Who Spent the Night with the Tower Master (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
It was a clear impulse.
Yet the difference from before was that this time, she was perfectly sober—no trace of alcohol or anything else clouding her mind. Still, it was obvious she was far less composed than when she’d been drunk.
The nightgown covering her slender body slid smoothly down, and warm water streamed over her bare skin. Clumps of mud and blood washed away with the flow, revealing bruises and torn wounds scattered across her pale body.
As the water touched her, throbbing pain shot through her instantly, and Gibnen gently caught her as she collapsed under its weight.
“I’ll help you.”
Riley couldn’t do anything. She could only stare up blankly at Gibnen, who stood with his back to the shower stream, fully clothed, looking down at her.
Though sharing a bath—or having someone help you wash—was surely an embarrassing situation, Riley felt less shame and more a desire to draw even closer to him.
Riley reached out and fiddled with the soaked hem of his shirt.
She must have lost her mind from the fever. Yet her body refused to obey her head and moved purely on emotion.
Gibnen healed her wounds with magic. The bruises and cuts covering her white skin began to fade, and soon the pain ceased entirely.
“Does it still hurt?”
“……Yeah.”
Gibnen pulled the limp Riley into his arms. The dampness of his wet shirt transferred fully onto her bare skin.
And so they kissed again.
Without even drying off, they left the bathroom straight for the bed, and along the way, Gibnen’s clothes fell one by one to the floor.
Before she could even shiver from the sudden chill and embarrassment, his hot body pressed tightly against hers.
‘Bigger than I thought… heavier than I thought… warmer than I thought.’
Unlike their first night together, when she’d been drunk, this time his body was firmly etched into her memory.
What surprised her was how much larger and more solidly muscular he was than she’d imagined. His masculine build contrasted sharply with his pure, beautiful face, and she was slightly taken aback.
His broad frame, packed with dense muscle, exerted considerable weight upon her.
Moreover, something unusual caught her eye.
“……You have a lot of scars?”
He wasn’t a mercenary or knight who roamed battlefields, yet Gibnen’s body bore many scars.
This was especially unexpected since mages rarely engaged in physical labor, let alone combat.
“Are they ugly?”
“No……”
Scars—though they ought to have been unsightly—strangely weren’t at all. His scars were as beautiful as his face. They complemented his strong build, giving him a slightly wilder, rougher aura.
Unconsciously, Riley placed her hand on his chest. The firmness beneath her palm. The unfamiliar sensation of a man’s upper body, so structurally different from her own… just the tingling from her fingertips made her body flush with heat.
Gibnen ran his fingers through Riley’s hair, and his lips brushed against her neck. Wherever his lips touched, a thrilling shiver and warmth bloomed.
Riley strained to straighten her body, which kept curling and shrinking inward.
Seeing this, Gibnen chuckled as if amused and gently stroked her cheek.
“Relax.”
“……”
“Don’t tense up.”
Riley wrapped her arms around him with all her strength.
She didn’t know anymore. All complicated thoughts had vanished completely. She’d surrendered to fate. She realized that when someone felt too happy, their body could tremble uncontrollably.
“By the way.”
He spoke slowly.
“This time, you can’t blame it on alcohol.”
He seemed to be asking if she was alright.
Riley countered.
“……If I told you to stop, would you?”
He smiled.
“No.”
His fingers trailed down from her throat.
Riley closed her eyes, clinging to Gibnen’s body.
[This is the timeline separator]“Ahh….”
Riley’s eyes snapped open from a thirst so intense it felt like her throat was tearing apart. Instantly, her whole body was crushed under a weight as if hundreds of lead blocks had been strapped to her. Every joint in her bones ached and throbbed.
‘What is this?’
Startled by the stark difference from the first morning, Riley panicked.
She could barely stand on her own two feet. Her body, heavy as lead, even felt feverishly hot.
“What do you need?”
Gibnen spoke from beside her. He was neatly dressed.
“W-water…”
Gibnen called a hotel staff member and requested water, medicine, and congee.
Riley, listening blankly to their exchange, tilted her head in confusion.
“Medicine?”
“Don’t you realize your own condition?”
“……”
“You really have a talent for shocking people.”
“?”
“You went completely limp like a corpse halfway through—I was so startled I seriously wondered if I’d done something wrong. Never thought I’d experience my partner fainting on the bed.”
He recalled the previous night.
·
·
·
“Hey.”
Gibnen panicked at the sight of Riley slumped motionless. He shook her, but she didn’t stir.
“Sister.”
No matter how desperately he called, she remained silent.
Looking closely, her face was deathly pale. Gibnen turned ashen too. Frantic, he checked if she was breathing. Her breaths were irregular but present. What about her heart? Thump, thump, thump—it beat steadily.
So was she just asleep?
Suddenly, Gibnen realized her body was unusually hot.
He’d assumed she was flushed from excitement… but could she have been unwell?
Magic could heal simple external wounds, but not internal ailments.
“Hah.”
And so Gibnen was left alone on the bed.
Speechless from this unprecedented experience, he didn’t know how to describe his feelings. Carefully, he covered her with a blanket and changed her clothes.
He then urgently summoned a female hotel staff member to help her into fresh clothes and didn’t forget to call a doctor.
The doctor arrived, checked her pulse, and said dismissively,
“It seems you have a severe case of body chills. Eat well and rest thoroughly—you’ll be fine.”
Gibnen felt relieved.
Yet simultaneously deflated and exasperated.
It was going to be a night he’d never forget, for many reasons.
·
·
·
“That was truly horrific—thank you for giving me an experience worse than eating Coapu fruit soup for all three meals a day.”
Coapu fruit was a bitter fruit, primarily used as a medicinal herb for its excellent detoxifying properties when poisoned.
“If you were in pain, you should’ve said something. Magic can heal external wounds, but not internal ones.”
“……Did I faint?”
“Yes.”
“Oh…”
Now that she thought about it, her condition hadn’t been good even before the kidnapping.
“For a moment, I seriously wondered if this was the infamous ‘post-wedding collapse’ I’d only heard about.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“It’s not something to apologize for when you’re unwell. But next time, please take better care. It’s troublesome if you collapse anywhere, anytime.”
“……Okay.”
Dejected, Riley glanced at him cautiously. Gibnen stared back at her for a moment, then sighed softly.
“But.”
“?”
“What’s this?”
Gibnen held something out toward Riley.
It was a crumpled letter—written character by character with deliberate pressure, meant for Gibnen. She’d written it, thrown it away, repeated the process several times, and finally completed it—but lacked the courage to deliver it, so she’d hidden it away.
“I found it in your sleeve pocket while changing your clothes.”
“……Did you read it?”
“Yeah. I can’t stand not knowing things.”
“It was covered in blood and mud—probably unreadable…”
“Restoration magic is a very simple spell.”
“……Ah.”
“If the letter’s contents are to be believed, you wanted to break off our engagement.”
“……”
“Why?”
“Well…”
Riley couldn’t bring herself to continue.
“If you truly disliked me and wanted to call off the engagement, you wouldn’t have clung to me like that last night.”
“……”
“What is it, then?”
“You seemed… to be suffering hardship.”
Hardship?
Pondering Riley’s words, Gibnen suddenly remembered something and asked sharply,
“Could it be gossip?”
She nodded.
At her timid nod, Gibnen let out an exasperated chuckle.
“What’s there to worry about? It’s not even worth your concern.”
“……It’s not a good thing, though.”
“Have I ever cared about rumors for even a day? You, of all people, should know better than to fret over this.”
“This time is different.”
“A love scandal, then?”
She nodded again.
Gibnen stared fixedly at Riley, then crumpled the letter in his hand and tossed it into the trash.
“Then I refuse this letter—and everything written in it.”
“……”
“It’s nothing to worry about seriously. It’ll quiet down soon enough.”
Because he planned to bury it under an even bigger scandal.
Gibnen left the last part unsaid.
“You must’ve worried yourself sick.”
His gentle, coaxing tone—like soothing a child—made Riley lower her head deeply.
For some reason, tears threatened to spill.
She was happy he reassured her it was alright, that nothing was wrong. Because he said it didn’t matter, it truly felt like it didn’t matter at all.
Just as she was about to cry, the water and medicine arrived.
“Take your medicine.”
Riley took the round pill and a cup of water, swallowing them in one gulp. Soon after, the congee arrived. Naturally, he picked up a spoon, scooped some congee, and held it out to Riley.
“Open up.”
Surprised by his unexpected action, Riley’s eyes widened.
“……Are you going to feed me?”
“Your fingers were trembling even when drinking water.”
“……”
“I’ll feed you.”
“Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“Do you do this for others too? Are you… usually this affectionate?”
She was certain he hadn’t felt this way when she first met him.
He’d seemed gentlemanly, yes, but also distant—clearly drawing boundaries. Even his kind and considerate demeanor had felt deliberately crafted.
So why now…? When Riley looked at him with wary eyes, Gibnen gave a soft chuckle.
“What do you think?”
“……”
“Do I really come across as someone who’s this caring to just anyone?”
He blew gently on the hot congee. Then, once the spoon had cooled sufficiently, he pushed it into her mouth and said,
“I don’t do this for just anyone.”
“Then why…”
“Because you’re not just anyone, sister.”
Riley silently accepted the congee.
It felt strange. Unnervingly ticklish.
‘Even though I know those words mean nothing special…’
“There we go, good job eating.”
“……”
“Good girl.”
Riley couldn’t utter a word and finished all the congee he fed her.
It was plain congee without even basic seasoning, yet strangely delicious.
[This is the timeline separator]Seeing Riley fall back asleep as the medicine took effect, Gibnen rose from his seat.
He called Sak through telepathy.
– You called, Master?
– Link the coordinates there—I’m opening a portal.
– Coordinates linked.
No sooner had Sak finished speaking than Gibnen opened a portal and stepped through.
Beyond the portal lay a dense forest. Thick with trees and untouched by human passage, it had no path at all.
“Five in total—is this everyone?”
“Yes.”
Gibnen looked at the five burly men tied to trees.
Perhaps from the aftermath of his magic blast the day before, they were covered in blood and couldn’t hold themselves upright. Yet unlike their immobilized bodies, their mouths moved freely.
“P-please spare us! We were wrong!”
“Just once… my family is waiting for me. Please show mercy just this once!”
“We… we only did as we were told! Please…”
Gibnen crouched down with a mocking smile and met their eyes.
“Vermin who profit off human lives now plead for their families and claim they were just following orders?”
“……”
“Anyone watching might think you were forced into this. But wasn’t this your own free choice?”
These scum were always the same.
How many of the countless people who’d begged for their lives had they ever spared?
If those who took contracts to kill for money had enough conscience to heed desperate cries of “Spare me!” and let their targets go, they never would have chosen this path in the first place.
Remembering how these men had groped Riley’s body, Gibnen seized one by the throat.
“Consider yourself unlucky.”
“Gurk!”
“That’s what you always say, isn’t it?”
Since childhood, he’d faced all kinds of assassins.
The image of his mother, who died shielding him in his tender youth, remained vivid. These men were worthless trash, undeserving of mercy.
If spared, would they quit this line of work? No—they’d just steal more lives for profit.
And even if he spared them here, Count Ermeintz would kill them anyway to destroy evidence.
“You’d die by that old man’s hand even if not by mine.”
“W-we’ll testify! We can do it—we’ll confess everything…”
“No need. That testimony is meaningless.”
Calling journalists and the knight order through Sak wasn’t about securing witnesses or evidence—it was merely a show.
Even if this incident were dragged into court, it would inevitably be buried; and even if it weren’t, proper punishment was clearly impossible. So what did their testimony matter?
The goal was negotiation, not legal retribution.
“I don’t like dirtying my hands directly.”
“……”
“Guess there’s no helping it.”
Gibnen extended his hand toward them. Light streamed from his palm, enveloping them—then, in an instant, they withered into ash and scattered in the wind.
Not a trace remained.
Gibnen brushed off his hands and stood up.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Master.”
Sak followed calmly behind him, as if he’d seen nothing at all.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
This girl is so dumb. Get out before you make an even bugger ass out of yourself.
he was certain? Has he never paid attention to his child and how stuck up and dumb she is?
I am not sure the penguins deserve this comparison