Chapter 32
The Magic Tower was in an uproar.
That was because the day of the Prayer Festival was drawing near.
“Those decorations don’t go there! Haven’t you done this over forty times already? How do you still not know?”
“S-Sorry…”
Hael Terzen let out a deep sigh.
It was entirely his job to crawl out of the lab like some undead creature and patrol around the Magic Tower, supervising the junior mages under the guise of nagging.
Seriously, what is that owner of mine doing holed up in his room…!
“Just now, I believe you had some rather disrespectful thoughts.”
“AAACK!”
At that moment, a chilling voice whispered right by Hael’s ear.
With a startled scream, Hael turned around in shock.
Sure enough, it was none other than the Tower Master—no longer his master but practically his sworn enemy—smirking down at him with that ever-smooth face.
“When did you get out here?!”
“Now you’re even screaming at me?”
“…Lord Ruaer.”
Hael barely held back his rising frustration as he addressed him.
Hiperion chuckled quietly.
“Isn’t this like your hundredth time preparing for the festival? Stop whining and get on with it.”
How could someone say something so heartlessly evil…?
Hael was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing in disbelief.
“Isn’t the whole point of this Prayer Festival to commemorate the day you discovered the origin of magic, Lord Ruaer?”
“…Bringing up ancient history, are we.”
Hiperion muttered with a displeased frown.
Magic.
The single greatest reason Emperor Adelstein was able to establish the Empire.
In ancient times, humans were both deeply fascinated and terrified by magic, even calling it a devil’s art.
Just a single misstep in casting a spell painstakingly learned could cause greedy magic to devour the caster down to their very bones.
Fear was inevitable.
That era of terror lasted far too long.
Then came a time, in a world so cold and harsh it felt as if eternal winter would never end…
Fate, in its unavoidable course, gave birth to a boy.
Hiperion Ruaer.
A name known far and wide in his era—a companion of the famed Emperor Adelstein, and a prodigious boy rumored to wield mysterious arts. He became the first human ever to discover the origin of magic.
“This world endlessly pours out countless forces. Forces that give life and take it away. That fill the void and then take it back again. That is what we call ‘magic.’
It is the ultimate, perfect power, never to disappear for as long as this universe exists.”
The words he left behind were remembered even after thousands of years, now a cornerstone of Imperial history known even to the common folk.
“I’ve done this over a thousand times. I can’t even stand hearing the word ‘Prayer’ anymore.”
Despite his great legacy, the man himself simply scrunched his brows, thoroughly sick of it all.
Before entering the Magic Tower, Hael had admired the transcendent being with all his heart. Now he just felt exhausted by the painful truth.
“I already changed it from a yearly festival to once every two years because it was annoying… Maybe I’ll switch it to once every ten years.”
Hiperion grumbled, looking around the hall of the Magic Tower with visible annoyance.
Hael chuckled dryly.
“Please consider the admiration countless citizens of the Empire have for you.”
“That admiration has lasted over a thousand years. It’s creepy now.”
Yes, yes.
With an enlightened sigh, Hael straightened the decorations of summer roses blooming in their full splendor.
If one were to explain the true meaning behind the Prayer Festival, it would be a celebration reaffirming the eternal friendship and alliance between Emperor Adelstein and Hiperion Ruaer.
The customs of the Prayer Festival remained unchanged.
Since the Magic Tower sat precariously close to the eastern border of the Empire—far from the capital—the Imperial family first announced the beginning of the festival with a grand ceremony.
Afterward, the heads of noble houses with deep-rooted legacies and royal representatives traveled to the Magic Tower to participate in a symbolic oath ceremony, mimicking the one shared by the first Emperor and Tower Master long ago.
The ideal situation would be for the Emperor himself to meet with the Tower Master and exchange vows again—but that was problematic.
Because, well, the Tower Master absolutely loathed this festival…
‘…Even if he was the first Emperor’s friend… I am the current Emperor of this Empire…’
‘How would it look to the citizens if I personally traveled to the Tower and knocked on the door each time?’
‘It would be as if the real ruler of this Empire is the Tower Master Ruaer, not the Imperial family.’
…Thus, successive emperors found it extremely difficult to deal with the still-living companion of their ancestor.
‘He’s offended? Fine. Let them handle it however they want, then.’
And the Tower Master didn’t particularly care about their arrogance either.
Hence, for over a thousand years, the ceremony had always been performed by an attendant of the Tower Master and a royal appointee instead.
“You won’t be attending this time either, right?”
Hael asked, assuming the obvious answer as he conjured a swirl of blue mist around his hand.
“Nope.”
“…Excuse me?”
But Hiperion shattered his expectations.
Hael blinked blankly.
“I’m not officially the Tower Master right now, am I?”
Hiperion replied with a bright, innocent smile.
“Outwardly, I’m known as Rihail Earis.”
…No way.
“Wait a minute… Are you seriously planning to attend the festival as Rihail?”
“Yup. Why? You worried?”
Hael responded in disbelief.
“Why go that far? Of all occasions, this is the Prayer Festival—such an important event—and yet you’re…”
“Such a chatterbox.”
Hiperion cut him off and messed up Hael’s hair under the pretense of patting him, making the younger man scream.
“Just do as you’ve always done. I’m sure Rihail will handle everything wonderfully.”
…Did you even get Rihail’s consent for that?
Hael sighed, filled with pity for his colleague who was undoubtedly still holed up in the office, pulling another all-nighter.
“Attending the Prayer Festival…”
It was the first Prayer Festival Maia would attend as the Duchess of Western.
While she had experienced many festivals in the capital, this would be her first time visiting the Magic Tower.
That was only natural. Back then, Maia had only been a middle-class commoner, not a high noble.
Only nobles with the most ancient bloodlines and noble heritage were permitted to enter the Magic Tower.
In other words, only families whose names were etched into the founding history of the Empire could participate in the oath ceremony.
And the Western Ducal House was one of them.
If the first Emperor’s left arm was the Tower Master, then his right arm was the first Duke of Western.
Sierna Western.
The Emperor’s most trusted ally and the supreme swordswoman who always stood at the front lines, shielding him from any threat.
Though she had long returned to the earth as ash, her descendants still flourished and maintained close ties with the Imperial family.
…With the exception of the horrific tragedy that occurred at the Western Ducal residence over a decade ago.
Knock knock.
“Duchess of Western. A letter has arrived for you.”
Maia, sinking deeper into her thoughts, was snapped out of them by her maid’s voice.
“Come in.”
The maid hurried in with short steps.
Maia waited for her to set the letter down—but the maid’s pale hands never moved to do so.
“…?”
Maia furrowed her brow slightly in confusion and looked up.
“Hello.”
Golden eyes met hers with a soft smile.
When the maid had entered, Maia had seen a familiar girl with brown hair.
“Why are you here…?!”
Maia gasped, clutching the back of the sofa in shock.
The simple black dress had vanished, and in its place stood a man wearing the peculiar garments of an ancient civilization.
“Hey.”
It was Rihy.
…This bastard, what the hell is he doing?
Maia couldn’t believe her eyes and scanned Rihy from head to toe.
“Hi.”
Rihy smiled sweetly and greeted her.
“You can’t just show up out of nowhere like this!”
Her heart was still pounding. Maia glared at him.
Golden eyes stared straight at her face.
“…”
A long silence followed.
The anger faded, and Maia found herself overwhelmed with confusion as she stared blankly into Rihy’s eyes.
For a very long time.
It might have only been a moment in reality—but to Maia, it felt endless.
“I wanted to say it to your face.”
Rihy, who had been looking at her with an unreadable expression, finally spoke quietly.
Maia signaled with her eyes.
“The Prayer Festival at the Tower is coming up, right?”
Rihy’s expression softened into a smile more like his usual self.
Maia blinked and calmly replied,
“I know. I’m still the Duchess of Western, so I’ll be visiting the Tower.”
“Right. I just came to tell you in advance that the Duke of Western will be… unfortunately unable to attend this year.”
…What?
Maia’s eyes widened.
What on earth does that mean?
