The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 60

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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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Episode 60.

“Actually, I’ve wanted to tell you this for a while now. For a mage, the safest place in the world is the Mage Tower.”
Elion added the thought.
“This place is far too dangerous for Charlotte. In many ways.”
……
“You know what I mean, don’t you?”
I didn’t answer.
The Mage Tower was an independent institution that belonged to no nation. That meant many things.
For instance, even if Charlotte were a criminal sentenced not to exile but to execution, as long as she remained within the Tower’s walls, no one from outside could lay a hand on her.
Not the Imperial Court. Not the Temple. Not the Count’s Estate.
Simply put, the Mage Tower was Charlotte’s finest option to become completely free.
If I myself were to relocate my residence to the Tower and dedicate myself to researching Ilaune, I could return home faster than scheduled.
I could foist matters like Lucifernia, Sacred Objects, and the Crow of Gal onto others, accept the Tower’s protection with ease, and be done with it.
The Golem Walls, the Griffin Knights, the Black Steel Stone—these were all things I’d created for my own convenience anyway, so I could feign ignorance of whatever Kaius said about them.
Yet the words wouldn’t come. They caught in my throat like a fishbone.
After a long moment of silent deliberation, I finally spoke.
“…I’ll consider it after a year.”
I explained that I couldn’t do it right now because I still had work to do here, and Elion nodded as if he understood.
“Well, I suppose I should take solace in the fact that it’s not a flat refusal.”
Even as he said this, he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his eyes.
Elion, who had been lost in mild contemplation, suddenly lifted his head as if remembering something.
“How about this instead?”
What was he about to propose now.
“Until you come to the Mage Tower, I’ll sponsor you personally.”
“Sponsor…what?”
“Since you say you can’t commit to the Tower right now, I’m afraid I have no choice but to attach myself to you, Charlotte.”
“But we just made an alliance, didn’t we?”
“That was between the Tower and you, not between us personally.”
Ah, so that’s how he saw it.
“Not as the Tower, but as Elion Hiasinth, I want to sponsor you. I’ll teach you Clone Magic if you’re interested. If needed, I can provide financial support as well.”
I stared at him and asked quietly.
“…Do you pity me?”
“Does it seem that way?”
“Frankly, yes.”
Charlotte hadn’t become a mage through ordinary means. She’d awakened White Magic on the streets just to survive, and after being adopted into the Count’s Estate, she’d studied Black Magic to become a useful tool.
Elion knew Charlotte’s entire story. He’d been watching her for that long.
The thought occurred to me that to his eyes, I—called the worst witch in the Capital yet unable to use even a single Clone Magic spell—might look rather pitiful.
Unless that wasn’t the case, why would he be so passionate about this?
“Well… I can’t claim that pity has no part in it at all.”
He slowly leaned toward me, then reached out and gently grasped a strand of my hair between his long, elegant fingers. My silver hair slipped softly through the spaces between them.
“But more than that, I’m genuinely very interested in you, Charlotte.”
Elion’s eyes narrowed into a smile.
“So I’d like to see you become a little safer. As it happens, I have the ability to protect you.”
His face still held that smile, but the playfulness from before was gone.
He was serious.
“So please consider it favorably. A sponsorship from the Tower Master isn’t something just anyone receives.”
That much was true.
If he weren’t playing around in front of me like this, the position of Tower Master would actually be quite extraordinary.
If a final boss reigned above the Crow of Gal’s head, then at the apex of the White Mages—who comprised eighty percent of all mages—stood the Tower Master.
“You haven’t forgotten that I’m half a Black Mage, have you?”
“That’s precisely what makes my interest so keen.”
“Your taste is really strange.”
“I hear that often.”
It was certainly an odd situation.
A Tower Master asking to sponsor someone, and a criminal mage deliberating whether to accept him.
I paused for a moment to consider, then nodded.
“All right, but I have a condition.”
“What is it?”
“I’d really prefer you didn’t use me as your research subject for a paper presentation.”
“Oh, well that’s a bit—”
So that was the plan.
This mad paper fiend.
“If you’d rather not, we can forget I ever mentioned it.”
“No, no. I understand. Let’s do it.”
Elion let his eyebrows droop, his expression turning to one of utter despair.
This man’s sympathy, his concern—it’s all an excuse. He wouldn’t be trying to use me as a research specimen the moment I let my guard down, would he?
I absolutely cannot let anyone discover that I’ve begun wielding Black Magic.
And yet why does his face have to be so impossibly serene? He’s like a living work of art.
“Then I accept.”
I finally consented to his proposal in the most magnanimous tone I could manage. I felt like a king granting an audience to a desperate supplicant, and a ridiculous giggle escaped me at the thought.
“I’m truly delighted, Charlotte.”
Is this the effect of his playing along with me? It makes me feel something strange.
When the truth is the complete opposite.
He’s the Tower Master. I’m a nobody.
“Then…”
Elion brought his lips to the back of my hand, drawing his opal eyes upward as he whispered,
“I’m counting on you going forward.”
“Ever heard of the Indecency Crime?”
“Eek!”
I jumped.
At the sound of that sudden voice, I trembled and pulled away from Elion. Kaius stood leaning casually against the Laboratory door, watching us with obvious amusement.
“Your Grace, how long have you been there?”
“Delighted to meet you, Tower Master. Heard you’ve got nerves of steel—bold enough to set foot in my territory. What’s next, you planning to take over the whole domain?”
Kaius ignored my question entirely and strode over, inserting himself squarely between Elion and me.
“And furthermore—”
His golden gaze fixed on the hand Elion had been holding.
“You’re shamelessly flirting with my employee.”
“This is awkward. I was hoping to slip in and out quietly before anyone noticed.”
“The Mage Tower’s in decline these days, it seems. I never thought the Tower Master would make a personal visit—and careless enough not to hide his presence either. Perhaps it’s time to step down and retire to the back rooms?”
“I appreciate the concern. I’ll take your advice to heart and be more careful not to be noticed next time.”
Wait.
Why are you two fighting?
“No need for that. Let me take care of it.”
Kaius drew his sword without hesitation.
Right.
If he’s a Mage, he’d be horrified.
I’d forgotten temporarily, caught up with recent events.
His hatred of Magic was legendary—any Mage who trespassed on his domain was executed without question or exception.
And yet even so.
He’s the Tower Master!
If things go wrong, your life will be the one turned upside down!
Pressed by Kaius’s aggression, I was caught between doing nothing and panic, when Elion smiled gently.
He’s smiling even now?
Is he trying to charm Kaius with his face?
“Charlotte, your employer is remarkably violent. Why not come to the Mage Tower instead? I’ll treat you well.”
Oh.
That was provocation.
Kaius’s expression froze.
The air in the Laboratory turned glacial.
I wanted to run.
Should I jump out the window? With luck, Eden might catch me.
Fortunately, however, Kaius’s blade did not turn toward Elion. This was because Elion surrendered first, raising both hands and rising calmly to his feet.
“I’ll apologize for sneaking in. I knew any official request would simply be ignored.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Normally it’s anything but obvious.
I couldn’t bring myself to interject, so I answered only in my thoughts.
“Still, if you eliminate me, Charlotte will be terribly upset. We’ve just become a Community of Fate, after all.”
“…A Community of Fate?”
Kaius’s sharp gaze fixed on me. I quickly shook my head in denial.
“It’s not like that.”
Why are you dumping this bomb on me?
If I’m branded a traitor and lose my head, are you going to take responsibility?
You just said you’d protect me.
Now you’re speaking out of both sides of your mouth?
In that moment, Elion quickly stepped backward and opened a Portal.
“I’ll be taking my leave.”
“…What?”
“I’d rather not cause a commotion, so I’ll be going now.”
I was speechless at how blatantly he was trying to avoid an inconvenient confrontation.
Elion stood with one foot in the Portal, waving at me.
“See you again, Charlotte.”
A wink.
The Portal closed behind that fatal smile.
A cold silence descended on the Laboratory as his presence vanished.

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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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