Chapter 332

Chapter 332. The Mage Tower Master’s Request (4)

Armandy’s ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍blue eyes trembled.

This ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍made no sense. It was an impossible sight.

The ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍overwhelming confusion of witnessing something that should not exist devoured his thoughts.

Why ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍had he returned to the Mage Tower in the first place, and with what resolve?

This ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍place he had left of his own accord.

This ‍​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍ashen hell he had sworn never to look back on again.

The place from which he had resolved to bury everything from his past and live quietly, only for that ironclad determination to crumble like a sandcastle.

The cause of it all stood right before his eyes.

Radel Silvert Cretian.

‘If it were not for you… I would never have come back.’

Biting his lip, Armandy forcibly suppressed the surge of scorching emotion that rose within him. Memories of the past, scarred deep into him, resurfaced with painful clarity.

The day five years ago when he barely escaped with his life.

The killing intent in Senior Aaron’s red eyes, and the scornful smile that mocked him.

From that day on, Armandy had decided to forget everything.

No—he had needed to forget, in order to survive.

He left the Mage Tower and lived an entirely different life beneath the new shadow known as the Ability Management Bureau.

The Empire’s secret organization tasked with monitoring the imperial family.

There, no one asked about his past. In fact, those without a past were the strange ones. It was a gathering of people who each carried their own stories behind them, existing solely for the sake of their missions.

Paradoxically, his new life at the Ability Management Bureau brought him peace for the first time. There was no need for tangled emotions, boiling vengeance, or suffocating regret. He simply carried out the missions given to him and lived through each day.

‘I thought I could erase everything that way. That I could forget.’

But when had it started?

When had cracks begun to form, slowly, from the most unexpected place?

It was all because of that powerless 8th Prince.

At first, he had been nothing more than a trivial surveillance target, a contemptible “half-wit.”

But through the absurd times they spent together—hunting swamp serpents, reclaiming the barren lands of Raviedel, making cotton candy at festivals, frying chicken—Armandy began to feel emotions he had long forgotten.

Comradeship.

A sense of accomplishment.

And… a nameless feeling of relief.

‘Without even knowing the heart with which I left that hell.’

Armandy’s gaze locked onto Radel’s face. His eye color and hair color were different, likely disguised by magical tools, but that distinctive, nonchalant expression and the gaze that seemed to see straight through others could not be concealed.

Outwardly, Radel appeared fine, but inside, he must have been in shambles.

It had not even been a full month since he had faced the dragon’s magic power head-on.

A body that no divine power or magic in the Empire could affect.

Why was someone who should still be lying in a sickbed standing in the most dangerous place in the Mage Tower?

As Armandy was swept up in endless confusion, Radel opened his mouth.

His voice was far too carefree for such a critical situation.

“Wow, Armandy.”

He raised a hand in greeting as casually as if he had run into a friend by chance. To an onlooker, they might have looked like two people who had parted just yesterday.

What he said next was even more absurd.

“So you were here. I was worried because no matter how much I looked, I could not find you.”

His tone made it sound as though he had been certain from the start that Armandy would be in the Mage Tower.

Faced with that matter-of-fact attitude, Armandy forgot the danger of the situation and stared blankly, his mouth agape.

“You knew… that I was in the Mage Tower?”

He was about to say more, but suddenly came to his senses.

“…This is not the time.”

Armandy urgently scanned their surroundings. The zombie-like mages wandering the corridor were still muttering in a daze, but the presence of Aaron, who had just passed by them, had not completely faded.

“Before long, Senior Brother may sense that something is off and come back. We need to get out of here for now.”

Without giving himself time to hesitate, Armandy grabbed Radel’s arm.

Then he pulled him into the shadows where he had been hiding.

***

Step. Step.

Aaron Daryu walked down the final corridor leading to his room, forcibly suppressing the boiling irritation within him.

As always, his brief encounter with his master had left his nerves raw. Though the old man had lost all his magic power and been reduced to playing with dirt, the weight contained in his gaze still seemed to press down on Aaron.

Creak.

Aaron finally stopped in front of his door.

Just as he reached out and grasped the heavy door handle—

“…What?”

A faint sense of unease traveled from his fingertips.

The flow of magic power lingering in the air was subtly disturbed, different from usual.

Like someone had tossed a pebble into a calm lake, leaving behind a faint but unmistakable ripple.

Aaron’s red eyes narrowed.

The strange presence he had felt from that foolish mage in the corridor earlier, and this unfamiliar sensation lingering around the door just moments ago.

It was an intensely unpleasant aftertaste, as if an unauthorized intruder had sullied his sacred domain.

‘Could it be… Armandy?’

The moment that name surfaced, cold fury reared its head in Aaron’s chest.

If it were that man, it might be possible.

Deceiving his eyes and reaching even the threshold of this room.

As much as he hated to admit it, when it came to illusion magic, Armandy was a genius.

But Aaron soon shook his head.

‘An overactive imagination.’

That coward would never dare infiltrate his room. Was he not the defeated loser who had tucked his tail and fled five years ago? If that man had returned to the Mage Tower now, the most he could do would be to hide in some corner, groaning as he searched for his lost master.

And as if to mock even that pitiful effort, the path to finding his master had been perfectly sealed off by Aaron himself.

‘The Mage Tower Master’s room is at the very top of the highest floor.’

That was what he had made everyone believe.

Everyone in the Mage Tower knew it. Dozens of layers of barriers, personally installed and reinforced by him, were densely spread there. From the moment Armandy set foot in the Mage Tower, the strength of those barriers had been multiplied severalfold.

Even if Armandy somehow broke through every barrier with his prodigious talent, all that would greet him would be an empty bed and cold dust.

No one would ever imagine that the master of the Mage Tower was in seclusion on the lowest floor, in an abandoned collection area crawling with beastified plants.

In the first place, only lowly laborers were allowed to enter that place.

“Even if you return to the Mage Tower, there is nothing you can do, Armandy.”

A cruel smile spread across Aaron’s lips. The reason he allowed Armandy’s return, despite knowing about it—

It was revenge.

Watching him slowly wither away in helplessness.

Seeing him sink deeper into despair the more he struggled in search of hope.

That, above all else, was the greatest punishment he could bestow upon the man who had once humiliated him five years ago.

***

HISS.

Armandy skillfully felt along the wall and lit a faint flame in a magic-stone lamp.

A warm orange glow spread outward, revealing the outline of the space.

It was a small storage room piled high like a mountain with books, old magical tools, and various unidentifiable odds and ends. Gasping for breath, Armandy spoke,

“This place is safe. Senior Brother has never discovered it.”

It was a secret hideout he had used back when he still belonged to the Mage Tower.

“Senior Brother? You mean that purple-haired mage from earlier?”

Radel’s calm voice broke the silence of the storeroom.

At that sound, Armandy was forced to face once more the unreal existence standing before him. His expression hardened.

“Yes. His name is Aaron Daryu. He and I studied magic together… we are fellow disciples.”

‘So he really is the first disciple the elder spoke of.’

Looking past Armandy’s stiff expression, Radel pieced together the complex power structure within the Mage Tower.

Rivals.

Jealousy.

Hidden threats.

The elder’s story fell into place like puzzle pieces, clarifying the situation.

“He is currently leading the Mage Tower in place of the Mage Tower Master, who has collapsed due to illness. If he finds out that Your Highness is here, he will not let it go. He is extremely hostile toward outsiders.”

Armandy trailed off and let out a deep sigh.

Just explaining the existence of the senior brother who was after his life was exhausting. He shook his cluttered head and glared at Radel, the source of all this chaos.

“More importantly, tell me why Your Highness is here.”

Despite the sharpness of the question, Radel was looking around the storeroom with keen interest.

It felt like a time capsule containing everything from Armandy’s youth. Failed magical tools made with clumsy hands, bottles of potions with unknown effects, and dust-covered tomes of magical theory.

Radel’s gaze stopped on one side of the wall.

An intrigued smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

A portrait of a youthful 9th Prince, Leon Silvert Cretian, was pinned there.

Beside it were even words written in crooked yet reverent handwriting: “The Great Incarnation of the Dragon, Lord Leon.”

“You liked Leon from back then?”

“Aaah! Do not look at that!”

Armandy screamed and dashed over, shielding the portrait with his body. His face turned deathly pale. It felt as though his deepest, most secret dark past had been exposed.

“A-any mage would revere him! That is all it is!”

Despite Armandy’s desperate excuse, Radel paid it no mind and continued to look around the storeroom. A scrapbook carefully collecting magazine articles about Leon’s exploits, a chronological record of his magical achievements—this place was nothing short of a “Leon Museum.”

“You are good at magic too.”

At Radel’s casual remark, Armandy’s movements grew even more frantic.

“I am not the same!”

He shook his head violently in denial.

“He was born noble and received the ‘Dragon’s Blessing,’ an ability that will be remembered throughout imperial history. And his boundless, powerful, and beautiful magic power is—”

He was pouring out praise for Leon when he suddenly met Radel’s calm gaze and stopped mid-sentence.

“If you knew that much about Leon, then you must have known about me too.”

In an instant, the air in the storeroom sank.

Armandy closed his mouth. Taking the silence as affirmation, Radel continued evenly,

“Then you must not have liked me much from the start.”

Radel knew all too well how Leon’s fanatical followers viewed him, Leon’s twin brother.

The only blemish attached to the perfect Leon—the incompetent twin brother. That was how they saw him.

“…That is not the case now.”

It was the only answer Armandy could squeeze out. His face flushed as if it might burst.

“More importantly, what is this really about?! How did you even know I belonged to the Mage Tower and come all the way here?!”

He shouted, as if trying to change the subject.

Radel fiddled with a dust-covered magical tool and replied,

“I guessed.”

He could not exactly say that he had seen Armandy’s Status Window once Affinity passed 50. In times like this, a vague excuse worked best.

“You were suspiciously familiar with magic, yet claimed the Academy was your first time. It did not seem like you attended any other magic school either. And yet your magic skills were incredible. There was only one place left.”

As Armandy listened, he noticed something strange about Radel’s clothing.

“Wait. The clothes under your robe… those are work clothes worn by Mage Tower laborers, are they not? Do not tell me you infiltrated as a laborer.”

“That is right.”

A look of utter disbelief spread across Armandy’s face.

The Empire’s prince had disguised himself as a mere laborer on the Mage Tower’s lowest floor and infiltrated it. He could not begin to fathom what this man was thinking, or just how far removed his sense of normalcy was.

“You hid your identity and entered as a laborer? Why in the world would you—!”

Perhaps the Mage Tower of five years ago would have been different, but the current Mage Tower was dangerous. Aaron, who was actively seeking his life, held power here. Armandy could not understand why Radel would voluntarily crawl into such a perilous place.

Yet Radel spoke as calmly as ever.

“Because of course I came to get you.”

To… get me?

Armandy’s eyes wavered helplessly.

“There is still time left on the contract. You cannot just run away.”

Radel was deadly serious.

He had never once forgotten the promise he made with Ivan, the Director of the Ability Management Bureau.

“Do not forget that you are a valuable talent I borrowed legally.”

Of course.

What was I even expecting?

Armandy clenched his teeth tightly.