~Chapter 12~
At my master’s words, Jordi pulled his head back and blinked in surprise.
He found it interesting how the word “extraordinary” could be used to describe Lady Lindbergh instead of just calling her “unique.”
“Extraordinary… Yes, that’s right.”
Even though his master usually spoke in a stiff tone, Jordi could tell right away that he was proud of this fact and wanted to brag about it to someone.
‘It’d be great if Duke Reinhardt came to visit again. He left right after the accident yesterday, so he’ll probably return soon.’
Just as he was lost in thought, a maid standing near the door gave him a meaningful look.
Jordi quickly approached her.
“What is it?”
“Mr. Butler, you have a guest.”
“A guest?”
“The second son of House Reinhardt.”
Jordi felt a little let down at her reply.
“The young lord?”
“Yes.”
Jordi was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t the Duke himself, his master’s close friend, but he turned around and informed his master anyway.
“Sir, the second son of the Reinhardt family has come to visit.”
Jeremy reacted the same way as Jordi—his voice carried a hint of disappointment.
“The second son? I guess it’s more accurate to call him the Tower Master now.”
“My apologies.”
“He’s probably here to see Hazel, not me. Go and let her know.”
“Understood.”
—
I followed the butler to the
parlor—apparently, someone had come to see me.
Timothy Reinhardt…
He was a boy I’d known since I was six and became the adopted daughter of the Lindbergh family.
Technically, he was four years older than me, but we were really close friends.
We’d built sweet memories together, and by the time I was ten, I liked him, and I was pretty sure he liked me back too.
Our innocent feelings lasted up until he joined the Magic Tower.
After awakening as a great mage at a young age, he moved far away, and we lost contact.
‘He left so suddenly… There was no way to reach him or meet again.’
Years later, when the news of my engagement spread among the nobles, Timothy had suddenly shown up at the Lindbergh estate.
We met back then in the green garden behind the house.
I still remember his breathless voice.
‘Hazel, you’re engaged?’
By then, I had already buried those childhood feelings as sweet memories.
I couldn’t understand why he looked so heartbroken.
‘I shouldn’t have gone to the tower… I didn’t know it’d be the worst decision of my life.’
‘What are you saying, future Tower Master? If the elders of the tower heard that, they’d faint.’
If I only remembered those times, Timothy would just be a nostalgic first love from my childhood.
But…
I almost squeezed my eyes shut, overwhelmed by the memory of the novel.
Timothy was the same gentle man from “My Dad is a Monster Duke” who secretly raised the female lead after faking her death and hiding her away for seven whole years!
He raised her with so much love that readers called him “Sub-Dad.”
The moment when he returned the child to Duke Romanov was so touching, it made people cry.
“Ugh… Timothy…”
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
I couldn’t help grabbing a strand of hair and tugging at it in disbelief.
My only childhood friend, the one I shared my first crush with, was that Sub-Dad?!
If I hadn’t realized I was reincarnated into that novel, I probably wouldn’t feel anything seeing him now.
But knowing what I know now…
“Hazel.”
The parlor door opened, and a man stood up to greet me.
Timothy Reinhardt. Silver hair and pale sky-blue eyes.
He became the youngest Tower Master ever just five years after awakening as a great mage.
But now, standing before me, he still wore that same gentle smile I remembered from when we were kids.
Something about his warm expression made my chest tighten.
The image of the novel’s Sub-Dad overlapped with the boy I knew, and it was messing with my head.
Even though my feelings were complicated, I tried not to show it and put on a calm face.
“When did you get back to the capital?”
Timothy replied in a soft voice,
“Just now. My father was really worried about the Duke, so I stopped by. He couldn’t come himself because of a meeting today.”
Oh, right.
My father got injured yesterday when Duke Reinhardt visited.
The Duke had to leave right away. It made sense he was worried.
“Then shouldn’t you be visiting the Duke, not me? Did the staff make a mistake?”
Timothy gave a bright smile and shook his head.
“Father told them I was obviously here to see you, so they brought me straight to you. I’ll go see him later.”
“Huh?”
I made a weird sound and pouted a little, but then I smiled.
Childhood memories were flooding back like a watercolor painting.
I remembered the day Timothy first came to our house holding the Duke’s hand.
After that, he visited so often that we eventually set up a room just for him.
“I guess His Grace still sees you as the same boy from back then. Even though now you’re the most powerful mage in the Empire.”
I teased him, and Timothy stepped closer, playing along.
“Yeah, look how tall I’ve gotten. I’m even taller than His Grace now.”
I looked up at him.
“You’ve grown a lot. You’re like a giant. My neck’s gonna break looking up at you. Step back a little.”
I reached out and gently pushed him back, but Timothy softly grabbed my wrist with his big hand.
“Hazel.”
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you gonna ask how I’ve been?”
I gave him a teasing smile and replied,
“I’m sure you’ve been just fine, Tower Master. If you weren’t okay, then the Empire—or maybe the whole continent—would be in ruins by now.”
“Haha.”
The atmosphere felt really comfortable.
It was a peace I couldn’t feel with anyone else.
We were old friends—and I’d once had a crush on him.
Plus, back when we were close, I wasn’t weighed down by the guilt of being the cause of Mom Vivian’s death.
‘It feels like something I always missed…’
I looked into his eyes, thinking,
‘Timothy… you won’t have to suffer through seven years of raising a child this time.’
I felt relieved, knowing he wouldn’t be stuck raising someone out of duty to his first love.
As I sat there thinking, a flustered voice came from outside.
“Ah, Miss! Your guest—”
Before the servant could even finish, the door swung open.
And in walked…
“Huh? Duke Romanov?”
I frowned slightly, still holding Timothy’s hand.
“What the—?”
My voice might have come out a bit too sharp, because the Duke looked between me and Timothy, then gave a look of disbelief.
“So… I’m not supposed to be here? But…”
He narrowed his eyes, and his voice suddenly turned cold.
“Why is the Tower Master holding my fiancée’s wrist?”
Huh? “My fiancée?”
I found the way he said it strangely unfamiliar.
Even his slightly drawled tone felt off, so I repeated,
“‘Your fiancée’?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
Well, no. Technically, I was his fiancée.
I just shrugged.
“Not really. But what’s going on?”
“First…”
With a displeased look, Duke Romanov walked right up and peeled Timothy’s hand off mine.
“Tower Master, I suggest you take your hand off her first.”
Thanks to his interference, Timothy and I were now standing a step apart.
