Going to the Capital Makes You a Beast - 1
I finished my own preparations and stepped into the Magic Tower, only for the urge to turn around and leave to hit me at once. The moment my foot touched the lobby floor, every mage nearby locked their gazes on me in perfect unison. Honestly, it was a little frightening.
And somehow, from the top of those stairs, the Vice Tower Master came racing down as if she had known I was coming.
"Audit Department Chief!"
She even called out for me with desperate urgency.
I was terrified. Compared to the Magic Lord she was young, yet by human standards the Vice Tower Master was already a thoroughly seasoned veteran mage. Dignity and quiet composure befitting her years were her trademarks—and yet that same woman was now sprinting toward me in front of everyone.
I'm finished.
The sight alone made my instincts scream the truth. Something urgent enough for the Tower's second-in-command to throw away all dignity.
Obviously the eternal, unshakable first-in-command was in an abnormal state.
"It's been a long time, Vice Tower Master."
"Yes, it has. Come—let us talk while we walk."
My greeting barely registered; she simply hurried me along as if she could not wait another second.
The more she rushed, the louder my instincts shouted. The Magic Lord's condition truly could not be normal.
"...Is Her Grace well?"
Better to know the stick before it hits you so it hurts a little less. When I carefully asked after the Magic Lord, the Vice Tower Master looked at me with eyes that said, Good, you asked the right question.
I felt wronged. All I had done was soothe a lady who had been swallowed by self-loathing.
"Interesting news has been circulating lately, so Her Grace has been... unable to focus on her work."
She tried to wrap the answer in pretty paper and failed. So that was it—she could not even manage her duties properly.
I quietly closed my eyes. If that calm, unflappable Magic Lord was so furious she could not even work, just how searing a hellfire must she be cradling in her chest?
"I am sorry to hear Her Grace's mood has been disturbed."
If I had known it would come to this, I would have headed straight for the Imperial Capital the moment the Wise Duke mentioned it. Instead I kept delaying, only managing to prod the Magic Lord who had been waiting it out this whole time.
Of course I did not regret giving Margeta the ring—but if the order had simply been better, none of this would have exploded.
Not that I really need to do this...
Truthfully the confession had been entirely one-sided on the Magic Lord's part, and I still had no idea why she liked me. She herself had said she would wait until the New Year's Audience, so there was no real reason for me to feel pressured.
Even so, she had shown me no small amount of consideration in all sorts of ways. Things had grown awkward and difficult after the confession incident, but the goodwill I had received until then did not simply vanish.
And the thought of what might happen if a duke went completely off the rails was frightening in its own right.
"It is not as serious as the Audit Department Chief's worries."
Just as I was about to imagine a fully blackened Magic Lord, that unexpected answer arrived.
Not as serious as my worries?
But if work itself was grinding to a halt, was that not serious?
Reading my expression, the Vice Tower Master let out a small sigh and shook her head.
"Lately the Tower Master has been staring blankly for long stretches of time. She walks into walls. She misplaces documents more often than not."
"Excuse me?"
What was that? Hearing it like that, the symptoms sounded almost trivial.
"Sometimes she knocks over inkwells, and once she even chanted a spell all the way through before casting it."
"I see..."
"Yes. Small things, every one of them—but it was the first time the Tower Master had ever shown such a side of herself."
Watching the Vice Tower Master give a hollow little laugh, I could only nod blankly.
Petty.
Far too petty. I had imagined freezing air sweeping through the entire Magic Tower, or an enraged Magic Lord overturning everything in sight.
Yet listening to the Vice Tower Master's testimony, it truly was not as serious as I had feared. If anything, the feeling was closer to sulking than to fury. The Tower's restless atmosphere came less from fear of an angry superior and more from confusion at seeing their superior act so strangely.
Better than I thought.
And thanks to that, I could see a way through. If the Magic Lord was not in a rage but merely deflated, handling her was simple. Just soothe the sulking Magic Lord and keep her company—that would be enough.
Nephew. If it feels like the Magic Lord is dragging you around, poke her first. She'll be so happy she'll flip.
The Wise Duke's old advice floated up from memory.
I admitted it was already late. Advice works best the moment you hear it.
But it was not so late that nothing could be salvaged. The effect would not be a hundred percent, yet sixty or seventy percent was still within reach.
Poke first.
Only when the fire was already on my foot did I finally see it. That method was the one and only best move left to me.
The Magic Lord overwhelmed others with status and years. In any ordinary situation I would simply be dragged along by her pace.
But this is not an ordinary situation.
I still had no idea why—truly none—but the Magic Lord had taken me into her heart. Meanwhile I had never given her a proper answer.
That meant I held a weapon capable of flipping the current hierarchical relationship right in my hand.
...Using someone's love felt pretty damn dog-like, but if I was going to face a duke I needed at least this much of an edge.
"I will take my leave here. The Tower Master has dismissed everyone else."
We had somehow already arrived outside the Tower Master's chambers. The Vice Tower Master said that and hurried away as if she had no desire to linger and get blood on herself.
Watching her go, a flicker of unease rose again.
It really is fine, right?
She had clearly said it was not as serious as my worries. I did not think the Vice Tower Master would lie, yet seeing her flee like that still made me nervous for no good reason.
No—trust the Vice Tower Master. Would the Magic Tower's second-in-command really lie to someone decades younger than herself?
Poke.
I drew a deep breath and took hold of the door handle to the Tower Master's chambers.
I would poke first. I would overwhelm the Magic Lord and seize control of the atmosphere.
"Your Grace. I am coming in."
As part of that plan I flung the door open without even knocking.
Truthfully I still had no idea what "poking" actually looked like in practice, but I would just charge in and find out.
For all that I looked like this, I was still connected by bloodline to the Wise Duke, was I not? Surely a fragment of that wisdom resided in me as well.
Wise Duke, lend me strength!
We might not share blood, but please!
Lately I had been listless and my head felt foggy. It was the first time I had felt this way since my parents passed.
I knew the reason. I was not so ignorant that I would fail to understand something so simple.
The ring.
Without thinking I glanced down at my left hand. Of course looking did not make something that was not there appear.
A hand bare of any ornament. A plain, unremarkable hand.
...Ring.
The word kept circling through my mind. From the moment I first heard the news until now, it refused to leave me.
I am envious.
That was the only thought I could manage. Envious. Lady Margeta was the person I envied most in the entire world.
To receive a ring from my darling—what must that feel like? It would be a happiness beyond any comparison.
I wanted it so badly. I wanted to run to him this very instant, hold out my hand, and hover nearby begging him to put one on me too.
But I could not.
We are still nothing to each other.
I bit my lip lightly. Yes—unlike the overflowing love I felt, my darling and I were still nothing at all.
I had yet to hear any answer from him. I myself had decided to wait until the New Year's Audience so he could sort out his thoughts, and so I had never pressed him for a reply.
Therefore I had no right to receive a ring from him.
Did I make a mistake by saying I would wait?
On the day I first showed him my heart, perhaps I should have kept pushing.
But I quickly shook my head and brushed the thought away. No, that would not have been right. It would only have left him more confused. He would never have been able to give a proper answer.
Yes—that was certainly true. So taking time, keeping my distance, and giving him space had been the correct choice.
It was a choice for my darling.
I forced the self-consolation into place. It had been for him and nothing else.
Even so, I could not hide the sorrow. Simply not being able to see him was already painful; hearing that he had given a ring to another woman only made it worse.
If I could at least see him, I might soothe this heart even a little—
"Your Grace. I am coming in."
—or so I thought...?
"It has been a long time, Your Grace."
The door suddenly opened, followed at once by a greeting. The events happened so quickly I could only blink.
I was confused. That door had never opened without my permission before. And standing before my eyes was someone who should not have been here at all.
My eyes saw it, yet my mind could not process it. While I stood speechless inside that confusion, my darling smiled faintly and spoke.
"Have I interrupted you? If so, I can step out again—"
"No, no."
My wits returned a beat late.
Interrupt? If it was my darling he could come whenever he wished. Even if he arrived while I was busy, seeing him would give me strength—so there was no problem at all.
"That is a relief. I went to the trouble of making time; I would have been quite disappointed if Your Grace had been too busy."
Watching him smile as if nothing were amiss made a petulant feeling rise. I had been aching just for a single glimpse of him.
Yet knowing he had sensed my heart and come in person made the happiness swell even larger.
"If I am to hold the same feelings as Your Grace, I ought to see you often, should I not?"
But the words that followed froze my mind solid.
"They say love is the process of getting to know each other, after all."
My head went blank for an entirely different reason than before.
I could not gather my thoughts. From the moment my darling appeared I had been completely on the back foot.
"The Vice Tower Master has been quite worried about Your Grace. She said you seemed to be suffering from fatigue lately. If anything were to happen to you, I would feel the pain as well."
Unlike usual, my darling was taking the lead and raising topics on his own.
"It may be of no use to Your Grace, yet it is still my humble sincerity."
He drew out a white comb and offered it as a gift.
"Please do not refuse. Between us, something of this level is hardly anything at all, is it?"
Smooth, almost sly words that my darling would never normally utter.
I was thrown into chaos. Any one of these things would have been enough to fluster me, yet they were coming one after another without even giving me time to breathe.
I had barely managed to open my mouth since he arrived. All I could do was answer his words, or nod. And every time I did, he slipped into the opening and spoke even sweeter, even more embarrassing things.
In a way it was almost an insult to a duke. One could even call it toying with a duke—
I like it even more.
This side of him only made my heart pound harder. The way he treated a duke so casually made him feel exactly like a duke's partner.
I poured every ounce of will into holding down the corners of my mouth that kept trying to rise. Even when I tried to open my mouth and seize the lead in the conversation, my heart refused. I was terrified that if I overturned this moment I would never again taste this happiness.
"I am glad I came to pay my respects. If I had waited until the New Year's Audience I would have felt terribly lonely without seeing Your Grace in the meantime."
"I-is that so?"
Watching my darling smile, the corners of my own mouth finally rose as well.
From this day forward the Wise Duke and I were two beings yet one. Clearly the Wise Duke's tragically low alcohol tolerance was a debuff from Enen meant to keep her wisdom in check.
Nearly an hour had passed since I stepped into the Tower Master's chambers with grim resolve, and I had been able to lead the conversation without a single hitch.
Nephew. If it feels like the Magic Lord is dragging you around, poke her first. She'll be so happy she'll flip.
It was real.
I still was not entirely sure whether what I was doing counted as poking, but the fact that it was working meant it must be.
For some time now the Magic Lord had been limited to merely answering whatever I said. Who would ever believe this person was the Magic Lord, symbol of wisdom?
"It seems time has already flown by."
Having confirmed a satisfactory result, it was time to fold the board. I could not stay in the Imperial Capital forever.
"I should be heading back now."
"Ah... is that so. Already..."
The Magic Lord's ears, which had been fluttering nonstop, drooped weakly.
"Then I will come visit again soon. My time is short compared to Your Grace's, so I ought to see you as often as possible."
I said it with a small smile at the sight. After seeing the Magic Lord today I was certain. While I sorted out my thoughts regarding her confession, there was no chance of me thrashing about helplessly caught in her pace.
In that case, simply seeing the Magic Lord was no difficulty at all. In fact, meeting often would build affection, and that would only help me with my choice later.
"You need not worry about that. Your time will become the same as mine, darling."
At my words her ears perked up again, and she spoke with a faintly reddened face.
But what was that supposed to mean? The same as hers?
...Do half-bloods have short lifespans?
The thought even crossed my mind for a moment. If that was not it, there was no way my time and the Magic Lord's could ever match.
"In just forty years, darling, you too will be able to live for hundreds of years."
...?
The Magic Lord still spoke with a flushed face.
But unlike her face, my head was cooling at terrifying speed.
"Your Grace."
Even after opening my mouth I flinched. Even to my own ears the voice had sunk far too low.
Even so I could not stop. This was something I had to confirm.
"What... exactly do you mean by that?"
Me, living hundreds of years—what kind of nonsense was that.