My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 43
I didn’t know why the Imperial Princess, who had gone out of her way to send an invitation, had gone out of her way to visit her in person.
But if the goal was such a shallow provocation, Cecilia was the one who felt disappointed.
When Cecilia retorted coldly, the Imperial Princess blinked as if surprised.
“……I suppose they don’t teach you how to distinguish who you’re talking to in the South?”
“And I suppose they don’t teach you that a Saintess serves and respects only the Gods, so there’s no need to bow to anyone who isn’t the Emperor?”
“……Is she really the Saintess? With a personality like that, isn’t she just a stand-in or something?”
Dumbfounded, the Imperial Princess even forgot to cover her mouth with her fan as she nudged the maid standing beside her with her elbow.
‘Well, since I haven’t been officially approved yet, I’m technically not the real Saintess.’
But the same applied to her opponent. She hadn’t been publicly declared the successor either.
Above all, as Lien had told her, the prestige of the Pope was no different from that of the Emperor, which meant the Saintess’s position was equal to that of the Crown Prince.
In other words, since the other party was being rude, there was no need for Cecilia to be polite.
The Princess seemed to realize this as well.
Instead of flying into a rage as Cecilia expected, the Princess stared at her with eyes full of deep interest.
“Well, I’m sorry if I offended you. I’ve just been curious for a long time. I wanted to see how benevolent of a human the Saintess was.”
“Now you know. The Saintess is just an ordinary person. One who will curse out a rude human as much as she pleases.”
Cecilia was already sensitive enough, wondering who might be threatening her life; she wasn’t about to offer kind words to a candidate for the mastermind who had come to pick a fight in person.
Despite the blatant sarcasm, the Imperial Princess merely shrugged, seemingly unbothered.
“So it seems. My apologies for the unintended rudeness. I simply couldn’t contain my curiosity once I heard the Saintess had come up to the Capital.”
“Since it seems you’ve seen enough, may I leave now?”
Cecilia felt sorry for the shop staff, who had been caught in the crossfire of this clash of giants and didn’t know what to do. More than anything, she didn’t want to be a spectacle any longer.
Without waiting for an answer, Cecilia spun around. She spoke to Lien, who had been pulling his robe hood down as if trying to cover his entire face since a moment ago.
“Lien, I’m sorry since you went through the trouble of bringing me here, but I think we should head back for today.”
“……Lien?”
It wasn’t Cecilia or Melanie who repeated his name, but the Imperial Princess.
“Hah.” The Princess let out a short, dry laugh, looking even more shocked than when Cecilia had snapped back at her.
‘Do they know each other?’
Lien was the Magic Tower Master and had lived in the Capital for a long time, so it was likely he had run into the Imperial Princess at official events. If so, they would naturally be acquainted.
Still, she didn’t understand why he was trying so hard to hide his face.
“What an unexpected combination. The Saintess and ‘that’ Lien……”
As the Princess muttered meaningfully, Lien flinched as if he had been stabbed.
If the Princess knew Lien’s identity, it would indeed be surprising to see the head of the Magic Tower with the Saintess, who was the heart of the Temple. But hadn’t it been said that the Magic Tower was officially neutral?
‘Is it really something to be that flustered about?’
However, the Princess didn’t address Lien directly and ended the one-sided conversation.
“This alone made the trip worth it. Well then, I’ll see you again.”
Exactly what kind of relationship did those two have, and what were the words she had swallowed? The culprit who left Cecilia with a lingering sense of unease waved her hand casually as she saw them off.
‘See me again, she says.’
Contrary to her desire to never deal with the woman again, it was frustrating to know that a reunion was inevitable.
Whether the dress fittings were slow or her heart wasn’t ready, time flowed steadily until the banquet was right around the corner.
And Cecilia had just run into another problem.
‘Who should I take as my partner?’
If she were at the Weberdin estate, she would have taken Knox without a second thought. But this was the Capital, and unfortunately, neither Knox nor any other relatives were by her side.
As for asking Lien……
Regardless of his behavior, Lien was a nobleman of the Capital and certainly qualified, but he was the Magic Tower Master. Unless he planned to wear his robe even at the banquet, their simultaneous entrance would cause an uproar far greater than the one with the Imperial Princess.
If word of that reached the Weberdin estate, her father might actually collapse from the shock.
‘I suppose Sir Miguel is the only one I can ask.’
Cecilia, who had been leaning all the way back in her chair staring at the ceiling, suddenly bolted upright.
Since he usually handled the afternoon guard duty, he was likely at the training grounds.
However, she found Miguel in the villa’s garden. Miguel, who had been tidying flowers that had grown to knee-height—heaven knows where the gardener had gone—hurriedly hid his dirt-stained hands.
“Saintess-nim? What brings you here……”
“Why are you tending the garden, Sir?”
“Ah, the gardener fell off a ladder while trimming the landscaping trees a few days ago. It’s embarrassing, but gardening is a hobby of mine, so I’ve been helping with some simple tasks.”
The cool-headed Vice Commander of the Holy Knights, who was supposed to strike down all evil, doing garden work.
It was a combination she couldn’t quite imagine, yet he suited it surprisingly well.
‘Standing among the flowers, he almost looks like one himself.’
As she watched the man standing in the rose garden, where the petals were busily blooming, Miguel tilted his head slightly out of habit.
“But what brings you all the way out here?”
“Ah, I went to the training grounds and they said you were here. I was looking for you.”
“For me? Ah, are you planning to go out?”
“No, actually, I have a favor to ask……. I was wondering if you could escort me to the upcoming banquet?”
“……Pardon?”
Miguel dropped his pruning shears. He froze so completely that he didn’t even react when the sharp tip of the shears plunged into the dirt right next to his foot.
‘Is it really such a shocking request?’
With an awkward smile, Cecilia hurried to add more.
“It’s just that neither my father nor my brother are here, so I have no one else to ask. ……Is it too much to ask?”
“Not at all!”
Shouting urgently, Miguel wiped his dirty hands haphazardly on his white shirt and knelt on one knee before her.
“I am simply overjoyed that you would grant me such an honor.”
As any knight would do for a lady, Miguel carefully took hold of Cecilia’s fingertips. Then, he pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand.
Cecilia, who had only ever been used to the plain greetings of clergymen, gave a small flinch.
‘I never thought I’d experience a scene I’ve only read about in books.’
For some reason, the back of her neck felt hot.
However, the lingering feeling didn’t last long.
Thud.
A strange presence was heard nearby.
Lien, standing tall in the middle of the garden, was staring at the two of them blankly.
‘Why is Lien here……? No, how long has he been watching?’
She couldn’t bring herself to meet those violet eyes, which were trembling as if he were a man who had been wounded.
But before Cecilia could take any action, Lien strode toward them, closing the distance.
He pulled her hand out of Miguel’s grasp and began rubbing the back of her hand vigorously with the hem of his own shirt.
As if even that wasn’t enough, he gnawed on his lower lip.
“Th-this isn’t enough. Let’s go to the infirmary. They’ll have disinfectant there……”
Lien led her away, muttering in a thick, strained voice.
However, her body didn’t budge. Her other hand had been firmly caught by Miguel.
Miguel, who was always calm or gentle, had hardened his face with an unfamiliar coldness.
“I cannot tolerate the rudeness of someone dragging the Saintess’s hand away so recklessly. Let go of that hand.”
Lien turned slowly at the heavy warning.
His face, cast in deep shadow, looked incredibly grim. In particular, his chillingly sunken gaze looked as if he were ready to bury someone.
“Don’t interfere.”
Not this time; he couldn’t give up this time.
His incoherent whispering was bordering on eerie, so Cecilia finally stepped in to handle the situation.
“Sir Miguel, I’m fine. So, I’m going to go have a word with Lien.”
“I am aware that he is someone the Marquis assigned to you, but this man’s status is uncertain. He cannot be trusted.”
He was right. Lien was a liar, his true identity was still unknown, and he was hard to trust.
But……
“Lien won’t hurt me.”
She was shaken by her own words, which had slipped out before she realized it.
‘Did I actually want to believe that he wouldn’t hurt me?’
In any case, with a witness like the Vice Commander of the Holy Knights present in broad daylight, she didn’t think he would openly try to strangle her.
“Saintess-nim, even so……”
“Then I’ll talk to him somewhere not too far from here. You can feel at ease then, right?”
When the Saintess refused to back down, Miguel finally let his strength fade from his hand.
Now only Lien remained.
Even though it was her hand that was being held, Cecilia was the one who led him toward the edge of the garden on the opposite side.
‘At this distance, our conversation shouldn’t be overheard.’
