The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 67

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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 67
“Let’s take this slowly and go over what happened again.”
Cecilia offered the suggestion plainly, as if the strange atmosphere between them had never existed.
Caught off guard by the shift in topic, the hand that had been circling her waist stilled abruptly.
“……Now? Here?”
“Yes. There’s just the two of us, so it’s the perfect place to talk in private, isn’t it?”
“……But there seem to be other important matters to attend to.”
“This is the most important.”
“……Very well.”
At her firm reply, Lien reluctantly drew himself away, though longing still spilled from his eyes and fingertips. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to bite her cheek again in protest, but Cecilia dismissed the impulse with ease.
Receiving his affection mattered. Expressing her own affection mattered too. But the unresolved question surrounding the incident mattered more.
That day when Lien had proven his sincerity.
The two of them had talked late into the night after returning from the Imperial Palace.
He spoke of how, between last winter and spring, upon reaching a moment of enlightenment, memories of the past had surfaced—how in that past life he had cherished her deeply, and how after she died in an unforeseen accident, he had turned back time itself.
As Cecilia listened calmly to a story most ordinary people would find impossible to believe, Lien asked hesitantly.
[Do you believe what I’m saying?]
[There’s no reason not to.]
‘If possession can happen, why not Regression?’
The problem lay in a single fact: the Cecilia of that past life had ultimately died.
Lost in thought, her brows drawn inward, Cecilia suddenly recalled something.
[Then you didn’t come to Webdine by chance when you bought the estate, and it wasn’t curiosity about my Divine Power either—you came to save me, didn’t you?]
[……Yes. In fact, the necklace I gave you was a Magical Tool for that purpose. The drawback is that it can’t be reused, so it shatters once the magical energy stored within is depleted.]
According to Lien’s account, neither the Imperial Court nor Dilanshe had been involved in this incident.
It wasn’t that they lacked the intention to harm her—rather, Lien had made it impossible for them to do so.
Cecilia had already settled back against the carriage seat, her posture composed, waiting patiently for him to continue. She turned her gaze away from him and gazed distantly through the gap in the curtain at an unfamiliar landscape.
“Ever since that day, when I heard your account, I’ve kept thinking about it.”
Excluding the prime suspects and retracing the incident, one possibility remained.
“The Temple is the suspicious one, after all.”
When Lien explained his findings, she had been able to deduce the culprit roughly.
In retrospect, the fact that the boat could have been tampered with at that time, that Sena had specifically been threatened, that the glass window had fallen—all of it connected to the Temple, didn’t it?
Moreover, at the hunting tournament, only three people had known beforehand that she would be heading south: Lien, herself, and Miguel.
Either Miguel was a traitor, or the loyal Holy Knight, unwittingly and against his will, had leaked information to the Temple’s side.
And then there was the Leaf Tattoo marked on the attackers—when she thought about it, it seemed familiar. It matched the one on Resti’s necklace.
According to her diary, the real Cecilia had made it herself and given it to her. At first glance, it resembled a laurel leaf.
And that was one of the symbols representing the divine.
“……You truly believe that?”
It was a cautious question. Yet there was no sign of distress in it. Perhaps he too had harbored the same suspicion all along, but had been unable to voice it to her, thinking her a true saint.
But there was no true saint here to be heartbroken.
When Cecilia nodded without concern, Lien finally revealed the story he had been withholding.
“Since recovering my memories, I’ve been tracking that organization continuously. It’s far larger than I initially thought—a group of extremists bound by bizarre convictions.”
“Have you spoken directly with them?”
“I’ve infiltrated their gatherings. Though I couldn’t grasp the meaning, they believed that if they killed you, the true one would arrive.”
Cecilia barely managed to swallow a sigh that had nearly escaped.
Lien wouldn’t understand, but she herself could infer their meaning all too well.
[Annihilate the fake!]
The word “fake” they had branded her with when they met in the forest.
At the time, she’d assumed they spoke that way because she hadn’t received formal approval yet.
But what if they already knew she wasn’t the real Cecilia?
If that were the case, the Temple’s attempt to kill her—this fake—made perfect sense.
“My conjecture is that they’re a group that serves the same god as the Temple but pursues a different agenda.”
‘A heretical cult, then.’
If such a massive heretical organization existed, it likely had roots reaching into the Grand Temple itself.
Cecilia recalled the pure-hearted people she had met at the Temple.
The thought that one of them might be seeking her death chilled her. What little regard for humanity she had possessed seemed to evaporate entirely.
“I’d like to believe that at least the people I’ve spent time with are innocent. Though I can’t say the same for Kiar.”
She made a light jest, recalling the Archbishop who had behaved more like a priest of darkness than merely heretical.
It was meant to be a joke with some weight behind it. Lien seemed to take it as self-deprecation and offered immediate comfort.
“Despite appearances, he seemed to care for you. Don’t worry.”
A large hand descended onto her head, stroking it clumsily. As she savored the awkward gentleness of his touch, she decided to set aside her worries and doubts, at least for now.

After all, they were still far from reaching the Holy Land.
* * *
The road back to Webdine was not so different in the physical sense from the path that had led up to the Monastery, yet in heart and strength it felt incomparably easier.
She no longer had to avoid Lien, and he, having stowed himself secretly in the carriage, tended to her with meticulous care; during rest stops, Miguel gave generously of his Divine Power, and for that she was grateful.
Of course, there were minor complications—quarrels between the Princess, Lien, and Miguel, after which they would cast wounded looks her way.
Yet despite all this, the party descended smoothly and reached Webdine.
At the entrance to the domain, as guards verified their identities before the city gates, Cecilia spotted a magnificent carriage behind them.
“My goodness—are you here to see me now?”
“I wanted to know your plans going forward. Were you thinking of heading straight to the Grand Temple?”
“No. I’m exhausted from the journey, and so are my knights. Besides, doesn’t the Saint need to visit the Grand Temple anyway? I thought we might go together then…. Unless you’d rather not?”
When she asked with such wide eyes and such confidence, Cecilia found she simply could not bring herself to say no.
Cecilia offered an awkward smile, hesitating before she spoke.
“That wouldn’t be a problem, but… as you know, I’m concerned that bringing you to the Webdine residence might cause difficulties.”
Though she had phrased it delicately, the Princess clearly understood.
If she brought a member of the Imperial family to the Duke’s manor, he might very well collapse in despair.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already arranged a place to stay.”
“Oh, have you? That’s a relief.”
Cecilia answered brightly, as if she had genuinely given the matter serious thought.
Regina smiled in return, but swallowed what she had been about to say.
She hadn’t yet asked permission from the master of the house. But somehow, she would make it work.
* * *
Unfortunately, things did not work out.
The strategy of ‘If I, the Crown Princess, push forward brazenly, what can he do?’—it was useless against a man who was anything but ordinary.
“… You wish to stay at my residence.”
“How could I, as a Princess of the Empire, possibly stay in a Duke’s manor? Why don’t you show proper respect to the Imperial family, as befits Dilanshe?”
After the reassured Saint had returned to the Webdine residence, the Princess caught the man who had been about to follow in her wake.
She had heard that the residence of the Dilanshe Prince happened to be next door to the Saint’s. If that were true, it would be easy enough to meet without the Duke’s knowledge.
He had played a great role in helping the Emperor and making her Crown Princess; even if he was not pleased, surely he would not turn her away.
“I refuse.”
Before she could face again the man’s face, which had turned cold and hard after the Saint left.
The emotion that had been mere wariness or awkwardness during the journey had transformed into something far more violent and negative.
“I don’t intend to stay long. I won’t cause any trouble.”
“Nevertheless, I refuse.”
Regina’s brow furrowed deeply at this unaccustomed coldness.
“Surely you’re not doing this because you told the Saint your real name?”
“If only you hadn’t been involved….”
“Speak plainly. Your deception was your own doing. You know as well as I do that no lie lasts forever.”
For Regina, it was infuriating. And yet the Saint had been certain of one thing.
That the Mage-Lord’s true name was not Asilien.
She would have found the answer soon enough, even if Regina had not answered her.
Still, Regina had felt a twinge of conscience, and after everything had been revealed, she had even pretended not to know him before the holy knights.
And in return, all she received was coercion and rudeness. Even her mother, the ruler of an entire nation, did not treat her with such disrespect!
Regina stared at his face with revulsion—a face as devoid of emotion as a lifeless stone.

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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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