Chapter 19
Hael Terzen watched his master, who had finally reappeared after more than two years, with a visibly anxious look.
Perched on the window sill, the Tower Master gazed silently down at the vast land that stretched endlessly beneath the mage tower. His expression was uncharacteristically serious—too difficult for Hael to decipher.
Hael stood and watched him for a long time. He remained in place as the blue sky turned orange, then purple, and finally darkened into night with the moon hanging at the horizon. As though his body had been glued to the glass, the Tower Master didn’t move a muscle, and eventually—
“How long are you planning to just sit there?!”
Hael finally burst out in frustration.
Golden eyes slid over to him silently.
Hael threw open his arms, letting the stack of documents he had been holding scatter all over the floor like falling snow.
Standing in the middle of the paper storm, Hael glared at the Tower Master with firm resolve.
“All those dozens—no, hundreds of times I went to your door, knocking, pleading, getting angry, begging, and you said nothing! When the Church demanded to know where the Tower Master was, you didn’t show even a hair! Cracks in the world started showing up the moment you erased your presence, and the Tower mages have been running themselves ragged trying to manage it all—and then, bam! You suddenly appear in the middle of the night like a thunderclap, completely ignoring how the Tower’s been running in your absence, just to sit at the window all night long. What in the world is going through your mind?!”
His passionate cry echoed quietly through the still room.
Hael looked at the Tower Master, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
A slight furrow formed on the Tower Master’s pale face.
His crimson lips parted quietly.
“…Seems your guts have grown in the time I’ve been gone. Got any last words?”
“I apologize. I’ll bite my own tongue off.”
Hael bowed his head politely in response to the low murmur.
The Tower Master let out a sigh that was more scoff than breath, as if utterly exasperated. And when he turned back to the window again, Hael panicked and shouted.
“Wait—what is it? What’s so fascinating out there?!”
“…I can see the imperial capital.”
“Pardon?”
Hael dumbly echoed.
The Tower Master, now with his head turned completely away again, didn’t reply.
Blinking slowly, Hael asked cautiously.
“…I’m just a lowly being who couldn’t possibly fathom the deep thoughts of Lord Luar, but—”
“You’re right.”
“…Still, two heads are better than one, as the saying goes. If something’s bothering you, won’t you please tell me?”
The Tower Master, Luar, finally turned his gaze.
“You never know. My suggestion might help.”
Hael nodded earnestly, meeting Luar’s eyes.
“…Have you ever made a friend?”
The question came with such clear hesitation that Hael’s confident expression instantly crumbled.
“F-Friend?”
Hael asked, stunned, not trusting his ears.
“Why are you bringing up something so out of the blue—Ah, no! Of course I’ve had friends! I was quite outgoing before I joined the Tower and cut ties with the world, you know!”
He tried to spin it in the most flattering light, noticing Luar’s expression growing colder.
Luar looked down, lips drawn into a pout.
No way…
Hael’s jaw dropped as he asked in a trembling voice.
“Your worries… don’t tell me they’re about friendship?”
“So what if they are?”
“No! I mean, of course they can be!”
As Luar’s sharp golden eyes suddenly turned toward him, Hael rushed to answer and clenched his teeth internally.
“But it’s not just about friendship.”
“…What else, then?”
Now dread crept into Hael’s expression. He asked with a pale face.
Luar murmured quietly, as if recalling something distant.
“They’re a friend, yes… but someone I’ve come to feel affection for. Romantically.”
“K-Koff!!”
Hael erupted in violent coughing as if he were vomiting blood, collapsing to the floor.
“Have you been neglecting your mana control? What’s with your body?”
Luar frowned in concern.
You’re the reason, you crazy Tower Master!
Hael looked up at his master with a deeply aggrieved gaze.
“Romantic affection… So in short, you’ve fallen in love.”
“…Yes. That’s right.”
Luar answered, blinking with unusually wide eyes, his tone hesitant.
Hael stared at him with a look of betrayal, as if he couldn’t believe this was the same tyrannical boss who had dumped all his work and run off to enjoy some love affair.
“Then what’s the problem? Just confess. What kind of woman would reject the Tower Master?”
“…I told you, we’re friends.”
“So? What’s wrong with that? Even if you’ve seen the worst of each other, if the Tower Master likes her, she’d never—”
Hael stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Luar’s face suddenly turn pale.
Luar leaned weakly against the wall, murmuring.
“That’s the problem. She doesn’t know I’m the Tower Master.”
Hael’s eyes widened.
Wait—no way?
“…You didn’t accidentally befriend a completely clueless young woman, hid your identity and age from her, and then somehow fell in love while pretending to be her peer… That’s not what happened, right?”
“Oh, wow. Your insight’s improved a lot while I was gone.”
Hael lowered his forehead to the floor.
Why… Why is this person my master? How is this the exalted Tower Master?
“…Now that it’s come this far, won’t she be shocked if you tell her the truth?”
Luar murmured as if confessing a sin.
Of course she’ll be shocked.
“I only just managed to help her grow stronger, but she’s still fragile inside. She might faint.”
For a brief moment, the Tower Master looked genuinely worried, and Hael was left speechless.
“No, worse… she might get angry for hiding it from her for over ten years and cut me off completely.”
His long white lashes trembled as they cast a shadow over his gleaming golden eyes.
“…So what you’re saying is, you’re too scared of those risks to face her?”
Hael asked.
“Yes, I’m scared. Ridiculous, isn’t it? From a monster that’s lived for thousands of years… afraid of something so trivial as emotions.”
Luar let out a bitter chuckle.
Silence fell.
If the Tower Master said he was afraid, then there was nothing Hael could do to solve it.
Hael sighed deeply and stood up from the cold floor.
Click—
“…What are you all doing here?”
A cold voice rang out as the door opened behind them.
Hael turned.
The first thing he noticed was silver-gray hair cascading from beneath a pristine white robe.
As he looked up, he met eyes with a refined young man, his yellow eyes glowing faintly beneath heavy dark circles.
Hael blinked and asked, surprised.
“Rihail? Weren’t you dispatched to the Western Continent? Why are you back already?”
“…It’s been four months.”
Ah. Hael blinked again, letting out a small exclamation.
“Has it really been that long already? So many things have been going on lately, I completely forgot. Anyway! As you can see, Lord Luar has finally ended his seclusion. Come on, greet him properly.”
Hael gestured toward Luar with a respectful hand—and then froze.
The always cold and cynical golden eyes now held… a sparkle?
W-What is that?
“…It’s been a while, Rihail.”
Ignoring the frozen Hael, Luar greeted his subordinate with a rare, elegant smile.
“Lord Rihail Earis, I greet Tower Master Luar.”
The man called Rihail walked forward and knelt at Luar’s feet.
Luar looked down at his loyal subordinate with a pleased expression, then suddenly spoke.
“I’ve just thought of something. Would you both hear me out?”
Hael and Rihail looked up at the abrupt proposal.
Luar reached out a pale, slender hand and tilted Rihail’s chin upward.
“…?”
“M-Master?!”
Hael shouted in a trembling voice.
Rihail’s pupils shook as his master suddenly held his face, examining every feature.
Unbothered by his subordinates’ reactions, Luar smiled and scrutinized Rihail’s face intently.
And finally said with a satisfied tone—
“I hadn’t noticed before, but you and I look quite alike.”
“…Pardon?”
“If we throw a robe over your head and keep you at a distance, no one would know the difference.”
They both blinked blankly, unable to keep up with their master’s bizarre logic.
At that moment, Luar finally let go of Rihail’s face.
Then, like making a proclamation, he said—
“Rihail Earis, by your master’s command, relinquish your name and status to me.”
Silence fell.
Hael stared at his master with a deathly pale face.
Rihail looked completely lost, as if unsure of what he had just heard.
Luar added with a serene smile.
“In return, I’ll give you my name.”
“…What?!”
Hael could no longer take it and screamed again.
He darted his trembling eyes between the still-dazed Rihail and the Tower Master.
“W-What in the world does that mean?!”
“Quiet. Shut your mouth.”
Shutting Hael down with irritation, Luar finally stepped away from the window where he had been perched all night.
As if taking pity on his foolish subordinates, he began explaining kindly.
“If I suddenly reveal that I’m the Tower Master, I’m certain she wouldn’t be able to handle it. So I’ve decided to take your name and title instead.”
His golden eyes, as sharp as a predator’s, gleamed as he smiled.
“While you’re not the Tower Master, your position and fame are enough that no one would dare oppose you. You’re just right.”
Luar leaned forward and looked tenderly at the subordinate who resembled him.
“So Rihail, I shall use your name and title for now. In exchange, I’ll give you mine.”
“Are you saying…”
Facing his deathly pale subordinate, Luar said cheerfully—
“From this moment, you are the Tower Master Hiperion Luar, Rihail.”
Having just returned from wandering the continents to preserve magic and civilization, the Lord of the Tower went white with shock after having his name and status stolen out of nowhere by his master.
“…This is just identity theft and being forced into an indefinite role as a fake Tower Master…”
Hael muttered weakly, shivering from the endless cruelty of his master.
