”
I cradled his face in both hands.
His blue eyes were trembling erratically.
It was so unlike the him I knew—he looked terrified, anguished.
His eyes were open, yet he seemed to be suffering from a nightmare.
“Cade. You’re safe. This is right in front of your Office.”
…….
Such words didn’t reach him; his magical power surged even more violently.
His unconscious mind seemed to be struggling mightily to rein in his power, but there was no telling how long he could hold on.
I gripped his face more firmly and stared directly into his eyes.
“You’re the Tower Master. The strongest Wizard in the Magic Tower. If you want, you can get out of here whenever you please.”
…….
His unfocused gaze slowly turned toward mine.
“You’re reckless enough to demolish a building without breaking a sweat. There’s nothing for you to fear.”
…….
As I spoke to him, I soothed Tris’s emotions, letting them settle.
Cade wasn’t the only one influencing Tris—Tris could affect Cade in return.
“……Vivian.”
At last his eyes focused directly on me. His gaze was clear and blue, radiating intense heat.
Something deep in my chest stirred; I swallowed dryly.
Just as I’d calmed Tris’s emotions, his magical power subsided into stillness.
He regarded me silently for a moment, then moved his hand with a smooth gesture.
At the same instant, Rana’s Iron Cage shattered into fragments and vanished.
Unlike before when he’d merely nullified the spell, this time he destroyed it utterly so it would never activate again.
“That just now…….”
Cade opened his mouth as if to speak, then turned his face away.
From the shame and mortification that flashed across his features, I could sense something of what he was feeling.
He’d shown me a side he never wanted anyone to see.
Since I had my own secret I didn’t want Cade to discover, I could imagine how anxious he must be right now.
“I didn’t see anything. I won’t tell anyone.”
“……I just got a little on edge. It’s nothing.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
When I agreed without further question, Cade wiped the tension from his face and sighed.
“I should have listened to you from the start. I need to do something about Rana.”
He seemed ready to drag her off immediately, so I gently deflected.
“Don’t be too hard on her.”
“And when would I do that?”
“The Magic Tower doesn’t have many friends her age. She’s probably just bored.”
…….
“Still, she needs to be told firmly that this kind of prank stops now.”
“You just said not to be too hard on her.”
“A firm rebuke—but not harsh.”
I was worried he might take out too much frustration on young Rana.
The Cade I knew wouldn’t do such a thing, but the wizards seemed to have already suffered his tyranny more than once.
His expression and voice were still somewhat strained, though a faint smile touched his lips as if amused by my fumbling words.
Even as I watched his face relax slightly, his trembling eyes and the turbulent surge of his magical power kept replaying in my mind.
‘What was that just now?’
Whatever it was, that wasn’t the face of someone who’d merely suffered a nightmare or two.
The hidden side of Cade I didn’t know was far more complex and profound than I’d imagined.
***
The next day, as I headed up to the Office, Rana approached with a downcast expression.
“Hello, Inspector.”
“Hello, Rana.”
“I’ve been too much of a troublemaker these past few days. I’m sorry.”
Rana bowed her head in apology, looking chastened.
She was clearly already scolded by Cade, so there was no need for me to add anything.
“It’s alright. I accept your apology.”
“You’re so kind. You could have ignored me entirely…….”
Rana, usually so cheerful, looked so dejected now that I felt a pang of sympathy.
‘My heart’s definitely grown weaker since being in the Magic Tower—just like with Cade.’
I tried to steel my softening heart and move on.
But Rana caught my arm. “Wait a moment, please.”
“Are you going to see the Tower Master now?”
I wondered if this was another instance of scheming and matchmaking, but her expression didn’t suggest that.
“Yes. He should be in the Office, right?”
“He’s not at the Tower. When I left, he used Teleportation to go somewhere.”
“Where did he go?”
“To the Cemetery. To his late fiancée’s grave.”
“……Ah. The Cemetery.”
My heart lurched unexpectedly.
I’d already known Cade had a deceased fiancée, yet it felt strange to hear it now, as if learning it for the first time.
The memory of that night when I’d gone to him surfaced, and guilt over his fiancée—a guilt I’d forgotten for a while—crept slowly back in.
“That makes sense. He has a deceased beloved, after all. I knew. I’ve always known.”
I spoke those words to Rana without truly knowing what I was saying, then extracted myself from the conversation.

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