Chapter 27
“Sorry for ending the call so abruptly. An unexpected report came in… It seems the Tower lobby is in an uproar right now — apparently, a nonhuman just showed up claiming he wants to become a knight-apprentice.”
Mikael swallowed hard.
Diarmid didn’t answer immediately, which only made him more nervous.
“What should we do about that nonhuman knight-apprentice?”
That evening was no different from any other.
“The color’s different, so you thought it was sauce? It’s actually entrails.”
“You eat entrails too?”
“Mm-hmm. You scrape it like this with a fork and eat it together with the meat…”
Jaina was learning from Hilvenzia how to eat a dish she’d never seen before.
Along with that came lessons in table manners — how to hold a fork, how to use a knife.
At first, it all seemed bothersome, but the more she listened to the reasons behind such etiquette, the more interesting it became.
“How does it taste?”
“It’sh delishous.”
Jaina nodded enthusiastically, cheeks puffed out adorably as she chewed.
Hilvenzia’s face softened with quiet pride as she watched her.
Even though she was served lavish dishes every day, Jaina never forgot to thank her politely.
“Lady Hilvenzia, thank you always.”
“Oh, please. You’re the first person I’ve ever felt it was worth cooking for.”
Unlike her usual sly grin, Hilvenzia smiled warmly.
Then, teasingly, she poked Jaina’s round cheek.
Poke!
“You look like a squirrel with its cheeks full of acorns.”
“I’m not nearly as cute as a squirrel, though.”
“Oh my, Jaina. Are you insulting my taste in cuteness?”
The two of them laughed together, the air pleasant and lively —
until Mikael, who had been stabbing his food in sulky silence, muttered sourly,
“Do you feel good flirting with a kid over dinner?”
“Oh? And do you even know how to make the food you eat?”
“What’s so important about eating in life, anyway?”
Hilvenzia chuckled leisurely.
“Well, I guess you wouldn’t. You don’t even know how to flirt with anyone.”
“You old hag—”
“Our Mikael has no friends, no lover… who’s going to bury you when you die?”
Mikael glared daggers at her, but Hilvenzia only rested her chin on her hand, smiling serenely at Jaina.
It was a situation that would’ve made most people uncomfortable.
Munch, munch.
But Jaina simply focused on her food, unfazed.
A tense atmosphere like this wasn’t new — she’d seen it dozens of times.
And when she ate with both of them, they usually managed to keep things from escalating too far.
Usually.
Sometimes, though, Mikael crossed the line.
Bang!
He slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
“Old hag! Let’s settle this once and for all — see who’s stronger!”
“You act like you’re not already fighting me every day.”
“Argh, it’s that smug attitude that pisses me off!”
Jaina sat frozen between them, eyes wide.
“My shrimp…”
She stared sadly at the shrimp that had bounced off her plate and fallen to the floor —
one she’d just painstakingly peeled.
“Sir Mikael…”
It was as if Mikael had thrown a rock and accidentally hit her.
“I— I didn’t mean—”
“The shrimp must be so sad.”
Jaina’s soft, sorrowful tone made Mikael falter.
“Sir Mikael, don’t you know you shouldn’t play around with food?”
It was the first time anyone had said something like that to him —
and she said it so matter-of-factly that he couldn’t even argue.
“Well, I—”
“Honestly. An eighteen-year-old louder than a ten-year-old.”
Hilvenzia sighed, looking worried.
“Can’t tell if the little sister’s mature, or the big brother’s childish.”
“Shut up!”
“Just stating facts. You’re definitely the loudest here.”
Mikael’s face burned red.
Every time he fought with Hilvenzia, he ended up feeling like the butt of the joke.
He glanced at Jaina for support,
but she ignored him, completely absorbed in her meal — or maybe pretending to be, still bitter about the fallen shrimp.
“Damn it…”
Mikael felt humiliated, like he’d lost a battle.
He needed something to turn the tables.
And then, unexpectedly, the perfect opportunity arrived.
“The Tower Master is here!”
Hilvenzia’s relaxed expression froze instantly.
Even Jaina, who’d been daydreaming, blinked wide in shock.
The whole dining hall erupted in noise.
But that wasn’t all.
“The one next to him — is that a nonhuman?”
“No way… did he really accept him as a knight-apprentice?”
The room buzzed louder and louder with speculation.
Jaina silently turned her gaze toward Diarmid.
‘What’s the Tower Master doing in the dining hall?’
‘He usually sustains himself on potions, doesn’t he?’
She, Mikael, and Hilvenzia exchanged quick looks.
The joking mood from before evaporated instantly.
No matter how she tried to relax, she couldn’t ignore the fact that Diarmid was sitting right across from them.
And unfortunately, his seat — and the one next to him — faced directly toward theirs.
“…”
Jaina felt like the food she’d swallowed was caught in her throat.
Mikael whispered quietly enough that only she could hear.
“The Tower Master must be on his deathbed.”
“Or maybe one of my potions accidentally got to him.”
Hilvenzia murmured, her keen eyes narrowing.
“He hasn’t taken a single bite… same as usual. But then, why come down here at all?”
She noticed that only the person sitting beside him — Izren — was eating.
Mikael raised a brow.
“You mean he came all the way here just to feed that knight-apprentice himself?”
“Knight-apprentice?”
“Yeah, you didn’t hear?”
Mikael explained yesterday’s events.
Hilvenzia’s eyes widened.
“So the Tower Master really accepted a nonhuman as his knight-apprentice?”
“I don’t know. I just passed the message along thinking he’d refuse.”
“Are you sure he actually accepted him?”
“Well, if he didn’t, why else would that guy be sitting beside him?”
Their conversation quickened, turning into a full-blown debate.
But the one most shaken was, without question, Jaina.
If Izren was in the Tower, that meant Diarmid had accepted him — something that never happened in the original story.
She stared at her reflection in her cup of cooled Kontri tea.
‘Did the story change because of me?’
Her small indulgences in the Tower — her quiet, selfish desire to live peacefully —
had they caused a butterfly effect that moved Diarmid?
‘Could the Tower Master be planning to use Izren against me?’
No, that didn’t make sense.
Diarmid already had full control over her; he didn’t need to use anyone else.
‘I’m overthinking this.’
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice that Mikael and Hilvenzia had fallen silent.
‘We shouldn’t have argued in front of her. She must be shaken seeing her father bring that knight-apprentice here.’
Their eyes dimmed with a mix of guilt and concern.
Both opened their mouths, wanting to say something, but closed them again.
‘She’s always so calm… but this time, she’s really affected.’
Of course, Jaina was thinking something entirely different.
‘Would it be too obvious if I went to get dessert right now?’
She bit down on her fork with a sulky look.
“Jaina, don’t do that — you’ll hurt your lips…”
Hilvenzia began to scold her gently but stopped when the hall grew noisy again.
“That thing’s not human. Just look at those eyes.”
“He must be part beast. There’s no way he’s pureblood.”
Hearing the murmurs, a thought crossed Hilvenzia’s mind.
Nonhumans were persecuted because of their eyes —
brilliant, jewel-like eyes different from humans’.
And Jaina, too, had suffered persecution among the dragons because her hair and eye color differed from the norm.
‘Could it be… the Tower Master sees Jaina in that nonhuman?’
No — impossible.
Not Diarmid.
Hilvenzia quickly brushed off the notion.
Later that afternoon,
“It’s been a while, brother. Have you been well?”
“Who are you calling brother? Don’t act familiar with me.”
“Of course. I’ll skip the honorifics, then, if you prefer.”
Rozian had come to visit the Tower for the first time in a long while.
Normally, family visits required special approval —
but since Mikael rarely used his allotted visitation rights, he could meet family freely.
Still, Mikael hated the entire idea of “family visits.”
His parents had died young, and his only remaining relative — his uncle, Diarmid — was as cold as ice.
There was no affection there.
He only stuck around because there were benefits to gain from Diarmid’s strength and position.
If the man hadn’t been powerful, Mikael wouldn’t have even acknowledged him.
‘Blood ties — something you can’t even choose.’
He’d never found any meaning in family.
‘Though… maybe things have changed a little lately.’
He glanced down at Jaina beside him.
Her small head and shiny hair reflected the light.
‘Now that I think of it, that old hag was right — she does kind of look like a squirrel.’
Or maybe, since she was a dragon, more like a lizard?
Both had tails anyway… so maybe it was the same thing.
“Ugh…”
His gentle gaze hardened again.
His aunt, Princess Ellia, unlike Diarmid, did pay attention to him — but in all the wrong ways.
She made him wear ridiculous outfits to balls, forced him to memorize useless noble genealogies,
and worst of all, nagged him constantly about becoming a proper Imperial noble.
Lately, though, she’d found a new obsession — his cousin, Rozian.
