The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 18

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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 18
“Oh, it’s nothing at all.”
He waved his hand dismissively, but she’d questioned him not because she hadn’t caught his muttering—she’d heard every word. His embarrassment was simply too obvious to ignore.
‘Nothing, my foot. I heard the whole thing.’
Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t some oblivious heroine from a novel who couldn’t understand someone mumbling right in front of her face.
‘…Right. So Plan D is going well, then.’
Cecilia decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed her would-be lover’s little outburst.
So she didn’t see Lien glancing around nervously before tucking the handkerchief back into his chest pocket, nor did she see him smile with evident satisfaction, his face flushed. None of it.
Whether or not he was aware of her deliberate blindness, Lien turned toward the door, restored to his usual composure.
“Then I’ll bring you something to drink.”
“Yes, please.”
The moment his broad back disappeared from view, Cecilia collapsed onto the sofa.
An electronic device without its backup battery was supposed to conserve power, after all.
Without even lifting her head, she rolled her eyes to check the time.
The training session had run longer than expected—lunch had come and gone without her noticing.
‘I must be more tired because I’m hungry.’
Having diagnosed the cause of her earlier dizziness, Cecilia suddenly remembered the basket she’d left on the corner of the desk.
‘Right, Melanie packed me some snacks.’
The maid, worried about her mistress growing weaker by the day, had insisted on providing meals lest she skip any.
In the rattan basket lay appetizing egg sandwiches and a strawberry beverage.
‘The weather’s nice. I should ask him if we can have lunch together in the garden.’
Gathering what remained of her motivation along with the basket, Cecilia forced herself out of the room.
‘Is Lien in the kitchen?’
She couldn’t quite remember where the kitchen was, but it was surely somewhere on the first floor. With that assumption, she proceeded straight ahead.
In the quiet corridor, only the sound of her footsteps echoed.
She would have asked for directions, but just as when she’d first arrived at the Mansion, there wasn’t a servant in sight.
Instead, brooms moved by themselves with soft whisks throughout the house, and cloths polished windows with squeaking sounds.
‘It’s like a haunted house.’
Ever since his identity had been exposed, he’d made no attempt to hide the Magic circles he’d inscribed throughout the building.
When she’d first seen a feather duster defying gravity and floating about, she’d been so astonished she’d nearly apologized to Newton on principle.
Now accustomed to the sight, Cecilia glanced around uncertainly.
If her memory served, turning the corner should lead to a lobby connected to the Foyer, but she was still in the middle of the corridor.
‘Or was it a right turn?’
Having relied on Lien’s guidance every time she’d moved through the house, she’d somehow become lost.
The one consolation was that the corridor itself seemed familiar.
‘I think this is where we came during the tour on my first day.’
If she remembered correctly, that Black Wooden Door belonged to a bedroom.
Lien’s bedroom, no less.
A hint of mischievous curiosity flickered through her mind, but she had enough sense not to trespass on someone’s private space.
After the brief internal struggle, Cecilia pressed on, feigning ignorance of what she’d seen.
But she hadn’t gone far before she stopped short.
Just beside the bedroom, there appeared a room that was undeniably suspicious.
A narrow door—barely half the width of the bedroom’s entrance. And on the doorknob, something that looked like a Magic circle carved in strange symbols.
Moreover, the winding letters within the carving moved as if drifting on water.
‘Is this some kind of secret room?’
All sense abandoned, Cecilia reached for the doorknob.
A large hand covered hers.
“It would be better not to enter this room. It’s not in order.”
She traced her gaze upward along the black half-gloves that covered her hand.
Lien was standing behind her like a wall—she had no idea when he’d approached.
Caught red-handed like a child caught misbehaving, Cecilia quickly released the knob.
“I’m sorry. The carving looked interesting, and I was just examining it and—”
Cecilia deliberately apologized with a downcast expression. As expected, Lien flustered, quickly shaking his head.
“No, no. It’s just that it’s a storage room of sorts, and I’m embarrassed to show it…”
‘Who locks up a storage room like that? And with Magic, no less?’
Just before he’d caught her, she’d tried turning the knob—but it hadn’t budged an inch.
There was no keyhole visible, so it must be locked by Magic.
But everyone has spaces where they hide things they’d rather keep secret.
She thought of the diary hidden in her desk’s lowest drawer, the poems she’d written during the time she kept the black-flame dragon, and the twenty-four karat novels she’d gradually accumulated.
‘Fine. I’ll drop it for now.’
She didn’t want to kill Lien with shame.
“Still, I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“No, no! You’re welcome anywhere in the Mansion, not just here. Oh, would you like to see the Bedroom right next door?”
A Bedroom?
The battle between reason and instinct was remarkably brief.
Only five seconds had passed since she’d promised to be careful, yet Cecilia accepted his offer without hesitation.
“If you don’t mind.”
There was no reason to refuse when he was offering to show her his most private space.
“Of course I don’t mind. It’s just a bit embarrassing because there’s so little to see.”
Following at his heels, Cecilia realized his words were no exaggeration.
The spacious room held only a single massive bed, sitting alone like a solitary sailboat in an empty sea.
“Wow, really…… there’s barely anything here.”
A sound escaped her—whether a gasp of wonder or a sigh of resignation, she couldn’t tell.
The only interior decoration, incongruous with the room itself, was a set of thick Blackout Curtains.
“The room looks so empty. Why not furnish it a bit?”
“Well, the truth is I rarely sleep in the Bedroom.”
“Really? Then where do you sleep?”
“Usually on the sofa in the room I use for lessons, or on a Cot in the Laboratory.”
“The Laboratory?”
‘That sounded like a word that would trigger some kind of trauma.’
As Cecilia repeated the question with evident reluctance, Lien’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes. It’s in the basement—would you like me to show you?”
“No. I’d rather not see that place.”
Cecilia shook her head very quickly and decisively.
The memory came flooding back: huddled in the corner of the Laboratory on a hastily cleared workbench, covered with a thin blanket, conducting experiments on a two-hour cycle while catching brief naps.
The mere recollection triggered a Pavlovian desire to go home immediately.
Visibly more exhausted now, Cecilia left the Bedroom without a second thought.
“Since I’ve seen everything, I should head back now.”
The plan to have lunch together had just been scrapped.
Judging by the way he lived, she should probably make a donation rather than share a meal with him.
“Here, there’s an Egg Sandwich and juice—you eat this, Lien.”
“Pardon?”
Lien blinked his large eyes as he unexpectedly received the Rattan Basket.
“…… Did you prepare this for me?”
It wasn’t, exactly, but Cecilia nodded casually.
It was a gift for him, after all—the meaning was the same, wasn’t it?
“It seems too precious to eat.”
“Still, don’t let it go to waste. Eat it.”
“Yes!”
Lien hugged the basket with one arm as though he’d received something far more valuable than treasure.
She felt a small pang of conscience at how much happier he seemed than she’d anticipated.
Cecilia cleared her throat quietly and opened her mouth.
“Well then, I should be going.”
“I’ll escort you to the Mansion.”
It was a surprising offer, given that his house was right next door.
But whenever Lien held lessons at his own residence, he always escorted her all the way to the Main Gate of Weberdine.
“All right.”
Cecilia naturally placed her hand on his arm.
Thanks to the master of the house, she was able to reach the Foyer directly without getting lost.
Just as she was about to leave the Mansion, Cecilia remembered something and let out an exclamation.
“Oh right—these past few days with the Relief Festival and the Festival, guests have been coming and going constantly. The Main Gate will be noisy, so it’d be better to go around through the Back Gate.”
“The area near the Mansion has been busier than usual—so that’s why.”
The commotion was loud enough to wake her every morning, so Lien must have noticed too.
“It’s the biggest event held in Weberdine, so it’s always like this around this time. I’ve heard the Festival itself is enormous…… Have you ever been to a Festival like this, Lien?”
“Yes. Though it was so long ago I don’t remember much.”
At that moment, a thought she’d set aside suddenly struck her.
“So, how about it? If you’re free tomorrow, would you like to go to the Festival with me?”

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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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