The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 100
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Special Side Story 1. The Wedding (1)
If one were to name the hottest figures in the Rishatria Empire at present, it would undoubtedly be Cecilia, the eldest daughter of House Weberdine, and Kirien, the second son of House Dilan She.
The reason the two had become the center of attention was singular: news of their marriage.
The ripple it created was so enormous that every newspaper in the empire had plastered the story across its front page.
And with good reason—it was no ordinary union, but a merger of Weberdine and Dilan She, a pairing no one had dared imagine. In response to this shocking combination, people spoke of the two incessantly, calling them a real-world Romeo and Juliet.
They had met by chance in childhood and carried on a yearning love into adulthood; both families had opposed them so fiercely that the pair nearly died over it; unable to sway their houses, the lovers had ultimately eloped—such novelistic flourishes attached themselves to the tale with each retelling.
Upon hearing the tender love story that had grown fleshed-out through gossip, Cecilia herself let out a hollow laugh.
‘I never imagined I’d become the protagonist of something so romantic in my lifetime.’
Had she been told such a thing back in graduate school, she’d have scoffed and asked if she’d finally gone mad.
In any case, for all the bloated absurdity of the rumors, one detail remained true.
Namely, the part about the couple being unable to convince both families and eloping. Though, to be precise, rather than an elopement born of love, it was more accurate to say they’d turned their families upside down and fled.
When she first announced the engagement, both families predictably erupted. In particular, Marquis Weberdine could not accept reality and collapsed, clutching at his neck.
“Not that Dilan She bastard—not even if dirt fills my eyes!” he’d cried out.
But overwhelming force had a way of turning any obstacle into a speed bump.
Kirien had disposed of the Marquis’s hired hands without a trace. Dilan She, for his part, had already made adjustments by the time Kirien was still cleaning the Temple.
With Cecilia’s Declaration of Severance hurled at the Marquis, all trials and tribulations came to an end.
The day before the wedding, the remaining ordeals amounted to little more than the fact that Kiar, who was officiating, was lavishing far more attention on arranging the bride’s ceremonial dress than on his duties as officiant, and that a handful of uninvited guests were beginning to arrive at the Mansion.
In truth, neither of them harbored grand fantasies about a wedding, so they had merely borrowed one prayer chamber from the Grand Temple. The guests amounted to no more than Kiar, who was officiating; Sena, who would serve as witness; and Melanie and Nox.
Contrary to the tide of public interest pouring down upon them, the plan had been to conduct everything modestly and swiftly—
It seemed she had badly underestimated Kirien’s social aptitude. Despite his claim to have no acquaintances he wished to invite, unexpected visitors had begun arriving as the date approached.
The first guest was none other than Kirien’s teacher and former Tower Master, Fervan Chetwind.
‘So the rumors about Kirien having his head cleanly severed were just rumors, then.’
Indeed, rumors proved to be mere rumor. The old man, whose head remained perfectly intact, burst into hearty laughter the moment he caught sight of Kirien.
“Imagine—of all people, it’s you who has come to understand the splendor of love! How moving!”
The elderly man, dressed as though he might depart on some journey at any moment, appeared less like one of the empire’s foremost mages and more like a simple wanderer.
True to his character, which attached no value to authority whatsoever, he bent deeply at the waist the instant he laid eyes on Cecilia, the former Saint.
“My goodness, when I heard the Tower Master was getting married, I naturally assumed that dissolute Asilien was the one tying the knot. I never imagined it would be that inhuman brute. Though he is lacking in many respects, I ask for your kindness toward him.”
She had thought that, despite Fervan’s Chetwind lineage being nearly neutral, as a mage he might regard her with displeasure for being of House Weberdine. Instead, unexpected warmth poured forth.
Rather, the target of his reproach was not her, but his own disciple, Kirien.
Fervan declared that learning of such joyous news through a newspaper was simply too much, and began waving his staff about wildly.
“You inhuman fool! Had you given me even the slightest hint, I would have returned to the empire long ago and helped in any way I could!”
“Then I’d have to support you, so take the Magic Tower back with you.”
……
At those words, he fell docile as if by spell.
Before they could even marvel at Kirien’s brutal insistence on re-employment for a man barely retired from his post, a second guest arrived at the increasingly chaotic Mansion.
“I thought it another absurd rumor when I heard you were getting married, but seeing that bright grin on your face, it seems to be true after all.”
“What do you want?”
The one who had crumpled that radiant smile in an instant was none other than Asilien Chetwind.
“My teacher said he was going to verify your marriage, so I took off right after him. Oh, there you are, teacher! Come on, let’s go together!”
“You’d have arrived two days earlier if you hadn’t dawdled with the women at every inn you’ve stayed at!”
“Ahem, I must object to calling human connection ‘dawdling’—it does nothing for my reputation.”
It was already too late to salvage his image. Asilien turned to greet her with polished courtesy, as though nothing amiss had occurred.
“Allow me to introduce myself for the first time. I am Asilien Chetwind, the figurehead and face of the Magic Tower. I’m a fellow disciple of Kirien’s at the Tower.”
Cecilia grasped the offered hand perfunctorily and assessed him. She already knew that the alias Kirien had used—Asilien Chetwind—corresponded to a real person. But she had never expected to meet him in person.
Though, given how he’d introduced himself as the figurehead, he was not nearly as beautiful as Kirien, and since all the rumors about the Tower Master’s romantic entanglements supposedly stemmed from this man, he was hardly a welcome guest.
Nevertheless, Cecilia, whose social graces were not lacking, received the visitor courteously.
“I never thought that of all people, you would be the one to go first.”
There was something almost amusing about how sincerely he lamented this.
The final guest to seek out the Mansion was, remarkably, the Crown Princess Regina.
In this lifetime, she had yet to establish any connection with her, and upon catching sight of the red-haired woman beyond the door, Cecilia had to pause and wonder if she were dreaming.
“It is my honor to meet you. I am Regina Hill Rishatria.”
The woman who appeared in her dazzling dress was unmistakably no phantom.
Yet the question remained. She had given up both her position as Saint and her ties to House Weberdine; Regina surely had no intention of harassing her now, but neither did their relationship warrant an imperial visit to congratulate her on a wedding.
Perhaps noticing Cecilia’s bewilderment, the Crown Princess offered an explanation.
“It is unwise to cross the great Tower Master, regardless of what House Dilan She produces. Or so His Majesty has decreed. In short, I am here at the sovereign’s command.”
She made it clear she had not come of her own will, and proceeded to hand over gift after gift with a knowing smile.
“Please, do come in. I shall brew you some tea.”
“…Pardon?”
She hadn’t anticipated that he would let her in so readily, and the princess hesitated on the threshold.
At that, Asilien, who had remained near the entrance, called out.
“There goes the princess again. Don’t just stand there at the door—come on in!”
“We have a guest, then.”
Only then did she seem to notice that the mansion was already filled with visitors. After a moment’s hesitation, Regina stepped inside.
And instead of looking around the house, she drove her heel directly onto Asilien’s foot.
“Insolent fool. How many times must I tell you not to call me that?”
Cecilia blinked at how remarkably informal the two of them were with each other.
In any case, the drawing room had quickly filled with the unexpected arrivals.
Though Kirien looked as though he’d sooner throw out all his acquaintances on the spot…….
‘Still, they came all this way from the distant Monastery. It would be poor hospitality to send them away.’
Being of a people who valued warmth and sustenance, she set her mind to preparing food for her guests.
‘The hour is too early for a full meal, so I’ll bring out the cookies Kirien baked this morning and those tea leaves I was gifted a few days ago.’
“Then I’ll bring tea. You all keep talking.”
“No, please. Sit. I’ll go fetch it.”
Before she could even rise from her seat, Kirien jumped up and disappeared.
His swift vanishing into the kitchen was something she knew well, but clearly not something the guests were accustomed to seeing.
Three people, heedless of propriety, stared blankly through the empty doorway with their mouths hanging open.
“Did he—did he just use honorific speech to an old master he never even respected?”
“Never mind that—did you see him smile just then? Master, the world must be coming to an end tomorrow.”
“……I’ve genuinely witnessed something revolting.”
Even Regina shuddered in disgust.
“If you came here to gossip, then be on your way. Or rather, do us the kindness of leaving.”
Kirien returned quickly with the tea, delivering his verdict to those still murmuring behind his back. He’d corrected his phrasing midway, mindful of Cecilia’s presence, but his tone remained sharp.
‘How curious.’
Though there was a thread of something negative running through it all, it was nearly the first time she’d witnessed Kirien engaging in normal social interaction with others.
But the uninvited guests had yet another advantage.
As he showed interest in this unexpected side of him, Fervan, eager to see where this went, brought out his trump card.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————