Chapter 24
“What sin did I even commit?”
Now she fully understood why her seniors always cast a sound-blocking spell on their ears whenever they went to visit the Tower Master.
At this point, Rina wanted to do the same whenever he came to find her.
Just hearing Cheyan’s voice echo from afar made her break out in hives.
“Cheer up. That’s why I brought you here. The stew here is great for restoring stamina. I come by often myself.”
The man offered comforting words and quickly ordered their meal.
It wasn’t long after the polite waiter took the order that someone came walking toward their table with food.
“Hey, wake up. Food’s here.”
“Fooooood…”
Until right before they came here, Rina had been trapped in the Tower Master’s grasp, not even able to eat breakfast properly.
At the mention of food, she slowly lifted her head with a groan.
Thud.
Without a word, a pair of hands set down two steaming bowls of stew before them. Rina, by habit, started to give her thanks.
“Thank yo—uh?”
Her words stopped midway, her mouth falling open.
She rubbed her eyes hard.
Excuse me? Why are you here…?
Had she finally gone mad from all that torment by the Tower Master? Was she hallucinating now?
“E-excuse me!”
Rina reached out desperately toward the woman who had just turned to leave.
The woman slowly turned back.
“Y-you’re the owner of the blue rock!”
At that, Ceres frowned.
“…Blue rock?”
What on earth was she talking about? Owner of that thing?
“Don’t you remember me?”
“……”
“The magic shop!”
Magic shop?
“Ah.”
Finally, Ceres remembered where she’d seen her.
The woman from that magic shop where she’d sold the mana stone Kainel had given her.
“The blue rock—no, no! The mana stone! Did you sell it?”
Ceres narrowed her eyes at Rina, who had suddenly gone from half-dead to wildly excited.
Why was she so desperate to find out about the mana stone?
“Why do you ask?”
“If you still have it, please sell it to the Magic Tower!”
“……”
“Our Tower Master really, really wants that mana stone! I’m sure he’ll pay an amazing price for it!”
Tower Master?
‘So she showed that recording to the Tower Master, huh?’
Ceres clicked her tongue softly, piecing it together.
“I don’t have it.”
“…What?”
“I said, I don’t have it anymore.”
“Y-you sold it? To who? Which shop?”
“I lost it.”
“What?!”
Lost it? That thing?
The color drained from Rina’s face again.
“W-where did you lose it?”
“Why should I tell you that?”
“Is it true? Did you really lose it?”
Of course not. The mana stone was still safely stored in her subspace.
She just had no intention of taking it out now.
‘Kainel’s in the capital right now,’ she thought grimly.
If he happened to see it—even by chance—he’d flip out and start hunting her down to find out where it came from.
‘No thanks.’
And if he ever found out that the mana stone had fallen into the Tower Master’s hands? He’d go absolutely berserk.
‘Just imagining it makes my head hurt.’
He’d probably storm into the Tower himself and pick a fight. Just the thought made the back of her neck stiffen.
“Tell that Tower Master of yours this: it’s gone for good. I don’t even remember where I lost it.”
“Waaahhh!”
Rina burst into tears at Ceres’s firm, unyielding tone that left no room for argument.
Thinking of how Cheyan would surely whine and throw another tantrum after hearing this, she buried her face in the table again.
“Maybe I should just run away…”
Ah… I really don’t want to go back to the Tower.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
At Kainel’s permission, his aide Del carefully opened the door and stepped inside, holding a small cup.
“Lord Kainel, is there anything you need?”
They were currently staying in the mansion owned by the Grand Duke of Persia’s family—used whenever one of their members visited the capital.
Of course, no one had lived there for a long time since Kainel went into seclusion.
But Del and the other retainers who had long served him had maintained the mansion meticulously, keeping it ready for his return.
They hoped that whenever he resumed his public life, he could come here to rest in comfort.
“…Nothing’s changed.”
Kainel’s eyes swept over the room with a faint sense of nostalgia.
Despite the years that had passed, not a single thing had changed—not even the ornaments.
“We tried our best to preserve it exactly as it was.”
They had put in great effort so that when he returned, nothing would feel unfamiliar—so he might find some small comfort here.
“……”
Maybe that was why—
‘Kain! Altie’s crying!’
‘Waaah!’
‘…I didn’t hit him that hard.’
‘You did! It hurt a lot! Grace, punish him!’
Everywhere he looked, memories surfaced.
He could almost imagine the door bursting open any moment, ten-year-olds running in and laughing.
“Here, herbal tea.”
Del set the cup down before him, worry evident on his face.
“I made it a bit stronger this time.”
“I told you it doesn’t work.”
“But still…”
A long sigh escaped Del’s lips.
It was a herbal infusion brewed from various plants with mild sedative properties—something he’d been told might help Kainel’s insomnia.
Del had served Kainel for over twenty years, but never once had he seen his lord sleep deeply.
Long-standing insomnia.
They’d tried countless remedies—each one working briefly before Kainel developed a resistance.
“How about getting examined at the Count of Ellesia’s estate?”
It was where the empire’s most skilled healers gathered.
Since they were already in the capital, Del wanted him to receive proper treatment—perhaps they could find something that would finally let him rest.
“That’s enough. Leave me.”
“…Yes, my lord. Please rest well.”
Seeing Kainel gesture dismissively, Del swallowed his words and quietly exited.
“……”
Left alone, Kainel slowly scanned the room again and closed his eyes.
‘Kain…’
This was exactly why he’d avoided coming here all these years.
Because she was everywhere in this place.
Every corner, every scent—everything made her memory too vivid, too close, too painful.
‘Kain…’
And yet, that was why he’d finally come.
Because he wanted—just a little more—to see her clearly again.
“Kkeeaaaaaghhh!”
“……”
“How was that? There’s a second one too.”
“Kiiiiiiiiaaaghhh!”
“For the record, I like the second sound better.”
“…Cheyan.”
“Huh? Why? You prefer the first one?”
“That’s not the problem here.”
Prince Aseraiyan pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
He had come running when he heard Cheyan had completed the Black Forest alarm system, only to find—
“There’s a third one too!”
“Uweeaaaaaaghhh!”
“……”
—this nonsense.
“Why are all the alarm sounds monster screams?”
“So people get scared and run away fast.”
Cheyan blinked up at him innocently, as if he couldn’t understand the issue.
Aseraiyan let out a long, weary sigh.
“At this rate, they’ll have a heart attack before they can run.”
“At least they’ll be wide awake!”
…True, anyone hearing that in the middle of the night would bolt upright.
“Why didn’t you attend the last meeting?”
Cheyan, still fiddling with the palm-sized red alarm device, suddenly looked teary-eyed.
“Sniff… I couldn’t leave. I’m waiting for something.”
“You’re still obsessing over that mana stone?”
“My blue rock will come back to me! It’s meant to be in my arms again!”
It was never yours to begin with, for crying out loud…
Aseraiyan bit back the words rising to his lips.
“Fine, whatever. But you’d better show up at tomorrow’s meeting.”
“……”
Clack.
He could practically hear Cheyan’s mind scrambling for excuses.
Then Cheyan held up the alarm device and offered it to him.
“Take this with you. Think of it as me being there.”
“…You lunatic.”
