ISMFB 13

CHAPTER 13

“Please, I beg you.”

Her father’s life was on the line.

“Ah, no. First, on your knees.”

The tower master was flustered and momentarily lost his composure.

“Riri!”

Just then, Dante entered the drawing room.

Linaria had tried to keep things quiet, but it seemed the guest’s visit had reached Dante’s ears.

“Riri, stand up.”

Dante forcibly helped Linaria to her feet and, seeing the tower master’s attire, realized who he was.

“No way…”

His expression stiffened.

“Yes, it’s exactly what you think.”

“……”

“Anyone would think I was here to eat the girl alive.”

“What brings you here?”

“Your daughter begged me to save your life. That’s why I came. She takes after Margaret—clever girl.”

The tower master praised Linaria. But Dante’s expression did not soften.

“She’s just a child. She acted out of ignorance.”

“From what I saw, she knew exactly what she was doing. Yet you, her father, treat her like a fool.”

“You’re mistaken. Let’s talk privately.”

Dante stood his ground against the tower master. In the end, it was the tower master who yielded.

“Very well, let’s do that.”

“Father.”

Linaria held onto Dante.

It was clearly the best choice. And yet, the atmosphere made it feel as if she had done something wrong.

“Riri, just wait a little.”

“But I…”

“I understand how you feel. But the tower master and I share some old, bitter history. It’s something between adults.”

He was essentially asking her to step away for a while.

“…Okay. I understand.”

Linaria reluctantly nodded.

As Dante left with the tower master, Linaria was left alone in the drawing room with the tower master’s disciple.

“That book…”

No matter how she looked at it, she was still worried about her father.

As she was gathering her book to follow them, the tower master’s disciple spoke.

“It’s a fairly well-researched book on other races. Not bad at all. You finished it?”

Despite it being their first meeting, and the boy being clearly younger, he spoke casually and informally.

Still, Linaria wasn’t flustered and simply nodded.

“Are you interested in other races?”

Other races—beings cursed by the divine beasts.

Cursed and punished to resemble those divine beasts only halfway, these lowly beings were a blend of humans and animals.

Their numbers were very small.

And because the fate of other races that appeared before humans had always ended in tragedy, they chose to stay hidden.

On the pyramid of social classes, they were at the very bottom.

That was what defined the other races.

So it was only natural that someone would be curious about them.

Especially since the book was filled with technical jargon—not the sort of thing one would read just for fantasy or fun.

If it wasn’t used as a pillow, that was already impressive.

“I wanted to learn more about the other races.”

“Not a bad choice then, if you want a comprehensive understanding. The author was one of the tower master’s disciples.”

Perhaps because he too was a disciple of the tower master, the boy spoke with a hint of pride.

Linaria hesitated a bit before saying something that would crush his pride.

“No, the book isn’t complete. It doesn’t cover all the races.”

“What are you talking about? That can’t be true.”

Facing the offended boy, Linaria regretted bringing it up. Things were getting complicated.

“Mermaids.”

“…”

“The author couldn’t research mermaids.”

Linaria didn’t want to argue, so she kept her tone flat.

She had been most eager to learn about mermaids, but the book had nothing on them—that had been deeply disappointing.

Having said her piece, Linaria left the room before the conversation could turn into a full-blown debate.

She was climbing the stairs—

Bang!

The slamming door shook the whole house.

“Bruno, we’re leaving!”

The culprit was the tower master.

Though said to be over 200 years old, he was bursting with energy like someone in their twenties.

“There’s no reason to stay here any longer!”

Thud. Thud. With heavy, angry steps, the tower master stormed past Linaria without even looking at her.

The boy, apparently named Bruno, quickly followed after him.

Watching their backs as they left without hesitation, Linaria thought to herself—

The tower master would return.

She had already set things up so that he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

***

The two magic engineers left the Obel mansion but didn’t head straight back to the Ivory Tower. Instead, they took a walk nearby.

“It’s been a while since I was outside. It feels good, doesn’t it, Bruno?”

“Yes, sir. I think so too. Since we’re out, why not do it more often?”

Bruno’s words made Magnus grimace.

“With your joint health? Even if I wanted to, I can’t! Bah, tsk.”

The boy—whom everyone had assumed was the tower master’s disciple—clicked his tongue.

“I’ve been taking better care of my health lately! This is unfair!”

The boy—no, Magnus—shook his head.

The 200-year-old tower master.

Contrary to everyone’s assumption, he wasn’t an old man—he was a boy.

His cheeks still had baby fat, his skin was pale and soft.

Short for his age, with chubby proportions and small, plump hands.

Anyone would mistake him for a mischievous ten-year-old.

“Health is something you should take care of as naturally as breathing. And yet, Bruno, you go around bragging about something that should be common sense. No wonder people say you’ve aged for nothing.”

“…Sir.”

Bruno, with his white hair, looked genuinely hurt.

But Magnus, ignoring him, picked up the pace slightly.

As he walked faster, the wind tousled his dark blue hair.

Bothered by the strands in his face, Magnus casually pushed his hair back.

Under the clear afternoon sun, his light brown eyes sparkled so brightly that they seemed almost golden.

He looked like a child, but the depth in his sharp gaze was something no child could possess.

“The Duke of Obel… What did you think of him? You saw him up close, so you should have a better read than me.”

The 200-year-old Magnus, who had been bickering with the seventy-year-old Bruno, asked as he slowed his steps.

“Was he in really bad shape?”

“Yes, sir. The rumors were true—he looks like he’s on death’s door. His face was ghostly pale. I almost recommended my herbal tonic out of habit.”

“Hmm… So he looked that bad to your eyes, too.”

Magnus crossed his arms and seemed to be deep in thought. His gaze darkened.

“Did you suspect him, sir? But surely he couldn’t have faked being sick for nearly twenty years?”

“He used to be perfectly healthy. For someone like that to suddenly collapse? It’s suspicious.”

“That just means his mental illness is that deep.”

“Hmph. He’s not worse off than I am.”

Magnus scoffed.

Then why ask in the first place?

Whenever the Duke of Obel was mentioned, Magnus’s mood clearly worsened, so Bruno changed the subject.

“Still, I think I did a decent job playing the role of the tower master today, didn’t I?”

“What? Do I really come off that cold-hearted?!”

…Yes.

Bruno swallowed the answer.

“You’ve got a long way to go! That nasty personality of yours needs serious work. How dare you fish for compliments like that?”

This coming from someone raising their voice and losing their temper right now.

And with that ridiculously cute face, it was hard not to see him as adorable.

Despite all the years of being tormented by him, that babyish face made it hard to stay mad.

Looks really do affect how people perceive you.

“But sir, why didn’t you say anything about the younger Obel?”

Magnus, who had been fuming, paused.

“You were alone with her while I was gone. That’s the whole reason you sent me away in the first place, isn’t it?”

“Ahem.”

Magnus cleared his throat.

Now that the subject he’d been avoiding was brought up directly, he looked embarrassed.

He gave the shortest possible answer about the younger Obel.

“She’s smart—takes after Margaret.”

“And bold too. Not many people have the nerve to provoke you like that.”

Unlike when talking about the Duke, Magnus’s tone had softened.

So the lovely young lady had won over their grumpy master.

For someone who normally disliked people, his reaction was surprisingly mild.

She truly was her mother’s daughter.