Chapter 47
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Chapter 47
I felt somewhat embarrassed.
Truth be told, I'd deliberately avoided mentioning my mother's appearance precisely because I feared this kind of reaction.
'Well, Father might have exaggerated about Mother's looks.'
After all, Father had never been one to speak ill of Mother's appearance in the first place.
Eventually, I cleared my throat and added my own comment.
"...Right now, you're thinking I don't resemble my mother at all, aren't you? I was embarrassed saying it too."
"No."
The Tower Master waved his hand dismissively and spoke with utmost seriousness.
"Once you gain some weight, you'll be fine. Right now you're far too thin—like those pathetic twigs scattered and trampled across the frozen winter streets."
The Tower Master continued with a grave expression.
"Is there a mage in your family?"
"No."
"On your mother's side either?"
"No."
According to Father, my mother couldn't use magic at all.
Based on the Tower Master's questions, it seemed he suspected my mother might be his daughter....
[To think you're so skilled with scrolls—who do you take after, Namia? Neither your mother nor I could use magic at all.]
[That's possible, Father. Magical ability isn't hereditary, after all.]
[Really? I heard the Tower Master's Daughter uses magic exceptionally well and will succeed him. That's why I thought magical ability was inherited too.]
In every way, the Tower Master's Daughter and my mother seemed to have no connection whatsoever.
I cautiously opened my mouth, just to be safe.
"I've heard that the Tower Master's Daughter is exceptionally skilled with magic."
"What? Where did you hear such nonsense?"
"From Father. Father heard it from my mother, who's from the Capital."
The Tower Master said nothing.
He simply narrowed his eyes, lost in thought for a moment, then asked again.
"You."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any other special abilities?"
"...Pardon?"
"Other strange abilities, I mean. Something unusual, something you've never heard of before."
"Um... well...."
Something did come to mind suddenly.
[Actually, this place is inside a book, and I was reincarnated here. So I know the future. A war is going to break out soon, and I'm trying to prevent it.]
Should I say something like that?
At that moment, the Tower Master waved his hand first and spoke.
"Even if you do have something, just say you don't in front of others. And try not to mention that you've been able to create scrolls since childhood."
"Ah, yes."
"...Don't you usually ask why?"
"Will you answer me?"
"No."
After that, lost in deep thought for a moment, he placed his chin on my shoulder.
"It seems I must embark on another long journey."
"Ah, yes."
"...Don't you usually ask where or why I'm going?"
The Tower Master clicked his tongue and continued speaking.
"I feel as though I've found traces of my daughter. Well, I'll need to investigate further, but...."
As expected, he was the type to speak his mind without being prompted.
The Tower Master's blue eyes pierced through me.
And then....
'Hmm?'
Suddenly he began rummaging frantically inside his robe.
A moment later, the Tower Master handed me a scroll.
"Here."
It looked incredibly complex at first glance—deciphering it was utterly beyond my abilities.
I had thought myself quite exceptional, but I found myself humbled.
"It's a gift."
"Ah, yes."
"...Don't you usually show some surprise?"
"To be honest, I can't even guess what kind of scroll this is.... The principles seem incredibly complex. When exactly would I use it?"
"Use it when a man you like confesses his feelings to you."
The Tower Master answered slowly as he rose to his feet.
"Always keep it with you. You never know when someone might confess."
I gazed at the magical circle inscribed on the scroll, my eyes gleaming.
No matter how closely I examined it, it remained too intricate. I couldn't fathom its principles, yet it was beautiful and wondrous.
Seeing my expression, the Tower Master chuckled softly.
"Now there's finally a spark in your eyes. Magnificent."
Then, leaning on his staff, he stroked my head.
"When I came to fetch you from the Empress's Chamber, your eyes were completely vacant."
"Ah...."
I lifted my head, having been absorbed in studying the scroll.
Then I felt a slight embarrassment and murmured.
"It's just that being there felt a bit...."
"Why?"
"It felt like I was intruding on a family moment that should have been intimate."
Perhaps because we shared the common thread of missing family members and solitude.
I found myself speaking my true feelings to the Tower Master without thinking.
"And since I'm in a position where I can't even say I should leave...."
Ever since parting with Huan Loapi Sr., I had always lived that way.
At Baron Loapi's Residence, I had always been like a foreign object.
'How could I not feel this way, wedged between someone else's family?'
Especially whenever I caught the Emperor's gaze, which so clearly cherished Crown Prince Kiaros, my heart felt oddly unsettled.
'I need to find an Inn where I can stay alone tonight....'
Since leaving Baron Loapi's Residence, I had been lodging at an Inn.
Originally, I had planned to contact Luca Class today to inquire about a Boarding House, but time had slipped away from me again.
The Tower Master, whom I had expected to mock me for such trivial concerns, was surprisingly quiet.
After his lips moved slightly, he sighed and bid me farewell.
"Take care of yourself until we meet again. According to my intuition, we shall see each other again soon."
His typically gruff voice trembled slightly.
"When that time comes...."
The Tower Master did not finish his sentence.
And before I could even offer my own parting words, he vanished like the wind.
* * *
The Tower Master left the Imperial Palace and mounted his horse.
His destination was already determined.
'Southern Arvin....'
The birthplace Namia Loapi had mentioned.
'Perhaps....'
He intended to go there and investigate further regarding his daughter.
It was still merely suspicion, but Namia Loapi appeared to be Aran's daughter.
It was because of what Namia Loapi had said earlier.
[I heard that the Tower Master's Daughter uses magic exceptionally well.]
Aran could not use magic at all.
And she had fretted alone over the fear that this fact might spread beyond the Magic Tower, though the Tower's people paid it no mind whatsoever.
There was no one else who would spread such baseless rumors outside except Aran herself.
Especially not to her husband, whom she had met briefly while hiding her identity....
'Aran, could it be that you bore a daughter? Hmm?'
In truth, from the moment he saw the scroll Namia Loapi had created, he had thought of his daughter Aran.
[Father, I'm sorry.]
The final image of Aran, laughing like a madwoman as she received the Tower Master's blood.
[I... love power more than love and affection! I will evolve and gain abilities no matter what!]
[Evolve? Abilities? What in the world are you talking about, Aran!]
Creating a scroll alone at eight years old—that was an abnormal ability.
Namia Loapi certainly possessed the abnormal ability that Aran had desired.
'What kind of experiment did you perform on that child? Hmm?'
Fortunately, she herself seemed to have no memory of it yet....
It was fortunate that the child had already sold her soul to the Ministry.
'But this time, I should be able to uncover everything.'
Examining Namia Loapi's features closely, though somewhat gaunt, she bore a striking resemblance to Aran.
And it was difficult for coincidences to pile up to this extent.
However, what I couldn't tell Namia Loapi at that moment was....
'If you are a monster created by my inadequate daughter....'
The Tower Master pressed his lower lip firmly as he pondered.
'...I will protect you no matter what, grandfather will. You're not a monster—you're my granddaughter.'
Fortunately, it seemed no one yet knew Namia Loapi's true identity.
If someone had discovered it, Namia Loapi wouldn't be able to live so freely.
The Tower Master glanced back at the ornate Imperial Palace.
'Hmph, at least that Crown Prince fellow will keep her safe here. His eyes gleamed so brightly when he spoke of protecting his subordinates.'
I thought the young man was truly troublesome, yet he was the youth I trusted most.
With things as they were, the Imperial Palace had become the safest place for Namia Loapi.
'He's been famous since childhood for having no interest in women, so he won't lay a hand on Namia Loapi anyway.'
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