While Elodie dealt with the master of the Magic Tower, someone else was thinking about her within the dukeâs office of the Perdia Mansion.
At the report from his aide, Sylvester Perdia narrowed his brows and asked back, âWhere did she go?â
âShe went to the West Magic Tower.â
âWhy is she thereâŠâŠ.?â
Sylvester sighed and touched his throbbing forehead.
It wasnât every day, but occasionally when she went out, he would get a report about Elodieâs whereabouts.
Even if Ian, the mercenary king was next to her, he felt uncomfortable to let his daughter, who had been attacked, go outside without any means of protection from Perdia.
But he didnât think that she would go to the West Magic Tower.
Wasnât that the domain of Isis, the Master of the Magic Tower and great wizard? Also known as the so-called âlittle lunatic devilâ.
âIâm sure everything is fine,â Sylvester reassured himself.
It would be fine if it was just a visit. As long as she didnât brag about the fact that she is a Perdia.
In the first place, Isis, the master of the Magic Tower, had a strong predisposition to self-love and no interest in other peopleâs affairs.
Except for things that involve one person.
As soon as Sylvester thought about that, the aideâs additional report continued.
âIt is said that there was a commotion surrounding the lady.â
âWhat commotion?â
âIt is said that a large number of wizards belonging to the tower surrounded the lady and her escort, and then dragged them to the upper floor of the tower.â
âHaâŠâŠâŠ.â
Damn wizard bastard.
âWhat shall we do, Your Excellency?â
âIf they knew it was my daughter, they would have done that on purpose. Itâs probably meant to provoke me. Send Jansi to get Elodie, with as little friction as possible.â
âYes, Your Excellency.â
Sylvester speculated, without knowing the truth, that he was the reason why the Magic Tower took Elodie.
***
â It was made to take down Sylvester Perdia. Isnât that amazing?!â
As I stood stiff in astonishment, the Master of the Magic Tower tilted his head, asking, âWhy do you react like that? Is this great invention really that amazing?â
âYes, this is really amazing. Hahaha.â
Itâs your goal, not the magic tool, thatâs the issue! Is there a daughter who wouldnât be surprised to hear that itâs a weapon to defeat their father?
The Magic Tower Master, who had no way of knowing my innermost thoughts, laughed with satisfaction.
âYou really know how to make people feel better.â
I wondered if he liked my flattery, but the Magic Towerâs master seemed to be in a better mood than when we first met.
âYouâre quick witted and very smart. I really want to have you as my assistant.â
I held up my hand, palm out, and said flatly, âI refuse.â
âI didnât even suggest it this time.â The master of the tower looked unhappy, perhaps because he was hurt by my sharp refusal.
The familiar smell of Carlot was coming from the unfamiliar Master of the Magic Tower. As a matter of fact, I was quite good at dealing with these simple types of human beings.
âAnyway,â I said with a smile, âYour invention is really amazing. But why would you attack the Duke of Perdia?â
âBecause this fella loathes that human being terribly. There is something I want to take away from him.â
What do you want to take away? I was curious, but I didnât ask more because I was afraid that if I dug too deep, it would be irreversible.
âItâs the first time Iâve heard that the relationship between the Master of the West Magic Tower and the Duke of Perdia was bad.â
Up until now, I was so preoccupied with establishing myself that I had not taken any time to look around. So, I wasnât interested in the family situation or the work of the duke.
Likewise, I didnât know much about the tower and its master. There was no one around to tell me in the first place. It was a little surprising that the Master of the Tower is a kid.
âWhat? Why are you looking at me with such an unpleasant gaze again?â
âNo, itâs justâŠâŠitâs different from what Isis is thinking.â
âDonât tell me you think I am a kid â you donât really believe that, do you?â
It was exactly what I thought, so I couldnât find anything to say. Then, as if it was ridiculous, the Master of the Tower laughed.
âThis is not what this fella originally looks like. I have a lot of mana, so I usually just stay like this.â
This time, he clapped his hands without batting an eye at these words full of self-love.
âYou have so much magical power. Itâs really cool. Youâre the best.â
âHey, this fella is kind of cool.â Isis nodded in satisfaction.
âAs expected, among the Magic Tower Masters, the best is the Master of the West Magic Tower.â
âStop it. Itâs embarrassing if you praise that muchâŠ..â The master of the tower blushed and averted his eyes. He seemed really embarrassed.
Still, he changed the topic of the conversation without making eye contact with me.
âActually, there is another reason why I wanted to see you.â
Wasnât it because I was your first investor?
âYour name is similar to the name of a person I know. Of course, itâs probably just a coincidence.â
My heart began pounding. Why is the beating of my heart loud enough that I could almost hear it in my ears? Maybe, heâŠ. I didnât think it could be so, but I asked carefully just in case.
âWhat is the name of the person you know?â
âArcelia.â
ââŠâŠ!â
My motherâs name.
It may be only the same name, but I had a strong hunch that it wouldnât be the case. Because Isis was acquainted with the Duke of Perdia.
He definitely knew my mother.
In the end I couldnât resist asking, âDo you know my mother?â
You know my mother.
âMother?â
The Master of the Tower frowned and tilted his head. It seemed like he was rolling it in his head to understand what I was saying.
It didnât matter if he found out that I was a Perdia. It wouldnât be long before the other wizards told him that Iâm Elodie Perdia anyway.
I couldnât miss this opportunity to know about my mother. Since the original story is about the main character Estelle, there was no information about Elodieâs biological mother, so I didnât know anything about her.
Isis, who still seemed confused, looked at me with a wavering gaze.
âThen you, youâ Didnât you say you were Lili Arcelle?â
âLili Arcelle is a pseudonym.â
âYouâre Arceliaâs daughter?â
âYes.â
âIs your name Elodie?â
âThatâs right.â
âThat means youâre the daughter of Sylvester Perdia.â
âRightâŠâŠ.eh?â
It wasnât actually right, but that information was not known that way, so letâs accept it for now.
Isis looked at me with disgust, as if he really hated the Duke of Perdia. How much time passed like this?
Finally, he opened his mouth and said, âUnbecoming of the daughter of someone like that, you are intelligent, reasonable and have a conscience.â
ââŠ..Huh?â
âItâs a compliment.â
ComplimentâŠâŠ? Are you sure itâs a compliment?
In any case, it seemed I had gotten away with being my fatherâs daughter. Only then could I ask questions.
âSo, whatâs the relationship between you and my mother?â
âItâs a relationship that canât be defined, really.â
Was he thinking of my mother? The big blue eyes of the Towerâs Master shook with thoughts.
âShe is⊠My benefactor, and the reason why I live.â
The childâs voice fell away briefly, and then continued again.
âThe one I kept searching forâŠ..â
ââŠâŠâŠ.â
I could feel it with just a few words.
How special the existence of Arcelia was to Isis, the Master of the Magic Tower. For a while the master clenched his small fist.
âSylvester Perdia has a wife, but despite that he is a scumbag, a trashy and promiscuous playboy, who goes around messing with women. And when he gets tired of them, he mercilessly throws them awayâŠâŠâ
After that, swearing about Duke Perdia continued for about ten minutes. It was raw and unabashed cursing that was embarrassing to listen to.
Unintentionally, I had revealed my family history; I looked back at Raeyan, who had only been listening to our conversation quietly. Fortunately, he didnât seem to mind at all.
âIâm glad Raeyan has an indifferent personality.â
Concerned, I immediately reflected on what Isis said. It was completely different from the facts I knew.
The servants of the mansion said my mother went into hiding after extorting a large amount of money from Perdia using me as an excuseâŠâŠ.
âWhat if that actually wasnât the case?â
However, I couldnât fully trust the words of the Tower Master, who I met for the first time today. It wasnât too late to make a judgment after knowing all the facts.
âLooking at you, you look like Arcelia.â
When I heard the words, I opened my eyes wide.
âIs that so?â
âMm. Do you even know what your mother looks like?â
âNobody told meâŠâŠâ
Isisâs face hardened. âWow, thatâs ridiculous. Iâll contact you later, so come see me then. Iâll show you Arcelia with a memory reproducing magic tool. I canât show it now because itâs not ready yet.â
The tiny Tower Master laughed at the dismally shocking admission that I had no idea what my own mother looked like. Seeing that he was getting angrier than I did somehow seemed funny.
âDonât laugh,â Isis chided me. âYou shouldnât laugh at ridiculous things just because youâre nice. If you live like that, youâll only lose money. Do you understand?â
âUh, well Iâm not that nice.â
âI know just by looking at you. You canât say no or say it when there is anything you donât like.â
âNo, I donât have that problem.â I chuckled internally.
It seemed that there was a huge misunderstanding about me. What would he think if he knew that I tried to talk with my fists to the wizards on the first floor? But it was fun to watch him play the drums alone by himself, so I decided to let him just misunderstand.
I must have heard all the stories to be heard, so it was time to leave this place. Before that, there was something to be done.
âIsis, please keep it a secret that Lili Arcelle is me. Iâm in trouble if it gets into my fatherâs eras.â
Then he frowned. âIs Sylvester Perdia abusing you?â
âAh, no?â
I stuttered without realizing it. It wasnât abuse, it was neglect, but it wasnât a big deal.
âThen why invest?â Isis pressed. âDonât give me money â or do you have too much money that itâs rotting away?â
âThatâs not it either.â
Iâm getting rid of it because I was told to use it more.
âWhat. Then why do you use an alias?â
âItâs like a small hobby. Sponsoring and investing feels like getting rewarded for my own wisdomâŠ.but my father doesnât like it.â
Unbelievably, the Towerâs Master quickly agreed to it.
âWell, that bastard canât see other peopleâs merits. All right, I wonât open my mouth so donât worry.â
That was how I managed to solve the alias problem. Now that I have nothing left to say, I gave Raeyan a signal and stood up.
âThen I will go.â
As if he had no more business with me, the Tower Master waved his hand plainly.
âAll right, bye, Lili Arcelle. See you again.â
Why do you call me by my pseudonym when you know itâs a pseudonym?
âI guess you donât want to call me Perdia.â
I only made an assumption.
***
As soon as I got out of the tower, I thanked Raeyan for accompanying me.
âThank you, Raeyan. It must have been boring, but youâve been by me the whole time.â
âI just did the obvious thing as an escort. More than thatâŠ. are you okay?â
âHuh? What?â
âYour face looks like youâre having some complex thoughts.â
âAh.â
I felt my cheek with my fingertips, I thought I was hiding it pretty well, but was it that obvious on the outside?
Iâve been like this since my childhood. Strangely, whenever I heard about my mother, I wanted to cry.
âItâs love-hate.â
The resentment for leaving me behind in Perdia. Still, the fleeting desire to ask for the reason.
âI just feel a littleâŠâŠ. Iâm done with my business in the magic tower, so should we go back now?â
I quickly changed the topic because I didnât think I wanted to be rambling about how I felt. Fortunately, Raeyan nodded slightly without saying much.
It was when I was about to head straight to the place where the carriage was waiting.
âLili.â
I heard a familiar voice and turned around to see Jansi approaching us.
âIâm here to pick you up, Lili.â
As expected, there was no way that the previous commotion with a sword drawn in the towerâs lobby didnât reach Duke Perdiaâs ears.
Phew. I hoped it would just pass quietly, but it was not going to be easy.
âIâll be going back with Lili, so you may go back, â Jansi said, casting his eyes behind me. Raeyan was standing there.
I agreed with the idea that it would be more efficient to let Raeyan go since it was not necessary for him to visit the mansion. I looked back at Raeyan and waved my hand briefly.
âThen see you tomorrow, Ian.â
After a pause, Raeyan nodded.
âYes, Miss Elodie.â
Whatâs going on? You seemed to avoid calling my name on purpose.
The moment I tilted my head and looked at the front again, I faced Jansi, who was smiling brightly.
âWhy is he like this again?â
The brighter he smiled the more twisted his thoughts were. I shuddered inside.
âThereâs something you donât like, but thereâs nothing to be upset about.â
Anyway, as soon as I sent Raeyan away and got into the carriage side by side, Jansi started speaking with a mischievous tone.
âThere is a rumor that the Master of the Tower threatened you and then detained you in the West Magic Tower.â
What a bizarre rumor.
âItâs all exaggerated.â
âThe relationship between the Master of the West Magic Tower and our father is not good. No, itâs so bad that it canât be explained by bad words.â
âWhy?â
âWell, thatâs not something I can say.â
You mean you know why, but you wonât tell me.
âMaybe itâs because itâs about my mother.â
In Perdia, the name of my biological mother, Arcelia, was taboo. I knew it, but I couldnât help my mixed feelings. As my motherâs daughter, I grew up without knowing what kind of person my mother was.
The carriage quickly arrived at the Perdia Mansion. As soon as I got off the carriage, Carlot, who had been waiting for me, came up to me and blocked my way.
âSister, where have you been? Take me with you next time. I was bored because you keep going outside these days.â
I answered in an indifferent voice. âTo the West Magic Tower.â
âWest Magic Tower?â
It was time to nod and move to the annex.
âOh, sister. Father called.â
âSheesh.â
My dream of going back and resting was thwarted. I walked into the main mansion, exhaustion visible in each step I took â It was tiring, going outside.
As soon as I entered the dukeâs office, I made eye contact with the duke, who was sitting there. The duke began to interrogate me without a moment for me to catch my breath.
âThere was a commotion in the West Magic Tower.â
I nodded. âI guess itâs already been rumored.â
âHave you met the Master of the Magic Tower?â
Another small nod led to the next question.
âWhat did you talk about?â
I was suddenly speechless.
It was taboo to bring up my motherâs name in Perdia. Furthermore, talking about my mother in front of Duke Perdia was tantamount to committing suicide.
Thatâs why I couldnât say itâŠ.
âElodie.â
I couldnât help but hesitate at the call from the duke.
âItâs not a big dealâŠ..â
âTell me.â
âCan I really say it?â
âYes.â
âYouâll get mad if I tell you.â
He rested his elbows on his desk and folded his hands together under his chin, as if to convey how relaxed he was. âI donât get angry.â
I didnât know why he was questioning me like this, but I was a little relieved to hear that he wouldnât get angry. It was not a direct word about my mother, it was just what the tower master said afterwards.
Taking a deep breath, I recited exactly what the master of the tower had said.
âSylvester Perdia is a scumbag, a trashy and promiscuous playboy who has a wife but goes around messing with women. And when he gets tired of them, he throws them away without mercy.â
ââŠâŠâŠâŠâ
âThatâs what I heard.â
ââŠâŠâŠâŠ..â
When I saw the dukeâs face, I took a startled step back.
âYou said you wouldnât get angry..!â
Youâre angry with your whole body right nowâŠâŠâŠ!