Aeli was blankly staring at Lutis’s haggard face.

Lord Montero, who had calmly raised his hand to wipe away the blood that had thinly flowed along the wound, bowed his head.

“I apologize. It was a slip of the tongue.”

“Anyone can apologize with words. Show it with actions.”

How about extending the detention period by three days to seventeen days of detention with fasting? Any objections? Lutis said, taking out a new quill pen.

He did not give a single glance in the direction where Aeli and Lord Montero were standing.

“…None.”

As if telling him to leave if he had said everything, Lutis tilted his head towards the door, and the knight commander, who had politely bowed, quickly disappeared.

The soft lighting that filled the office, where they were suddenly left alone, flickered.

Even the expression “they” was only from her perspective; from Lutis’s point of view, he was left alone.

−…….

Forgetting even to be angry, she floundered in the swamp of shock for several dozen minutes.

The sound of the quill moving and scratching, and the paper flapping and turning over, suddenly stopped.

Lutis, who had been processing documents at a rapid pace, rubbed his face once and then shook the bell placed on the table. It was late at night, almost closer to the next morning than night.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

When permission was granted, the head servant entered and asked.

“Did you call for me?”

“Contact the Magic Tower.”

“The Magic Tower… sir?”

Lutis frowned once at the head servant, who kept glancing around as if troubled, and let out a deep sigh. It was the same displeased expression seen earlier in the conversation with Lord Montero.

‘…The Magic Tower?’

Aeli hesitated and pursed her lips at the unexpected appearance of the word.

As far as she had confirmed over the past month, she remembered that there weren’t any issues at the mansion that would require calling a magician, so why suddenly mention the Magic Tower?

It was a puzzling order.

“But Your Grace, the Magic Tower is currently…”

However, even more puzzling was the head servant’s reaction, who looked perplexed and hesitated upon hearing Lutis’s order.

Although not as much as the temple, which stood shoulder to shoulder with the imperial family, the influence of the Magic Tower within the empire was by no means small.

Due to the small number of those who walked the path of magic and its closed nature, it couldn’t wield tremendous power, but the empire relied on magic for some of its military weapons, including various convenience items.

For this reason, it was generally not easy to summon or dismiss a magician belonging to the Magic Tower so casually.

‘No, but my surname is Mason.’

A founding meritorious family! Descendants of the great magician!

There are no magicians who dislike Mason, the root called the origin of magic.

Just as there have been few tower masters in history who bore the Mason surname, the favor the Magic Tower holds for Mason is absolutely overwhelming.

So much so that there’s a saying that the real power in the Magic Tower is Mason, and in some sense, it’s true…

‘Is it so troublesome for Rattliff, the in-law family of Mason, to contact the Magic Tower?’

Didn’t they use ‘that’ scroll just for cleaning the roof in the first place?

It was something that couldn’t be obtained even with money due to the advantage of instant movement that could be used without passing through a gate.

What was the reason they could receive dozens of such items with just one letter, and when Aeli was young, they could call a magician to cast preservation magic on wildflowers?

“Do I look like I’m asking a favor right now?”

“…”

“Whether they’ve locked their doors or not. Whether they’ve declared they won’t use magic on anything bearing the Rattliff name anymore or not, that’s none of my business.”

“But—”

“As long as a child with Mason blood exists in Rattliff, they can never be in the superior position. You should know that too.”

But what on earth did those words coming from his mouth mean?

For a moment, she felt as if chills were running down her spine. She was certain that if she heard any more, it would be irreversible.

However, Lutis’s mouth opened again faster than Aeli could turn her back and leave the office.

“Bring them here somehow. I don’t care if you persuade or threaten them. Bring them before me and make them repair the magic on the annex.”

This time, it needs to be even more solid than before.

Saying that money was no object and to cast a barrier that would absolutely never break, Lutis blinked rapidly and finally said to the head servant who was sweating,

“It would be good to add a spell that prevents him from coming out without my permission.”

“If I may be so bold, Your Grace. The young master will soon be five—”

“When did I allow you to question me? Have your ears gone deaf with age?”

“…”

“The deadline is until my last breath.”

“…”

“If you understand, then leave. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

At the words uttered in a low growl, the head servant moved his lips a few times before bowing his head and leaving.

He probably went to contact the Magic Tower as per Lutis’s orders.

It was a scene so similar to the previous one.

And by this point, Aeli wished she could just faint while standing. The situations and conversations that had pierced through her head in such a short time were overwhelming.

‘So now… you’re saying you’ll keep him confined forever.’

Forget about fortification or whatever, he was saying he would never let him out until he died.

Confining a child in the annex before he was even one year old, then fleeing to the battlefield without even giving him a name.

Not only failing to provide proper education and foster good relationships with peers, but not even allowing him to go out to the garden right in front of him.

He ignored his duties and responsibilities and deprived the child of the rights he should have had. What does this mean?

−… Huh.

A despairing sigh escaped between Aeli’s teeth. Her whole body trembled with emotions that were a mix of anger and sadness, impossible to distinguish.

Aeli, that is, Aeli Mason, had blamed Lutis countless times over the past month, thinking of him not coming to the annex. She wanted to beat him up to her heart’s content until her anger subsided.

…But there was always a glimmer of hope in one corner of her heart.

Because she believed.

[There’s no way Lutis would do that. He loved Adi so much.]

There must have been circumstances.

Although he didn’t even give a name to a one-year-old infant, kicked him out to the annex despite having a perfectly good room, and if that wasn’t enough, he himself went to the battlefield and didn’t show his face until the child had grown this much.

There must have been some circumstances.

She had that much faith and expectation. When she first heard the news of Lutis’s return, she was worried but also a little excited.

Now that he’s back, wouldn’t he come to see the child? Wouldn’t he send him back to where he should be?

Wouldn’t he give him the most wonderful and beautiful name, and hold the child with that beautiful smile as he once did?

She had imagined such a future.

But look.

‘…This isn’t right.’

Aeli, who had unconsciously taken a step back, clenched her fists.

Something was wrong. This was not at all the form of family she had envisioned.

So those words just now, weren’t they treating the child like a hostage or a tool?

‘It wasn’t that the Magic Tower suddenly changed and locked its doors. I should have noticed when I saw Mari staying behind alone to take care of Adi, so…’

So before Lutis returned, I should have made them escape somehow.

Come to think of it, there were many strange things from the beginning.

Even when Aeli’s brother was so busy inside and outside his domain right after succeeding to his title that he barely had time to breathe, he was the kind of person who would stay at the Rattliff residence almost constantly, saying that seeing his cute nephew’s face would give him strength when life was tough.

It happened more than once or twice that his vassals, unable to stand it anymore, used scrolls to come and fetch him.

‘Would someone who cared for his nephew that much just neglect him until things got this bad?’

It didn’t make sense. Even if he didn’t know about this situation at all, he couldn’t have missed the rumors that had already spread widely throughout the empire long ago.

Given the circumstances, Lutis must have prevented the child from being taken away.

In that process, their relationship with Mason must have soured, so naturally, the Magic Tower would have turned its back as well.

−…….

If possible, she wanted to get rid of both her eyes and ears.

She wanted to go back to before hearing the conversation with the head servant. No, to before hearing the conversation with the knight commander, to before heading to the main castle to meet Lutis.

Aeli simply couldn’t accept the fact that the cause of all these problems was none other than Lutis.

What kind of child is Adi.

Aeli bit her lip, habitually recalling Lutis’s reaction when she first announced her pregnancy.

[Lutis, I have something to tell you.] […Why are you being so serious? Don’t tell me you burned down the training ground again while practicing magic?] […Hey.] [No, I’m not blaming you… But I told you not to use wide-area magic as much as possible because it’s dangerous. Didn’t you say your body condition hasn’t been good lately? You shouldn’t overdo it, right?] [It’s because of that.] [You destroyed the training ground? It’s okay, don’t worry about it. We can fix that, as long as you’re not hurt.] [I’m pregnant.] […Huh?]

To that dumbfounded face that made a sound somewhere between a question and an exclamation, Aeli said with a smile.

[I said I’m pregnant. Is that all the reaction I get?] […..] [I haven’t been able to smell food for days. Actually, I had a dream a while ago, and guess what, while I was walking through a forest path, suddenly a fire spirit started circling around me?] […..] [I was just going to pass by, but it blocked my way and kept crying, so I followed it, and there was a red dragon hatchling sleeping on a tree. It suddenly jumped into my arms and smiled at me. Anyone would see this as a conception dream!] […..] [Given my body condition and all, I thought I’d get checked just in case, and they said I’m pregnant. The reason I’m telling you first before contacting my parents is… Are you crying?]

In the middle of excitedly talking, when round water marks appeared on the carpet, she was startled and lifted Lutis’s face.

The face she saw like that looked somewhat overwhelmed, and also seemed to have an indescribable joy etched on it.

What was certain was that Aeli had a hard time because Lutis, forgetting all about his dignity, was bawling in the middle of the corridor.

‘That also became a rumor and even made it into the gossip papers.’

And that wasn’t all. Not satisfied with just hugging her in gratitude, in the early stages of pregnancy, he carried her around, not even letting her feet touch the ground.

Lutis, who was jumping up and down in the bedroom at night out of joy, even fell in an unseemly manner unbefitting the name of Sword Master.

−…….

That’s how welcomed Adi was.

Even if he wasn’t born in the fiery love that Aeli had wanted.

He was a life that came into the world receiving the love of his parents unreservedly.

Aeli gritted her teeth.

Even though her pupils were trembling violently, her already dead body showed not even the slightest emotional response in this situation.

It was tragic. Her unbeating heart had never felt so bitter before.

−…I curse you.

With eyes wide open from the pain of losing her body and having her soul torn apart, Aeli murmured as if possessed.

As much as she had believed, her affection turned to hatred so quickly that her sense of betrayal swelled like a snowball.

With that, Aeli turned her back and left Lutis’s office.

Along with a vow to never trust him again.