Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Valeta opened her mouth, ready to refuse. Instead, she let out a small sigh and reached out to stroke Reinhart’s head—his hair was as smooth as silk.

It’s so soft, she thought with a twinge of jealousy. It hurt her pride a little to know that this man had better hair than her.

“Sometimes, I feel like you’re a god watching over from above,” Reinhart said, his eyes still closed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He hummed noncommittally.

Valeta slowly continued petting his head. Eyes still closed, the magician let out a sigh and smiled.

“Even if someone dies in front of your eyes, even when you’re hung upside down in the air, you have this look on your face like there’s nothing you can do about it,” he mumbled. “As if everything has been predetermined. As if it can’t be helped.”

Valeta’s hand came to a stop. He’d hit the nail on the head. She looked down at Reinhart, her expression slightly stiff. Before she knew it, he was returning her stare, his eyes twinkling.

“I thought the same way too. I knew it was fate, but that didn’t stop me from getting angry. But you never got angry, master. You were so patient.”

“You knew it was... fate?” Valeta asked.

“You don’t know what kind of path I would’ve taken if I left your arms, master.”

Skillfully sidestepping her question, Reinhart smiled and slowly rose to his feet. He gently pushed Valeta backward onto the bed. His cold fingers trailed up her neck, eventually coming to rest on her forehead.

She calmly looked up at the man hovering over her.

“Every time I see you, master, I want to devour you, starting from your fingertips.” The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile. “But I know that will make you mad, so I’ll hold back until I get your permission.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, and since this is also my room, can I sleep next to you, master?”

“If I tell you no, will you listen?”

At her question, Reinhart’s eyes flashed with spite. But the look of surprise on his face was quickly replaced with a smile alluring enough to seduce men and women alike.

“It looks like I won’t be able to get any sleep until my master gives me permission.”

Valeta said nothing.

“As expected of my wise master.”

Though she hadn’t answered, Reinhart immediately praised her, sensing that she was giving in. Valeta sighed and turned, avoiding the magician’s eyes.

“Why don’t you go to bed early today? You must be tired,” he said, running his fingers through her hair.

Valeta could feel herself losing consciousness with every stroke. Then, as if someone had turned off the lights, everything went black. The last thing that ran through her mind before she fell unconscious was That crazy bastard…

Her eyes closed before she could finish the thought. At the same time, Gene vanished as his summoner lost consciousness.

Reinhart laid Valeta in the middle of the bed and covered her with a blanket. With a single snap, black curtains appeared on all sides of the glass wall, preventing light from seeping in. Reinhart slowly ran his fingers through his master’s dark brown hair. He stared at her sleeping figure, his red eyes gleaming in the dark.

“How nice would it be if you couldn’t do anything.”

So you would depend on me for everything. So you would be utterly helpless without me. Reinhart could feel his inner desires bubbling up inside him, about to spill over. He felt like he was about to make an irrevocable decision.

“If I wasn’t the head of the Magicians’ Tower, it’d be impossible for me to stay by your side, right?”

There was no way a pebble, fished from a muddy puddle, could hope to stand next to such a noble and beautiful star in the sky, one with an ability that everyone wished they had. If he didn’t have power, he wouldn’t have the excuse, the strength, or the ability to force her to stay by his side. He had no use for beauty. Beauty was bound to fade one day, like a flower withering under trampling feet.

“But I don’t mind if that someone’s you, master.”

He’d let her run him through with a sword if she was the one who wanted him to wither. He would do anything for her. All she needed to do was give the order. Whatever it was, he would obediently follow it, like a loyal dog.

Reinhart kissed the sleeping girl’s hand. Then, not letting go of her hand, he laid down next to her.

“Good night, master.”

Reinhart laid on his side for a moment, watching Valeta, as if waiting for a response that would never come, before slowly closing his eyes. The two slept through the night, feeling warm for the first time in their lives.

* * *

Valeta lay on the bed in silence.

She swallowed another sigh. Reinhart had been putting her to sleep first before falling asleep while holding her hand for a week now. He held her hand so tightly that she woke up with clammy, aching hands every morning.

On the other hand, the magician slept like a baby, breathing lightly and looking very comfortable. He appeared very different compared to his days at the Delight Manor, where he had no place to sleep and had to sleep curled up in the corner of the hallway or shivering away in a storage closet or the stables.

Do we have to hold hands while we sleep?

She had come across Reinhart sleeping in the hallway once. Believing that there was nothing she could do about it, she pretended not to have seen anything. However, it wasn’t easy to erase that image from her mind, and she found herself pitying him a little even as she desperately tried to avoid getting attached to him.

She quietly sat up in bed. It was impossible for her to get out of bed while Reinhart was still holding her hand. The room, which had only contained a single bed a week ago, was now filled with a variety of things. On one side was a large bookshelf, large enough to cover the wall, filled with books, and a desk with pens and sheaves of paper. A spacious bathroom was added as well.

Fresh fruit was on the table every day, served along with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and tea. The temperature in the room was pleasant, neither hot nor cold. The air wasn’t dry either. The blankets were always soft and smelled like sunlight.

Reinhart provided everything for her.

He did everything she wanted.

Even if she wanted to eat a fruit that was out of season or one that was only available overseas, from a faraway land, he would have it ready for her in less than an hour. Afterward, he would kneel by the bed and ask Valeta for pets, desiring her praise.

Valeta gave up on sending him on petty errands, believing that there was nothing that he couldn’t do.

I’m running out of time.

She needed to get to the slaves. Count Delight had kept them in a terrible place dubbed “the Nursery.” She was sure the mercenaries hired to look after the slaves would abandon them the second their paychecks stopped coming in. It was likely that they had already sold the slaves to someplace terrible, or worse, left them to starve.

Valeta could have ignored it. She could do it if she really wanted to. However, she knew that it would bother her to no end. The mercenaries only had a week or so left on their contract.

And besides... From what she could recall, the child that would one day become the novel’s hero, the male protagonist, was in there.

In the novel, the child had been freed when Reinhart destroyed the Nursery, following the Delight Manor Massacre. But now Reinhart was busy lolling around Valeta all day. And, as far as she knew, there were no official records of the Nursery.

As expected of Count Delight. He was a thorough man. If it wasn’t for Reinhart, he never would have met such a tragic end. I need to release them so that Reinhart will focus on the protagonists instead.

Valeta couldn’t understand why the magician was so obsessed with her. He looked like such an innocent young man when he was sleeping, but the second he opened his eyes, he was the devil, disguised as an angel. No sooner than she finished the thought, Reinhart opened his eyes, almost as though on cue. He looked around, his sleepy eyes still unfocused, before they landed on Valeta. He closed his half-lidded eyes and smiled.

“Did you sleep well, master?”

Valeta turned away without a word at the sound of his morning voice. Thanks to Reinhart’s magic, she was able to sleep soundly, without tossing and turning, and without any dreams. However, she didn’t want to admit that to him, fearing that he would read too much into it if she did.

“Good morning, master.”

Reinhart, now wide awake, brought her hand to his face. It seemed like he wasn’t going to let her go unless she greeted him back. Valeta made a sour face.

“Good morning...”

At her reluctant greeting, Reinhart grinned and slowly brought her hand to his lips. He kissed the back of her hand and climbed out of bed. With the snap of his fingers, the black curtains covering the glass walls disappeared.

“I need to go to the Nursery,” Valeta said, her eyes following the magician around the room.

Reinhart’s face contorted. “Why?”

“To free the slaves. They’ll either die or be sold somewhere, so I want to set them free while they’re still under my care.” She didn’t want to live with any unnecessary guilt.

Crossing his arms, the head of the Magicians’ Tower stared at her. His mouth twisted into a humorless smile. “Do you have any idea what that place is like, master?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s up to me to put an end to what Father started. I can’t just let them starve to death.”

Reinhart’s expression buckled, his usual smile absent. “Don’t tell me you still consider that f*cking pig your father.”

“Well, I don’t know what else to call him.”

He strode up to Valeta and cupped a large hand around her cheek. He was only inches from her face when he said, “It seems like you’re kind to everyone but me. You even pity those who you’ve never even seen before.”

“I’m not pitying them. I just...” She just didn’t want to have a guilty conscience. Valeta was about to blurt out those words when she stopped herself. She refused to yield. She didn’t feel like she had to explain herself to the man in front of her. “That place...”

Reinhart smirked as if a sudden thought had struck him. He shrugged his shoulders and snapped his fingers. Immediately, a table filled with hot food appeared.

“Let’s have breakfast first, master.”

With a sweet and gentle smile, the magician pulled out a chair for Valeta. He gestured for her to sit. Valeta took the seat Reinhart offered, feeling rather uneasy.

Breakfast was quieter than usual.