Cassian, who had placed the knife down on the plate with a click, wiped his mouth neatly and raised his head.

His dignified movements exuded an air of authority.

“Though I would very much like to, I don’t think I’ll be able to join this vacation.”

“Why not? I thought the matters at the duke’s residence were mostly resolved.”

“There are still some unresolved issues remaining.”

Cassian’s eyes curved gently as he met Elise’s gaze.

However, the pupils within held a darker crimson hue than ever before.

Though his face was as impassive as usual, Lady Elise couldn’t hide her unease as she read a different color in the look in his eyes.

‘Has that woman really gone to such lengths…’

Ignoring her gaze, Cassian finished his meal, quietly set down his fork and knife, and stood up.

“Then I’ll be heading up now.”

Behind him as he turned, his father’s voice making a promise without a set date to go next time, and his mother’s weak voice agreeing, were laid over.

Listening to the gradually fading sound of their conversation, Cassian climbed the stairs and entered his room.

He rummaged through a drawer and paused at one letter.

His hand, nervously picking it up, roughly unfolded the letter.

Tap, tap, the rhythm of his fingers drumming on the table grew increasingly irregular.

Farewell. Cassian’s gaze halted on that final word, his finger stopping abruptly.

There was one big signal in this false letter.

That which resembled a distress signal.

One that wasn’t even necessary since he already knew everything.

Until he opened it again, he thought he had seen wrong, but that mark was clearly embedded, refusing to leave his sight.

The number inscribed at the end of the letter was quite famous as a signal often used in the empire.

This number, written to send a signal to the male protagonist when the female protagonist was kidnapped, became commonly used with that meaning after appearing in a play.

In other words, it meant that someone inside that mansion had sent such a signal for that woman.

‘Who on earth…’

Cassian frowned visibly as he recalled a figure he could roughly guess.

That thought continued until the next day.

It was around afternoon when Tiobe brought a useful report.

“Hael, that man, has entered as Lady Fiocel’s knight.”

The image of that man with silver hair and blue eyes, wearing a bright smile, flashed through Cassian’s mind.

How incredibly devoted you are.

All those scenes that would have been quite pleasing if it were someone else’s affair created a dirty feeling when it became his own.

However, it wasn’t an issue for him to be concerned about.

This letter had come into his hands, and that woman would live on for eternity without knowing anything.

There would be no point of contact between the two who had decided to avoid each other.

Like a road with no intersections.

That was how it should be, and that was how it must be.

“Tiobe, how did you come to know that?”

He had not instructed to dig up even the background of that silver-haired man.

Tiobe hesitated, unable to continue speaking, then finally opened his mouth.

“The two of them… met.”

Looking at his lord’s hardened expression, Tiobe quickly added to his report.

“The atmosphere seemed unusual. It appears that Hael’s decision to leave the magic tower is also related to that person.”

Cassian silently lit a cigar.

Through the rising smoke, he could see the expression that woman would have made and the figure of that silver-haired man.

Though it was mere imagination, it was all too vivid.

That woman must have grabbed onto that silver-haired man, thinking it was her fault again, and that silver-haired man must have pushed her away like the most devoted man in the world.

Everything was going according to his intentions.

Like the second hand on a clock face, keeping perfect time.

No, even faster than that.

Yet why was it so unpleasant?

Smoke rose over the ember lit by the cigar.

Through that smoke, Cassian’s complicated expression flickered on and off.

The main hall of the magic tower was filled with the sound of applause.

The magicians surrounding the area cheered.

“It’s really coming to an end now.”

“I didn’t expect the third experiment to pass in one go.”

After hearing the news that the leaf supply issue had been resolved, the magicians regained their brightened expressions.

The magicians unanimously expressed their gratitude towards Yuriel.

“It’s all thanks to the administrators.”

“That’s right. You really put in a lot of effort in everything, from bringing in the sponsor.”

The deputy director, who had been by far the most worried among them, once again approached Vincent with an embarrassed expression to express his gratitude.

“I was too excited at that time. I was so surprised, thinking the project might be cancelled.”

Vincent grasped the deputy director’s outstretched hand and let out a hearty laugh.

The previously pale face was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a happy expression.

A smile bloomed profusely across his face, making it hard to believe this was the usually sensitive Vincent.

Yuriel looked at that sight and smiled back.

Well, with the day approaching when he would achieve what he had wanted for so long, how happy must he be.

The memory of the past days when he pretended to be unaffected in front of her when hearing the news of the leaf supply being cut off, vividly passed by.

Realizing once again that he had done so to not burden her, a lump formed in her throat.

After several rounds of discussion about the next test period and success rate, the meeting came to an end.

The magicians found their places, and Master belatedly matched his pace to walk out together.

His steps returning to the administrative office together were a bit heavy.

“Aren’t you happy? You’ll be able to find that person soon.”

“I am. I’ve wanted to see them for so long.”

Master, saying those words, looked somewhat uneasy.

“But you know, now that we’re almost there, fear is also coming along with it.”

She seemed to understand what he meant.

If the sole purpose that had filled Master’s entire life until now – finding that person – were to reach a wrong conclusion, what would become of Master?

Master said it had been a long time since he last met that person.

If that person had already forgotten Master and wished for him to remain absent from their world from now on, he would have to accept that.

It meant he might have to be engulfed by a sense of loss different from when there was at least hope.

“They will like you.”

“With what certainty can you assert that?”

“Because you’re a good person.”

Master, unable to endure compliments, couldn’t help the corners of his mouth rising even as he raised his voice unnecessarily.

“What good person. You’re just right to be scammed somewhere.”

“Oh, that’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Master smiled, amused, as if he had heard something completely new.

It was clear that he had been smiling more since the project started progressing properly.

“Actually, I’m terribly wicked.”

In the capital, she had protected everything of hers while simultaneously letting go of many things.

The sins accumulated in that process were now too numerous to count.

Master, unaware of her true self, wrapped warm words in a gruff package and handed them over.

As always.

“I’ve never seen a wicked person call themselves wicked with their own mouth.”

“I’m glad I’m a good person to you at least, Master.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

The walk had already reached the administrative office.

At the cafeteria she followed him to after he suggested having a meal together, Master handed her the menu.

When she habitually chose the cheapest item, he transformed it into the most expensive menu by adding all sorts of toppings before completing the order.

As she was cutting into the steak that soon arrived in its splendid form, he gruffly switched plates.

On the switched plate lay finely chopped pieces of steak.

Worried that she might be uncomfortable, he had ordered the same menu but didn’t seem to eat much, as if it didn’t suit his taste.

“Master, you must have been popular in the past.”

“Of course.”

There was no trace of humor in his nonchalant expression.

He asked back with an utterly serious face.

“Don’t tell me you’ve only just realized that?”

After suppressing her laughter that had burst out for a while, she found Master chewing his meat with a serious face.

“I didn’t know you had such a caring side.”

“That’s also the first time I’ve heard that.”

Master, who had been staring at her trying to hold back her laughter, added indifferently.

“That person liked me for something else though.”

“Something else?”

Many things could be guessed from Master’s expression that somehow seemed bitter.

Recalling his past as the eldest son of a count family, his background must have played a large part…

It was then that a calm voice brushed past her ear.

“My face.”

As she kept coughing, choking, Master quietly pushed a glass of water towards her.

As she gulped down the water, Master’s reminiscence continued plainly.

“That person said they really liked my face.”

Master’s gaze was now fixed on his own face rippling on the surface of the water glass.

“It makes me sad to think that it might not work anymore now that time has passed.”

No matter how she thought about it, it seemed like a joke, but the fact that those words came from Master’s mouth, of all people, was shocking.

Unable to continue speaking due to the shock, the sadness in his eyes deepened even more.

As his disciple, she couldn’t keep watching that sight, so she struggled to compose her emotions and breath.

“Does time passing turn Leonardo DiCaprio into Docaprio?”

Mentioning the name of an actor famous for his good looks in the empire, a smile finally spread across Master’s face.

After that, only the sound of cutlery clinking against plates echoed in the space.

Of course, there was no awkwardness between Master and her, for whom silence was never awkward.

Come to think of it, she realized they had grown quite close to Master as well.

Perhaps when she recalls this capital, she’ll also think of Master.

As she was thinking that, Master asked.

“So how did you come to know Blanchet’s successor?”