On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 93
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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 93
The flame that bloomed softly before quickly extinguishing was small enough, yet it seized everyone’s attention with perfect timing.
“Oh!”
I gasped as though startled, covering my mouth and stumbling backward.
The guards paled and rushed forward, while Cade’s puzzled gaze swept over me.
A faint surge of mana had rippled out for just a moment before vanishing—both Cade and the 2nd Princess must have felt it.
Before Cade could reach out, the 2nd Princess moved first.
“What is this?”
The dark-red feather that fell into the 2nd Princess’s hand with a flick of magic was half-burned, its shape barely recognizable.
“May I examine it, Your Highness?”
I bowed respectfully, asked permission, then took the feather and made a show of inspecting it carefully.
When the crowd’s curiosity had climbed to its peak, I held it up as though enlightened.
“Ah, this is a Magical Beast feather. The feather itself is combustible material, which is why it’s used for so many purposes.”
Cade seemed surprised that I would step forward, raising one eyebrow slightly.
“During mating season, males of this species display the explosive power of their feathers to court females.”
“Your words suggest that a Magical Beast attacked the Imperial Palace?”
At the 2nd Princess’s chilling question, I quickly shook my head.
“Since there are no other traces of this Magical Beast, it seems a feather simply carried on the wind and arrived here by chance.”
“A single feather possesses that much power?”
“Even within the same species, the strength of individuals varies. Besides, I don’t believe it was just one feather.”
I pointed toward the distant peak of Rocky Mountain as I continued.
“The Magical Beasts that inhabit the nearby mountain have never harmed people, but it seems several of their feathers were carried here on the wind.”
……
The 2nd Princess still regarded Cade and me with suspicion, but fortunately, the doubts of the others seemed to have been resolved.
“I knew such Magical Beasts existed, but I never imagined something like this would happen, Your Highness. Please don’t be too troubled. We should be able to hold the betrothal ceremony at another banquet hall.”
Simona shook her head sympathetically, trying to soothe the 3rd Princess.
The 3rd Princess looked troubled as she gazed at the Central Banquet Hall, then approached Cade.
“Tower Master, I must hold my betrothal ceremony here. This place holds deep meaning for me.”
In my judgment, she had chosen it because it was the largest and most beautiful hall, but I remained silent.
“Though a betrothal with the Royal Family is called an exchange, it is necessary for stabilizing relations between the Empire and the Magic Tower, so you share the responsibility of restoration.”
“Responsibility, you say?”
“Indeed. You have ruined a banquet before—surely you should repair this venue as compensation.”
Cade accepted the 3rd Princess’s piercing gaze calmly, then lowered his head.
“I shall do as you command, Your Highness.”
He raised his hand in a sweeping gesture, drawing mana, and the building debris scattered on the ground clattered as it rose into the air.
Once Cade lowered his hand, the 3rd Princess, surveying the restored banquet hall, suddenly bristled with frustration.
“Tower Master! Why is the ceiling only half-repaired? This is not the original form of the Central Banquet Hall!”
Indeed, after Cade’s work, the banquet hall had half its ceiling and part of one wall’s upper section open to the air.
It was exactly as I had requested beforehand from the carriage.
“An open sky visible like this is fresh and rather pleasing, is it not?”
Cade smiled loosely, gazing at the banquet hall and the sky.
“I am, after all, one of the principals of this betrothal ceremony, so I may offer some opinion. If it truly displeases you, I can cover the ceiling.”
……
The 3rd Princess apparently interpreted Cade’s actions as a show of enthusiasm for the ceremony.
She surveyed the interior of the open-ceilinged banquet hall, then nodded with a look of pleasant surprise.
“Hmm. The sunlight entering this space is quite beautiful indeed.”
“Precisely so, Your Highness.”
“I would like carefully cut gems hung along the upper walls to catch the sunlight.”
“My! Your Highness’s taste is impeccable. The jewels will cast such dazzling, beautiful light across the ceremony venue. I can scarcely imagine it—it will be blinding!”
Thanks to Simona’s eloquent flattery, the 3rd Princess’s mood seemed to brighten considerably.
Just as I was relieved to think we could position the Magical Beasts according to Rene’s and my plan—
“Wait. I have a proposal.”
The 2nd Princess stepped forward.
“I think it would be wise to place a Binding Oath Sorcery on the betrothal with the Tower Master.”
……!
I inhaled sharply and turned to look at Cade. He stood perfectly still, his face expressionless—unreadable.
But the 3rd Princess seemed even more shocked than I was.
“Sister. No, rather—2nd Princess. That is…….”
Binding Oath Sorcery.
It was a sorcery that bound two people together after a ceremony so neither could betray the other.
If one betrayed the object of the oath, they would be cursed, bleed out, and eventually die—such were the terrible conditions attached.
Because of this, Binding Oath Sorcery was something discussed only when marrying into a former enemy nation.
While there was considerable opposition to it on grounds that such marriages were not based on genuine trust, the ceremony itself walked a precarious line between magic and dark magic.
“Rubia, can you trust the Tower Master completely? I say this for your sake.”
“That is, but…….”
The 3rd Princess could not answer hastily.
‘A marriage sealed with Binding Oath Sorcery carries poor public perception.’
Only the Guyana Empire used Binding Oath Sorcery, and rarely at that.
Other nations fiercely criticized them for choosing subjugation through humiliation rather than ruling justly with national power and royal authority.
Furthermore, the Empire’s own people viewed it as placing a collar on a discarded prince from a foreign land, a mark of foolishness.
In the end, it damaged the reputation of both the foreign nation and the Empire’s own people.
After some deliberation, the 3rd Princess seemed to have made her decision, muttering quietly enough that only a few nearby could hear.
“There is no need to leave a blade in an ornamental sword meant only for display.”
I shut my eyes tight, refusing to acknowledge the inhuman remark.
The 3rd Princess did not understand that living, breathing things are beautiful only in freedom—and that choice was entirely hers.
She was the kind of person who even caged a Magical Beast with beautiful wings, binding it to the earth.
Now she extended that gaze of possessive decoration from beasts to people, and it felt deeply unsettling.
The 3rd Princess announced with firm resolve.
“Add the Binding Oath Sorcery to the betrothal ceremony proceedings.”
“Then you do not trust me, it seems.”
Cade’s eyebrows drooped with what looked like disappointment.
With such a pretty face making that expression, I felt a pang of sympathy even knowing him to be a scoundrel, though the 3rd Princess’s decision could not be reversed.
“Is the Tower Master not cooperative with the Imperial Court?”
The 3rd Princess would naturally view the hurt feelings of a beautiful ornament as worthless.
“Very well, I shall accept it.”
Cade seemed to have anticipated this and agreed readily enough, though he added a few more words.
“However, such an important matter is not something I can decide alone, so if His Majesty the Emperor permits it, I shall comply without reservation.”
The 3rd Princess and the 2nd Princess both understood how important “procedure” was, so they had no choice but to agree it would be so.
“Then I shall visit the Secondary Palace that Your Highness has kindly prepared for me. I shall defer sightseeing at the Imperial Palace to another occasion.”
Cade raised his index finger, twirling a small sphere of mana, and turned away.
I watched the glimmering, shimmering sphere of mana and swallowed a sigh.
The Secondary Palace was where guests of the Imperial Palace stayed, boasting robust protective magic and barriers.
Thanks to those formidable protective spells carefully laid by the Imperial Palace’s wizards, Teleportation could not be used to come and go from that place.
‘……If he goes to the Secondary Palace, he can’t use Teleportation, so he’s telling me to come to him.’
I could easily decipher the light signal Cade was sending.
It was like a secret cipher the two of us had used when I desperately called for him from within the mirror library.
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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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