Chapter 96
He was shrouded in black magic, but he was clear to her.
‘… Henus.’
Karen’s lips twitched.
The more she felt the energy, the more her mood sank.
Karen’s eyes became as frigid as the snow in the north wind.
‘Black Tower.’
She stared at the tower.
It was then.
At the top of the tower, by the window, she saw a familiar face.
‘That…’
It was the man who was jealous of Elena and messed up her lab.
‘Lupes.’
That was definitely his name.
Back when he was still in the Magic Tower, she knew that he had nowhere else to go.
Hence his decision to permanently reside in the Magic Tower.
But she never thought he’d end up in the Black Tower.
‘Did you do that because you thought you had no place you felt secure?’
Karen’s lips twisted and rose.
It felt ridiculous.
‘… Killian Halos, Lupes, Henus.’
It was he who gathered them.
Just like Lupes was jealous of Elena, that man was jealous of her in the past.
His energy was constantly flowing from the Black Tower.
Karen’s prediction came true.
The leader of the Black Tower; the one who led the monsters, and the person responsible for bringing Henus back to life with his black magic.
‘… What should I do?’
Karen pondered.
She could attack the Black Tower now.
But this was in the middle of enemy territory.
Moreover, she could feel this intuitive rejection from the aura emanating from the Black Tower.
Besides, she wasn’t even sure she could completely eradicate the Black Tower by herself.
The magic of the Black Tower was more powerful than she initially thought.
‘We’d better do something.’
Karen chewed on her lip, mulling over what to do.
Just then.
The main gates of the Black Tower opened.
The monsters who had been trudging around the tower promptly focused their attention on it all at once.
However, the monsters couldn’t approach it and just wandered seamlessly.
The man who came out of the Black Tower looked at the monsters with a contemptuous gaze before moving on.
The destination was unknown, but he seemed to be heading somewhere.
Because of the dark magic that was circulating from him, the monsters didn’t come any closer.
Karen just stared solemnly at him.
She waited for the departing Lupes to move a bit further from the tower.
When the distance between the Black Tower and Lupes widened quite a bit, Karen smiled brightly and began to move.
After completely erasing her traces, she flew through the skies of the Black Continent without a word.
And in an instant, she stood behind Lupes.
Meanwhile, Lupes kept walking, entirely clueless about his surroundings.
But the next moment.
He turned his head to the eerie feeling he felt behind him.
In an instant, he met those sharp eyes that alarmed him.
But that was only for a moment.
Lupes’ consciousness began to blur.
Just before his body fell to the ground.
Karen’s magical power enveloped him.
At the same time, Lupes’ body disappeared into thin air, just like her.
It took less than a second for Karen to kidnap Lupes.
Because it was such a fleeting moment, the Wizard in the Black Tower did not notice Karen’s energy.
*****
Early morning.
Under the sun’s rays, Elena slowly opened her eyes.
The warm sunlight wrapped around her, simultaneously, she felt someone’s breath next to her.
When she raised her head, she saw Lexion, who was still sleeping soundly.
‘Lexion is undoubtedly handsome even in the early morning.’
Lexion’s beauty, slumbering beneath the sunlight, was truly a work of art.
Elena smiled in contentment.
Still watching his sleeping figure – his arm around her waist – she suddenly had a strange thought.
‘… I wonder if this is what it would be like to be married?’
It felt good thinking about it, but it was quite odd.
“Uh….”
At that time, Lexion moved and turned.
He slowly opened his eyes; as soon as he woke up, a smile appeared on Elena’s face.
“Did Elena sleep well?”
His voice was deeper and huskier.
Aside from that sensual tone in his voice that she found pleasant to listen to, the hand on her waist tightened significantly.
“Yes. Did you sleep well, Lexion?”
As Elena answered with a smile, Lexion pressed his cheek against hers.
“I slept well too.”
Hearing his response, Elena also grinned.
He kissed Elena’s cheek, then her lips.
Then he pulled her into his arms and held her close.
“Seeing Elena’s face as soon as I woke up…”
Lexion expressed, a gratified tone in his voice.
“I wish every day was like this.”
He muttered.
Elena didn’t say anything.
It was great to be with Lexion, but thinking about marriage still made her feel strange.
*****
It was late in the afternoon when Elena returned to the Magic Tower.
Getting up late and eating with Lexion, quite a bit of time had passed
Lexion wanted to spend a little more time with Elena, but he couldn’t.
He was the duke. Despite finalizing all of the matters that urgently needed his attention, even if he said he was done with them, it would quickly pile up again.
Therefore, Elena returned to the Magic Tower alone.
Elena stretched and slowly walked out of the lab.
There wasn’t much to do, but she could take a short rest.
It was a passing thought.
So she was walking to her dorm when someone called her from the other side.
“Elena!”
Elena’s head jolted at the enthusiastic man’s voice.
“Jacob?”
He hurriedly went towards her, wearing a brilliant expression.
“What’s going on here…?”
Elena asked, startled.
Jacob handed her an envelope, which had a crooked writing on it.
“Here. I’m here to deliver this.”
Jacob chuckled as Elena took the envelope.
“What is this…”
“Open it.”
At Jacob’s urging, Elena stared at the envelope.
The handwriting was that of a child.
To Sister Elena.
No way.
Elena’s lips gleefully trembled.
She ecstatically opened the envelope.
Inside it was a small card.
The contents were skewedly written, but there was no difficulty in recognizing them.
On the contrary, she found the clumsy writing adorable.
Elena couldn’t help smiling.
Sister Elena!
It’s Sera. Thank you always.
Come to my house to play.
I miss you.
Sera.
The writing was sloppy, but the content was endearing.
As Elena looked at the card and smiled, Jacob asked her.
“Elena, if you have time today, how about going to dinner together? Roen and Sera are waiting for you.”
There was nothing to do right away this evening, and she was also thrilled with the invitation.
So Elena nodded in agreement.
“Okay.”
*****
The sun was setting.
Jacob, who had invited Elena to his home, was currently swamped by piles of papers.
It was the aftermath of his 3-day vacation.
“Elena, would you like to go first?”
Jacob turned to her with a frown.
She smiled and complied.
She had already heard from Jacob about which portal to use in the tower.
The portal connected to the house where Roen and Sera resided was on the same floor as the office of the East Tower Lord.
Jacob specifically asked the Archmage to have it installed.
She said it cost him a lot of money, but Jacob seemed satisfied.
‘Because he said he obtained something more valuable than money.’
Elena bowed her head to Jacob before leaving the office of the East Tower Lord.
“Then I’ll go and play with Sera first.”
“Yes, thank you.”
After greeting Jacob, Elena left his office.
To the right of Jacob’s office was another room.
Inside the room – which could only be entered by those with the permission of Jacob – was a floating portal.
Standing in front of the portal, Elena took a short breath.
She was about to meet those two, whose lives eventually improved after leaving their home in the slums.
With a light smile, Elena crossed the portal.
She arrived at a housing complex in the capital.
This housing complex was the capital’s middle-class neighborhood.
According to Jacob, he, Roen, and Sera were supposed to live in a mansion previously inhabited by an aristocrat.
However, Roen refused his offer.
She stated she was happy just to be with him.
‘Perhaps, I would have thought the same.’
It was nice to have a big house, but if you were with someone you love, the size of the house didn’t matter.
As she walked along, she found herself near their home.
Jacob had given her the location of their place beforehand, so it was easy to find.
Sera, Roen, and Jacob.
The new home of the family of three was lovely.
A house with a decent-sized yard, not too big and not too small.
Although winter was approaching, the child was running around the yard, smiling cheerfully.
And Roen was sitting at the tea table in the yard, watching Sera with a smile.
“Huh? Sister!”
Sera, who was playing around the yard, noticed Elena and ran to her.
Sera appeared much brighter than the last time she had seen her.
The clothes she was wearing had also changed into something neat, causing the worries she had sometimes to disappear completely.
“You’re here?”
At Sera’s call, Roen got up from her seat and approached her.
Like Sera, Roen looked more vibrant than before.
She was still dressed modestly, but the person seemed to be glowing.
“Roen, Sera.”
Elena went straight to the two of them.
