The Innocent Mage's Spellbinding Nights - Chapter 64
Hisran’s resourceful deputy, Zephyros, twitched his eyebrows as if he had seen something shocking.
Ceres, the deputy of the Blue Tower, who usually endured Sior’s coldness without flinching, also blinked as if seeing a stranger.
Amuro, the deputy of the Black Tower, who, despite not being related by blood to Loretta, shared her formidable presence, also looked at Irina with curious eyes.
“It’s rare to see you late, Hesed.”
Ceres broke the slightly tense atmosphere.
For a moment, Irina felt like she was looking into a mirror.
‘Ah, she plays a role similar to mine here.’
Although her relationship with Ceres had never been bad, Irina felt they could become closer after today.
“Something good must have happened today.”
“Pardon?”
Startled by Zephyros’s sudden remark, Irina inadvertently questioned him. Seeing Ceres and Amuro’s puzzled expressions at her reaction, she quickly closed her mouth.
‘Hesed… what kind of behavior have you been showing in front of them?’
Irina desperately wanted to ask about Hesed’s past behavior, but she suppressed the urge. She had asked Hesed to behave himself, so she couldn’t risk exposing their peculiar situation to others.
Irina tried to calm her racing heart and focused on the meeting. Fortunately, Zephyros, Ceres, and Amuro were not as eccentric and strong-willed as their Tower Masters, making the meeting proceed smoothly.
“…Hesed, do you have any objections?”
“No, your argument seems reasonable.”
Irina opted to remain silent, saying only what was necessary to reduce any sense of discord that might arise from being someone else.
However, this strategy seemed to draw more attention, contrary to her intention.
As time passed, Zephyros and Ceres kept glancing at Hesed’s face.
“Is there something you want to say, Ceres?”
“Oh, no. Nothing…”
Despite the uncomfortable atmosphere, enduring it brought the meeting to an end.
When the final agenda item was settled, Irina let out a long sigh of relief.
Zephyros, watching her, hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Anyway, good job, White Tower Master.”
“What? Pardon?”
Startled by the calm voice, Irina was genuinely shocked.
“As expected. If it were really Hesed, this meeting would have been more of a ruckus.”
Finally, certainty appeared on the faces of Zephyros, Ceres, and Amuro.
The Hesed they knew would not show such unease unless it was related to his ‘dear Senior’. If it had been Hesed, he would have immediately and furiously rebuked Zephyros for implying anything about his Senior.
“It seemed like you wanted to keep it hidden, so I considered pretending not to notice, but… as a mage, curiosity gets the best of me. I’m sorry for surprising you.”
“Ah…”
Realizing she had fallen for their probing, Irina sighed softly. Was her impersonation of Hesed that strange?
‘Even if I shared the necessary information for the meeting, long-established habits are hard to break.’
Instead of stubbornly denying, Irina chose to come clean.
“Though they say it’s out of curiosity, they probably suspect that the recent events at the tower might be the cause.”
It seemed better to reveal the truth now, letting the news spread naturally through these Vice Tower Masters, rather than face more embarrassment later.
“Yes, Hesed and I have swapped bodies.”
“No way…!”
“Don’t worry, Ceres. It’s not the aftermath of that recent catastrophe or a curse. We’ll return to normal in one to three days.”
It was simply a matter of eating the wrong fruit.
With an awkward smile, Irina explained the whole situation.
The three deputies responded almost in unison after a slight pause, as if they had rehearsed it.
“It’s Hesed’s fault.”
“Hesed’s mistake.”
“Ah, so it’s Hesed’s doing.”
At this point, Irina had to ask.
“Um, has Hesed been giving you all a hard time?”
She recalled her Senior Sister and her Senior Brother passionately discussing their youngest junior’s split personality not long ago.
‘Our cute little junior sister, think again. Hesed, that jerk, is not good as a disciple or a man! He has a completely rotten personality. Ideally, a man should be cute and kind!’
‘Irina… the world is big. There are plenty of men out there.’
So, whatever the Vice Tower Masters said, she was confident she wouldn’t be too shocked.
No sooner had Irina finished speaking than Zephyros, Ceres, and Amuro exchanged looks and conversed privately using telepathic magic.
‘Should we really talk about this?’
‘It feels like gossiping about a lover, doesn’t it?’
‘Hmm, it might help save a woman from a bad man.’
And most importantly, it could deal a significant blow to Hesed.
Amuro’s suggestion was quite tempting, making Zephyros open his mouth almost automatically.
“Though it pains me to say it, you can think of Hesed as a blend of our former Red Tower Master and Blue Tower Master, split right down the middle.”
“……!”
Irina’s expression hardened as she recalled the boastful Hisran and the icy Siord.
“Of course, he’s very efficient in his work, almost perfect. The problem is he spices up every word he says with a ton of chili powder.”
‘I’ve already finished everything. What have the rest of you been doing for the past month?’
‘You don’t think the White Tower is an easy target, do you? Unlike our beautiful and kind Tower Master, I’m in charge of being prickly, and I never shy away from any confrontation. Capiche?’
So our Hesed has been showing his true colors not only to his relaxed Senior and Senior Brother but also to people of similar ranks in other towers?
‘Hesed, seriously… The Clarke Marquisate isn’t a military family, so why are you acting like this?’
Just hearing Zephyros and Ceres’s words made Irina’s head spin.
– Are you really going to keep dating that guy?
Maybe swapping bodies with Hesed after eating the Chenus was a divine sign to confirm his rotten personality once more.
“It seems the others have said enough, so I won’t add anything further.”
“Thank you, Amuro.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No, Amuro, if you say that, what about me and Ceres?”
Zephyros frowned slightly and grumbled.
“Haha, as people age, they should speak less. Your words come from youthful vigor, but mine would just be nagging.”
As Amuro’s laughter echoed softly, Irina made a promise to the three deputies, a promise she wasn’t sure she could keep.
“I’ll… try to talk it out with Hesed.”
