Ah, Ren.
Lost in thought, I lifted my bowed head.
“Ah, Ren.”
Ren was blinking at me with his gentle eyes.
I'd called out to him intending to ask about the Magic Tower Master, but I'd gotten too absorbed in my own musings.
I cleared my throat and asked him, “Ahem, Ren. What kind of person is the Magic Tower Master?”
“My master?”
“Yeah. I heard he's coming to the Magic Festival this time.”
“Really?”
Ren's eyes widened in surprise. His reaction made me startled too, as if it was news to him.
“You didn't know? An advanced mage named Christopher came by today.”
“Ch-Christopher came?”
Ren shrank back at the mention of Christopher's name. My eyes narrowed.
He seemed to really dislike that advanced mage.
“Ah, I didn't know Master was coming either. He hardly ever leaves the Magic Tower...”
Ren muttered oddly and tilted his head.
Hardly ever goes out. Magic Tower Masters must all be hikikomori by default.
“Master is a really kind person. And he hates anything bothersome. He knows everything there is to know about magic, and also...”
“And?”
“He really hates anything bothersome.”
“...”
Ren repeated himself with a somewhat awkward expression. That was how unusual the current Magic Tower Master's actions were.
“Any specific examples of that 'hating bothersome things'?”
“Well... Some days he doesn't even leave his bed. Unless it's unavoidable research, he solves everything with magic. Even pouring water into a cup—he uses levitation magic...”
“...”
“He just seems to hate moving his body.”
“...I see.”
I could picture the kind of person he was. Neutral this, neutral that—it was all just too bothersome for him, wasn't it?
I started to suspect that the lofty images of Magic Tower Masters recorded in history were just glorified shut-ins.
“I think I get what kind of person he is.”
I nodded, watching Ren slice into his Mont Blanc.
He still ate desserts with such relish. They must be hard to come by at the Magic Tower.
I resolved to stuff him full before he left.
“Hmm, he never seemed that interested in the Magic Festival, so it's surprising he's coming.”
“The ducal house always includes his name on the invitation list, but he probably never even glanced at them, right?”
“Yeah, but this time my name was on it too, so he did find it a bit odd.”
“R-Really?”
I'd forced Ren's name onto the list myself. Maybe the Magic Tower Master had noticed something suspicious from that.
“He didn't say anything else about it?”
“Ah, now that you mention it...”
Ren frowned, chewing on his Mont Blanc as if recalling something.
“He told me to be careful of the dragon.”
“...”
“What do you think he meant? Hehe.”
The black dragon was the symbol of House Carpoem. A dragon with black scales and red eyes served as the house's official emblem.
So, the dragon the Magic Tower Master mentioned was most likely referring to someone from the ducal house.
Right now, only my father and I bore the Carpoem name.
An ominous feeling crept over me.
That line from the advanced mage Ren disliked, said only to me: 'The Magic Tower Master is looking forward to meeting you, Lady.'
I'd thought it was just polite flattery, but maybe not.
How much did the Magic Tower Master know about me?
I grabbed the water glass in front of me with trembling hands and downed it in one go.
“Eh? Lady, that's...”
“Ugh, too sweet!”
I'd accidentally drunk Ren's strawberry milk and grimaced. An intense sweetness flooded my mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah.”
He drinks something this sweet without a problem. I smiled weakly and set the glass down.
“Sorry. I drank yours.”
“I'm fine.”
Ren chuckled and glanced at the cup I'd drunk from. I'd stopped midway, so a bit of milk was left.
“There's some left—finish it. I'll have them bring fresh milk too.”
“N-No, it's fine!”
Ren's face turned beet red as he waved his hands frantically.
Yeah, drinking after someone else is kinda weird.
I nodded in understanding and grabbed the servant bell.
“I'll call a maid, so go invisible for a bit.”
“O-Okay.”
Once I confirmed Ren had vanished, I rang the bell.
Then I casually moved to the seat where Ren had been sitting, as if I'd devoured the Mont Blanc and strawberry milk myself.
“You called?”
“Yeah. Could you bring more strawberry milk?”
I lifted the glass with just a hint of strawberry milk left and smiled brightly.
The maid who entered this time was May. She looked at the Mont Blanc and strawberry milk I'd supposedly eaten and smiled warmly.
“You've been having a lot of dessert lately.”
“Must be because training's making me hungry.”
I lied smoothly and added, “Oh, make this one sweet again too.”
“Understood.”
After sending May away, I returned to my seat. Ren immediately reappeared.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me—you eat so well, it makes me proud.”
Tea time with Ren was truly enlightening for me. Information on magic, the duke's curse, and now details on the Magic Tower Master.
Useful intel kept flowing my way.
I'd been wondering how to convince my father, who disliked Ren. Maybe I could use the Magic Tower Master.
I smirked slyly to myself.
* * *
But that didn't mean the Magic Tower Master was some pushover. I was realizing that today.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
The man delivered a flawless noble greeting as smoothly as flowing water, then flashed a picture-perfect smile.
The pure white robe draped over him gleamed brightly. White robes were the symbol of the Magic Tower Master.
Among mages, only the lord of the Magic Tower was permitted to wear unblemished white.
The robe, embroidered with golden thread, looked exceedingly luxurious at a glance.
“Welcome. Lord of the Magic Tower.”
“Please, just call me Benjamin, Your Grace.”
“Haha, very well. Benjamin.”
I watched their cordial exchange from the side.
Benjamin, the Magic Tower Master, soon turned his gaze to me.
“Greetings, Lady.”
Amethyst-purple eyes fixed on me. He was a handsome man with a soft smile, but the look in his eyes toward me was oddly cold.
I smiled back and returned the greeting. “Greetings, Lord of the Magic Tower.”
A strange light flickered in one of his eyes.
The advanced mage I'd seen a few days ago had one eye glowing oddly too.
I felt an uneasy twinge but didn't show it. I couldn't cause a scene with the duke present.
“Please, call me Benjamin as well, Lady.”
“An honor, Benjamin.”
We conversed amiably on the surface, but our eyes were locked in icy standoff.
The only one who seemed pleased here was the duke. He wore an expression of great satisfaction.
“I wished to welcome you with more fanfare, but I apologize for the simplicity.”
“No need. This is what I wanted. No need to trouble yourself, Your Grace.”
Originally, the duke had wanted to greet the Magic Tower Master with pomp and circumstance from the ducal gates onward, but he'd refused.
Like the other mages, he'd warped straight to the underground of the ducal residence and come up to the duke's office.
True to his shut-in nature, he seemed to have some social anxiety.
Even so, word of the Magic Tower Master's visit to the north would be spreading across the empire by now. As would his personal attendance at the Magic Festival.
Every action of the Magic Tower Master was shockingly unconventional for the empire.
“Then, rest well until the banquet. We'll show you to your room.”
“My thanks for your hospitality.”
The duke, chatting about the upcoming Magic Festival, considerately excused the Magic Tower Master, who must be fatigued from the long-distance warp.
The Tower Master smiled graciously and left the room.
“See you soon, Lady.”
“Yes, Benjamin.”
I waved him off with a bright smile as he exited the office.
The duke told me to rest until the banquet as well. I returned to my room with the maids.
“I'll rest a bit, so you all go.”
“Yes, miss.”
After sending the maids away, I entered the bedroom. The innermost bedroom in my quarters was well soundproofed.
This was where I always met with Ren.
I hadn't even changed clothes as I entered and placed Ren's brooch—the one I always carried—on the table.
Basically, it reacted to Ren's mana, but there was one exception.
If someone with mana equal to or greater than Ren's came close, it hummed.
I snorted and picked up the brooch.
Then I spoke into empty air. “It seems the Magic Tower Master has a hobby of peeking into ladies' rooms.”
“Heh.”
A soft chuckle sounded right after I spoke.
I turned toward it, glaring at the same time.
The chair opposite the table creaked faintly.
“That brooch—Ren gave it to you?”
The Magic Tower Master, Benjamin, now visible, sat with his legs crossed on the chair. Far more arrogant than in the duke's office.
His speech had changed too. Dropping the pretense, huh?
Fine by me.
“Yeah, Ren gave it to me.”
I sat across from him and crossed my legs too.
“Ah, you started with casual speech first, so I can too, right?”
“Kukuku.”
Benjamin laughed as if amused. His face said, 'Well, well?'
“This baby dragon is intriguing.”
“Don't get too intrigued. Or the dragon might bite before you know it.”
I bared my fangs in a grin, and Benjamin's smile deepened.
As expected, he wasn't ordinary. They say kindred spirits recognize each other—he was just as twisted as me.
Though I figured I was a bit less unhinged than this slightly off-kilter Tower Master.
“You called Ren, didn't you? Not that fool of a duke.”
“Fool?”
“He doesn't even know he's cursed. Fool enough.”
The guy who'd been acting all refined sure spewed vulgarity easily. First profanity I'd heard since possessing this body.
Far from offended, I felt amused.
“Normal people don't realize when they're cursed, Tower Master.”
“True. But how did you know? Baby dragon.”
“...”
“Or are you a fake wearing dragon hide?”
“...!”
He saw right through everything, as I'd suspected. I realized I couldn't hide from him.
So I came clean. “You're right. I'm not the real Abigail Carpoem.”
“Then?”
But he probably wouldn't buy that this was a world from a book. So I added a little white lie.
“My soul came from another world. A place even you couldn't know about.”
“Hmm, certainly. Even my hyean can't make sense of your soul's composition.”
That one eye of his glowed strangely again. He'd activated his hyean.
Hyean. The eye of truth granted only to the Magic Tower Master.
That was why Ren was called the Sage of Hyean in the original story.
But Ren hated the title. Hated using hyean to fight monsters too.
Because it was the power he'd inherited by killing his master.
Every time he used it, he must have thought of the previous Tower Master he'd slain.
And right now, Benjamin still held the hyean.
He could see my other side.
“Intriguing. So intriguing. I want to study you.”