Previously
Sionel stops Evgenia to present her with a high-end magic carriage he purchased personally, mistakenly believing she would prefer to travel to the north alone rather than with her new husband.
Baffled, Duke Basilian let out a hollow laugh, unable to help himself.
The Tower Master didn’t even seem to realize that his arrogant tone and demeanor provoked this exact reaction from people.
Euclid, on the other hand, watched the Tower Master’s antics and could not hide his irritation.
Seeing his son-in-law's expression, Duke Basilian asked dubiously,
The one who cut into the Tower Master’s sentence was none other than Euclid.
Duke Basilian nodded knowingly.
He had merely asked for confirmation; deep down, he was already certain that couldn't be true.
Though Duke Basilian had not seen him often, he clearly remembered the first time he met the Tower Master, which was quite some time ago. Yet the man's appearance had not aged a day since.
People said that those who reached a certain realm, such as sword masters, ceased to age on the outside. Naturally, he assumed the Tower Master was the same.
Had the Duke not been convinced otherwise, he would never have tolerated the Tower Master’s sheer insolence.
Even if the Magic Tower was an independent sovereign entity beholden to no nation, Duke Basilian wielded power second only to His Majesty the Emperor within the continent's supreme empire.
Furthermore, no matter how elevated their friendship, Euclid was his son-in-law, and the Duke was an old friend of his late father. Thus, he held his head a little higher than usual.
Though he said this purely for effect, the Tower Master, with a youthful countenance that suggested his early twenties, looked almost the same age as twenty-six-year-old Euclid.
Watching the Tower Master, who usually strutted about in the arrogant conviction that the universe revolved around him, get struck utterly speechless was deeply amusing.
Though his appearance suggested he was young enough to be the Duke's son, his casual conduct toward Duke Basilian—more relaxed even than His Majesty the Emperor's—had been an endless thorn in their interactions. So, apparently intent on exacting some petty revenge, the Duke asked with mock concern:
Naturally, that was his reaction. The Tower Master was notorious for his obsession with money and legendary stinginess.
Yet the calm voice that followed took him slightly aback.
Despite the Tower Master's mocking tone, Euclid replied calmly and politely, a composure that only seemed to infuriate the Tower Master further. Observing their exchange with an odd expression, Duke Basilian finally began to think the two truly were friends.
As the Duke watched them with an intrigued gaze, Sionel, growing agitated because the sudden arrival of the Tower Master had derailed his topic, intervened:
At that, the Tower Master seemed to remember the cutting-edge magic carriage he had so eagerly prepared and clapped his hands together.
His boastful declaration made Sionel flinch and cast a nervous glance toward Evgenia.
The Tower Master had addressed him first, but Sionel worried that mentioning his name might give away that he was the one who had ordered the carriage.
Yet Evgenia was so utterly captivated by this Tower Master she was seeing for the first time that she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
Relieved, Sionel urged,
I found myself standing before an enormous carriage draped in a massive sheet of cloth.
Yet my gaze was drawn not to the new magic carriage, but to the Tower Master standing right beside it.
I simply couldn't help it.
( ‘The Tower Master was never even mentioned in the original story!’ )
And now I had just discovered that he was Euclid's friend!
Granted, the social circles of supporting characters were hardly detailed at length in the novel, but this was still an unexpected development.
Besides, in romance fantasy novels, the head of the Magic Tower is almost always a prominent figure—either a male lead or an indispensable main supporting role.
‘And instead of being an old man, he’s… young?’
Not just young, either. He was remarkably handsome, easily on par with the three main male leads.
So why hadn't he appeared in the original work?
Judging by that arrogant gaze and haughty posture, as though he looked down upon the entire world, it seemed inconceivable that he wasn't a main character.
Then the realization struck me.
( ‘…I think I know why.’ )
The Tower Master's styling was so atrocious that if I were a man, I’d have begged to trade faces with him just to keep him from squandering it like this.
His clothes were sharply tailored and entirely black, but his hair? It was a ridiculous explosion of rainbow colors, like a clown's wig.
His snide remarks snapped me out of my daze.
What? The disbelief must have been written plain across my face.
Still, I couldn’t very well come right out and tell him his style was an eye-watering disaster. After all, he was Euclid’s friend.
Misinterpreting my expression in his own way, however, the Tower Master suddenly smirked.
Well, of course they would. If you saw someone walking down the street looking like that, your primal instinct would be to steer clear, thinking him a lunatic.
I forced the conversation back to the carriage.
A sudden wave of deep unease washed over me.
Like a child showing off a brand-new toy, the Tower Master chattered excitedly.
His long-winded explanation only fueled my growing anxiety. Even so, I forced myself to picture something reassuring, like Cinderella’s pumpkin coach.
With a flick of the Tower Master’s fingers, the massive sheet covering the vehicle billowed into the air and vanished.
Though I had seen a few magic tools in this world, this was the first time I had ever witnessed actual magic.
Yet there was no time to marvel at the spectacle, because my shock was immediately directed elsewhere.
Pale-faced, I could only nod.
Fortunately, I was not the only one reacting that way.
The utterly bizarre, unprecedented design left everyone present speechless.
Yet the Tower Master swelled with pride.
While everyone else was simply bewildered, I was the only one who truly grasped what it was.
‘A Rocket Carriage?!’
The thing looked like an actual rocket that someone had hastily slapped doors, windows, and wheels onto.
I turned my head to stare hard at the Tower Master.
Surely no modern person would think that clown hairstyle looked “cool,” but still…
Otherwise, there was no explaining this Rocket Carriage.
Fast as it looked, I had zero desire to get inside.
( ‘It looks like it was built for urgent package delivery, not people.’ )
Noticing my increasingly strained expression, the surrounding atmosphere grew taut.
Breaking the heavy silence, I finally spoke up.
My biting words, delivered with a sharp click of my tongue, froze the Tower Master in his tracks.
Feigning nonchalance, I watched his reaction with careful eyes.
My abrupt shift in demeanor was entirely calculated; I wanted to see exactly how he would respond.