Chapter 61
“You carry yourself as if you’ve raised a child before.”
“……If you wish, I will lend you my shoulder whenever you need it, so please, do not cry alone.”
“Ha.”
No one ever thought of her as someone who could shed tears.
It was only natural.
Even when she was poisoned as a child and hovered on the brink of death, she hadn’t shed a single tear.
However, while she remained stoic in front of others, she was no different from anyone else when it came to letting her emotions show in solitude.
Aiden, whom she had only met a few days ago, had seen right through that.
She carefully took the handkerchief Aiden offered.
As she took it, she became conscious of the spot where her skin had briefly brushed against his.
The Duchess’s earlobes were already flushed a peach-pink, like those of a teenage girl.
She always carried a handkerchief of her own, but the one he had given her felt far more special.
What should I do?
I only thought his face was my type. It seemed I had truly fallen for his kind and delicate nature.
“……I will take you up on that offer to borrow your shoulder from time to time.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After finishing her conversation with Aiden, the Duchess went to find Lucian, as she had originally intended.
“M-Mother, what brings you here in the middle of the night?”
As soon as Lucian realized it was the Duchess, he scrambled out of bed to greet her in a hurry.
The Duchess pulled Lucian into a tight embrace, trapping him in her arms.
“I am sorry.”
“M-Mother……?”
“If I had only paid a little more attention to you, this would never have happened…….”
Lucian couldn’t bring himself to hug her back, his hands clenching into tight, aimless fists.
“I am the one who should be sorry.”
“For what?”
“For letting the Papiope funds leak away so carelessly.”
Seeing Lucian, the victim, blaming himself, the Duchess hugged him even tighter.
“No, that money was allocated to you. It is yours to spend as you please. The money is not important at all. What upsets me is that you were toyed with by someone who isn’t even worth being called a human.”
“Mother…….”
“Yes. Lucian, I am your mother. I may not have given birth to you, but I truly think of you as my own child and cherish you.”
She touched Lucian’s cheek, smiling through tears.
“Can’t you rely on me a little more?”
“A-Are you not disappointed in me, Mother?”
“My disappointment is not with you, but with myself. And even if you had acted in a way that was disappointing…….”
The Duchess caught her breath for a moment, then opened her lips with a soft smile.
“Isn’t it a parent’s duty to cover for a child’s mistakes?”
Having said that, the Duchess took something out from her pocket and placed it around the boy’s neck.
It was the pendant his biological father had used to threaten Lucian.
Lucian touched it tentatively, unable to believe that the pendant had come into his hands so easily.
When he opened the center of the pendant, a small portrait of his biological mother was revealed.
It was a picture of her in her youth, taken before she gave birth to him.
It was undoubtedly the very pendant he had struggled so hard to find from his biological father.
“Thank you so much. Thank you for finding something so precious to me…….”
Lucian finally burst into the tears he had been holding back and hugged his mother.
The Duchess hugged him back, patting his back. She was glad the child was using her arms to cry.
“Let’s sleep together tonight, just like mother and child.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Magic Tower Master Daniel adopts orphan boy! Unprecedented move shakes the magical world.
A fated encounter with a magic genius from the Talent Academy. The birth of the next Magic Tower Master?
I smiled faintly as I read the news of Elysion’s adoption, which was splashed across the front page of the newspaper.
“So he really was adopted by the Magic Tower Master.”
Since Elysion had gone to the Magic Tower of his own volition, I figured the Tower Master’s mouth must have been stretched wide enough to tear from ear to ear, and I organized my thoughts.
“Sir Aiden has joined Papiope, and the matter with Lucian is handled……. All the urgent tasks are finished.”
It was about time I visited the Magic Tower, as I had been putting it off.
I could check on how Elysion was doing and, while I was at it, bring up the topic of investment.
I called Lena and shared my schedule for the day.
“Lena, I’m going to the Magic Tower today.”
“Then I shall instruct them to prepare a carriage for your departure.”
“Yes. Please do.”
As soon as I said I wanted to go to the Magic Tower, Lena finished the preparations in a flash.
I thought I would be able to meet Elysion without any issues, but…….
“We are not accepting any visitors this week.”
I was blocked firmly right at the entrance of the Magic Tower.
The front desk clerk spoke with the emotionless face and business-like kindness typical of a professional.
“As you may already know, we have had an influx of visitors due to the news that the Tower Master has taken in a child.”
“Even if I had booked a visit in advance?”
“Yes. We will have to reschedule any visits booked for today to another date. May I have your name?”
“No, I haven’t booked a visit.”
At that, a slight crack appeared in the clerk’s expression. It looked as if he were thinking, *What kind of person is this?*
“Please apply for a visit in advance next time. You appear to be a young noble lady, but our Magic Tower does not provide special treatment just because one is a noble.”
“Then how can I get into the Magic Tower?”
“Unless you have an invitation stamped with the Tower Master’s seal, it is impossible.”
This was a problem.
I had expected that entering the Magic Tower wouldn’t be easy, but it had to coincide with the day the newspaper article came out…….
Still, the clerk was just doing his job, so I didn’t want to blame him.
If anything, it was my fault for showing up unannounced.
“Would it be possible to come in as a guest of Elysion?”
Thinking I was lying, the clerk let out a small sigh and firmly shut me down.
“Little lady, I don’t know how you found out Elysion’s name, but he is not someone who would have connections with a noble like you.”
I blinked my eyes slowly.
“If I really am Elysion’s guest, it will be embarrassing for you, so please just pass on the message.”
“Ha……. This is the only time. What should I tell him?”
I could hear the clerk’s inner thoughts in his annoyed voice: *You’d better not be lying.*
I pondered what I should say to make Elysion come running out immediately, and then, with a "come what may" attitude, I opened my mouth.
“Could you tell Elysion that his girlfriend, Tania, is here?”
“Yes?”
At the bombshell statement, the clerk’s mouth fell wide open.
Sir Aiden and Lena, who were with me, were also shocked out of their wits.
“Tania, what does this mean? When did you get into such a relationship with a strange boy behind my back……?”
“Oh my, oh my. I heard he was from the Talent Academy, too. So that’s where you two were connected!”
The reactions showed a massive difference in temperature.
That was when it happened.
A desperate voice rang out from the crystal ball decorating the front desk.
—Bring her up to the top floor immediately!
Judging by the order to bring me to the top floor, it seemed the Magic Tower Master had heard what I said in real time.
I didn’t know whether to be relieved or troubled that the Tower Master had overheard.
The front desk clerk jumped to his feet as if the Tower Master were standing right in front of him.
“I-I will take you up immediately! Please follow me.”
I shrugged my shoulders lightly and followed the clerk.
Then, I whispered quietly to Sir Aiden, who was still reeling from the shock.
“Don’t be surprised. We’re just friends who helped each other out a little bit at the Talent Academy. I just said it in a way that would cause a misunderstanding on purpose.”
Only then did Sir Aiden’s stiff body relax. At the same time, a hint of disappointment appeared on Lena’s face.
True to the name "Magic Tower," we moved to the top floor of the tower in an instant via a teleportation circle.
As soon as we arrived at the top floor, a massive door decorated with geometric patterns greeted us.
It seemed to be the Tower Master’s room.
“Y-You may go in.”
The clerk who had brought us here abandoned us and quickly fled the scene.
I was just wondering how I should knock on this large door when—
*Clack.*
The door opened automatically, as if inviting me in.
The Tower Master was standing right in front of the door, as if he had been waiting for me to arrive.
He scanned me quickly from head to toe and asked point-blank:
“You are the one who has promised to marry Elysion?”
“……?”
When did things escalate to the point of us being engaged to be married without me knowing?
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