Chapter:3
Just as the morning light began to rise,
Clip-clop—two horses pulled a black carriage down a narrow forest path.
At the window of the carriage marked with the Magic Tower’s seal, a young girl leaned her face against the glass.
She gazed outside with an indifferent expression. Her golden eyes, glimmering like honey, reflected the lush greenery passing by.
Her long silver hair, reaching down to the edge of the carriage seat, fluttered gracefully in the wind.
Her glossy red lips hummed a tune, quiet and vague.
“It used to be beautiful… now it’s just boring.”
Miel stopped humming and muttered to herself. The landscape outside was undoubtedly picturesque.
Objectively, yes, it was beautiful. But when seen too often, even breathtaking beauty could become tiresome.
Miel felt the same.
‘When I first realized this world was inside a book, everything felt so new and wondrous. But now, I feel nothing at all.’
Miel recalled her past.
She wasn’t originally from this world.
She had been someone who read about this place in a novel. Though she couldn’t remember her past life perfectly, one thing was certain:
She had died and been reincarnated into a romance fantasy novel.
Still, Miel hadn’t remembered much of the original story.
Having been reincarnated over a decade ago, she had lived a whole new life, and trying to remember the story the entire time was impossible.
But this morning, as she woke up, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her. The plot of the original novel suddenly came to mind.
She hadn’t cared enough about the novel to remember its events, nor had she tried to recall them.
There had been no reason to.
She had no interest in inserting herself into the original storyline.
But why now?
Why was she remembering the story now, of all times?
The question lingered in Miel’s mind.
It left her uneasy. Still, remembering the plot wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, it was helpful. She could now avoid the story’s conflicts.
‘Right. Better to know it than be caught off guard.’
With a faint sigh, Miel began piecing together the plot of the original novel.
The world she had entered was that of a romance fantasy novel titled “The Knight’s Flower.”
A tale of two men fiercely fighting over one woman.
It was full of clichés but had been quite popular.
The story began when the daughter of a count, blessed with spiritual power, met first the Imperial Knight Commander and then the Master of the Magic Tower.
They were slowly drawn to each other, bound by fate.
The count’s daughter, Rowen, was torn between the two.
Then one day, while she was in danger, the male lead—Richard—rescued her, and their love bloomed from there.
They went on to share a dangerously intimate, deeply passionate romance.
‘Why is it only the steamy stuff I remember?’
Miel tried to recall the rest of the plot. True to its genre, the story featured parties, hunting competitions, and many dramatic events.
The main antagonist and second male lead, Jade, would often interfere in their love, sometimes even saving the female lead—though he would never be chosen.
Rejection twisted his love into obsession, and his obsession ruined him.
At the climax of the novel, Jade kidnapped the heroine and tried to kill the male lead.
He failed, of course.
When he finally went mad from his love for the heroine, he was forced to leave the Magic Tower—his last downfall.
He was defeated by the sacred power that symbolized the love between the heroine and the hero.
And so the story ended. The two leads lived happily ever after in the epilogue.
‘But why am I remembering all of this now?’
It had been 18 years since Miel reincarnated into this world.
All she remembered about the story was the name of the heroine, a few characters, and some vague settings.
She hadn’t even remembered when the plot started—until now.
‘The main story starts about six months from now… So why is it coming back to me now?’
Was there a reason?
Miel thought deeply.
‘Ah. Maybe this is a gift from the world—a reward for all the suffering I endured under my teacher.’
It was a convincing answer. With a satisfied smile, Miel nodded to herself.
Yes, it was a gift.
A message from the world, telling her to prepare in advance.
The memories that returned were now her “gift from the world.”
The unexpected present lifted her spirits.
At the same time, her years at the Magic Tower flashed before her eyes like a lantern-lit reel.
Miel had arrived at the tower two years ago.
Ever since she was little, she had traveled the world with her father.
But eventually, her father, Liard, left her at the Magic Tower and departed.
He had much to do, many places to see.
His journey was dangerous, so he couldn’t bring Miel along.
And Miel understood. Her father was none other than the great sage celebrated across the continent.
If the great sage was working to bring peace to the world, she couldn’t stop him.
There was another reason too. Miel had wanted to meet Jade, the Magic Tower Master and the second male lead in the novel.
Even if she wasn’t interested in the story, she couldn’t miss the chance to meet her favorite character from her past life.
Crimson hair and eyes like a beast, a tall, broad figure even more imposing than the main male lead,
And above all—he was the strongest sorcerer of the current generation.
A villain with tragic charm, he had stolen many readers’ hearts. Miel had been one of them.
He had been her absolute favorite in her past life.
But when she actually met Jade, all her fantasies shattered.
Sure, he was incredibly handsome. She had even been left speechless, gawking with her mouth open.
But Miel had forgotten one crucial detail—
Jade was only kind to the heroine.
Because of her father’s request, he reluctantly took her in as his disciple, but it was clear he didn’t like her.
He never taught her magic, and constantly summoned her just to run errands around the Tower.
Two years passed like that. Jade was a mentor in name only.
Most of what Miel learned came from Elder Slien, not Jade.
Still, she managed to pick up some decent magic skills.
Aside from that, all she ever did was work.
She was a “disciple” in name only—treated no differently than any other magician in the tower.
Actually, she might’ve had more chores than the others.
Jade clearly didn’t like her. He didn’t outright despise her, but still.
So in Miel’s heart, Jade went from her favorite character to a “useless mentor.”
She didn’t even ask him for guidance or try to persuade him to do better.
If he had even a sliver of care, he would’ve done something long ago.
So Miel just quietly did the jobs he assigned her.
Everything else about tower life was fine.
The work was occasionally fun, and the people in the tower felt like family.
To Miel, it had become another home.
Still, deep inside, Miel longed for her old life.
The time she spent with her father, traveling the world, learning, and discovering things… that life had been full of joy.
Even though her current life wasn’t bad, her old life had been better.
So now, she wanted to leave the Magic Tower and travel again. She missed her father.
But she never thought that moment would come so soon.
According to imperial law, newly recognized adults couldn’t leave the Empire alone.
Even after turning eighteen, they still had to remain under their legal guardian’s protection for a few more months.
This law existed to protect young adults just reaching maturity.
And right now, Jade was Miel’s legal guardian. Without proof that his guardianship had ended, she couldn’t leave the empire.
Until recently, Miel hadn’t believed Jade would ever grant her permission.
She was more or less his worker, after all. She had half-given up on her dream of traveling.
Sometimes she went on short missions outside the tower and counted those as mini-trips.
But now, with the memory of the original plot returning, she realized that the story would begin just as her guardianship period ended.
A perfect coincidence.
The only time Jade, normally so thorough, would be distracted would be during the start of the original plot.
When his focus shifted away from the Tower, she could slip the legal release form into a stack of documents and get him to sign it without noticing.
Even if that didn’t work, as long as his attention was elsewhere, she could come up with another plan.
Several backup plans were already forming in her mind. Her expression brightened.
This truly was a gift from the world!
With a joyful smile, Miel made up her mind:
When the original story began, she would leave the Magic Tower.
