Chapter 23
I fell. And Eon didn’t catch me. Judging by the foolish words he had just said, it was clear he hadn’t realized I was going to jump.
“Eon, you can’t read my mind, can you?”
This time, I was right. Until now, I had always danced in the palm of his hand, but this time I caught him off guard. It felt satisfying.
At this rate, I would hit the ground first. My cracked skull would spill blood and brain matter, soaking the earth.
“At least Eon won’t get to display me like a trophy.”
If I had died by that murderer’s hand, I would’ve certainly ended up as one of his exhibitions. Even in death, with my eyes wide open, I would’ve had to watch him call me “Selly.”
Maybe because death was close, time felt like it had slowed to a crawl. Suddenly, I recalled the nightmare I had before coming here. I had fallen from the Tower in that dream too. Time had passed just as slowly then, my mind swarming with countless thoughts.
“But that was a dream… This is reality.”
Something felt off. It was just the fourth floor. Even if the Mage Tower had higher ceilings than most buildings, it shouldn’t take this long to fall. This wasn’t just a trick of the mind.
I opened my eyes that had been tightly shut.
“Is… is everything frozen?”
I couldn’t believe it, so I blinked several times.
Everything that should’ve been rushing past me—the windows, the tree trunks—stood perfectly still. It was no different than if I were looking up at them from the ground.
Strangely, I had enough time to look around. Tilting my head, I could see the sky above and the ground below. At some point, my upside-down body had righted itself.
Just as I began to realize something was very wrong, I felt a warm, soft sensation enveloping me.
“Could this be…”
I didn’t want to admit it. So I shut my eyes again. I knew full well nothing would change just by doing that, but I was being stubborn. And then, Eon’s voice dragged me back to reality.
“Selenia. That was quite a stunt you pulled.”
I was in Eon’s arms. Like a child, held securely and safely. It wasn’t just that he caught me as I fell—my body floated midair like a feather, as though he was holding me in place on the wind itself.
But that didn’t matter.
“Failure…”
The theory I had risked my life to test was wrong. Eon really could read my thoughts. He must have known I was about to jump and cast a spell in advance.
“You really can read my thoughts.”
Eon’s pupils widened. He looked either shocked or angry—maybe both.
“Don’t tell me you jumped just to confirm that?”
His voice trembled. It almost sounded like he was laughing—or crying.
Suddenly, I fell forward into his chest with a soft thud. I could finally feel my own weight again. At the same time, Eon’s feet touched the ground.
“You really should’ve stayed in bed with that injured leg,” he muttered.
Then he loosened his hold and let me drop.
“Ow!”
I yelped as I hit the ground. It hurt. I wasn’t sure if my leg was broken like he’d wanted, but the pain from the impact was very real.
“That little bit hurt already? Didn’t you think about how much worse it would be to fall from up there?”
Now it was undeniable—Eon was angry.
“He’s angry? Why? Why would he be?”
Because he was worried about me. Because he was shocked.
“But… why would he be shocked?”
Because he didn’t know I was going to fall.
I grabbed Eon’s hand. It was as cold as always, but clammy this time—damp with anxiety.
Eon had lied. He couldn’t read my thoughts when I decided to jump. He saved me not because he knew, but because his magic casting speed was far beyond normal.
“You’re on probation for now,” he said.
“Got it.”
A smile spread across my lips before I even realized. I looked up at Eon, whose red eyes still glowed with emotion, and said:
“But first… help me up.”
✦✦✦
“Young lady, here’s some warm toasted rice. It goes down easier with soup.”
Karen set a tray down beside my bed.
“Thanks.”
I started scarfing it down, quickly alternating between the left and right dishes. It wasn’t eating, it was more like inhaling. Ever since confirming Eon couldn’t read my mind, I had been very busy.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
I replied, though I didn’t have time to savor the flavor. I was just fueling this body like a machine.
“Um… The master was very upset today.”
Karen spoke like this was some grave revelation. Well, maybe it was—for a servant, their master’s moods could mean the difference between peace and punishment. But I wasn’t a servant. Eon’s moods had nothing to do with me. So I answered without much thought:
“I was very upset too.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean?”
Karen sounded genuinely confused. That reaction wasn’t what she had expected.
“Because the Tower Master lied to me.”
“Lied…?”
“Yeah.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t angry. His lie had been annoying, sure, but in the end, it worked out in my favor. And since Karen didn’t need to know what the lie was, I changed the subject.
“Do you know anything about the fourth floor exhibit room?”
I still regretted not inspecting Tara’s specimen yesterday. At the time, I had been too overwhelmed by the creepy atmosphere to do anything but get out of there.
But now that I knew Eon couldn’t read my mind, I needed to reexamine Tara’s death.
“It could’ve been a lie, too.”
I never actually saw her die. Never saw a corpse. That whole thing with Tara running into Eon might’ve just been an illusion conjured by my fear.
“I still don’t know why he lied to me, though.”
As an ordinary person, it was impossible for me to read a murderer’s motives. Maybe he needed a reason to take me to the exhibit. Or maybe he just wanted to scare me.
“Of course I know. I’m a senior maid, after all.”
Karen smiled brightly, completely missing the mood. Or maybe this wasn’t about reading the room.
The fact that she could talk about the exhibit so cheerfully meant that she wasn’t normal either. A typical maid would’ve gone pale or trembled in fear.
“Well, she’s probably the same kind as Marilyn.”
“That room was specially made for us by the Master,” she said proudly.
I never imagined the word “special” could be used in such a horrifying way.
“So you think it’s better to end up like that than to die?”
“Of course. Death is eternal disappearance.”
Karen answered like it was obvious. I stared at her in silence.
“Being displayed in the exhibit is a blessing the Master bestows with his great magic.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then… would you like to be part of the exhibit?”
“W-What? Right now?”
Her voice spiked in volume.
“So much for calling it a blessing. She still doesn’t want to die.”
I placed my empty dishes on the table.
“I meant… let’s go to the exhibit together.”
“But, miss, you should rest—”
“Says who? The Tower Master?”
Karen nodded.
“It’s fine. I’ve rested plenty already.”
I got up from the bed and said,
“Even if you don’t come with me—”
I fell.
And Eon failed to catch me.
Given how he kept rambling nonsense, it was clear he didn’t even realize I was about to fall.
‘Eon, you’re not reading my mind, are you?’
This time, I was right.
I’d always danced in the palm of his hand, but this time—I caught him off guard. That alone was satisfying.
At this rate, I’d hit the ground first. My shattered skull would spill brain matter and blood across the floor.
‘At least he won’t get to display me like one of his trophies.’
If I had died at that murderer’s hands, he would’ve definitely placed my corpse in that exhibition hall. Even in death, my eyes would have remained open, forced to witness him calling that thing “Selly.”
Maybe it was because death was so close, but time seemed to slow to a crawl. Suddenly, I remembered that nightmare I had before coming here. I had fallen from the Magic Tower back then, too. Just like now, time had slowed enough for every possible thought to pass through my mind.
‘But that was a dream. This is reality.’
Something felt off.
It was only the fourth floor. The tower’s ceiling was high, sure, but no way should it take this long to fall from the fourth floor to the ground.
This wasn’t just a feeling—it was wrong on a deeper level.
I opened the eyes I had tightly shut.
‘Am I… suspended?’
I blinked several times, unable to believe what I was seeing.
Everything that should’ve whizzed past—like windows or tree trunks—stood completely still. It wasn’t much different from looking up at them from the ground.
Strangely enough, I even had the leisure to turn my head and look around. Above my head was the sky, and when I looked down, the ground appeared.
At some point, my body, which had been falling upside down, had turned upright.
Just as I realized something had seriously gone wrong, I felt a soft, warm sensation wrap around me.
‘Could it be…’
I didn’t want to accept it.
So I shut my eyes again.
Even though I knew closing my eyes wouldn’t change anything, I was stubborn.
But then Eon’s voice pulled me back into reality.
“Lady Sellinia, that was quite the stunt you pulled.”
I was in Eon’s arms.
Held securely, like a child.
He hadn’t simply caught me as I fell—my body had floated in the air like a feather. It felt like I might be carried away on the breeze if not for his grip.
But none of that mattered anymore.
‘Failure…’
The hypothesis I’d risked my life to test was wrong.
Eon could read my thoughts.
He must’ve sensed my intent to fall and had already prepared a spell in advance.
“So you can read my mind.”
For a brief moment, Eon’s pupils widened.
Was he surprised? Or angry?
“Don’t tell me you jumped just to prove that.”
His voice trembled between laughter and rage.
Then, thump—he dropped me into his arms again.
Now I could feel the true weight of my body. At the same time, he finally landed on solid ground.
“You really should’ve just stayed put with that injured leg.”
He released me from his grasp.
“Ack!”
I cried out as I hit the ground.
It hurt.
Maybe not enough to break my leg, but the impact was sharp and real.
“That’s all it takes to hurt you? Then what did you think would happen falling from that height?”
Now there was no doubt about it—Eon was angry.
‘He’s mad? Why? Why is he mad?’
Because he was worried.
Because he was shocked.
‘Why was he shocked?’
Because he didn’t know I was going to fall.
I instinctively grabbed his hand.
It was as cold as usual, but this time… damp.
The hand of someone who’d just been through a nerve-wracking moment.
Eon had lied.
He hadn’t known I was going to jump.
The only reason he saved me was because of his absurdly high magical prowess—not because he’d read my thoughts.
“You’re under house arrest for the time being.”
“Alright.”
Before I knew it, a smile crept onto my lips.
I looked up at Eon, whose red eyes flickered, and said:
“But first… help me up.”
* * *
“Miss, this is warm stir-fried rice. It’ll go down easier with the soup.”
Karen placed the tray on the side of my bed.
“Thank you.”
I quickly moved the spoon from one dish to the other, eating in a flurry.
More inhaling than eating.
Ever since I confirmed that Eon couldn’t read my thoughts, I’d been incredibly busy.
“How is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
But truthfully, I didn’t have time to savor it.
I was just fueling this body to move again.
“Um… Master Eon was really upset.”
Karen said it like it was some huge revelation.
Well, I suppose for a servant, a master’s mood could determine how hard life was that day.
But I wasn’t a servant.
And I couldn’t care less about Eon’s mood.
So I replied absentmindedly:
“I was really upset, too.”
“E-Excuse me?”
Karen’s voice rose in surprise.
Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she expected.
“The Tower Master lied to me.”
“He lied?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t actually mad.
I was annoyed at the lie, sure—but that lie was far better for me than the truth.
And I didn’t need to tell Karen what that lie was, so I changed the subject.
“Do you know anything about the exhibition room on the fourth floor?”
I regretted not confirming Tara’s specimen yesterday.
Back then, I had been too overwhelmed by the eerie atmosphere and just wanted to get out.
But now that I knew Eon couldn’t read my thoughts, I needed to revisit Tara’s death.
‘There’s a good chance that was a lie, too.’
I never saw her die.
I never saw her body.
The image of Tara running into Eon had just been my fear conjuring illusions.
‘I don’t know why he’d lie to me like that, though.’
As a regular person, it was impossible for me to guess the motives of a murderer.
Maybe he just needed a reason to drag me to that exhibition room.
Or maybe he just wanted to scare me.
“Of course. I’m a senior maid, after all.”
Karen’s face was unnervingly bright.
No—this wasn’t just about failing to read the room.
To smile while knowing what’s in that room?
She wasn’t normal either.
A typical maid would’ve turned pale or trembled just at the mention.
‘Well, she is the same type as Marilyn.’
“The Master made that room especially for us.”
So that’s how they use the word “special,” huh?
“Seems like you’d prefer being displayed like that over dying, then.”
“Of course. Death is eternal oblivion.”
Karen responded without missing a beat.
I stared at her in silence.
“Being placed in the exhibition room is a blessing bestowed by our Master’s great magic.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, indeed!”
“Then… would you like to go into the exhibition room yourself?”
“Huh? Right now?”
Karen’s voice jumped an octave.
‘So much for calling it a blessing. You don’t want to die either.’
I placed my empty dishes back on the tray.
“I meant—let’s go together.”
“Miss, you really should rest…”
“Says who? The Tower Master?”
Karen nodded.
“It’s fine. I’ve rested plenty.”
I stood up from the bed.
“Even if you don’t come with me—”
