The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 49

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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 49
The confession spilled out like a cough she couldn’t suppress—so quiet she nearly whispered it beyond hearing.
The lowered voice, the imprecise subject and object—Cecilia understood these were his concessions to her reluctance, his way of letting her escape.
She didn’t want to be murdered, didn’t want to search for a culprit, didn’t want to be fooled by some cruel trick. And most of all, didn’t want her heart shattered.
Both his heart and her own, she had turned away from both.
But the desire to believe in his innocence had grown stronger than suspicion. Even if all of this was chance, even if nothing was chance at all, even if his every feeling was genuine—she was already here, wishing for it with an ache that wouldn’t ease.
This irrational impulse, this emotion, deserved the name of love.
‘I’ve fallen in love with Lien.’
Looking back, love had always been a luxury for her, never a necessity.
When fortune brought someone she favored, they would share their lives for a time until she realized they could never truly merge, and she would be alone again. That was all it had ever been.
Yet knowing that with him—like water and oil—they could never mix now or in any future, truly never understand each other, and still not wanting to let go, wanting to stay together—it felt unspeakably strange.
“Lien.”
“Yes.”
Cecilia gathered her courage and reached for him. She traced his cheekbone with her fingertips as if the color of crushed flowers bloomed there, smoothed the taut lines around his eyes, brushed her palm across his tightened lips.
A man who welcomed her touch gladly, so foolish and blind he would smile even if she strangled him.
Cecilia stretched her arms around his neck and pulled him close, letting her whole body lean into him.
His balance tilted, and his body went slack, falling backward.
His frame stiffened from spine to shoulders at the sudden shift, yet still he held her so she wouldn’t fall.
The sickly-sweet scent of crushed flowers. Through it came that warmth she’d grown accustomed to, his familiar body heat, unmistakable.
Saturated in a fragrance she felt she would never forget, Cecilia made a fervent wish.
Please. No matter what secret you’re hiding, don’t turn away from my heart. I truly, desperately hope you aren’t deceiving me, now that I’ve come to love you.
She swallowed every word, burying her face against the warmth of his neck.
“Just a moment longer. Let me stay like this just a moment more.”
Waiting for her dead reason to return to her. Cecilia murmured it like a prayer.
* * *
Somewhere in the Forest on the Outskirts of Monastery.
Inside the Abandoned Temple that the First Emperor himself had destroyed, now forgotten by all, its very existence unknown.
In the dank, crumbling chapel lit by nowhere and nothing, figures in white masks began to gather one by one.
When more than twenty had crossed through the Magic Circle drawn on a moss-covered wall, a man with ash-gray hair swept back from his brow broke the tense silence.
“It looks like we have a quorum. Now tell us—why the emergency assembly?”
“The Mansion we used as our primary meeting place was reduced to rubble not long ago. In a situation like this, calling an emergency assembly? This backup location could be compromised as well.”
“Agreed. This must be something of grave importance.”
As sharp accusations piled on, one figure climbed onto the platform.
“This is at the behest of the Sage.”
The man who answered calmly wore a Mask marked with a golden leaf motif.
He alone among them could commune directly with the Sage.
“If the Sage commands, we have no objection, but…”
At the mere mention of the Sage, the uproar fell silent like a lie.
Yet still, several couldn’t mask their discontent with the situation itself.
“Even so, we could face pursuit at any moment. Perhaps we should lay low for a while…”
Especially the white-haired man standing askew near the entrance exploded with frustration.
“Are we mice that we should cower in a place like this? We all know how badly that wretch has sabotaged our great work! Even the High Temple can’t explain why they keep chasing this Fake! What on earth are they doing?”
“If we’d tried to proceed with such contempt, we wouldn’t have lost most of our hidden assets when that wretch got the better of us.”
“Precisely. And now, after repeated failures, the Fake has even acquired knights in numbers. It’s painful to admit, but it seems the time has come to preserve ourselves.”
The argument between those urging deeper commitment to the Great Work and those counseling strategic withdrawal sharpened into a chasm.
“Cowards! That’s all that’s left here!”
“Perhaps it’s better to be a coward than a fool who confuses recklessness with courage.”
“What did you say? Repeat that!”
The man on the platform, who had been listening to their escalating quarrel in silence, raised his right hand. In a few words, he settled their conflict.
“It brings us shame, but the attack several weeks ago was reported to the Sage.”
“What was the Sage’s response?”
“As always, the Sage said that his efforts are merely meaningless floundering, and ordered us to continue with our task.”
The faction that had stressed the need for regrouping fell silent at once. In inverse proportion, the white-haired man and those who had vented their anger grew more self-assured.
“Exactly! I knew the Sage would say something like that!”
“Since you’re telling us to proceed with the task, surely you have a sound plan?”
……
Among those who recalled the multiple failures and the grave losses inflicted recently, a heavy silence descended.
After a moment, someone sighed deeply and lamented.
“If she’d drowned that day, things would be simple. And she’s not even the real one, yet her lifeline is remarkably stubborn.”
“Even so, thanks to her, we’ve been able to sever our ties with the High Temple, so it’s not a total loss.”
“Quite right. She came to the Monastery of her own accord, which makes our Great Work considerably easier to accomplish.”
The Great Work they spoke of was nothing less than restoring the Empire to its former glory.
And they believed without question that her death would be the catalyst.
Under the guidance and support of the Sage who had instilled this conviction, they—architects of countless fabricated incidents—gleamed with fervent eyes.
“Then what sort of accident should we stage this time?”
“Let’s seek the Sage’s counsel on that.”
The man on the dais summoned an enormous Vision Orb, far larger than a human skull.
“Sage.”
As if answering the call, a figure began to shimmer within the sphere.
The image sharpened to reveal a broad-shouldered man. The Sage, draped in a black robe, wore the same white Mask as the others.
“Ah, Sage!”
As the exclamations died down, the man opened his mouth slowly.
“I have summoned you to deliver news of great importance.”
His voice, distorted by some instrument, scraped like metal on metal—grotesque, yet possessed of an uncanny power to command attention.
“A hunting tournament will soon take place. His Majesty has graciously provided this opportunity, and we cannot afford to let it slip away.”
“Heaven itself aids us!”
“This time, we shall surely—!”
As the perfect occasion for their cause was laid before them, excitement rippled through the gathering.
The man in the Vision Orb continued, as if to temper their fervor.
“Yet we must think carefully about our method. As you all know, that fake is not alone.”
“In fact, now may be the opportune moment—while she believes we are still reeling from the blow she inflicted. She’ll assume we’ll remain dormant for some time.”
“Setting aside her associate’s movements, surely by now the fake has realized these were no mere accidents. Won’t she take precautions?”
Especially in a hunting ground where threats lurked at every turn.
A woman in the furthest corner, who had said nothing until now, ventured the question carefully.
At her reasonable objection, the man in the image fell silent for a moment.
He could not reveal his identity to them, and thus could not speak of it—but the truth was, he knew the fake Saint well.
The fake Saint was suspicious by nature. And far more clever than one might expect. She had almost certainly realized that none of the incidents were accidents.
And yet, despite this, she seemed to wish to trust him.
‘Because I’ve made sure she does.’
For a moment, a face flashed in his mind—smiling brightly as she looked at him. Was it a remnant of conscience he had yet to discard?
If only he could finish this before that trust shattered.
“……Perhaps it would be kinder for her to die in ignorance than to learn all the truth.”
His murmur escaped notice and dispersed into nothing.
The man cast off even his hesitation and spoke with resolve.
“This time, we need not disguise it as an accident.”
So long as the Great Work succeeds.

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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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