Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The owner of the voice was a small, robed boy who only came up to Valeta’s waist. His light green hair swayed as his eyes narrowed.

“Who are you? A newcomer? No, you don’t have any mana. A socoro? How is that possible? How did a socoro get in here?”

“Hey, is this real?” Valeta asked, interrupting the boy.

He narrowed his dark green eyes at her question. Though cute, he appeared to have a hot temper.

He crossed his arms and scoffed. “This is why socoros are so stupid. We’re inside a tower. You think any of this is actually real?”

“Oh, I see...”

I guess that means I can’t call an elemental here. The other magicians were beginning to stare, which unnerved Valeta. She turned around. If she couldn’t summon an elemental, then there was no need for her to stick around.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

She approached the door again, which automatically opened.

“Ha!”

Valeta left the room on the eighty-second floor without a second thought, the boy’s surprised scoff echoing behind her. She couldn’t deny how incredible magic was, to be able to imitate nature so realistically like that. It was impressive.

The eighty-first floor was home to a strange laboratory, while the door to the eightieth floor was locked. The floor below that was the dining room, and the floor below that one was another library. After what felt like ages, Valeta slumped on the staircase, too exhausted to go on.

“Call me anytime you want, master.”

She glanced down at the bracelet Reinhart had given to her before shaking her head.

I don’t want to be told what to do. Her legs were beginning to hurt, but due to the lack of windows in the tower, she had no way of telling what time it was.

As if I’d call Reinhart, she thought. That left only one person she could call. She wasn’t too keen on the idea, but she would call on the watchman of the tower. Nobody else could summon him because they didn’t know his true name.

“Caspelios.”

The moment Valeta spoke his name, a magic circle appeared in front of her. Then a transparent body clad in green robes materialized from the circle.

He had come.

She couldn’t see his face, but his whole body radiated with surprise.

“How do you know that name...?” he asked.

“It just popped into my head, and I said it out loud. I didn’t know it was your name.”

“Lies...”

“I’m not asking for much. Take me back to the sky room,” Valeta requested, an exhausted look crossing her face.

Caspelios studied her for a moment before extending a hand with resignation, and though translucent, she could see that it was covered in cuts and bruises. On his palm was the outline of a footprint, bruised black and blue.

It was clear how he was being treated. Valeta placed her palm on Caspelios’ outstretched hand. “It’s funny how this is happening to you, even though you’re one of the twelve revered magicians who built this place.”

He flinched and started trembling. Caspelios slowly lifted his head. His scarlet eyes, normally hidden by his hood, glowed in the dark, wide with surprise.

Valeta wondered if he thought the magicians of today ridiculous.

On the one hand, they sang praises of him, applauding him for being a renowned magician, while on the other, they relegated him to the position of caretaker, to be abused by the inhabitants of the tower.

“Who on earth are you...?”

“How long are you going to hold onto my master’s hand?” a voice said.

As cold fingers touched his nape, Caspelios quickly dropped his outstretched hand in surprise.

Valeta’s hand, which was resting on top, fell along with his. She frowned. “I don’t remember calling you.”

“Didn’t you know that he was with me?”

No, Valeta hadn’t thought of that. She mentally clicked her tongue. Reinhart came up behind her and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. His breath tickled the back of her neck.

“Why didn’t you call me instead? You never called me by my name. You’re so cruel, master.”

Keeping one arm firmly around her waist, Reinhart flicked his wrist.

A magic circle appeared on the floor. Perhaps it was because they were teleporting, but Valeta’s vision blurred. Dizzy, she scrunched her face. Reinhart held onto her and guided her to the bed. He slowly knelt by her feet and looked up at her.

“So, have you tried to call your contracted elementals yet?”

“Contracted?”

“I’m talking about that Gene,” the magician replied, smiling with his eyes slightly narrowed.

Valeta looked at him wordlessly before shaking her head.

“I didn’t make a contract with Gene.”

“Didn’t you summon him?” he asked, a rare hint of surprise glinting in his eyes.

It wasn’t a contract. Valeta had no intention of entering into a contract with an elemental in the first place. She simply asked them for help, and they did help—at a price. “There’s no contract. I just summoned him for his help, that’s all.

“A high-level elemental?”

Valeta nodded her head. She turned to look outside and suppressed a chuckle at the darkening skies. She knew that she had been gone for a while, but she didn’t think that it was already evening. No wonder. It felt like she had walked down the stairs for ages.

If I can’t summon them inside the tower, can I summon them outside?

She slowly rose from the bed and walked toward the windows. Valeta had a full view of her surroundings thanks to the all-glass walls. She put her hand on the glass.

“Gene,” she murmured. A tornado suddenly formed outside. Before long, a clear and colorless hawk appeared in front of her.

“What? What is this horrid place?”

“So I can summon him while I’m still inside,” Valeta said.

“That’s supposed to be impossible, master,” Reinhart said, approaching her. He seemed a little taken aback. A rare sight. But it wasn’t long before he chuckled and started running his fingers across the back of Valeta’s neck.

“Just how much more valuable will you make yourself, master?”

Valeta frowned when she felt the warmth of his hand on her neck.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s impossible for a normal elementalist to summon an elemental without a contract. And it’s even more impossible to summon an elemental in a separate space like this.”

Impossible? But Valeta had just done that. She frowned as she met Reinhart’s gaze, which was reflected in the glass.

“Did you know that the imperial castle has been turned upside down, master?”

He wrapped his arms around her. Guiding her back to the bed, Reinhart then knelt by Valeta’s feet, looking up at her. He seemed to like this position, one where he was always looking up at her.

“The imperial castle?”

“Yes, they’ve discovered traces of magic in the manor and have submitted a request for cooperation. If the crown prince discovers that you’re here, he’ll probably ask me to return you, don’t you think?”

“Probably. I’m supposed to be the crown princess, after all.”

However, that was in name only. It didn’t matter anymore now that the count was dead. Reinhart smiled as if he could read her thoughts. He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand.

“Regardless, you are still precious. The imperial family won’t let you go so easily.” He swept his thumb along her cheekbone, his lips melting into a beautiful smile. “Shall I kill them all?”

“What?”

“The imperial family are only human. If I snap their necks, that’ll be the end of them. They’ll probably come to take you away from me, so wouldn’t it be better to kill them now before they even get the chance?”

“Are you trying to start a war?” Crazy bastard, Valeta thought. She knew he was crazy, but she didn’t think that he was crazy enough to annihilate the imperial family.

“A war?” Reinhart asked with a tilt of his head. His long hair cascaded to one side, and his red eyes looked quizzical. “Calling it a war could be too grand,” he said with a shrug.

In other words, even if the imperial family waged war on him, it would be nothing more than child’s play to the magician. Valeta knew full well of Reinhart’s ruthless abilities, but she didn’t think that he would make light of war.

“Oh, but I did notice some vermin crawling around the tower.”

“You mean that Balteer?”

“Are you a mind reader too, master? How impressive.”

There was a hint of mischief in his eyes, an expression that Valeta had never seen on him before. He definitely seemed happier here than in the manor.

“I heard it in the library.”

“I see. Shall I pull out his teeth? Rip his mouth apart? Which would you prefer, master?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“Well, I suppose it’d be faster just to rip out his tongue,” Reinhart said coldly. She gave no answer. “Are you afraid of me, master?”

At the unexpected question, Valeta slowly turned to face Reinhart again. He was looking at her, his face grave, and his usual smile absent.

“You always try to avoid me when I treat you with kindness, even now.”

“I...”

“Why?”

Valeta’s mouth remained shut.

“You’ve avoided me from the start. Why?” he asked again.

Still, she gave no response.

“You were always trying to get rid of me. You treated mere animals with kindness and sympathy, but why not me?” He laughed. “Oh, but it wasn’t just me, was it?”

Valeta thought for a moment.

“I’m scared of you,” she said finally.

She was being honest. Valeta was scared of him. She was scared of the way he was portrayed in the novel, and she was scared of the way he never genuinely smiled. She was scared that he would grab her neck and snap it in an instant.

“Do you think I’m going to kill you?” Reinhart asked as he rose from his position, his cool gaze directed toward her.

It was rare to see him without a smile, but occasionally, he would drop it around her. This face may have been the closest that Valeta had seen of Reinhart’s true self.

After a pause, she answered, “Yes.”

“How do I make you understand?”

He slowly reached out, gently grabbing her neck. Reinhart slowly pushed Valeta back on the bed with his large hand still wrapped around her throat. He crawled on the bed, pushing a leg between her knees. He brought his face close to Valeta’s, never once letting go of her. His nose brushed against hers, and their breaths mingled.

“I can’t kill you, even when we’re like this.”

Valeta frowned. Was it her imagination or did Reinhart look a little... nervous?

He gazed down at the wordless Valeta, sighed, and said, “How can I make you see me, master?”