On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 9

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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 9
The civil servant’s assignment didn’t end there.
“Tell Simona to report to the Dock tomorrow.”
I had just returned from external duties and hadn’t even fully opened the office door.
The civil servant, done with overtime, vanished down the corridor.
Dumping this sudden task on me as he left.
I exhaled a heavy sigh and stepped into the office.
‘Simona must be enjoying herself at the party by now.’
I picked up the slip of paper she’d given me with the party location and glanced at the calendar I’d been using since the Imperial Capital.
The red star I’d drawn on the already-past department transfer interview date stood out sharply.
I’d traced over it again and again each time the Crystal Whale Department wore me down.
‘Once I finish this, I can transfer to a different department. Later, I won’t even need to come back to this remote assignment.’
I straightened my shoulders and left the office.
Even in that bleak atmosphere, Simona was the one who had reached out to me first.
‘She’s a bit scattered and chaotic, but I owe her a lot.’
Even tired, I could just pass along the message and rest at the inn—there was nothing stopping me.
But the moment I arrived at the location written on the slip, something felt wrong.
‘She really meant here?’
What had Simona said about today’s party?
“It’s just a small thing, so not many people will come. Since we don’t know how long we’ll be here, it’d be nice to make some familiar faces.”
Who on earth was having a birthday party in this grand, sprawling Magic Greenhouse?
Maintaining such a massive greenhouse in a cold region like Melgote would require an extraordinary amount of magical equipment.
Bright flowers that looked like they belonged in the south filled the space, completely at odds with the weather.
Guards stood at the entrance, and through the open doors, I could see countless people inside.
‘Small gathering? Not many people? Do researchers use “intimate” to mean something different?’
Everyone seemed to be wearing elegant clothing, and I wondered if I could really walk in wearing my civil servant’s uniform.
As I hesitated at the entrance, one of the guards held out his hand.
“Your invitation, please.”
I fumbled through my pockets, which were empty, and panicked.
“What if I was invited by someone who has an invitation?”
“Then just tell us your name. We have a list.”
“I’m Vivian Solling.”
I answered, but without confidence. Had Simona put my name on the list?
“You’re a guest invited by Simona Hart. Please enjoy the reception.”
Thankfully, she had. Even though I’d said I couldn’t attend.
‘I’ll have to make the paperwork for her research lab extra nice.’
I smoothed out my clothes and asked just before stepping inside.
“But who’s the birthday celebrant?”
The guards regarded me as if I were an odd person, then answered.
“It is the Third Princess.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
***
Cheerful music, conversation, and laughter filled the greenhouse.
As befitted a celebration of the Third Princess’s birthday, the decorations and guests’ attire were all quite lavish.
The cake placed in the center was so tall and massive that its decorations peeked just above the guests’ heads.
Passing by flowers of every color was fragrant and wondrous, but this wasn’t the time to enjoy such things.
‘Where is she?’
I walked discreetly along the wall, searching for Simona.
The guests paid little attention to me, thanks to the guard letting me slip in through a side door.
It helped that the party was well underway and many were already intoxicated.
‘I can’t figure out why the Third Princess, who resides in the Imperial Capital, is holding her birthday reception here.’
Perhaps she had taken a liking to this Magic Greenhouse?
Or maybe, being someone who enjoys parties, she’d sought out this unusual venue?
Regardless, the last thing I needed was to run into Her Highness.
‘An uninvited civil servant showing up empty-handed to a princess’s birthday reception, offering only congratulations before slipping away? Absolutely not. I can already hear the gossip.’
Simona would have worn a dress. She wouldn’t have come in her uniform.
As I was carefully scanning the guests with this assumption in mind, it happened.
“Kyaaahhh!”
“Ugh!”
Screams rang out. At the same time, the music stopped, and guests murmured and backed toward the walls.
A familiar whistle cut through the commotion, trailing long and eerie.
I leaned up on my toes to peer over people’s shoulders when a metallic smell hit my nose.
‘Ugh. What’s that stench?’
Others around me covered their mouths, their faces drained of color.
In front of the artwork-like cake stood a figure.
A man with a loose smile on his lips, letting out a whistle.
A man drenched head to toe in dark-red blood, staring quietly at something.
A man indifferent to the blood dripping from the hem of his tattered robe.
‘No… it can’t be.’
Even with blood smeared across his hair and cheeks, there was no mistaking him.
My ex-boyfriend and the current Tower Master—Cade.
My heart lurched, and I covered my mouth like everyone else.
It was almost miraculous how we kept meeting in the most unpredictable places.
‘What on earth is he doing here? How much blood has he lost?’
Before I knew it, my feet were carrying me toward him.
“What is all this commotion?”
But a sharp voice suddenly rang out, and I snapped back to my senses, stopping in my tracks.
If the Third Princess hadn’t made her entrance, I would have walked straight to Cade.
Cade gave a slight bow, and blood dripped from the ends of his hair. His posture was respectful yet composed—he didn’t look like someone seriously wounded.
Now I noticed he was holding an invitation half-soaked in blood.
‘So he came formally invited… but looking like that?’
Given the rumors I’d heard about the Tower Master, it seemed unlikely he’d have shown such deference to the Imperial Family, wounded or not, which left me puzzled.
The Third Princess’s cold expression softened as she recognized him from the invitation and robe in his hand.
“The Tower Master, I see. But what is this discourtesy? Such disregard for propriety—arriving so filthy and disheveled. Has becoming Tower Master made you fearless? This is a reception of the Imperial Family.”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at her words.
Cade let out a low, mirthless laugh and replied in a tight voice.
“I declined your invitation several times, yet you made the journey to Melgote yourself. I felt it would be rude to refuse further. As for my appearance—I merely got some blood on myself while exterminating monster beasts for the empire’s peace. Is that a problem?”
Monster beasts? I stared at Cade in shock, my eyes sweeping up and down his figure.
‘He said he’d left the Magic Tower to deal with monster beasts, but… is all of that actually their blood?’
He wouldn’t be soaked like that from fighting just one or two.
‘How many did he eliminate?’
Suddenly, I remembered the new Tower Master was called a Genius Mage.
I still found it strange to see Cade and a Genius Mage as the same person, but clearly he possessed the strength befitting the youngest Tower Master.
But perhaps because I was staring so intently…
“Your insolence is well known, and we may address that in time. However, I simply cannot overlook this grotesque appearance. You there—take the Tower Master at once and help him change.”
Even as the Third Princess gave her order with evident displeasure, Cade—sensing my gaze—suddenly turned his head toward me.
‘No, no, no. If our eyes meet like this, it’ll look like we know each other!’
I hastily crouched down to hide, but caught my foot on a large potted plant and stumbled.
‘Oh no!’
In that brief instant as my body fell backward, our eyes locked. Even he looked flustered—he hadn’t expected to see me here.
‘I’m so embarrassed.’
Just as I braced myself for impact, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.
It was Cade, who had appeared via Teleportation.
The guests near him startled and retreated as the Tower Master suddenly materialized in their midst.
‘W-what? Why…?’
Before I could even react, Cade gave a slight nod.
Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he said “Pardon me,” and stepped aside with me.
He plucked a drink from the tray a servant had been carrying behind me, then Teleported back in front of the Third Princess.
“I apologize for arriving empty-handed. Please accept this.”
The Third Princess glared at the blood-stained cup he offered as if it were an insult, trembling with rage.
‘He’s a barbarian. A complete barbarian.’
Everyone in that space surely thought the same thing.
No one would do such a thing at an Imperial Family’s birthday reception. Not even other royalty.
“How dare you…!”
The Third Princess, who had been composed and graceful all evening, finally lost her patience and swatted the cup from Cade’s hand with her fan.
The sharp sound of glass shattering rang out through the greenhouse.

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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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