Chapter 22
When Franz had been away on dispatch, Arian had once shared a conversation with the clerk Elin. It all began with a small question from Elin.
Elin handed the processed documents to Arian and said, “By any chance, do you dislike the Tower Master…?”
“Pardon? Why would you think that?”
Arian was utterly baffled. Elin bringing up the topic out of nowhere was one thing, but there was no reason for such a question. If it had been about liking him, that might have made sense—but disliking him? Of course, if she’d asked if Arian liked him, she would’ve immediately pegged the vixen for revealing her true colors and prepared a resignation recommendation.
“You’re always so kind to us clerks, but you seem to get angry at the Tower Master all the time, so I was just wondering.”
“Us” undoubtedly referred to the newly hired clerks. Arian was indeed kind to them. It was the mindset of a duke’s daughter looking after those beneath her, and a show of respect for their diligent enthusiasm. In contrast, constantly snapping at the Tower Master was…
…because it’s embarrassing.
It was simply embarrassment. Even a casual “good work” made her anxious that her feelings might slip out. So, to hide it, she lashed out instead. In the end, Elin had seen it spot-on. To outsiders, Arian’s behavior looked like she hated Franz.
And if things continued like this, her love was surely doomed to fail.
No way.
This was a love that had persisted since she first entered the Magic Tower as a peer. Even when he left as the hero party’s mage, not a single day passed without her thinking of him. Arian’s lips twitched, then slowly parted.
“Elin, the truth is… I harbor feelings for the Tower Master. But embarrassment makes me snap at him. If it’s not too much trouble, could you… help me?”
This was the first time Arian had ever had such a conversation. Noble ladies only ever gathered to laugh ha-ha-ho-ho, boasting about whose family was superior in a battle of egos. There was an enormous gap between commoner and duke’s daughter, but to win Franz over, it didn’t matter.
“Of course! I’ll help however I can!”
Elin’s eyes sparkled. Women, as usual, couldn’t get enough of others’ business—especially romance.
After that, Arian and Elin talked whenever they had time. Through it all, Arian experienced a profound cultural shock.
So bold…
Did commoner girls not care about pride? She couldn’t fathom how they so freely spilled their innermost thoughts to men. But as she listened, surprisingly, it all made sense. Gradually, Arian’s stuffy mindset began to open up.
“You don’t have to say ‘I like you’ outright. Just make him notice you.”
“H-how?”
“When you have free time, go out together or something… I don’t know how nobles do it, though.”
“I see.”
In short, spend time together. Naturally, she had to show a hint of her feelings in the process.
This is hard…
To Arian, it felt like becoming her complete opposite. Of course it wouldn’t be easy. But she had to make it work. To prevent her long-cherished love from ending as unrequited longing.
And so, now.
Arian said to Franz, “Tower Master, um… it seems we’re out of tea leaves. Would you perhaps…”
“Oh, really? Go buy some.”
Arian hit a towering wall right from the start. Harsh words nearly escaped her twitching lips. But she held back. It was nothing short of tremendous progress. Franz, of course, was oblivious to her efforts.
Seeing Arian’s face stiffen, Franz thought,
Does she not want to go?
Buying tea leaves was a kind of errand, after all. And Franz had thought from his Magic Tower clerk days that errands needed to be eradicated. So this was contradictory. He’d resolved to eliminate them, yet here he was assigning one to his secretary.
“Arian, sorry. I was thoughtless.”
“Then…”
Anticipation swelled in Arian’s heart. She’d dressed differently today, spoken carefully. Any person should pick up on the meaning.
But her hopes shattered with Franz’s next words: “Yeah, you stay here and handle work. I’ll go buy them.”
“…Pardon?”
Arian doubted her own ears. No, in a way, this was normal. Recalling how she’d acted toward Franz so far, she was just a rude secretary—never womanly. Self-inflicted, indeed.
So if she wanted change, she couldn’t just hope; she had to act.
“Tower Master, th-th-that…”
But suddenly changing wasn’t easy. She knew what to say in her head, but it stuck in her throat.
“What? Something to say?”
“…Please pick out tea leaves with me.”
“Oh, that? Thought it was something big. When?”
Success. It was success. As Elin said, honesty was the key. Though Franz’s head was filled with nothing but magic, requiring trial and error, it had worked. Victory was hers.
“The nearby shop should open soon, so that’d be best.”
“Got it. I’ll get ready quick.”
Franz headed into his room. Left alone in the Tower Master’s office, Arian cautiously sat on the sofa. The very one where Franz had lain to nap yesterday. His scent wafted subtly from it. Arian’s legs fidgeted restlessly.
* * * * *
Entering his room, Franz changed into suitable clothes for going out. As Tower Master and territory lord, he couldn’t ignore others’ gazes.
She’ll be fine, right?
He worried about Arian. By 21st-century standards, she’d changed overnight like she’d been possessed. He hoped nothing had happened—or if it had, nothing major.
Still,
What’s with suddenly wanting to go out?
Normally, if he suggested eating out, she’d snap, “Wh-why would I eat out with the Tower Master?!”… and flatly refuse. For her to suggest going out first—what wind had blown this way? Baffling.
Soon, ready to go, Franz emerged. His gaze naturally fell on Arian. She sat on the sofa, face slightly flushed, smoothing her skirt. Her breathing seemed oddly drawn out, like someone with a fever.
“Arian, you’re not sick, are you?”
“Pardon? Oh, no. I’m fine.”
Arian’s eyes shook like there was an earthquake. Franz’s suspicions deepened. Something really is up with her.
“Let’s head out, then.”
“Yes, of course.”
They left the Magic Tower together. Franz found the cool early morning air strangely refreshing. It felt like the day would be productive.
“Arian, you haven’t eaten breakfast, right?”
“No, I don’t usually eat much in the morning anyway.”
“Wanna grab a sandwich on the way?”
“If you’re having some, Tower Master…”
In other words, she’d eat if he did. Franz led her to a nearby sandwich shop he frequented on early mornings.
“Oh my, Tower Master! It’s been ages.”
“Yeah, been busy.”
“Huh? Came with company today?”
“Company? What do you mean?”
“The lady next to you. Every time you leave, she comes right after and buys the same thing.”
Franz’s gaze shifted to Arian. What was this about? Arian vigorously shook her head side to side, heedless of her hair messing up.
“T-Tower Master, let’s buy the sandwiches first?!”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Whatever the reason, Franz had no desire to pry into his secretary’s private life.
Soon, sandwiches in hand, they sat in a nearby park. Being early, only a few people were around. In the serene quiet, they began a simple breakfast. No conversation flowed. They just chewed in silence.
It made sense—they’d rarely eaten together. Awkwardness was inevitable. In the end, they finished without a word and stood.
“Now, tea leaves?”
“Y-yes.”
They headed to a tea shop not far from the park. There, Franz finally witnessed it.
“…It’s been a while?”
The saintess, too, seemed to be out of tea leaves right then.