The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 48

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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 48
Crimson eyes, feral and gleaming, flashed beneath the hood of the Robe.
Cecilia flinched reflexively, averting her gaze—only to find herself locking eyes directly with Dilanché, who stood at the man’s side.
She’d fled the ghost only to run headlong into the tiger.
The Duke, his brow furrowed in displeasure, seemed to offer some excuse to the Emperor before he began walking toward her.
‘This is going to drive me mad.’
Three awkward encounters in a row was more than she could bear. Cecilia cast about desperately for Miguel.
‘Miguel! Now would be a perfect time to carry me away!’
But Miguel was nowhere near her. While she’d been occupied with the Emperor and the Imperial Princess, he’d been cornered by the Crown Prince.
Though he should have harbored no affection for the clergy, something about the figure of the Holy Knight Vice-Commander had captivated his curiosity so thoroughly that the young nobles, led by the Crown Prince himself, had surrounded Miguel and begun pelting him with questions.
‘So much for rescue.’
The Duke began walking toward her in heavy, deliberate strides.
Though they had not yet exchanged a single word, his expression and gaze already radiated a hostility on an entirely different plane.
‘It’s all right. He won’t attack me outright.’
Probably.
Cecilia was steeling herself with this feeble reassurance, her fists clenched lightly behind her back, when it happened.
Splash!
A nobleman behind her had overturned a water glass—directly onto the hem of her dress.
“Oh my! I’m so, so sorry!”
The shock of cold water jolted her back to her senses.
‘Is this a new form of harassment?’
Suspicion flickered across her mind, but what had touched her was only water. If they’d meant to mock her, they would have chosen the abundant red wine scattered about the tables.
Moreover, the perpetrator, a young noblewoman apparently close to Cecilia’s own age, looked genuinely flustered and distressed.
“Oh no! Your dress is ruined! What should we do?”
“……It’s all right.”
Though it wasn’t truly all right, Cecilia summoned a saintly smile. The dampness was uncomfortable, but if left to dry, it would likely be fine.
Yet the woman seemed not to have heard her assurance, and suddenly seized Cecilia’s wrist.
“We can’t stay here like this! Come with me at once! I have a spare dress—you can wear that while yours dries!”
“No, I don’t think——”
Cecilia was about to refuse when she fell silent. The Duke had been moving closer, but the sudden commotion had halted him; now he was merely glowering in her direction.
‘Wait—is this my chance to escape?’
“Then I’ll take you up on that offer.”
The words had barely left Cecilia’s lips before the woman swept from the hall with singular determination.
The empty Toilet Room was where the unknown noblewoman brought her.
After seating her in a plush gray armchair, the woman offered repeated apologies.
“I’m so sorry again for the trouble my carelessness has caused you.”
Then, instead of summoning a servant for a fresh dress, she laid her hand gently upon the damp hem.
A soft whisper of air stirred.
In a moment, the fabric dried completely, becoming light and fluffy once more.
“……You’re a Mage.”
“It’s only a small parlor trick, really.”
The woman answered modestly, but a chill ran down Cecilia’s spine.
‘A Mage?’
A stranger. An accident that might not have been one. Alone together in a sealed room.
Alarm bells ringing late, Cecilia shifted her upper body backward with care.
But her vigilance proved unnecessary. The woman straightened up from her bow with ease.
“I frightened you, didn’t I? No one will approach this room for a while, so please rest here for a bit.”
The woman smiled pleasantly and left.
In the space where the mysterious woman had stood, a single, familiar glass bottle sat neatly on the table.
A palm-sized vial. A small note affixed to its surface. Handwriting she recognized.
‘Fatigue Relief Potion.’
Understanding arrived a moment too late.
‘So that woman was the helper Lien arranged for me.’
He hadn’t even appeared at the banquet, and for days he’d shown his face to no one—yet somehow he was everywhere in her daily life.
Cecilia carefully opened the glass bottle. The Fatigue Relief Potion had an unexpectedly sweet strawberry flavor.
‘Ah.’
Clutching the empty vial, Cecilia’s face twisted—caught somewhere between tears and laughter.
[Lien, about this Potion.]
[W-what’s the matter……?]
[It’s too sweet. Could you do something about it? Change it to strawberry flavor with magic or something! What do you think? I bet it would sell better.]
On a summer day when she had thrown herself into dance practice, perspiration beading along the bridge of her nose.
Lien had once handed her a recovery potion when exhaustion overtook her. And in passing, he had voiced such a complaint.
“That would be difficult, I’m afraid. If the potion tasted pleasant, there would be concern about misuse.”
‘And yet he refused so firmly back then.’
“It’s nothing much, but I’ve brought something—would you accept it if you didn’t mind?”
“Wait, just a moment. What is all this?”
“Potions I made myself. You surely have plenty of Holy Water, but I thought perhaps they might be of some use.”
Those gifts he had made for her when she was ailing—gifts she had never taken even a single sip from.
Would those too possess such a sweet taste? Somehow, without needing to verify, she already knew the answer.
Within that bleak certainty, Cecilia dragged her hand roughly across her face.
Her mouth was sweet beyond measure, yet something bitter rose in her throat.
He irritated her. He unsettled her. He kept coming to mind. And so in the end, he…….
‘Stop thinking about it.’
Cecilia forced the rising thoughts away.
After rubbing at her heels, chafed by unfamiliar shoes, she rose slowly to her feet.
‘Back to the Banquet Hall.’
Though she might have rested longer, she worried about Miguel left alone, and an important purpose still remained.
Yet despite steeling herself, she found she could not return to the Banquet Hall.
The Imperial Palace was damnably vast.
‘Which way was back?’
By this point she had to admit to herself: she was hopelessly lost.
Disheartened, Cecilia came to a halt somewhere in the darkened Corridor, waiting for a passing servant from whom she could ask directions.
Then a large shadow drew near behind her with startling closeness.
‘I lowered my guard. Is this a threat?’
She spun around, ready to draw upon her Holy Power and strike if need be.
The Corridor was too dim to make out her companion’s face clearly. Only this much was certain: a man in a black Robe stood before her.
“……Lien? Could it really be you?”
Though many Mages in Robes attended the Banquet Hall, some instinct told her otherwise.
And indeed, a low, gentle voice answered—not quite what she expected, yet perfectly in keeping with it.
“Lady Weberdine, if I may be so bold, would you spare me a moment of your time?”
With a courtesy that mimicked a dance invitation, the man extended his hand.
Cecilia placed her hand in his without hesitation.
For a moment, she thought she heard soft laughter from above her.
“Close your eyes for just a moment, please.”
The instant she opened them again, the two figures who had been standing in the darkened Corridor now found themselves in the heart of a Garden somewhere—unknown, yet unmistakable.
“This place is…….”
“A secret Garden within the Imperial Palace. Whenever I have business here, I sometimes hide away. There are so few people about.”
A cool breeze, brushing through trees and petals, caressed her skin—swish and whisper.
Cecilia gazed dreamily at flowers that glimmered beneath the moonlight, then slowly looked up at him.
“Have you given up running away then?”
“Were you……angry with me?”
Lien asked with a bitter smile.
The Robe hem clenched tight in his fist, the tremor in his throat—all of it laid bare his true state.
Cecilia stepped closer to him as he waited anxiously for her reply.
She reached out and brushed back the Robe. There he stood as he had during that interview—impeccably groomed.
That terrifyingly flawless face bore no humanity; rather, it reminded her he was the infamous Magic Tower Master.
And yet those violet eyes still trembled, that mouth still pressed tight, and there lingered upon his tongue that same sweetness—and it struck her with terrible clarity.
The thought she had tried to dismiss now filled her mind in a form too undeniable to ignore.
He irritated her, unsettled her, kept coming to mind. And so…….
Yes. In the end, she had wanted to see him.
At last accepting this, Cecilia shook her head gently. She hadn’t the heart to be angry anymore.
Only then did he, eyes curved soft with relief, unfold his Robe across the Garden bench and seat her upon it.
“You look weary.”
“This is hardly a comfortable place to be, after all.”
Rather than answer in words, he nodded, then knelt before her on one knee.
Somehow sensing her injured feet, he removed her Shoes and cradled her ankle in his large hands.
Soon, much as when she had swallowed the potion, warmth spread through her feet and into her calves.
His Magic, lingering on her skin rather than fading quickly, was unbearably tender—as was the expression he wore.
Cecilia curled her toes slightly, the pain now gone, and asked him softly,
“You said you couldn’t come. How did you get here?”
“Your shoes are so high—I worry you’ll hurt your feet. There are so many people struggling, going hungry—I wonder if you’re among them. Caught up in crowds of meaningless souls, growing weary. I was lost in these thoughts when I found myself in the Corridor outside the Banquet Hall.”
He carefully slipped her shoe back onto her foot as he answered.
At his candid reply, Cecilia fell silent for a moment. When she finally spoke again, her voice carried an odd hollowness.
“……You worry about me?”
“Always.”
“Why?”
“That’s…….”
She gazed down blankly at his cheeks and neck, flushed as though red ink were spreading across them.
“Because I love you.”

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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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