My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 13
“I investigated personally, and there were no traces of magic. Furthermore, the administrator confessed that the building hadn't been maintained in quite some time.”
In short, it was simply an unfortunate accident.
“That’s impossible!”
“Even the Delanche wouldn't dare pull a stunt inside the Grand Temple. You should know that better than anyone, Father.”
Knox added a pointed remark with a nonchalant air.
The Marquis’s face crumpled, unable to deny the logic.
Before the two men's futile bickering could drag on, Cecilia spoke up quietly.
“By the way, about that bird. Did they say it hit the window while flying in from the outside?”
“I’m not sure. The Second Prayer Room happened to be empty at the time. They did say the bird was found lying outside the building, though. Why? Is it important?”
“No, just curious.”
‘Outside, then.’
It wasn't definitive proof, but it allowed for a certain level of deduction.
The glass would have been exceptionally thick, and the bird was only the size of a palm. Since force is proportional to mass, even if the impact was enough to cause a crack, it wouldn't have been able to punch through.
If the impacted section had been slightly tilted outward, it wasn't impossible for most of the shards to fall outside.
Cecilia nodded vaguely as she weighed the mechanics of the accident.
She decided not to consider other possibilities.
‘Above all, he said there were no traces of magic.’
The Marquis’s insistence was irrational in many ways.
“I must contact His Holiness personally.”
It seemed the man in question hadn't extinguished his suspicions yet, though.
‘I think the business here is done. Can I go back to my room now?’
Her fleeting interest having flickered out, Cecilia scratched Charles behind the ears as he purred.
As her gaze drifted with indifference, as if the matter had nothing to do with her, it caught the newspaper the Marquis had just tossed aside.
The front page of the capital's newspaper featured the grand success of a new material business jointly invested in and promoted by the Imperial Princess and the Delanche, along with accompanying praise.
‘Ah, so this is why he was in such a foul mood.’
Cecilia, easily guessing the Marquis’s inner thoughts, lowered her gaze further down the page.
Another article stood boldly in a corner of the front page.
‘This is….’
<The Man Named as the Mastermind Behind Illegal Private Gambling Dens Is None Other Than the Magic Tower Master? Where Is the Sublime Truth of the Magic Tower Heading?>
Beneath the rather provocative title, Cecilia read through the scathing article before picking up the newspaper.
“Father, may I take this newspaper?”
The edge of the article she gripped crumpled harshly in her hand.
* * *
Returning to her room, Cecilia tore off the bottom half of the newspaper. After stuffing the crumpled scrap of paper into her pocket, she immediately threw on her coat.
“I’ll be having today’s lesson at Lien’s residence.”
“Pardon?”
Melanie was aghast at the news that she was going out again when only a few days had passed since the accident.
“My lady! The Marquis told you not to go out for the time being because it might be dangerous…!”
“It’s just next door. Well, I’m off.”
“My lady!”
Leaving the protesting Melanie behind, Cecilia slipped through the hole in the wall. She then walked up and knocked boldly on the door of the mansion.
Thump!
A loud clatter echoed from behind the door, and it swung wide open shortly after.
“Cecilia-nim! W-what brings you here at this hour…?”
The owner of the house, not even a butler, greeted her immediately, as if he had known the identity of the uninvited guest.
Of course, he was still wearing his robe.
‘He even wears that thing inside the house.’
Cecilia stared at the gloomy piece of cloth with a look of distaste before speaking up nonchalantly.
“I thought we could have today’s lesson here. We’re friends, so this much should be fine, right?”
It was about two hours earlier than the scheduled lesson time, but he nodded his head happily without a hint of hesitation.
“Yes, yes! Of course.”
“Then, excuse me.”
Knowing she was being rude, Cecilia brushed past him and strode into the mansion.
She had been to the garden often, but this was her first time inside the house. The interior was as grand as the Weberdin mansion, and while it lacked flamboyant decorations, it possessed an antique elegance of its own.
As she admired the carvings on the pillars and ceilings, Cecilia suddenly spotted a broom standing upright against a hallway wall.
‘A broom?’
Looking closer, a rag was draped carelessly beneath a window, and a bucket filled with clean water sat in a corner of the hallway. Yet, there was no one around using them.
She finally realized the source of the dissonance she had been feeling since entering.
In this vast mansion, there was an eerie absence of people.
“Now that I think about it, I don’t see any servants.”
Her voice echoed through the wide hall.
Lien flinched as if struck by her words.
“I-it just happens to be a holiday today.”
“For everyone?”
“Y-yes. I tend to give them regular holidays for the sake of work efficiency. I don’t find it inconvenient to live on my own.”
“You’re a kind employer.”
Lien, scratching his robed head awkwardly, led her to a small room at the end of the hallway.
“This is the only space I really use in this mansion. It’s… very messy.”
‘It’s not so much messy as it is lacking in furniture.’
The room, about half the size of her bedroom, contained nothing but a sofa and a desk.
Still, it seemed true that he spent most of his time here; a thick blanket and small cushions were scattered across the leather sofa, and the dark wooden desk was piled high with thick books whose titles were illegible.
‘And why a fireplace?’
The strangest thing about this otherwise ordinary room was the fireplace occupying one wall.
Despite the season, logs were burning brightly inside, but strangely, she felt no heat emanating from it.
“I hope I didn’t come unannounced when you aren’t feeling well?”
As Cecilia tilted her head, Lien immediately threw some dirt from beside the hearth onto the logs.
“No! The, the butler brought some logs, so I just lit a fire for fun.”
Sizzle. Faint smoke rose from the extinguished logs. Cecilia peered under his robe, wondering if he really had a cold.
The half of his face she could see wasn't flushed, so perhaps her worry was unnecessary.
Relieved, Cecilia sat down on the sofa.
“You said you’d teach me social dancing today, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Nodding, Lien rummaged through the pile of books on his desk and brought over a few volumes.
《Social Dance for Beginners》
《Read This and You Too Can Be a Dance Master》
《The God of Dance》
‘…What is that last one?’
It was a title she was almost afraid to touch.
She felt a bit sorry for Lien, who was proudly presenting the manuals, but she had no intention of sitting quietly and listening to a lecture today.
“Are you going to teach dance through theory as well?”
“Pardon?”
“You can just teach me yourself, Lien.”
Cecilia lightly tugged on his wrist. It was only when their faces were inches apart that she could meet his violet eyes.
“Is that not allowed?”
The habit of her little tricks came as naturally as breathing. When she slid her hand down from his wrist to cover the back of his hand, Lien flinched and tried to pull away.
No, he tried to pull away, but failed.
It wasn't as if she had a leash around his neck, yet Lien was as immobile as a tethered beast.
Exhaling a short breath, he murmured like a lament.
“Is it truly alright for me to touch you, Cecilia-nim?”
“Of course.”
They were already touching.
Lien’s mouth worked a few times before he abruptly stood up. The books he had been holding tumbled to the floor, and his relatively free right hand was suddenly thrust toward her.
The process of Cecilia taking his hand, being led to the center of the room, and standing face-to-face followed as naturally as flowing water.
“First, please follow my movements.”
“I will.”
Cecilia wasn't particularly confident in her physical coordination, but she nodded unconditionally.
In the small room, with neither audience nor orchestra.
Slow, calm music flowed from a device resembling a gramophone.
To the rhythm of the intermittently crackling music, Lien moved his feet slowly.
Perhaps because he was moving with such consideration for her as a beginner, following his lead wasn't very difficult.
However, every time the span of a hand’s distance between them narrowed due to her mistake, the man’s chest heaved roughly.
Cecilia, staring up at his blatant agitation and his flushed cheeks, suddenly spoke.
“Lien.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of the Magic Tower Master?”
In an instant, the man’s smooth steps came to a dead halt, like a broken toy.
It was an out-of-the-blue topic to bring up during a lesson. However, this was the very reason she had burst into this mansion without warning.
His hands, tinged with panic, began to tremble slightly.
“W-why do you ask that?”
“I happened to read a newspaper from the capital today, and there was a special report about the Magic Tower Master. It said he’s a very wicked man.”
As soon as she finished those extremely biased words, Lien denied them instantly.
“It is likely a false rumor.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
He didn't seem to realize it, but his grip on her hand tightened.
This level of reaction was more than enough of an answer.
Before the music even finished, Cecilia let go of his hand completely and took two steps back.
“…Cecilia-nim?”
And then, she got straight to the point.
“Lien, you’re a magician, aren't you?”
