Chapter 5
The man’s gray hair curiously curled only on the left side, hanging down in waves. Dark circles stretched long beneath his eyes, and his dark clothing radiated a decidedly gloomy aura.
His smaller-than-average eyes turned toward Neya. Feeling his gaze, Neya flinched for a brief moment.
“Who are you?”
The man asked indifferently.
Tense, Neya answered.
“Y-Yes, I’m Neya…”
“What’s that?”
“It’s… my name…”
While Neya and the man spoke, Adjuah merely watched them in silence.
She showed no particular surprise at the man’s sudden visit.
“Gary, why are you here this time?”
She simply asked, as if utterly fed up.
The man called Gary immediately raised the envelope he held in one hand.
And tossed out a single sentence.
“Let’s drink.”
At those words, Adjuah hurled the book she’d been holding straight at him.
Thud!
Gary toppled backward after taking the book full in the face. Caught in the middle, Neya’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the two.
Adjuah scowled fiercely.
“I told you not to come here after drinking.”
Gary shouted as if offended.
“I only had one sip—one sip!”
“Don’t bullshit me. I can smell the alcohol from here.”
“That’s probably your smell!”
“What? When did you arrive?”
As the two bickered, Shane emerged from the kitchen.
Adjuah plopped back into her seat, irritably ruffling her hair.
“Shane, drag that uninvited guest out.”
“Mr. Gary, you have legs, right? Crawl out on your own.”
“You damn brats…”
Muttering curses at the harsh treatment, Gary glared at Adjuah and yelled.
“Hey! Your friend’s going through a hard time—can’t you at least drink with me?!”
“Friend my ass. You’re just gonna whine about how tough life is again!”
“Life’s always tough! That’s just how my life is!”
Gary buried his face in his hands and wailed. Watching him, Neya fidgeted anxiously.
Shane promptly reached out to Neya.
“Neya, come here. Looks like the milk will have to wait.”
Neya approached and took Shane’s offered hand.
“I’ll show Neya her room, so leave that guy to the princess.”
“Ugh, annoying.”
Adjuah grimaced, but Shane ignored it and led Neya upstairs.
Even while heading to the second floor, Neya kept glancing back toward the first floor.
“Shane, is that man Mommy’s friend?”
“…”
Shane paused, thinking.
It was an ambiguous relationship to call them friends. Yet they were close enough that “acquaintance” didn’t fit either.
After pondering how to explain Gary, Shane finally gave a simple answer.
“He’s the Lord of the Magic Tower.”
“The Lord of the Magic Tower?”
Neya had heard of the position. The Magic Tower Lord was fairly famous in the empire, after all.
“Is he really the Magic Tower Lord?”
“Yes. Disappointed that he doesn’t match the image?”
“No, he’s super cool!”
Neya quickly added, then shyly avoided Shane’s gaze.
“He does look a little scary, though…”
Indeed, to a child, his appearance was quite frightening. If Neya weren’t so outgoing, she might have burst into tears.
“He’s not particularly impressive enough to call cool. As you saw, he’s just a guy who drinks every day and whines.”
“But he’s the Magic Tower Lord! I heard he’s amazing at magic and lives in a huge tower!”
From a child’s perspective, that alone could seem awesome, Shane supposed.
But to Shane, who knew Gary’s circumstances well, not even a shred of respect remained.
“I don’t know what stories you heard at the cat shop that gave you such grand illusions about the Magic Tower, but the current Tower Lord is no different from a scholar barely scraping by under the imperial palace’s thumb. Too busy watching the palace’s mood to do what he truly wants.”
Shane’s harsh assessment ended with a bitter smile.
“No matter how talented you are, without ambition, you’re no different from a salaried worker.”
It wasn’t directed solely at Gary.
Neya hesitated, then timidly spoke.
“But… Huey said the Magic Tower Lord is incredible…”
“…”
No wonder she was so enamored. Shane sighed.
Mentioning Huey made Shane’s mood sour again. It was obvious what had become of the child closest to Neya.
Instead of responding, Shane changed the subject.
“This will be your room from now on, Neya.”
He stopped in front of a door with a blank nameplate. From the railing in the second-floor hallway right outside, the first-floor living room was fully visible below.
Opening the door produced a creak from the old wood.
The room wasn’t large, but it seemed plenty spacious for Neya alone.
The bed, deliberately prepared for a child, was just the right size. The pure white blanket over pink sheets looked cozy.
A translucent white curtain by the headboard swayed gently in the breeze from the window.
The desk, wardrobe, and other furniture—all white and matching—were spotless. Everything had been prepared especially for Neya.
“Wow…!”
Though small, Neya liked this room far more than any lavish one in a noble mansion. Every corner showed thoughtful care.
Seeing her reaction, Shane smiled.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I love it!”
Having her own room for the first time, Neya excitedly hopped around.
Soon she dashed over, flopped onto the bed, and giggled. The fluffy blanket smelled of sunshine.
“I was going to buy dolls too, but then I thought it’d be better for you to choose your own toys. We’ll go shopping together later.”
“Dolls!”
Neya shot up from the bed.
The room alone was perfect—dolls on top of that! Any disappointment from the rural mansion was long forgotten. To Neya, this was already the best house ever.
“My room is at the end of the second floor, so come find me if anything happens. Even in the middle of the night.”
“When are we buying dolls?”
“Hmm. If you sleep and eat well, we could go as soon as tomorrow.”
“I’m super good at that!”
She’d always eaten and slept well at the cat shop, earning heaps of affection from the staff. Even as a toddler, she’d rarely fussed about bedtime.
“You should sleep a bit early tonight. It’ll get pretty noisy downstairs soon.”
“Downstairs… you mean Mommy?”
No sooner had she said it than commotion erupted outside the door.
“I really loved you, Lydia—!”
Gary’s pitiful wail echoed.
“…”
Shane buried his face in one hand.
“Here we go again…”
“That’s what the Magic Tower Lord said?”
Neya tilted her head.
Resigned, Shane opened the door and stepped out. Neya followed.
The two looked down from the railing at the first floor.
Bottles now rolled across the table. How many had they emptied in that short time? Empty bottles piled up.
Adjuah drank alone, pouring and gulping from her glass, while Gary lay face-down amid the empties, sobbing.
Watching the scene, Shane thought:
‘What a mess.’
It truly was a mess.
A pathetic display of adults—so embarrassing that he felt guilty showing it to Neya.
Neya quietly observed downstairs, then turned to Shane.
“So… Mommy and the Magic Tower Lord really are friends, right?”
