chapter 18
“…You, young lady!”
Wizard Prinz was momentarily at a loss for words, but then, as if feeling wronged, tried to speak again.
Just as the atmosphere was about to turn heated, Tower Master Damian stepped in to stop it.
“Is it so hard to call her Representative instead of Young Lady?”
“That’s—!”
“Even the non-mages here are members of Black Moon. I’d appreciate it if you could remember that this is a Black Moon meeting, not a Magic Tower assembly, before you speak.”
“……”
“And stop trying to show off by using languages you barely use yourself. Be considerate of your listeners—that’s what real intelligence looks like. Do I need to spell that out for you?”
Wizard Prinz clenched his teeth in humiliation.
The mage beside him nervously nudged him with his elbow.
“Ah—haha, apologies. It’s just that this is his first meeting with non-magic personnel. Go on, apologize properly to Representative Clotilde.”
Seeing that even the Tower Master wasn’t taking his side—and that the other mages were giving him warning looks—Prinz finally lowered his head deeply.
“I’m sorry… Representative.”
“It’s all right.”
Well, some of the staff still hadn’t come to terms with me being their leader, so maybe it was a good thing something happened to draw a clear line like this.
I calmly accepted his apology.
“……!”
I could feel the Clotilde Trading Company staff staring holes through me—apparently surprised at how smoothly I handled it.
Of course they were. Until now, they must have thought of me as nothing more than a fragile, overly sensitive noblewoman.
‘Well, they only ever saw me clinging to Polyus. That’s understandable. But now that I’ve regained memories of my past life, it’s time I showed them a different side.’
As the awkward tension lingered, one of the employees tactfully changed the subject.
“Haha, then—may I go next? I think that…”
Once the mages finished their long presentations, Tower Master Damian neatly wrapped up the meeting.
Outside the windows, the sun had already begun to set.
“We’ll reconvene next time.”
“Then, if you’ll excuse us.”
As befitted the largest meeting we’d ever held, a crowd of people rose from their seats and streamed out of the room.
But I stayed behind.
There was something else I wanted to check—and since Tower Master Damian was also a final decision-maker, we decided to review the test footage together.
“This isn’t urgent; you could easily put it off,” he said.
“No, I’ll probably be bedridden for a while soon. Better to finish everything today.”
“……”
He’d already noticed earlier that I wasn’t in great shape, so I chose honesty.
Damian hesitated for a moment, lips parting as though to speak, then suggested we move to another room.
“…What’s this?”
The new space was much more comfortable than the meeting room—and it contained something I’d never seen before, even as a duke’s daughter.
It wasn’t quite a sofa, nor was it a beanbag. What was it?
“Let’s watch in comfort,” he said.
“Oh.”
When I half-lay down in the soft, cushiony seat, it molded perfectly to my body, holding me snugly.
‘This is… amazing.’
Of all the chairs I’d ever sat in, this was the best. My eyes sparkled, and Damian spoke lightly.
“If you’d like, you can take it with you.”
“I’d rather buy one myself. It’s incredibly comfortable—why don’t you mass-produce these?”
“The materials are difficult to procure.”
“Ah, that’s a shame.”
It really was. The furniture market could’ve been huge for this.
I sank back into the chair with regret.
Soon Damian reclined beside me in a similar seat—right next to me. Well, the viewing crystal was small, so there was no helping it.
‘Hmm… sitting like this, we’re pretty close, huh?’
Adjusting my posture made me slightly higher than him.
From that angle, I could see his long lashes flutter each time he blinked.
Now that I noticed—he really did have beautiful eyes.
I’d only ever seen him standing or sitting across from me before; this relaxed, side-by-side view was new.
‘…The atmosphere feels completely different from before.’
Worried about seeming rude for staring too long, I turned my gaze away.
After all the earlier chatter, the sudden silence felt even more noticeable.
To break it, I opened my bag.
“I brought something to snack on while we watch—it’s called popcorn.”
But I didn’t finish my sentence.
Because just as I had been watching him earlier—he was now watching me.
Our eyes met squarely.
Beneath the lashes I’d admired earlier, his jewel-like red eyes gleamed.
Why did he look surprised—as if he hadn’t expected this?
In those clear eyes, I saw my own calm reflection.
“Uh, it’s good as a light snack too. I’ve told the others about it—have you tried it yet?”
“…You mentioned plans to add different seasonings, didn’t you?”
“Yes! I want to experiment with lots of flavors.”
I answered smoothly, pretending not to notice the strange tension.
After all, it’s normal to glance at the person beside you—no need to overreact.
“Spring of Prisennia, it’s quite a famous new play. Took a lot of effort to get recording permission—it’s our first completed piece, the final version.”
It’s technically a romance story, but that’s not the main focus. More accurately, it’s about the heroine’s personal growth.
In the story, during marriage talks, the woman begins to reflect on her fiancé’s words and actions—
At first, she brushes off his behavior as nothing serious, then tries to understand… until it happens again and again—
“Um… I think your mother is doing too much in my name…”
“Don’t be so sensitive. It’s nice to be doted on, isn’t it?”
“But still—”
“We’ll be family soon anyway.”
The heroine tries to protest, but the man dismisses her concerns lightly.
From an outsider’s perspective, it’s clear their relationship isn’t healthy.
I quickly forgot my earlier awkwardness and became absorbed in the footage.
As the only sound came from the crystal, Damian unexpectedly spoke.
“Did Lady Milla often demand money from you as well?”
Given the story’s theme, it was impossible not to think of Lady Milla.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer,” he added.
“No, it’s fine. Yes, quite often. Now that I’m gone, it seems she’s switched her target to Lady Ingda instead.”
“She hasn’t changed at all.”
Though he wasn’t speaking loudly, his voice seemed closer, deeper somehow.
His frown—those dark eyebrows knit together—looked sharper than usual.
Turning back toward him, I chuckled softly.
‘Honestly, I think he hates Lady Milla even more than I do.’
It felt nice to be understood. Who else could I talk to about this?
“Anyway, thank you for earlier. You really said what I wanted to say—it felt great.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“Ah, but even if that wasn’t your intention, the result still made me happy, so thank you.”
“…Think whatever you like.”
He turned his head away, closing his mouth firmly.
…Were his ears turning red? Must just be the lighting from the screen.
No way he’s the type to get embarrassed.
Hmm. In the novel, Tower Master Damian was just portrayed as Polyus’s sworn enemy—so I never really knew what kind of person he was.
“Anyway, Lady Milla is trouble. You’re lucky to have broken up with Polyus.”
“I agree. Lady Milla really pulled every trick she could through her son. I didn’t even realize how much debt she’d racked up in my name.”
Since I’d be working closely with Damian from now on, it couldn’t hurt to grow friendlier. I grinned and shrugged playfully.
“Honestly, where else could I talk this freely? I guess only in front of you, Tower Master.”
Strange, isn’t it? Earlier he looked ready to murder Milla and Ingda, yet somehow I felt comfortable around him.
“Lady Milla’s behavior toward you was excessive.”
“I let a lot of it slide too. I was quite the pushover.”
“…That’s not what I meant. I meant that you were too good for Polyus.”
He didn’t seem the type to flatter, but that line came naturally.
I smiled brightly at his slightly awkward expression.
“Ahaha, I know what you mean—and yes, I think so too.”
“Then why did you… no, never mind.”
He stopped himself mid-sentence.
“It’s okay. You were wondering why I stayed with Polyus despite being treated that way, right?”
Well, it’s not something I need to hide.
After all, if everything goes as planned, Damian and I are going to end up working together closely anyway.
So I decided to answer his unspoken question kindly.
