My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 47
“The caviar canapés should be quite delicious.”
Cecilia was reaching for a plate when she snapped her head up.
A jeweled dress that shimmered with every movement, crimson hair identical to the Emperor’s, and those bright red lips she had seen once before.
It was Princess Regina.
Following the Emperor, the appearance of yet another unwelcome figure caused her sudden appetite to vanish as if it had never been there.
As Cecilia sullenly turned away from the food, the Princess abruptly extended her hand.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Regina Hill Lishatria.”
Her manner was perfectly polite, as if they were total strangers who had never met.
‘Is she suggesting we act like that incident at the boutique never happened?’
“I am Cecilia Weberdin.”
Cecilia likewise feigned ignorance and lightly shook the offered hand.
She had neither the energy nor the inclination to bring up their rude first encounter. If the Princess didn’t intend to pick a fight, Cecilia was willing to keep up the act of a harmless acquaintance.
‘Yes, provided she doesn’t pick a fight.’
“Your dress doesn’t look like it’s from the South. Is it a new piece for this occasion?”
“My own clothes were a bit too thin for the Capital’s weather.”
“It suits you well. You must have found a good designer. It’s exactly the kind of design I like.”
Considering Regina knew full well that Melanie had struggled to find a designer, and that the ‘designer’ she eventually found was from the Princess’s favorite boutique, the compliment was laced with thorns.
‘Here we go again.’
It seemed she intended to exhaust Cecilia just as the Emperor had. Cecilia swallowed a deep sigh.
“I was lucky.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
However, the Princess’s attack took an unexpected turn. She extended her slender hand again, her fingertips stained a delicate red.
“Would you care for a dance with me?”
“……Pardon?”
“You haven’t danced a single song yet, have you? Grant me the honor of your first dance.”
Etiquette dictated that one should not refuse a request for the first dance.
If the Princess hadn’t appeared, Cecilia had planned to dance one song with Miguel at an appropriate time and then make her exit.
“But I am……”
“Ah, I won’t take no for an answer. Truthfully, I’ve run away here because people were hounding me. Surely they won’t chase me all the way onto the dance floor.”
Blinking blankly, Cecilia reluctantly took the Princess’s hand.
As if she hadn’t been joking, the Princess led her toward the center of the hall.
‘She really wants to dance with me? Is this even allowed?’
Cecilia quickly glanced around out of the corner of her eye.
While many were dancing to the beautiful melody, there wasn’t a single pair consisting of two women.
“W-wait a moment. I don’t think this is a good idea. I’ve only learned the woman’s steps.”
“It’s fine. I know both. My younger brother is hopeless at anything physical, so I learned the man’s part to teach him.”
“Even so, this is……”
Before her protest could continue, a new song began to play.
It was a slow-tempo waltz.
Just as she had boasted, the Princess led Cecilia with practiced ease.
Furthermore, because the Princess was slender and about a head taller than her, the sight of her leading didn’t look particularly out of place.
Ultimately resigned, Cecilia focused on the dance.
‘To think I’d be dancing the steps Lien worked so hard to teach me with the Princess of all people.’
As she spun a step away exactly as Lien had taught her, the hem of her skirt bloomed and folded like flower petals.
‘I thought she might be trying to humiliate me by making me trip.’
The Princess didn’t act high-handed as she had at the boutique, nor did she interfere with Cecilia’s dancing.
On the contrary, Cecilia even managed to navigate the sections where she usually lost the beat without an issue.
Moreover, something felt different than before…….
Cecilia stole a glance up at the Princess.
Perhaps it was because the woman’s silent face was so unnervingly expressionless. Though hidden behind flamboyant clothes and makeup, she looked somewhat exhausted—even gaunt.
‘Now that I think about it, didn’t they say she has a chronic illness?’
For someone meant to rule at the pinnacle of a nation, an illness was a fatal flaw. It was enough to render everything else moot—the fact that she had been exceptionally brilliant since childhood, and that as the Imperial Prince’s sister, she held a higher priority in the line of succession.
Just as Cecilia was about to discard her uncalled-for sympathy after vaguely guessing why the Princess was being ‘hounded’ by people, the Princess suddenly spoke after a long silence.
“Did you know? This position I’m in was actually supposed to be yours.”
“……Pardon?”
“The Empire was originally a Holy Kingdom, wasn’t it? Since the Pope held a position similar to a King right beneath God, you, as his goddaughter, would have been no different from a princess.”
It was a thought that had never crossed her mind.
Technically, the Princess’s hypothesis might not be entirely wrong, but at the same time, it was a completely meaningless hypothetical.
As she tried to gauge the intent behind those words, the Princess continued.
“Don’t you feel it’s a waste? A Saintess cannot adorn herself extravagantly, nor can she buy whatever jewels she desires. I imagine I would hate a position where one must live only to serve and show consideration.”
“To be honest, I don’t particularly like it either.”
Neither the original Cecilia nor the current one ever truly wanted the title of Saintess.
It was a stifling position filled only with responsibility and threats; she wanted to throw it away if she could.
However…….
“But I don’t covet your position either. Isn’t it the same over there? It’s a place where you must constantly prove yourself and live in suspicion just to survive.”
As she finished speaking, the hand gripping hers tightened sharply.
‘Ah.’
Cecilia’s brow furrowed slightly. But she stood by her words. It might have been an overly blunt answer, but it wasn't wrong.
That must be why the other woman couldn’t refute her and simply stared at her intently.
The Princess gazed at her with startled eyes, as if she were meeting her for the first time—or perhaps as if she were witnessing a new species of creature.
“You……”
The music ended at that exact moment.
Cecilia took two steps back, caught the hem of her skirt, and gave an elegant bow.
Not missing the timing, a maid who had been waiting for the dance to finish stepped in carefully.
“Your Imperial Highness, …… is waiting for you.”
“Right, let’s go.”
It seemed it was time for her to face the crowds she had run away from again.
Quickly masking her confusion and surprise, the Princess gave a slight nod.
“Then, I shall see you again.”
Leaving behind a short farewell, she walked away with the rhythmic clicking of her heels.
‘It’s finally over.’
Unaware of how tense she had been, Cecilia let her stiff shoulders slump and trudged back to her original spot.
She was finally alone as she had wished, but unfortunately, her appetite did not return.
Instead of the delicious madeleines or the canapés the Princess had recommended, she sipped on water while listening to an nameless song with a beautiful violin melody. Then, the sound of a conversation held in hushed tones reached her ears.
A few middle-aged women who had come to get food were whispering while glancing toward a certain direction.
“That’s Duke Delanche, isn’t it?”
‘Delanche?’
At the familiar name she couldn't possibly ignore, her ears perked up instantly.
“I heard he never attends banquets like this. It must have been His Majesty’s command.”
“Most likely. Given the occasion. Besides, I heard he brought all of his sons today\!”
The women whispered, gesturing toward the inner part of the banquet hall.
‘No wonder there was such a strange stir.’
Standing beside the Emperor and the Princess was a man with a cold impression and neatly slicked-back black hair. Behind him, several people in robes stood waiting; they all appeared to be mages.
Come to think of it, people in black and dark gray robes were scattered throughout the banquet hall. Seeing that only those in gray robes wore badges with the Delanche family crest on the front, it seemed they were the Delanche mages, while those in black robes were from the Magic Tower.
‘Wow…….’
Cecilia couldn't help but let out a faint gasp. Rather than the fact that Duke Delanche had brought mages with him, the attire of those mages was more shocking.
‘What exactly does a robe mean to a mage?’
To think they couldn't give up their robes even in a banquet hall, right in front of the Emperor.
She had thought it was just Lien’s personal quirk, but it seemed to be a disease common to all mages.
She was just thinking of a certain black-robed mage who would currently be buried under a mountain of work when—
“Is that man perhaps ‘the’ second son?”
“Oh my, the second son of Delanche would never appear in public\!”
‘The second son of Delanche?’
Cecilia subtly drifted closer to the women to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Haven’t you heard the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“Unlike the eldest son, Duke Delanche has kept his second son hidden away, right? They say it’s actually because his appearance is so shockingly hideous that he can’t possibly show his face\! But his magic skills are so exceptional that even the Duke couldn't keep him hidden forever\!”
“Goodness, is that true?”
“Who knows? He’s so reclusive that there are even rumors he doesn't exist, or that the Duke might have adopted a talented mage\!”
“I don’t know about his looks, but he must be a real biological child. I heard talk of a marriage proposal between him and Her Imperial Highness.”
“Then he must have come to see the Princess\!”
Cecilia looked at the man in the gray robe who stood particularly tall between Duke Delanche and the Princess.
‘Is that man the second son?’
The rumors were so grim that he seemed to be the subject of as much gossip as she was.
‘Well, I don’t feel sorry for him at all.’
If it was true that his magic skills were exceptional, there was a possibility that the second son of Delanche was one of the masterminds.
The moment her suspicions deepened.
Her eyes met those of the gray-robed man who had been conversing with the Princess.
