On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 91

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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 91
I barely managed to swallow what I’d almost choked on, setting my cup down with a careful hand.
“P-please, go ahead.”
The 2nd Princess observed me with the patience of a hunter studying her prey, then softened her gaze.
“I’m curious whether the Engagement Ceremony preparations are going smoothly. Would you mind sharing?”
“I’m curious too! I’ve been dying to know since we left Melgote.”
I flinched reflexively at Simona’s excitement, then relaxed.
“The preparations are progressing well. The Winged Beast Department’s investigator Rene has been tremendously helpful.”
“Could you tell me a bit more? I’m afraid I won’t sleep tonight if my curiosity isn’t satisfied.”
The Princess’s coaxing tone carried such grace and charm that it was impossible to refuse her.
I offered an uncomfortable smile and gave them only the barest details of the ceremony being prepared with Rene.
“I’m hoping Her Highness will be pleasantly surprised when she sees everything on the day of the Engagement Ceremony.”
“A surprise, you say? My heart is already racing with anticipation.”
“I can at least tell you this much in advance: we’ll be dressing the smaller magical beasts in very beautiful garments.”
“Dressing magical beasts in clothes, you say? That will be quite a sight!”
Simona clapped her hands together, her voice bright with joy.
“I’m really looking forward to it too. Vivian is so meticulous with her work that everything she prepares always gets glowing reviews at the observatory.”
She winked at me — it seemed like she was trying to show me off.
‘Cade hasn’t said much this whole time.’
I stole a glance at him, the supposed groom, and nearly choked again.
‘Why—why is he staring like that?’
He was looking directly at my face.
I was just about to change the subject when—
The Princess reached over and touched Cade’s arm, whispering something to him. He tilted his head toward her and whispered back.
In that moment, stones cascaded into the once-still lake of my chest.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
My mind numbed, and though I tried to look away from Cade, I found I couldn’t.
That expression—the one only I used to see.
The final syllable of his words, soft as breath, carrying a trace of laughter.
The way he lowered his posture as naturally as drawing a second skin.
All of it overlapped, collided, and shattered before my eyes.
The thought that something of Cade that only I knew was now being carved into someone else seemed utterly impossible.
‘Stop. Just stop. You’re the one who decided you and Cade would have nothing to do with each other.’
I fixed my gaze firmly on an empty plate.
Simona, sitting beside me, had no way of knowing what I felt, and she clapped again.
“Oh my! You’re both so beautiful that sitting together, you look like a painting come to life. If you stroll through the gardens of Rose Palace, people won’t be able to tell which one is the flower. Hehe.”
“You never change, Simona.”
The Princess and the 2nd Princess smiled gently at Simona’s flattery.
I felt thoroughly erased into the background.
‘Cade……’
The moment I called his name in my heart, his eyes found mine. For just an instant, our gazes locked.
My heart sank in an odd, troubling way.
His eyes held no apology, no excuse—just a careful wariness.
“The Engagement Ceremony is truly something to look forward to, isn’t it?”
This time, the 2nd Princess directed her question at Cade.
“……Thanks to Your Highness’s generosity, I’ve heard about the ceremony preparations, and I’m grateful. I look forward to it.”
Cade’s answer was surprisingly meek. I nearly dropped my knife.
‘Just how much longer are you going to pretend to be a lamb?’
The 2nd Princess seemed taken aback by his docility and kept stealing glances at his expression.
“Tower Master, if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to speak up. You’ll soon be family to the Empire, and we can’t have you wanting for anything.”
Cade bowed his head again.
The chill in my chest deepened with each passing moment.
Subtle tension and quiet pressure threaded through their conversation.
It resembled the exchange I’d witnessed between them at the Magic Tower, yet it was fundamentally different.
The pressure was being applied in one direction only, and heavily at that.
Cade was too compliant. He was absorbing all the pressure willingly, alone.
‘When he despised the Imperial Family so much.’
Even during our time together, Cade used to call the Imperial Court a tarnished crown—a symbol of power growing ever duller, ever more corrupted by rust and time.
Even if he hadn’t been Tower Master, even if he were an Imperial princess with no connection to the 2nd Princess, he would have recoiled at the first meeting.
‘Just what kind of good offer did Cade supposedly receive?’
His sudden visit to the Imperial Capital and the Engagement Ceremony with the 3rd Princess.
The 2nd Princess’s overt threats and Tris’s pursuit of them.
The problem with Cade, which I’d been avoiding to spare myself the confusion, now seemed genuinely suspicious.
‘Could Cade be under duress too?’
His demeanor couldn’t be explained away by merely receiving favorable terms—but it was a question I couldn’t voice aloud.
The Grand Duke of Melgote alone wouldn’t be enough to force Cade into an Imperial engagement.
But there was another presence at the 2nd Princess’s side.
A chill ran down my spine at the ominous premonition.
‘What is the Black Mage doing?’
Before I could add more frightening conjecture, there was something I needed to do first.
‘I need to find a way to talk to Cade alone.’
I was turning toward him to consider how when—
Bang!
A sudden, violent explosion from outside shattered the quiet of the dining room.
‘An explosion?’
Everyone’s gaze snapped to the windows where the sound had come from.
Beyond the fluttering lace curtains, smoke was rising thick and billowing.
“What on earth—!”
The 2nd Princess rose with a hardened expression just as a maid came rushing into the dining room.
“Your Highness!”
“What is it?”
“It’s that…….”
The maid bowed formally to the 2nd Princess, then stepped to the Princess’s side and spoke quietly.
“There’s been an explosion at the Central Banquet Hall.”
“An—what?”
The Princess’s eyes widened in visible shock as she sprang to her feet.
“It was a large explosion, and the hall is completely destroyed—”
“Completely? What do you mean ‘completely’? No, wait. I need to go to the hall right now and see for myself.”
The Central Banquet Hall was the largest in the Imperial Palace—the site designated for the Engagement Ceremony between the Princess and Cade.
I pictured the hall’s layout carefully, struck by a sudden doubt.
There were no flammable materials there, and the lighting hadn’t been installed yet, so there was nothing that could cause an explosion.
I knew the place intimately, having spent considerable time planning how to position the magical beasts.
‘It’s strange that an explosion happened at the Central Banquet Hall, but it’s also… convenient for me.’
The plan Rene and I had developed had always been uncertain because of the hall’s structure. If the ceremony venue were changed due to the destruction, that problem would be solved.
‘I hope it’s completely collapsed.’
As I silently made this destructive wish, the Princess suddenly extended her hand toward the 2nd Princess.
“Sister.”
“…….”
A flash of bewilderment crossed the 2nd Princess’s face.
When the 2nd Princess simply clasped her hand without using Teleportation, the Princess looked confused.
“Sister?”
“Rubia, calm yourself.”
The 2nd Princess called the Princess by her name in a soothing tone, gently stroking the back of her hand.
“We don’t know what conditions surround the hall right now, so teleporting without careful consideration would be far too dangerous.”
“That’s…….”
The Princess couldn’t argue and turned her gaze to Cade instead.
Her eyes seemed to ask whether he agreed, and Cade nodded.
“The 2nd Princess is correct. Since we don’t fully understand the scale of the explosion, if you wish to check the hall, it would be better to take a carriage with the guards.”
Sensing the Princess’s displeasure, Simona quickly moved to her side.
“Your Highness! Let me accompany you. You’ll need to see it with your own eyes to put your mind at ease, yes?”
“……You’re right. Sister, you’ll come with us as well?”
“Of course. If my help is needed at the scene, I’ll do whatever I can. Don’t worry yourself. It’s a fine day for your intended to have arrived in the Imperial Capital.”
The 2nd Princess wrapped an arm around the Princess’s shoulders and led her out of the dining room.
The Princess, who had seemed so dignified and elegant before, became a younger sister wanting to pout in the 2nd Princess’s presence.
And the 2nd Princess clearly cherished the 3rd Princess deeply.
‘Two members of the Imperial Family rushing to the scene of an accident in the palace—everyone’s going to be in a panic.’
I quietly followed them out of Rose Palace.
Then suddenly, a hand gripped mine firmly, and the ground beneath my feet vanished.
“Ah——!”
The sensation of my foot missing a step on the stairs.
It was a feeling I’d grown familiar enough with to recognize immediately.

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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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