My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 7
Consequently, Lien was hired as Cecilia’s etiquette teacher.
And then came the long-awaited day of their first lesson.
Sitting at her desk with perfect posture like any diligent student, Cecilia raised her hand toward Lien, who was holding a textbook.
“Teacher, I have a question before we begin.”
“Te-Teacher…? Please, just Lien is fine.”
“Alright, Lien. By any chance, do you have a sun allergy?”
Cecilia asked while staring coldly at the robe he had stubbornly pulled over what appeared to be a neat outfit.
During the interview, Cecilia had fantasized about the possibility of him being a clone, but she soon had to accept that the man before her was indeed Lien.
After finishing the interview perfectly, he had stepped outside and proceeded to rummage through a briefcase no bigger than a palm to pull out that robe and drape it over himself.
‘Seriously, it’s not even a computer science major’s plaid shirt—why can’t he let go of that robe?’
She shuddered, recalling her college classmates who refused to give up their plaid shirts and hoodies despite all sorts of persuasion.
Unaware of her urge to rip that rag to shreds right then and there, he answered quite brightly.
“No.”
“Then, do you have a disease where you’ll die if you take it off?”
“That is also not the case.”
“Then could you please take it off while indoors? It looks quite stifling.”
She thought she had phrased it as a gentle suggestion, being as indirect as possible so as not to scare him.
Lien, clutching the hem of his robe tightly, replied hesitantly.
“Co-Could I please keep it on? I’m shy about showing my face…”
She couldn’t understand even a single milligram of why he would be shy about a face he should be bragging to the whole world about, but she couldn’t exactly strip him by force.
Suppressing her impulses, Cecilia spoke more kindly.
“Then please, at least pull back the hood during lessons. A teacher hiding their face excessively makes the student feel anxious.”
It was a request made purely for the sake of her own eyes, but Lien seemed to take her nonsense quite seriously.
“I didn’t realize… I will keep that in mind.”
Cecilia did not correct his misunderstanding.
Regardless, the startled man eventually pulled his hood back slightly.
Beneath long eyelashes, jewel-like violet eyes were revealed. They paired so well with the faint blush rising on his cheeks from embarrassment.
‘My eyes are being healed.’
Wasn’t this exactly the kind of welfare a student deserved?
She had no way of knowing if he wore the robe at the Academy as well, but if he hadn’t, she could bet that the attendance and satisfaction rates of his students would have been 100%.
Finally satisfied, Cecilia openly admired—no, observed—him.
Lien fidgeted, unable to meet her direct gaze, before tightly gripping the textbook.
“Th-Then, let us begin the lesson.”
“Oh, come on. It’s the first day; are we really diving straight into studying?”
Cecilia, who had already opened her book, raised her hand high and asked mischievously.
“Ah, then, is there something else you would like to do on the first day…?”
“Teacher, tell me about your first love!”
Wasn’t this the standard first question for a handsome student teacher?
She intended to find out his ideal type while she was at it.
His eyes widened and then began to waver violently.
“I…”
A sorrowful, downcast gaze, tightly pressed lips, and even the corners of his eyes reddening.
As a bitter sadness spread like ink, Cecilia lamented inwardly.
‘I was thinking of something like a puppy love or a crush from his Academy days.’
It seemed there was a tragic someone whose mere memory brought him pain.
‘Ah, male leads with a past true love are a hit or miss.’
She was on the “miss” side. However, she decided to overlook a potential partner’s former flame.
She wasn’t going to stay here with him forever anyway, and if things went that way, she might become his next “former flame” in the future.
Realizing she had unexpectedly stepped on a landmine, Cecilia hurriedly changed the subject.
“On second thought, I think it’s better to start the lesson right away! Shall we open the book?”
“……Yes.”
Lien, slowly pulling his robe back down, finally began the lesson.
“Um, before that, I would like to ask one thing. Is the reason you must go to the capital to receive the Emperor’s approval of your qualification as the Saintess?”
“That’s right.”
Even if it wasn’t official yet, the fact that the eldest daughter of the Weberdin family was as good as the ‘Saintess’ was something even the street urchins knew.
So, it wasn’t strange that he could guess her purpose for going to the Capital.
“So, about that. Before we do etiquette, could you tell me some basic things?”
“Basic things…?”
“Hm, like the relationship between the Temple and the Imperial Family. I know about it, but I’d like to hear it from a neutral perspective.”
‘Actually, I’m asking because I don’t know much.’
She only knew that the Temple and the Imperial Family didn’t get along; she was ignorant even about this ‘approval’ issue.
For the ‘Cecilia’ who was born into the Weberdin family and lived as a Weberdin, this would be common knowledge, but her excuse seemed plausible to Lien.
Lien began to speak calmly.
“Then I shall explain from the history of the Empire. As you know, in the past, the Empire was a society where church and state were one. To be precise, the representative of God ruled the Empire.”
She had learned while researching this world that, according to the foundation myth, God himself had established and ruled the country.
‘Melanie was so proud that the family that has served God for all that time is Weberdin.’
“As time passed, the divine power and the imperial power naturally separated, but because of that history, they have remained in a state of confrontation to this day.”
Cecilia nodded readily.
Since the traditional Temple held power comparable to the Imperial Family, it was inevitable they wouldn’t get along.
“The two groups needed a way to keep each other in check. One of those is the ‘Blessing’ and ‘Approval’ of the successors.”
Lien added that the Emperor’s approval is required to appoint a Saintess, and the Pope’s blessing is needed to decide the Crown Prince.
It seemed this was why Knox had to go all the way to the Capital.
‘I don’t know why the Emperor is calling the Saintess to the Capital personally, though…’
What was certain was that her journey to the Capital would be quite arduous.
The Capital would undoubtedly be the stronghold of the Imperial Family’s power.
‘The Weberdin family, the pillar of the Temple—and a Saintess candidate at that—will be even more of an eyesore to them.’
Just imagining the people who would watch her with sharp eyes, ready to check or despise her, made her feel exhausted.
‘I hate this. Really.’
Losing all motivation, Cecilia let her shoulders slump weakly.
It was the hundred and forty-fifth time she’d thought it, but she desperately, goddamn wanted to go home.
After the first lesson ended.
Returning to his manor, Lien walked through the empty hallway.
Thump, thump.
Inside the silent manor, there was no sign of presence, let alone servants.
Only the sound of his footsteps echoed hollowly.
He stopped at a small room located at the end of the hallway.
Lien flopped down onto a worn-out sofa, the only piece of furniture that looked lived-in.
Then, he stared blankly at the fireplace, where embers were burning despite the season.
“I-I believe I told you not to follow me.”
“…….”
As soon as Lien finished speaking, the flames flared up, and someone emerged from within.
It was a young man with long, sunset-colored hair neatly tied back.
“My apologies. You weren’t responding to any contact. I thought you had thrown away your communication orb.”
The man bowed slightly and replied, glancing at the orb sitting perfectly fine on the desk.
“……I forgot.”
When Lien answered hesitantly, the man’s calm face cracked.
“May I ask how long you intend to maintain that concept… no, that appearance?”
“I-Is it strange?”
“Yes. It is a bit—no, extremely disgusting.”
The man, Hiltain, expressed his disgust without filter.
If Lien truly stopped acting and returned to his original self, Hiltain would surely have some part of his body severed for acting so insolently.
But the sight of his acting superior was disgusting enough for him to take that risk.
Unfortunately, however, his superior seemed to have no intention of stopping his ridiculous performance.
“I-I can’t.”
“……Pardon?”
“Because I have no choice if I want to stay by that person’s side.”
‘F*ck.’
Hiltain barely swallowed a harsh curse.
Did his superior know that the mumbled addition was even more disgusting?
‘What kind of impossible innocent guy act is he putting on?’
A lion would be better at mimicking a herbivore.
Hiltain recalled the first moment he met his superior.
[Get out.]
Those were the only words uttered by the man who had been reading for a long time, treating the renowned high-ranking mages like folding screens.
The faces of the high-ranking mages who had come to pay their respects to the new Magic Tower Master turned bright red.
[No matter if you are the Magic Tower Master, this attitude is…!]
[I dislike inefficient things.]
The emotion held in that terrifyingly finely sculpted face was merely boredom. Yet, when his gaze landed on them, everyone had no choice but to shut their mouths.
A chilling bloodlust that felt as if their heads would be severed at any moment.
Even the high-ranking mages, who were always the strong ones, were nothing more than mere prey before him.
[For example, making me say things twice.]
Watching the man who elegantly told them to get out so he wouldn’t have to repeat himself, Hiltain had an intuition.
That surviving under this superior would be truly exhausting.
