Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“If you’re not going to kill me, then stop threatening me like this.”

Reinhart’s eyes widened at Valeta’s unexpected response. He buried his head into her shoulder and let out a large laugh, his shoulders shaking. She sighed when she heard his laughter.

“You’re heavy.”

“Master.”

Valeta rolled her eyes before she turned and looked at him. She could barely move because he was still leaning on her body. Reinhart’s lips came close to her nose. His eyes curved into crescent moons as if he were trying to seduce her. Valeta put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. It wasn’t a hard push, but Reinhart obediently backed away.

“Aren’t you hungry, master?”

“How long are you going to stay here?” she asked.

“This is my room, master.”

He shrugged. With a wave of his hand, a table appeared. He then snapped his fingers, and this time, the table was filled with food. The sweet and savory smell of a freshly prepared meal wafted over to Valeta.

“What do you mean, your room?”

“Oh. To be precise, this is our room,” he said brightly, circling her.

“Are you crazy?”

“I know that’s your way of complimenting me.”

Valeta’s face fell at Reinhart’s gentle smile. How could one think being called crazy was a compliment? She needed to do something about this. His smile widened, seeing the glare on her face.

“Didn’t I tell you before, master?”

She waited.

“You’re the only one who ever looks me in the eye.”

While everyone else would stiffen or tremble around him, doing everything they could to avoid his gaze, Valeta was the only one who didn’t. She narrowed her eyes and frowned, unsure where he was going with this.

“Now, master. It’s time to eat.”

“I’m not your master.”

“Valeta, then...”

She stiffened when she heard her name roll off Reinhart’s tongue. Chills went down her spine. Was it the strange way he called her name? She forced herself to relax and took a seat at the table as if nothing had happened.

“If I call your name like this, will you call me by my name?” he asked.

“Just give me another room.”

“We don’t have any extra rooms.” He gave her a light shrug.

How was it possible for a tower with a hundred floors not to have a single empty room? Reinhart shrugged his shoulders again and took the seat opposite her own as she scowled.

“What about a storage room?”

“If only, but they’re all filled to the brim.”

“You...”

“Don’t worry, master. I won’t kill you.”

“That’s not...”

The way he said it made Valeta feel like he would do anything but kill her. Suddenly, a light shined from behind Reinhart, illuminating him in a glow.

“What? I told you not to disturb us.”

Two more had joined the room: Silon and Kurt. They looked as though they had a message to deliver.

I guess those two have permission to enter the sky room.

The two men looked at Valeta for a moment before bowing.

“My apologies, my lord. I think you should come down and take a look.”

“Can’t you see that we’re eating?” Reinhart snapped.

“The magician that we sent to the imperial castle has returned with a message. It’s an important matter, my lord.”

Still glowering, Reinhart rose from his seat. Then, he reached out and ruffled Valeta’s hair.

“Sorry, master. Please start without me. Do people not realize how rude it is to interrupt someone when they’re eating? I guess I’ll have to teach them a f*cking lesson.”

His lips were curved into a cold smile. A second later, he, Silon, and Kurt were gone.

“He’s mad,” Valeta said into the empty room.

If Reinhart cursed, that meant that he was beyond irritated. In the past ten years that Valeta had known him, she could count the number of times he had cursed on one hand.

I don’t know anymore. She wondered if the Magicians’ Tower would turn into a sea of blood, but then again, it was none of her business. It wasn’t something she could stop in the first place. Indifferent, she started to eat the food cooling in front of her. It was a quiet dinner.

* * *

A swarm of magicians stood before him. His eyes slowly swept across the crowd.

Reinhart didn’t know what exactly was happening, but he was standing in a spacious hall. At the center stood a magician dressed in a fancy white robe trimmed with gold. Anyone could tell that this was the envoy that they had sent to the imperial castle.

“Pleased to meet you, my—”

“Hasn’t anyone told you it’s rude to interrupt people while they’re eating?”

“What?” Merial, the magician they had sent, was surprised by the cutting remark. He faltered, unsure if he’d heard correctly.

“Are you looking down on me? Do you think I’m no better than a dog?” The beautiful smile remained fixed on Reinhart’s face.

The envoy stared at the man in front of him, watching his mouth move, before looking around the room in search of another voice. But there was no doubt that the owner of the voice was none other than the very same man standing in front of him. Everyone stared at Reinhart, dumbstruck.

If a celestial being came down from the heavens, would they look like this? Merial thought to himself as he stood before the head of the Magicians’ Tower.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering me? A magician sent to the imperial castle still belongs to the Magicians’ Tower, does he not?” Reinhart said as he approached, a broad smile on his face.

Merial turned bright red at his pleasant voice and beautiful face. “Y-yes, my lord. I’m sorry.”

He hastily bowed. He wasn’t bowing because he genuinely felt sorry for his mistakes, but because he couldn’t bring himself to look Reinhart in the eyes.

Count Delight was a greedy man, but he also had a great appreciation for beauty. With his discerning eye, honed from his years of dealing with beautiful slaves, he had discovered the young Reinhart stumbling around on the battlefield. The child was filthy and scrawny, but the count had somehow recognized the boy’s beauty despite his disheveled state.

That was what he’d looked like back then, but now? Reinhart was neatly dressed and had long silver hair that cascaded down his back. His seductive ruby-red eyes were folded into crescent moons. Even the way the corners of his mouth quirked into a smile was enough to make a man like Merial lose all reason for a moment. How was it possible for such an alluring mouth to utter such filthy words? Merial didn’t want to believe that a beautiful man like Reinhart could produce such foul language.

“Then...” Reinhart started.

He was beginning to get fed up with Merial’s apology and looked around the room. It seemed that a lot of people had gathered to hear the message from the imperial castle. Judging by their robes, it was clear that they were all magicians. Reinhart smirked as if he could tell what they were thinking.

“Do you think this is funny?” he asked with a smile. If Valeta had been watching, she would have sensed impending danger and would have left the hall as quickly as possible, like an animal instinctively fleeing from disaster.

Sadly, not a single person in the Magicians’ Tower knew what was coming.