The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 45
The day of the banquet.
Cecilia woke before dawn—so early that it seemed unreasonable, given the reception would not begin until evening.
Still drowsy, she rubbed her dry eyes and whined to Melanie.
“No matter how I think about it, there’s no need to wake up this early.”
“Trust me, the timing is exactly right.”
Melanie, brimming with enthusiasm from the morning hour, spoke with absolute confidence.
And she was right.
By the time Cecilia had soaked in a bath scattered with fragrant flower petals whose names she didn’t know, received a massage with a special oil imported from a neighboring kingdom, and endured dozens of attendants fussing over her hair and dress, the sun had begun to set.
‘What kind of preparation takes all day?’
There hadn’t even been a proper meal, and all she’d eaten was a few pieces of fruit Melanie had shoved into her mouth that morning.
Apparently her hunger hadn’t shown, for the attendants, having completed their arduous work, beamed with satisfaction and showered her with compliments.
“My goodness, you’re so beautiful!”
‘Oh, where have I seen this before?’
Wasn’t this scene a staple of romance novels across every world? The humble heroine transformed from head to toe, surrounding characters gasping in admiration—a clichéd moment if there ever was one.
It would be perfect if someone said something like “Is that really me?” but alas.
Unfortunately, this world’s genre appeared to be thriller, and regardless of how she looked, Cecilia was simply starving.
‘Still, it does suit me.’
She glanced wearily at the woman in the mirror.
The color the designer and Melanie had carefully chosen was champagne, a dress with elegant curves that caught the light beautifully.
Apparently considering the image of a saint, they had forgone jewels and instead embroidered it densely with silver thread—which glimmered subtly like starlight. With honey-gold hair cascading over it, she genuinely did look sacred.
Of course, as long as she didn’t open her mouth.
“Wow, I really don’t want to go… But I’ll be back.”
Cecilia shuffled out of the Mansion amid enthusiastic cheers.
Beside the waiting carriage stood her partner for the evening, Miguel, in a pristine white uniform.
‘So the holy knight’s uniform was white.’
Whether it was because of his neatly combed silver hair, his sculptural features, or perhaps both—he looked as though he’d been born wearing the uniform.
“I’ve thought this before, but the uniform really suits you. Now I understand why people go crazy for uniforms.”
“…”
“…Miguel?”
Rather than respond to her teasing compliment, he simply stared at her with wide eyes, then suddenly looked away.
“…You are very beautiful as well, my lady.”
His answer was delivered calmly, but his ears were flushed red.
Cecilia let out a small laugh at his boyish, endearing reaction and extended her hand lightly.
“I’m counting on you today.”
“Yes, I will do my utmost to live up to your trust.”
He slipped his forearm beneath her hand as he spoke.
With his steady escort, Cecilia boarded the carriage. The interior Lien had prepared was spacious and comfortable.
According to the message, it was an engineering marvel designed to run on magical energy as an auxiliary power source, so the journey should be smooth.
It was no exaggeration—the ride was remarkably steady, and the seat boasted cushioning as soft as a bedroom sofa. And as if that weren’t enough, a box of chocolates sat neatly at the armrest, placed there for her hungry satisfaction.
Ordinarily, she would have been deeply moved by such thoughtfulness. Instead, Cecilia clicked her tongue in displeasure.
‘What good is all this when you won’t even show your face?’
That day, Lien—who had fled to avoid her questioning—had vanished again.
What had he meant to say? More precisely, what was he so afraid of?
She wanted to press him on it, but it was impossible.
Whenever she needed something or information, he seemed to divine it by instinct and leave it in her study; the servants occasionally reported sightings of him in the Mansion. Yet even when she burst into his room unannounced, or shouted into the air that she’d be angry if he didn’t show himself immediately, not a single hair of his appeared.
And yet, such consideration from him.
‘Did he think this would smooth things over?’
Cecilia crunched the chocolates furiously.
Regardless, what mattered now wasn’t the infuriating Lien, but the enemies she would face at the banquet.
Moreover, she had to remain vigilant against any threat that might emerge. The culprit had been bold enough to strike at the Relief Ceremony, which was packed with witnesses.
While she was absorbed in thoughts of safety, the carriage finally arrived at the Imperial Palace.
“Please descend carefully.”
“Thank you.”
Cecilia stepped down from the carriage with Miguel’s assistance.
The moment her foot touched the broad stone pathway, all eyes turned toward her.
She caught fragments of murmurs—”the saint” and such. News of her attendance at the reception must have spread widely.
But Cecilia proceeded with calm indifference.
She had expected that drawing attention might make her as tense as she’d been at the Ceremony. Instead, her mind felt oddly blank.
Her only worries were petty ones: ‘Surely an armed maniac won’t suddenly appear around that corner?’ or ‘The building won’t collapse the moment I enter?’
Yet as fortune would have it, no such calamity befell her, and she reached the great hall unharmed.
Before the towering doors.
Just before the doorkeepers opened them, Cecilia drew a small, steadying breath.
The Imperial Family—the most likely culprit behind all this—and the palace where they dwelt. Cecilia stepped slowly across the threshold.
And what lay within……
Even Cecilia, who prided herself on composure, could not help but start. The sight that unfolded before her eyes was breathtaking in its splendor.
From the soaring ceiling hung Crystal Chandeliers in abundance, while the polished marble floors were blanketed with the finest Velvet Carpet.
Sculptures studded lavishly with rubies and sapphires stood at every corner, while golden thrones, walls lined with costly Glass Windows—not a single thing here lacked magnificence.
‘So the Temple has been remarkably austere all this time.’
Even the Grand Temple and the Duke’s residence, which she had thought grand and stately, paled before the Imperial Family’s resplendent display.
Had circumstances been normal, a gasp of wonder would have escaped her lips. But Cecilia, acutely aware of her position, forced herself to stand composure and settled at a suitable distance.
A Horn Trumpet sounded to announce the master’s arrival.
“His Majesty the Emperor, Her Highness the Imperial Princess, and His Highness the Imperial Prince shall now enter!”
The Emperor entered first, draped in a purple cloak, followed by the Imperial Princess in the Jeweled Dress Cecilia had glimpsed at the boutique, and then the Imperial Prince in comparatively modest attire.
The Emperor, having ascended to the dais, began to speak.
“I am grateful that you have gathered here at this momentous hour, when the very future of our realm hangs in balance. This speaks to the breadth of your devotion to the Empire, and for this, I am gladdened beyond measure.”
His solemn voice resonated through the vast hall. Though he did not raise his voice, his words struck the ear with uncanny clarity—surely the work of some Amplification Magic.
The Emperor smiled benevolently, then gestured with a subtle glance toward the Imperial Princess and Prince standing behind him before continuing.
“All of you await only my pronouncement, I imagine. Yet the Imperial Princess and Prince have prepared this gathering with such earnest care that it would be a shame to let it pass unheeded. Therefore, let us set aside heavy matters for now and enjoy this banquet in lighter spirits.”
Sighs of barely concealed frustration rippled through the crowd.
The tension that had hung unspoken between the faction supporting the Imperial Princess and the faction supporting the Imperial Prince seemed to dissolve into anticlimax.
‘Damnably drawn out.’
Her carefully laid plan—to receive the Emperor’s announcement of succession, present her gift to the designated heir, secure his approval, and slip away—had crumbled to dust in an instant.
She clicked her tongue inwardly, when suddenly the Emperor began to scan the assembly with deliberate attention.
……As if searching for someone in particular.
“Finally, as you all well know, we are honored to have among us a distinguished guest from afar.”
‘Surely not.’
Her ill premonitions had never led her astray.
The Emperor, with remarkable acuity, singled out the one figure standing in the most remote corner of that crowded hall, fixing his gaze upon her.
“I trust this place is unfamiliar to you, and I ask that all present show our guest every consideration.”
The eyes already trained upon her the moment she entered now descended like arrows.
“That’s the ‘Saint’, is she?”
“Ah, the eldest daughter of Webeddin? I’ve heard rumors she possesses no Divine Power. Or was it that she lacks the aptitude to be a Saint?”
“Well, whatever else might be said, she does stand rather stiffly even before His Majesty.”
The slanders were plainly audible, yet not directed openly enough to demand response.
But when dozens of eyes, laden with contempt and disdain, turned toward her in unison, her breath caught in her throat.
It was then that Miguel, standing beside her, stepped subtly forward to shield her.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————