Chapter 48
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I didn’t want to make a scene, so I asked Lord Izren not to report it to the Tower Master. Because of that, your performance was affected…”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
Diarmuid cut Jaina off. His lips moved a few times, as if he were searching for the right words, before he finally spoke quietly.
“I know that woman tormented you under the pretense of teaching.”
He was the sort of man who never spoke of his own wounds — he simply bore them in silence. Until now, he had believed that was the proper way to live.
But when it came to someone else — no, when it came to Ashrid, standing before him — he found it intolerable.
“Wasn’t it painful? Why did you endure it without saying anything?”
Jaina tilted her head slightly. She couldn’t tell what he meant by the question. But since she had to answer somehow, she lowered her head and said the only thing she knew how to say.
“I’m sorry.”
“‘Sorry,’ again…”
So careful. So cautious. She left no room to offend him.
At first, Diarmuid had liked that about Ashrid. If she had ever clung to him, calling him “Father” and whining, he would have thrown her out of the Tower without hesitation.
But now… why did that very trait irritate him so much?
He already knew she wouldn’t open her heart — and yet he asked anyway.
“I’ll find you a proper new teacher this time, even if it takes a while. I’ll be giving you periodic tests, so don’t even think about slacking off.”
After Charlotte was gone, Diarmuid frowned — something uncharacteristic for him.
His emotions should have been sealed long ago, and yet what he felt now was indescribably tangled.
It wasn’t Charlotte who disturbed him. He had forgotten her name long ago.
What filled his mind now was Bezriche — and her child, Ashrid.
After a long silence, he rang the bell. Soon Hilvencia appeared and bowed.
“Hilvencia. I have a task for you.”
“Yes, Tower Master.”
Diarmuid recalled what Izren had told him — about that small white hand, marked by a vivid red line.
“I want you to prepare a healing elixir. Suspend your other research for now.”
“Yes, understood.”
Her ready agreement made his brows rise slightly.
Though the Tower Master’s word was absolute, Hilvencia was of high enough rank to question him when she wished — and she often did, whenever given an order that didn’t suit her.
But this time, she simply smiled, as though it was something she had wanted to do anyway.
“I needed a healing potion myself, actually.”
So it’s because of that child, is it? …Well, that works out nicely.
She didn’t seem to realize that the reason he had given the order was also because of that same child.
In truth, Hilvencia had been away for research and didn’t even know that Jaina’s palm had been whipped until it bled.
—Lady Hilvencia, you make healing potions, don’t you?
She had simply wanted to make one in advance, worried that the little girl might get hurt again.
Time passed, and it was finally Jaina’s birthday.
It was also the Emperor’s birthday, and so even the mages of the Tower were given a rare day of rest.
While most of them were catching up on sleep, one person woke early, unable to hide her excitement — Jaina.
Before her sat a cake with several candles stuck into it.
“It’s simple, but eat as much as you like.”
The garden tables were covered with dishes — so many that even if Jaina took only a bite of each, she would be full for days. She looked around wide-eyed.
“This isn’t simple at all! Even if all the Tower mages came, there’d still be leftovers!”
“I heard the old hag used every rare ingredient she could get her hands on.”
Some dishes were made with ingredients so precious that Jaina hesitated to touch them.
She tried to imagine how much they must all be worth, but quickly gave up — knowing the number would only make her hands shake.
“Thank you all so much for coming to my birthday and for the wonderful gifts.”
Hilvencia had given her a bracelet, and Izren a set of tarot cards used by non-human races.
“Jaina, may happiness follow you from now on.”
“Good things are coming. I saw it in the cards.”
Hilvencia smiled kindly, her eyes crinkling. Izren, unusually for him, spoke clearly and at length to wish her well.
“Happy birthday.”
Even Michael — normally curt and irritable — offered a simple greeting today. Yet his expression was oddly downcast.
“…!”
Jaina quietly took his hand. He flinched, then drooped again like a withered leaf.
“I didn’t give you a proper present… Instead, I brought that awful teacher who hurt you.”
Michael had only learned later that Charlotte — the teacher he’d hired — had been abusing Jaina. Since then, he hadn’t been able to meet her eyes. Even today, on her birthday, he was miserable with guilt.
“You know it wasn’t your fault, right? The one who was really bad was Miss Charlotte.”
But Jaina, the one who’d been hurt, comforted him instead.
Hilvencia, watching, sighed softly.
“Michael, you’re upset because of Jaina too, aren’t you? Why didn’t you tell us what was happening, dear?”
“I…”
“I heard you even told your guard to keep it a secret?”
Apparently, both she and Michael knew that Izren had reported it to Diarmuid and resolved the issue.
“You must treasure yourself more, Jaina.”
Hilvencia’s eyes glistened faintly.
Beside her, Michael’s bottled-up emotions finally burst.
“If you’d just said one word, I wouldn’t have let that woman off so easily!”
“I heard that noblewoman trespassed at Princess Ellia’s tea party and was socially ruined afterward.”
“Her Highness’s tea parties aren’t the kind of place just anyone can enter, after all.”
Listening to them, Jaina tilted her head slightly.
‘Was she really that kind of person…? Well, it’s over now, so I shouldn’t worry anymore.’
“Don’t be gloomy, Lord Michael. That’s not like you.”
“Shut up, you idiot! It’s your fault! If something happens, tell us right away! You have to take better care of yourself, you fool!”
Jaina tilted her head again and smiled.
“Then you shouldn’t call people ‘idiot,’ Lord Michael.”
“Hey, you—!”
But Michael ended up smiling too.
“Yeah, that’s more like it.”
The birthday party was full of joy. Laughter filled the air, and the sky above seemed brighter than ever, as if sharing Jaina’s happiness.
A cool breeze swept through, lifting her hair — and her eyes drifted toward the highest point of the Tower.
‘Somewhere up there… must be the Tower Master’s study.’
Was it really okay to celebrate so loudly on the day she was born?
She worried faintly. He had never been fond of her existence.
If he saw this, he might rage that the daughter of his enemy dared to throw a birthday party.
‘It’s fine — we put up barriers.’
Hilvencia and Michael had layered soundproof and invisibility wards so thoroughly that no one would notice unless they looked directly.
Jaina turned back to the others, refocusing on the cheerful gathering.
She didn’t know that far above, in the Tower’s uppermost chamber, Diarmuid was quietly watching her.
“A birthday party, huh… I suppose I’ve given her a gift as well.”
Lying in bed, Jaina frowned in her sleep. A faint groan escaped her lips as she hugged her teddy bear tightly.
She was dreaming — of her previous life.
—You think I wanted to take care of someone like you?
—If you’re going to talk like that, get out of my house!
Forgotten memories of Min Boba resurfaced.
To her, birthdays had been nothing more than numbers on an ID card.
With no family and no friends, she had always been alone.
—No one treasures me… so what’s the point of living?
On one of those birthdays, she had wandered desperately, searching for an apartment rooftop with an unlocked door.
She’d crouched there, trembling in fear that someone bad might find her.
And on one sleepless summer night, she had peered down from that rooftop.
Because of the heat, windows had been left open — letting her glimpse into other people’s homes.
—Ahaha, Dad, that was so funny!
—Honey, someone picked a fight with our precious daughter today.
—Why should I give you pocket money, you pig?
Laughter. Warmth. Family.
Min Boba had just watched quietly.
No one remembered her birthday…
‘…That won’t happen again.’
She jolted awake. The room was dark.
Curling up against her big teddy bear, she touched the bracelet Hilvencia had given her — one that could track her location. Then her gaze moved to the tarot deck on the nightstand, said to bring luck.
‘I’m okay. I’m not Min Boba anymore.’
Her ragged breathing slowly steadied. Yet an emptiness still ached inside her chest, filling again with quiet sorrow. She closed her eyes.
Just as she was drifting back toward sleep—
Knock, knock.
“Hey.”
Jaina opened the door and blinked in surprise. The visitor was the last person she expected.
“I, uh… came to give you your present.”
Michael’s face was bright red — like a strawberry.
She’d told him that sincerity mattered more than price or size, but seeing him appear so late at night, she realized he must have spent all this time finding something he truly wanted to give her.
