How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 34
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“And the Tower Master wishes to meet both of you.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Angelina replied happily, and Blake observed her.
“I told you it wouldn’t be a wasted trip since you’ll get to meet.”
Was that statement from before not just comfort, but a certainty?
Having realized that what she knew exceeded his imagination, Blake found himself constantly reviewing every word she had said.
“Miss Angelina Flaubert’s documents were processed first, so you’ll meet the Tower Master first.”
Sobre said, checking the file in his hand.
Even after reading her purpose of visit written there, he showed no significant reaction. He seemed trained in maintaining a poker face.
“Shall we move right away then?”
“Just like that?”
“Yes. We’ve set up a teleport for those meeting the Tower Master to go directly to the reception room without having to climb the tower.”
He guided them to an inner garden deep within the building.
In the center of the garden, decorated with a dreamlike atmosphere, a teleportation circle was glowing.
“I didn’t know something like this existed.”
Angelina followed Sobre towards the circle.
“Then, I’ll be go-”
“Wait.”
The one who stopped her was Blake.
“Are you sure it’s alright without any guards?”
Due to the Magic Tower’s rule that guards couldn’t accompany her, she was about to go alone.
“I’m with this little one, aren’t I?”
“I know it can grow larger, but we’re talking about the Tower Master here.”
Blake, who hadn’t known about this regulation, was quite flustered.
But she seemed too calm about this again.
Was it because she was already in some kind of deal with the Magic Tower and knew about this? Even so, shouldn’t she be at least a bit nervous?
It wasn’t just her that was strange. Laura and Haley, who had stepped back, didn’t look particularly worried either.
While the knight order members seemed restless, the captain, Zeke, was not.
Blake didn’t know that the key figures of the Marquis family, unlike the other members, were calm because they knew the Tower Master’s identity.
“You’ll be going alone later too, won’t you, Your Grace?”
“My case is different.”
“Is it? The opponent is still the Tower Master, you know?”
Angelina threw his words back at him.
She could say this because she had read in the novel that even if the male lead was the world’s strongest swordsman, the outcome would be unpredictable if he clashed with the Tower Master.
“I’ll be going then.”
As Angelina moved onto the teleport, she added before being swallowed by the bright light.
“If things look really bad, come rescue me splendidly, Your Grace. I’ll wait for a hero like a princess in a fairy tale.”
She left with those playful words and disappeared in an instant.
Blake stared at the empty teleportation circle for a long time. His lips parted slightly.
“That’s why… I told you not to trust me so easily.”
She was a woman with a talent for unsettling people’s hearts with insincere words of expectation.
***
As the light faded and she opened her eyes, Angelina found herself in an unfamiliar place.
But upon closer inspection, she realized she was the only one standing on the teleportation symbol.
“Hm? I guess Mage Sobre wasn’t coming along.”
So the guidance was over?
Angelina took a step and scanned her surroundings.
The space itself was so dark that it was hard to distinguish between the ceiling and walls. It felt like being alone in an infinite universe.
The stars scattered like jewel dust and the low-lying fragrant smoke made the space even more mysterious.
“It’s beautiful.”
She had often imagined what it would feel like to enter the night sky while looking up at it.
It seemed as if going to that high place would reveal an unknown world, a mysterious space, and endless possibilities.
And now it felt like that imagination had come true.
‘This space certainly suits that enigmatic Tower Master.’
With a pleased smile on her face, Angelina looked around as she took one step after another, but soon stopped and let out a bewildered sigh.
“So where is the Tower Master?”
The space was beautiful, but that wasn’t why she had come here.
It was then.
“This is a first.”
A sweet male voice was heard from behind.
Angelina turned around and discovered a figure standing there.
With his face hidden behind a mask and his robe elegantly draped behind him, he was watching her with his arms crossed.
“Is this your imagined ‘Tower Master’?”
He was wearing a mask that covered his entire face, barely revealing his jawline, making it impossible to guess his expression.
“Are you the Tower Master?”
“Such formal speech.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Would you prefer something more casual?”
“That’s not bad.”
“Shall we drop the formalities?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“What about how to address you?”
“As you like.”
“Don’t you have a name?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Then I’ll call you ‘Secret’.”
“I’d prefer an affectionate nickname.”
“How about ‘Aesi’ for ‘Affectionate Secret’?”
“That’s too lazy.”
“It’s my best effort.”
The back-and-forth conversation flowed naturally.
Angelina found it fascinating.
She wasn’t particularly good with words, yet she could converse so comfortably with someone she just met.
‘Is it because of the inner familiarity built up from the novel?’
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that awkward with the male lead either. It seemed to be the novel’s effect.
“So, do you think I’d win if I fought with Duke Kadenhart?”
The Tower Master asked.
“Why so sudden?”
“You just said it earlier. ‘The opponent is the Tower Master’.”
Angelina chuckled.
“Isn’t eavesdropping cheating?”
“It’s my territory, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
“So, your answer?”
“How could I predict the outcome of a battle between the two strongest in the world?”
“Hmm~?”
At Angelina’s honest answer, the Tower Master unfolded his arms and slowly caressed his jawline.
“If you say I’d win… were you trying to gain an advantage in the deal?”
At his playful question, the Tower Master’s hand paused. Then, as if lost in thought, he removed his hand from his chin.
‘…Hm?’
Suddenly, Angelina’s gaze caught his movements.
The gesture of repeatedly rubbing his index finger with his thumb, occasionally clenching and unclenching his fist.
It was a familiar movement.
A strange sense of dissonance briefly settled in her chest, but Angelina ignored it.
She didn’t want to waste time on implausible thoughts.
“I know the location of the black lake where the sun’s shadow is reflected.”
“Yes.”
“Do you even know what that means?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really know where it is?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Secret.”
“You’re saying you know where a sacred relic is that even the Order hasn’t been able to find for hundreds of years?”
“Yes.”
The Tower Master asked again in disbelief, but Angelina answered with the same unchanging expression.
“Who’s been spouting nonsense to you?”
“I never said I heard it from someone.”
“There’s no way you could have read it somewhere.”
“Why do you think that?”
“If it were in any documents, either I or the Order would have seen it by now.”
“But seeing something and interpreting it correctly are two different things.”
“So it’s your own interpretation?”
“Hmm, I suppose so?”
“So it’s not certain after all.”
“It is certain.”
“Countless people have made incorrect interpretations like this before. They were all convinced they were right.”
“I never said it was my interpretation.”
“Then whose is it?”
“God’s?”
“…Stop joking around.”
The Tower Master scolded her, saying it wasn’t the time for jokes, but Angelina had nothing else to say.
The novel had told her, so how else could she explain it other than ‘God’?
“Whether to believe it or not is up to you. I’ve just put that information out as my trading item, so it’s your decision whether to take it or not, Aesi.”
“……”
The Tower Master didn’t respond.
And Angelina noticed him moving his hand again, just like before.
‘…It must be my imagination?’
The habit of fiddling with his index finger using his thumb, then clenching and unclenching his fist, was remarkably similar to her brother’s habit when he was deep in thought.
Similar enough to keep catching her eye.
But this person’s hair is sky blue. The style is completely different too.
…Of course, hair color and style could easily be changed with magic.
No, the voice is very different as well.
…But that too could be altered with magic.
Lost in these complicated thoughts, unable to take her eyes off his hands, he spoke up.
“What’s the price?”
His voice sounded quite cautious, but due to the mask, it was impossible to know exactly what he was thinking.
“Five questions and answers.”
An exchange of information for information.
“Isn’t that too much?”
“It’s a sacred relic that hasn’t been found for hundreds of years, isn’t it?”
Implying that it should be worth at least that much.
“…That’s a bit difficult.”
“You can pass on questions that are too troublesome. If I ask a bad question, it still counts towards the five, but you don’t have to answer.”
“What if I pass on all five?”
“Then I won’t tell you the location.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“Maybe so.”
He let out a chuckle.
“It’s a gamble for both sides.”
“I suppose it is.”
He remained silent for a moment as if contemplating, then crossed his arms again and answered.
“Alright. Five questions.”
