The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 102

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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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Special Epilogue 3. Between Understanding and Acceptance (1)
Someone once asked Cecilia what married life with the Master of the Magic Tower was like. The questioner seemed to have recalled the terrifying rumors that clung to him, but Cecilia answered without hesitation.
‘No problems.’
Not only the concerns the questioner harbored, but all the worries she herself had carried before the marriage as well.
From the moment she opened her eyes until sleep claimed her again, he held her close constantly, kissed her, whispered affection—and thanks to this, the instability that had been astonishing to witness had settled considerably.
Now when she stepped out merely for a stroll in front of the house, he didn’t turn pallid and rush after her, nor did he try to record every moment of her existence or monopolize her.
So they were managing to sustain what was, in its own way, an ordinary and happy marriage—or so she thought.
“Lien!”
She never imagined they would have their first marital quarrel.
The incident began when the “Secret Room” hidden away on the second floor of the mansion underwent an expansion.
Even after they found their new home, the “Secret Room” still existed. Yet Cecilia, just as she had done after their reunion, continued to pretend she didn’t know of its existence.
The thought of what might be filling that space terrified her, but she wanted to leave Lien with at least one space of his own.
However, when that single room began to expand, then multiply until there were more than three, the situation changed.
The needlessly spacious mansion certainly didn’t lack for rooms. But it wasn’t as if she didn’t know the purpose of ‘those’ spaces, and to be frank, it was a little—no, a great deal—unsettling.
One day, unable to bear it any longer, Cecilia cornered Lien against the wall and demanded an answer.
“What on earth are you keeping in those secret rooms that they keep spreading like mold?”
“Well, I’ve been collecting things one by one, and the collection just kept growing…”
‘So what kind of collection would warrant three rooms?’
The articles about Cecilia had poured out when she pretended to be a Saint and when she made her unconventional marriage, but there shouldn’t be anything left to collect now!
In the end, Cecilia resolved to take action before the terrible secret room grew completely out of hand.
‘I’ll check. And if my suspicion is right, I’ll either reduce it or get rid of it.’
Finding her husband’s spare key was easier than eating a meal.
In the early morning, she rose from bed without waking her soundly sleeping husband and managed to open one of the rooms.
Creak!
‘I’d rather it was full of shockingly risqué objects or items of some unusual hobby.’
Her earnest wish was thoroughly disappointed.
“What in the world is this…”
According to what Hiltein had once complained about, whenever she was away on business, Lien would lock himself in this room. No matter how urgent the matter outside, he would never come out.
Hearing that, she had indeed expected it to be filled with something related to her, just like the previous ‘Secret Room’—but…
Cecilia stood speechless, staring blankly around the room.
What filled the space was not articles. Expensive Video Magic Devices were plastered across the walls and ceiling. Of course, the figures in the recordings were none other than Cecilia—and only her.
On the largest screen facing her, footage of her from their wedding day played, and in the empty spaces around it, images of her moving through mundane moments of daily life. When they had gone out together, when she had gone shopping, when they had eaten together…
They were all moments with Lien, so it was difficult to call it hidden recording, yet seeing herself moving all over the room made her feel as though she might develop a mental illness she didn’t previously have.
‘I thought his anxiety had improved greatly. Was it all a misunderstanding?’
No—perhaps it had been impossible to change him from the start.
As she stood speechless in the grip of vertigo, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.
“Cecilia, that is…”
“Lien.”
“Yes?”
“Get rid of this room. Now.”
* * *
As it turned out, they had their first marital quarrel (though it amounted more to Cecilia being angry unilaterally), and she stormed out of the house.
That she left the house! The very thought of it might have caused Lien to lose consciousness, but there was no avoiding it.
[What? But… how am I supposed to endure the hours when you’re not by my side?]
[Normal people don’t spend all twenty-four hours with their spouse. Especially since that’s not even the real you.]
[I just wanted to be with you like this… No. If I’ve displeased you, I’ll remove it at once.]
[Delete the originals too.]
[What? But I’ve collected all of this… Please, won’t you let me keep this one time? At least the footage from the wedding?]
Once a conversation like that began, her head would fill with heat and it became impossible to remain in the same space with him.
[I won’t see the real thing until you clean it up.]
She thought she had reasoned with him enough, tried to appease him sufficiently, but in the face of a problem that remained utterly unresolved, Cecilia ultimately chose to escape.
So she stormed out of the house, but there weren’t many places to go. She couldn’t go to the Marquis’s residence since she had cut off contact after news of the marriage, and this place had no true family or friends.
In the end, there was only the Grand Temple.
‘Is this what a runaway wife’s rebellion looks like?’
Even she doubted the destination, but she quickly cast aside her misgivings.
She encountered two welcome faces right at the entrance of the Grand Temple.
“Saint!”
Sena, who had been well fed and now boasted a proper Saint’s demeanor, came rushing toward her with both arms flailing.
“You’re the Saint, not me. How many times do I have to say it?”
And standing beside Sena was none other than Regina, the Princess. She, still dressed in her magnificent and striking gown even within the Temple, greeted Cecilia first.
“It’s been a while.”
Cecilia’s eyes widened at the sight of this striking figure as she quickly extended her hand.
“Have you been well? What brings you to the Grand Temple?”
“Is there any reason the heir would visit the Grand Temple besides that?”
The sickly pallor from the wedding had vanished entirely, replaced by sharp eyes that now held a composure absent before.
‘It seems she overcame the prince’s faction and secured the position of heir after all.’
In the life she remembered, Regina had always been designated as the heir, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
What was unexpected, rather, was the proposal that followed.
“Since we’ve met like this, let’s talk for a while.”
At their first meeting, Regina had only been cautious, so Cecilia had thought drawing closer in this life would be difficult.
But after the wedding, those occasional shipments of premium tea leaves and fine fabrics from the Monastery had apparently been expressions of gratitude rather than silence-money.
The way Regina approached her now made that much clear.
“Perfect! I’ll prepare the tea! Archbishop Kiar—oh wait, you’re the Pope now…. Anyway, since the Pope is running a bit late, the heir’s schedule just opened up! I have evening prayers, so I’ll have to leave the heir in your care!”
Sena’s expression was like a mother watching her child make a first friend, and she promptly ushered both of them into the small Prayer Room.
Cecilia had wondered if perhaps an awkward silence might settle over them. But contrary to her expectations, Regina simply plunked down beside her and spoke with a comfort usually reserved for old companions.
“How have you been lately? Your name hasn’t appeared much in the Southern Region papers recently.”
Just yesterday, she could have insisted without hesitation that everything was fine. But the married woman who had raised her voice and fled the house mere hours ago could only manage an awkward smile.
“Well…… it’s not bad.”
“That vague answer, and the absence of that leech-like man from your side. It doesn’t seem like you’re enjoying married bliss at all.”
It was a sharp observation.
‘If I say it’s nothing, she probably won’t press further.’
As Cecilia, too weary even for excuses, merely shrugged silently, Regina let out a light sigh.
“You don’t have to explain. I don’t even need to hear it—that man is clearly at fault.”
Whatever he had done, her resentment toward Lien seemed only to have deepened in the time she hadn’t seen him. Though Cecilia had barely shared anything, Regina poured out criticism instead.
“I had to contact him recently about Magic Tower business, and would you believe what he said…… ugh, anyway, that man is genuinely insane!”
“……He’s not exactly normal, but I wouldn’t call him insane.”
“Saint! You’ve lost all objectivity after falling for that man! No matter how handsome he is, you can’t survive on looks alone!”
‘Though it would be possible to live on looks this extraordinary.’
The retort she dared not voice aloud remained swallowed. At this, Regina, apparently taking her silence as tacit agreement, continued with renewed gravity.
“It’s not too late even now. If your decision haunts you, tell me. I’ll help you however I can.”
‘Regret.’
She had lived in this strange world for years now, all for the sake of one man.
If someone asked whether she regretted her choice, her answer—surprisingly—was no.
Even now, after witnessing something extraordinary at dawn, after losing her temper and fleeing the house.
The truth was that her husband collecting videos of her secretly, and watching them repeatedly, hadn’t actually horrified her.
What bothered her was only that he sat alone in that room until she returned home, to his side, seeing only her, thinking only of her, longing only for her.
‘How could the empire’s supposed smartest man not understand that!’
Or perhaps she herself failed to understand the nature of his affection.

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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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