Episode 63
In fact, Marius was very generous to the Duchess of Aykroyd.
It was because she was related to the imperial family by marriage and was the great-aunt of Edgar, whom his only friend Leopold cherished like a son.
Knowing this well, the Duchess confidently brought the petition from the ladies’ society and went to see Alice.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Thanks to you, I slept very soundly.”
Despite the blatantly sarcastic tone, Alice’s expression didn’t change at all.
“How enviable. I had a restless night.”
“Oh dear.”
“You called her an unstable woman in front of Regina’s family. That was extremely rude to me.”
“That was…”
“You also was too rude to my sister too.”
“Yes. He really was.”
“And you insulted my sister as well.”
The Duchess wasn’t unaware of her own rudeness.
She had desperately wanted to drive her away from Leopold, even if it meant being offensive.
“I apologize for the disrespect shown to Her Majesty. I misspoke.”
“I’ll accept it. Just this once.”
“And please tell Miss Regina. An international marriage is absolutely out of the question.”
“Then if Regina changes her nationality, will it be acceptable?”
“Even so, the only thing that changes is the letters on her ID. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s a Trovancha.”
“Hmm…”
Alice, who had been speaking coldly, brushed her chin with her fingertips.
“Actually, if you were okay with it, I was going to arrange a meeting with Regina. But I can’t do that now. My sister would be too hurt.”
“Ha! Miss Regina? She didn’t even blink and offered me money to back off!”
“Isn’t it nice that she’s bold? I was proud of her.”
Only the Duchess trembled in rage at the Empress’s calm demeanor.
She threw the signed petition forward, almost like tossing it.
“I’m planning to sue His Majesty and Leopold for custody of Edgar. And these are the signatures of the ladies’ society.”
“…There are still people who believe those rumors, I see.”
“If Her Majesty doesn’t clarify the matter, we will step forward.”
Men may cower to protect their power, but noblewomen were different.
“We’re going to formally file a protest with the temple, declaring that we cannot recognize Her Majesty as the Empress of the Empire.”
Alice began reading through the documents.
This time, they weren’t questioning whether Lilliana was her daughter.
They were demanding evidence that Lilliana wasn’t her daughter.
The approach, which triggered painful memories she didn’t want to recall, made Alice shut her eyes tightly in distress.
***
It was a month ago, right when summer was just beginning.
“If you don’t have money, get it from the Emperor. Why are you asking me?”
“Stop complaining. Can’t you do at least this much for a colleague?”
“Because we’re colleagues, we should stick to the Tower. Why am I seeing your face on a perfectly good weekend?”
After entering the Mage Tower, she’d been leaving work at dawn almost every day.
There were dormitories inside, but her small room had long been crammed with materials and research equipment.
Sleeping curled up between boxes was only sustainable for a day or two, so she decided to move out.
‘There could be explosions, so going back to the palace is out of the question.’
So she found a house in a quiet neighborhood with few neighbors.
It was a cozy two-story house with a yard and low rent.
Once the deposit was paid and the move-in date set, she roped in François as a porter.
“Using a genius like me just to carry luggage—have you lost your mind?”
“There are sensitive substances. It’s safest if you move them yourself.”
“If it weren’t for you, I’d be at a party right now having a blast.”
When Emilia stopped responding out of pure annoyance, François deliberately tried to get on her nerves.
“I was even going to meet that famous actress everyone says is gorgeous. And instead, I’m stuck here with you.”
“Will the sky fall if you miss one date? Stop whining and be quiet.”
Seriously, what an annoying jerk.
Emilia clenched her fist.
Seeing François casually gazing at the scenery outside the carriage only made her angrier.
They’d known each other for quite a while, but they still growled and fought whenever they met.
“But this neighborhood… I live here.”
“Really? If even the Tower Lord lives here, it must be a decent area.”
“Not exactly.”
Just then, the carriage stopped.
François scowled after checking the house and looked back at Emilia.
She was unloading her bags from the carriage.
“What are you doing? Hurry up, unload and get to your party.”
“This is your house?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t bother unloading.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Go back to the dorms. You won’t be able to live here.”
Is he really that lazy about helping her move?
Ignoring François’s warning, Emilia unloaded the luggage.
“If you hate the dorms so much, I’ll give you money. Find another place.”
“What’s the issue? What’s wrong?”
François jerked his chin toward the house next door.
“That’s my house.”
“We’re neighbors? Let’s pretend not to know each other if we pass on the street.”
“For your own sake, I suggest finding another place before finishing the move. It’ll be hard in many ways.”
“If you didn’t want to carry stuff, you should’ve said so. I’d have dragged someone else. Seriously, you’re no help at all.”
“Hmm… So you’d rather suffer like a dog and leave.”
Snap.
With a flick of François’s finger, the sensitive substances floated and gently flew into the house.
And so, with the Tower Lord’s “help,” she finished moving.
The next day, hell began.
Weird noises came from next door at dawn, regularly.
Creeeak. Clack. Clatter-clatter. Thump! Bang!
Screeeech. Slam! Crunch. Squeak.
At first, she thought François Cassel was deliberately bothering her.
Though he didn’t show a hint of apology when they met at the Tower, she endured it for the sake of their shared research.
For a whole two weeks!
“…I don’t know what you’re doing at night, but it’s so noisy I can’t sleep. Please quiet down.”
By the third week, she couldn’t take it anymore and pleaded with François.
But his response was:
“I’ll give you money. Just move.”
“Why should I move because of you?”
“Then live like this.”
“Are you insane?”
“Isn’t that you, the delicate snowflake?”
He had no manners, no respect, no common sense.
She wanted to beat him to a pulp if only she had the strength.
But instead of strength, she had grit.
She was so furious she was losing her mind, but she ground her teeth to see who would win in the end.
And then, during another night of enduring the noise in anger—
“Emilia. The tower master is your neighbor, right?”
“He’s next door.”
“Oh my god… how could anyone rent out a house like that…”
Gabriella, a colleague she met at the Tower, patted Emilia’s back with a face full of sympathy.
“Why, what? What is it?”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
Gabriella looked around and motioned for Emilia to lower her body.
She whispered quietly.
“That neighborhood’s housing prices are really low. Because the Tower Lord lives there!”
“He’s a jerk, sure.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. That guy… he’s kind of insane. Actually, totally insane.”
Seeing Emilia’s confusion, Gabriella explained slowly.
“As soon as his father, the former Marquis Cassel, passed away, he completely burned down the family estate.”
“…What? Are you saying he’s an arsonist?”
“He burned all the heirloom paintings and jewelry passed down for generations. It caused a huge stir in the newspapers. People called him an arsonist, said he was mentally unstable…”
“You’re joking, right?”
“You know the Tower master. He’s stylish and loves dating—why would someone like that live in the suburbs? He was driven out of the city.”
Shocked speechless, Emilia just stared.
Gabriella assumed it was disbelief.
“I’ll stake my PhD thesis on it.”
A doctoral thesis—that’s practically a vow of the soul.
“…This is crazy. I’ve been living next to an arsonist.”
Clutching her head, Emilia gulped down water as her chest tightened.
Her head throbbed.
She had thought he was just a jerk with a trash personality, but this was on a whole different level.
Is it even okay to work with someone like that?
…Apparently yes.
‘Well, he is competent… damn it.’
Just as she was internally grinding him to bits, she saw François Cassel walking outside the window, chatting sweetly with a woman.
It was an actress she had seen in the newspapers a few times.
So they finally met.
But why would that woman date a lunatic like him?
François made eye contact with Emilia while smiling at the woman.
Blegh.
Emilia pretended to gag at the sight of François.
François, with his hand on the woman’s shoulder make her flipped her the middle finger.
They each gave as good as they got, so why did it always feel so unpleasant?
Clack. Creak. Rattle. Skreee.
The noise was especially bad today.
Even with earplugs and a pillow over her head, the sound grated on her nerves.
It wasn’t upstairs noise. It was next door. She really might lose it.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
Emilia screamed as she jumped out of bed.
It was 4 a.m. A full month without sleep.
She couldn’t take it anymore.
Still in her pajamas, Emilia stormed outside.
Who cares if he’s a lunatic.
In this state, she could become an arsonist.
Bang! Bang!
“Hey! Open up!”
Bang bang! Bang!
“I said open the door!”
All kinds of sounds came from inside, but there was no sign of him coming out.
Kicking the door repeatedly, Emilia finally went back and grabbed a gardening hoe.
Bang! Clang! Bang! Bam!
She pounded on the iron gate with the metal tool, shouting.
“Let me sleep, you damned bastard!”
Dear God, I’m sending one up today.
No, never mind. He’s going to hell anyway.
Thunk!
The hoe slammed into the iron gate.
At that moment, a dome of light shimmered briefly around the house and disappeared.
“This is…”
Emilia blinked dumbly.
François Cassel’s house was under a magical seal.
Not just any seal—a binding spell.
Even worse—
“…It was sealed from the inside.”
The highest-grade seal, with three layers.
In other words, François Cassel had sealed himself inside.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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