The World Has Become Kinder to Her

Manores’ eyebrows twitched slightly but quickly returned to their normal position.

“You just realized that today?”

“What? So, you’ve thought the same all along?”  

Frederick’s eyes widened in surprise, but Manores found Frederick’s reaction even more surprising.

‘Did he really not know until now?’ he thought. He had assumed Frederick was pretending not to notice because he didn’t want to admit that he was in love with a woman born out of wedlock. At this point, it seemed like the current Tower Master was a genius in magic but a fool in every other aspect.

Manores took a sip of wine and spoke up.

“When one becomes the Tower Master, they’re given a premium mana stone as a gift, correct?”

Mana stones were minerals capable of storing mana necessary for the casting of spells. They could hold much more mana than scrolls, allowing for the inscription of a wide variety of magic. Because of this, they were also several times more valuable than diamonds of the same size. Especially rare were premium mana stones, which could hold high-level magic and were nearly impossible to purchase, no matter the price.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And what did you do with it?”

“I made it into a brooch for Loti. I was curious to see what expression she’d make if I turned it into jewelry for her.”

“…Even though your intention was a bit mischievous, that kind of behavior comes from love.”

“I find Loti fascinating and endearing, but I don’t love her. Can you imagine me getting so attached to someone?” Frederick asked with a bemused laugh. However, Manores, reading the hint of unease in Frederick’s silver eyes, sighed before responding.

“Ah, I see why you’re in this situation now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve noticed for a long time that you’re overly fixated on your sense of freedom.”

“…Fixated?”

“Of course, your natural personality is, let’s say, annoying—no, I mean, carefree and playful. But you seem to go out of your way to emphasize that part of yourself to others. It’s as if you’re shouting at the world with all your might: ‘I do as I please! I won’t settle down or be tied to anything!’ Especially when it comes to your family and your lineage.”

“…”

“The Abran Duchy is one of the noble families where the rule of primogeniture is strictly enforced. But your younger brother, Francis, is ambitious, and you love him, along with your family and your house.”

In noble families, the succession struggle could be ruthless, sometimes involving betrayal and bloodshed.

“For you to pass the position of family head to Francis without significant conflict, you’d have to be incompetent. But that’s not the case with you, is it? So, the only other option would be to create the impression that you have a serious flaw in your character—someone who’s too free-spirited and whimsical to be trusted with the important responsibilities of a family head, and a notorious playboy who could never settle down and build a stable family.”

It’s often said that actors who become too immersed in their roles forget who they are in real life—what kind of person they truly are, what kind of personality they possess.

In Frederick’s case, Manores believed the same had happened. Frederick naturally valued his freedom, but the persona he had deliberately created had become a habit, so ingrained that it seemed like his true nature. Frederick himself likely couldn’t distinguish where the performance ended and the reality began.

At some point, Frederick appeared to have genuinely started believing it—that he would never be able to love someone seriously, or settle down, or be tied to one place.

Frederick’s expression hardened. He remained silent. It was rare to see him without his usual playful smirk. Manores hadn’t seen Frederick look this serious since the battlefield.

Although the Tower’s main branch was located within the Bahamur Empire, the Tower itself was a neutral organization that served as a cradle for mages. It was the Tower’s policy not to participate in wars between nations. However, as part of the noblesse oblige, the Tower provided assistance in subjugating magical creatures when necessary.

In the continent of Armenia, where there were priests who served the gods and cultists who worshipped demons, there were naturally also demonic beasts—creatures known to be minions of the devils. These beasts had a penchant for killing any living thing in their path.

Some demonic beasts resembled oversized insects or animals, while most took the form of chimeras, with the combined features of various creatures. There were small beasts, but many were massive, with thick, tough skin. In addition to their sharp claws, they possessed a variety of attack techniques that made them difficult for ordinary humans to combat. Only knights and mages who had reached a certain level of skill could face them effectively.

Frederick and the other mages from the main Tower were often deployed to subjugate these creatures. Despite his relatively young age, Frederick’s abilities surpassed everyone else’s. Given the Tower’s meritocratic nature, he was nearly always appointed as the leader of the Tower’s subjugation team. 

Though Frederick usually wore a mischievous smile that raised people’s blood pressure, he took subjugation missions quite seriously. This was likely because the lives of those who accompanied him often depended on his skill.

— “Hey, you idiots! Use wind magic to push them back, push! Stop casting those weak shield spells, or we’ll all die! Don’t you know the second rule of magic is efficiency?”

— “Aaagh! Are they trying to get themselves killed?”

Given his status, Frederick could have stayed in the relative safety of the rear, casting wide-area suppression spells from a distance. But he always fought on the front lines. The beasts’ attacks were incredibly fast, and only his wind and teleportation magic could save soldiers and comrades by a hair’s breadth.

Even the knights and soldiers who usually mocked mages for being weak would show him immense respect after he saved their lives in the heat of battle. Although Frederick had an arrogant streak, his disregard for distinctions between common soldiers, noble knights, or his fellow mages, as well as his respect for human life, earned him admiration.  

This was why, despite his irksome and mischievous personality, none of the mages truly disliked him. They knew that Frederick would always protect those under his responsibility.

Manores didn’t believe that Frederick was incapable of loving someone genuinely. Frederick simply wanted to believe that, in order to maintain the peace he had worked so hard to preserve.

“The little story I spun while drinking my glass of wine ends here. Since it won’t be easy for you to find another Vice Tower Master, I trust you’ll forgive me for my impudence.”

Manores stood, grabbing the half-empty wine bottle. Of course, his glass was already emptied. As he walked towards the door, he paused and added one final comment.

“Imagine a world where she doesn’t exist. If you can’t bear that thought, then your heart already belongs to her.”

Manores left, his figure vanishing from sight. Frederick blinked a few times, then rubbed his face with both hands.

“That bastard! Dropping a bomb like that and running away…”

What was he supposed to do now?

“Loti.”

What if Lotus were to disappear? If, for some reason, he could never see her again?

“…That’s impossible,” Frederick mumbled, shaking his head.

When Frederick, intrigued by her, had asked her to stay by his side, Lotus had only asked for one thing:

— “As long as I don’t want it, help me avoid marrying anyone.”

Her request was simple yet complicated. Frederick had been slightly hesitant to openly oppose the Marquis of Estelle, so he opted for a more indirect approach. He applied pressure on the families that proposed marriage to her, often targeting lower-ranking noble families like barons or viscounts. After a conversation with Frederick, they usually withdrew in fear.

Frederick was aware that another man, also acting on Lotus’ request, was pressuring any potential suitors, ensuring that she wouldn’t end up married to another family. As a result, there was no chance of her marrying and leaving his side.

‘Besides that, what other reason could cause her to suddenly disappear? It’s not like she’ll die. As long as she has the brooch I gave her, a powerful shield will activate if her body is in danger.’

But if, for some unfathomable reason, Lotus were to vanish…

“…I wouldn’t be okay with that.”

Just imagining it made Frederick feel like his heart was plummeting to the floor. He clutched his chest in response.  

— *That woman has stolen your heart.*  

— *Imagine a world without her. If you can’t endure that, then your heart already belongs to her.*  

The sound he had heard at the Duke’s mansion, of his love life being drowned in cold water, wasn’t just a hallucination. It was reality.

“…I’m screwed. What do I do now?”  

Frederick, one of the most powerful mages on the continent and the strongest Tower Master in the history of the Magic Tower, had fallen for a woman who wasn’t even officially his lover.  

She had been close to him for years, yet he had never treated her as a proper partner. In fact, he might have treated her worse than if he had only admired her from afar.  

***

The process of recognizing his feelings was slow and sluggish, but once he admitted them, his heart raced uncontrollably, and his anxiety became unbearable.  

Frederick spent a sleepless night and, deciding that he had something urgent to discuss, summoned his family to the dining room early the next morning.  

The Duke and Francis were busy with their respective duties, and the Duchess, being a lady of leisure, usually woke up late and had breakfast alone in the late morning. However, none of them could refuse Frederick’s request. They knew him well—his arrogance matched his pride, and he almost never asked anyone for anything.  

At the breakfast table, where the entire family had gathered, Frederick dropped a bombshell.  

“I’m planning to propose.”  

“*Kuh, cough!*”  

“Wh-what did you say?”  

“*Ahem!*”  

The Duke choked on his juice, the Duchess dropped her spoon, and Francis spat out part of the stew he had been eating.  

“Ugh, what is wrong with all of you?”  

Frederick, having just made an announcement that shocked everyone, scolded them as if they were the ones being unreasonable. It was enough to make anyone want to give him a good slap. However, since the Duke, Duchess, and Francis had grown accustomed to his antics, they quickly regained their composure faster than most would in such a situation.  

“You’re bringing up something so important during breakfast, that’s why we’re surprised.”  

“Is there a law that says I can’t discuss important matters at breakfast? In both the imperial palace and the Magic Tower, we report significant news in the morning—even at dawn if necessary.”  

“…”

“Frederick, stop teasing your father and tell us more. You ran off so suddenly yesterday. Did you make up your mind overnight? Who is this lucky young lady?”  

“Lotus. Lotus Estelle.”  

“…What?”  

The Duchess’ eyes widened in shock at Frederick’s answer. The emotion in her gaze was one of pure astonishment. Her lips trembled slightly.

As someone who was still very active in high society, she knew exactly who Lotus Estelle was—the illegitimate child of the Marquis of Estelle, a disgrace, and the object of many rumors in Bahamur’s social circles. She had heard plenty of tales about how young noblemen were often captivated by such women, losing their wits. She had inwardly scoffed at those stories.

And now, it seemed the saying about never criticizing someone else’s children rang painfully true. The very child she trusted had just struck her with a sharp blow.