Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“What?”

Reinhart shrugged at Silon’s question. With Valeta in his arms, Reinhart looked around the dining room once more. Not a single soul remained alive. The rats that used to roam these halls were no more.

“Did you prepare what I asked for, Kurt?”

“Yes, my lord. Here is the report on Count Delight’s corruption and illicit activities.” This time, the man with the raven hair replied. His jet-black hair was short, like a crew cut, and a sullen look accompanied his blunt words.

Reinhart’s eyes continued to roam the room, and he made no move to take the sheaf of papers Kurt had in his hands. With an indifferent gaze, he said, “Just toss them. They can interpret it for themselves.”

“Yes, my lord,” the robed man responded. He threw the stack of papers into the air just as Reinhart ordered.

Scores of sheets fluttered into the air, falling like snow. They fell everywhere, over the bodies, the table, and the floor. Some of them were already stained with blood.

“Let’s go back to the Magicians’ Tower.”

“Are you taking the woman with you?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Reinhart narrowed his eyes at Silon who had asked the question.

The man shook his beautiful sky-blue hair, a frown marring his delicate face. “But if you don’t intend to keep her for her alchemy or elemental skills, then I don’t recommend it. Only magicians are allowed in the Magicians’ Tower. She won’t be able to leave the tower if she doesn’t have mana.”

“That’s just as well. I hoped that would be the case,” Reinhart said, his red lips curving into a faint smirk. Otherwise, he knew that Valeta would do whatever it took to escape.

With the tips of his toes, he tapped the ground twice. A great magic circle appeared and engulfed Reinhart and Valeta, along with Silon and Kurt, in a burst of light. A second later, all that remained of the horrible night were the slain bodies and papers that remained scattered across the Delight Manor’s dining room floor.

* * *

Not far away, the imperial castle—as well as the empire—was gripped with horror as the news of an aristocrat’s murder spread, an unprecedented event in the history of the empire.

Countless rumors began to spread regarding the disappearance of Valeta Delight, and Crown Prince Miloyd took it upon himself to get to the bottom of it, taking command of the investigation. And thus, the long night came to an end.

* * *

The scenery had changed. Reinhart raised his head. He was now standing in the middle of a forest. The deep blue sky was covered with white clouds, and various sorts of weeds and wildflowers sprouted from the ground.

A translucent magic circle hovered above the grass, the only entrance to the Magicians’ Tower.

“The tower is right above us.”

“I see.” Reinhart leisurely tilted his head back. It was hard to see through the clouds, but the Magicians’ Tower was indeed there, floating in the sky.

Despite its name, the Magicians’ Tower wasn’t just a tower. Rather, it was a city, built by and for magicians, that formed a small mountain floating in midair. Its namesake sat in the middle of it all. Magicians, being distrustful of humans, had decided that it would be impossible to live with them. The Magicians’ Tower was the result of that decision.

At first, the tower was the only thing in the sky until the magicians soon realized that it was too small to accommodate them all. As the years passed, the land expanded, and the tower became a leaderless city. And so, the Magicians’ Tower was also referred to as the Magicians’ City.

As only awakened magicians could access the entrance to the city, those who hadn’t awakened couldn’t ask for help from the tower. That also meant that it was impossible for non-magicians to leave the tower without another magician’s help.

“Are you really going to bring her?” Silon asked again. Abducting Valeta against her will was one thing, but the inhabitants of the tower were prone to looking down on “socoros,” or those without magic.

“Since she was my master for the last ten years, isn’t it only fair that I now become her master?” Reinhart said with a chuckle as he embraced Valeta. Holding her tighter, his magic seeped toward the ground. As the barren ground absorbed the magic, a giant magic circle revealed itself. A pillar of light emanated from the circle, swallowing the four people.

“Welcome, my lord.”

Reinhart, who had closed his eyes against the blinding light, slowly opened them at the scratchy yet courteous voice. They were transported in front of a tower with a large spire. The cylindrical gray tower was tall enough to easily pierce through the clouds.

Curiously enough, it seemed to have neither windows nor entrances and at first glance, it looked as though the tower simply shot straight out of the ground like a tree. Reinhart narrowed his eyes. A man in a dark green robe stood in front of him, his hood covering his face. He was too translucent to be human—Reinhart could see the tower through him.

“This is the watchman of the Magicians’ Tower. His loyalty lies with the lord of the tower,” Silon explained quietly. Reinhart merely glanced at the translucent man before looking away with disinterest.

His concern wasn’t with the watchman of the tower.

“Take me to your largest, sunniest room. One that’s difficult to leave.”

The watchman bowed deeply at Reinhart’s command. The translucent being had not spoken a word since his initial greeting.

He snapped his fingers and a dark portal appeared before them.

“Only the head of the tower and the watchman can enter at will. Everyone else must pass the watchman first to enter.”

“Is that the same for those who want to leave?” Reinhart asked.

“No. Anyone with magic can leave the tower with a teleportation spell.”

“And if they don’t have magic?”

At his question, Silon’s gaze fell on the sleeping figure still held within his lord’s arms. Though they used magic, elementalists were different.

“You must be talking about the woman in your arms. Simply put, she won’t be able to leave the tower without your permission.”

“Hmm.” Reinhart smiled in satisfaction, pleased to know that what he longed for was finally in his grasp.

“Elementalists are fundamentally different from magicians,” the watchman said. “Magicians forcibly extract mana from nature while elementalists make a deal with nature and borrow their mana at a price.”

“Right,” Reinhart replied with a nod. That was basic knowledge.

“Since the Magicians’ Tower was made with mana, elementals will not appear here, so she won’t be able to make a deal with one.”

Reinhart nodded again as they exited a passageway and entered a room that was as large as the imperial castle’s training hall. The watchman had led them to the room at the top of the tower.

Sunlight filtered in through the walls made of glass, and the only thing visible to them of the outside world were clouds. A lone bed stood in the middle of the room. Reinhart looked around. There were no doors to be found.

“This is the top floor of the tower. It is only accessible to you and those with your permission. No one can leave without your permission either, my lord,” the watchman said in his scratchy voice.

Reinhart strode over to the bed and laid Valeta down on top of it, who then tossed and turned as if disturbed by the sudden movement before settling in with a sigh. “I can’t wait to see how you’ll react when you wake up.”

Reinhart chuckled as he stroked Valeta’s pale neck with his thumb. Sometimes, he had the impulsive urge to snap it, but if he acted on it, he would never be able to see her smile again.

“What do you think, master?” He kissed the ends of her hair and covered her with the blanket.

Kurt and Silon silently glared at the intruder on the bed. The top floor was reserved for the head of the Magicians’ Tower, and they were unhappy that it was now being occupied by a socoro.

Reinhart noticed their glares and smiled. As usual, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’m sure you know if I catch you touching what’s mine...” he said, still smiling brightly.

The two men held their breaths. It was hard to tell what Reinhart was thinking even when his face wasn’t covered like the watchman’s.

“...I will gut you alive, shove your entrails into your mouth, and make you eat them. Keep that in mind.” His voice was light, though his words were anything but. His eyes glinted with madness. “Of course, that sounds rather fun.”

He looked at Valeta with a deep, possessive gaze before turning his attention back to Silon and Kurt.

At his steely gaze, the two quickly kneeled before their liege.

The warm sunlight streamed through the glass from all angles.