What the hell is this nonsense?

The investigator was at a loss for words, alternately looking at the Mage Tower Master who had suddenly appeared and the woman who was suspected to be involved in this incident. It was truly a bewildering combination. It was even more so because he had never heard news of the Mage Tower Master getting married.

Not a boyfriend, but a future husband?

So this woman in front of him is going to marry the Mage Tower Master?

“She’s innocent. She was with me at that time.”

“She testified that she was sitting alone reading a book in the park.”

“She was alone. I was just lingering around the area. I watched her from a distance so as not to disturb her.”

What nonsense!

The investigator was certain that Givnen was making unreasonable excuses. But he couldn’t carelessly voice this out loud.

“Since I came as a witness, let her go. Don’t you think she’s more likely to be a victim in this case, if anything, rather than a perpetrator?”

“…Well, it’s just that her name came up from the victims’ mouths.”

“They weren’t attacked by Riley. My wife was with me at that time.”

“…”

“But this is strange. I heard that my wife was harassed by them, have you finished investigating that case before doing this? If you had investigated that incident, you couldn’t possibly pin all of this on my wife.”

“…Ha-harassment? Well, we haven’t heard anything about that. This is news to us.”

At the investigator’s words, Givnen snickered. It was clearly a sneer.

“I see. So you keep quiet about the actions of those who tried to tie my wife to a treetop, and you don’t even know who they are, but you’re working hard to frame my wife as the culprit in an incident where they were attacked by unknown assailants. Isn’t the student council, which should be fair to everyone, being too biased?”

“That’s not it. We really haven’t heard anything about that. If a report had come in, we would have started an investigation right away.”

“So you’re saying she’s the only one with a motive to commit such a retaliatory crime.”

“…”

“Didn’t you say that just now?”

“Well, that…”

“What made you think my wife had a motive to commit a retaliatory crime? You said you didn’t know she was harassed by them.”

The investigator’s face turned pale white. He was so flustered that his fingers were trembling and his eyes were rolling wildly.

Then Givnen leaned back against the chair with his arms folded and said coldly.

“Drop it.”

“…”

“If you’re going to continue the investigation, make sure my wife isn’t involved. Why should I and my innocent wife be wasting time here unnecessarily?”

“…Understood.”

He thought there was nothing he could do when someone higher than the victims involved in this incident came and told him to drop it. If it was the will of the higher-ups to frame Riley Eadalyn as the culprit, then surely dropping this case must also be the will of a higher-up.

Moreover, this is Horizon. There is no more absolute existence than the Mage Tower Master of Horizon. One would have to be a fool not to know whose words to follow and what the priority is.

“Then may we leave now?”

“Of course, please go safely.”

Only then did Givnen rise from his seat, seemingly satisfied. Then he took Riley’s hand.

“Let’s go, nuna.”

“…Okay.”

Nu-nuna?

As the investigator was watching the two leave the interrogation room in bewilderment, Sack, who had been waiting behind, quietly approached and said,

“The fact of the Mage Tower Master’s marriage is top secret, so make sure it doesn’t leak out under any circumstances.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Givnen took Riley out and teleported to find a quiet place where no one was around.

The place they arrived at was the library, specifically a room storing ancient books that was off-limits. The moment the scent of old paper tickled their noses, a fresh fragrance overlaid it.

Givnen had embraced Riley. Riley flinched, then tightly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

“It’ll be alright now.”

“…You knew everything when you came?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know?”

“I’m the Mage Tower Master, how could I not know what’s going on in Horizon?”

Riley, still held in his arms, thought about why things had come to this. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand the reason.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know, nuna didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why are they only doing this to me?”

“I wonder.”

“Even when I lived with Uncle, I was always scolded even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe that’s why, but whenever I get scolded by someone, I always think it might be my fault. It was like that this time too.”

“It’s not your fault, nuna.”

“Yes, I know. But when things started going strangely, I briefly wondered if maybe I was the strange one. No matter how much I explained, no one believed me… How should I put it, I felt like I was the only one being stubborn and becoming a weird person.”

It feels like I’m acting spoiled somehow. I don’t want to act spoiled. Maybe it’s because the hand patting my shoulder feels similar to my father’s.

“At this point, I might have been born with a talent for being disliked by others.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Givnen detached Riley from his embrace, then pressed his forehead against hers and met her eyes.

“Don’t lower and disparage yourself. It’s not your fault, nuna. This was just bad luck. It’s like stepping in dog poop while walking down the street.”

“Or maybe I’m just more unlucky than others more often?”

Riley was dejected.

She had tried not to care too much, but she became depressed when she found herself constantly relying on Givnen’s help even after entering the academy. It felt like she was being a burden to him, unable to even properly manage her academy life.

Even if she didn’t want to feel dejected, even if she didn’t want to think negatively, she couldn’t handle the feeling of hitting rock bottom every time she experienced something like this.

The people who scolded me, the people who blamed me, the voices criticizing me, the voices condemning me are still vivid. I became a little scared realizing that it wasn’t limited to just the Eadalyn mansion.

I didn’t want to be hated here. By anyone, for any reason.

But seeing how things had turned out, I wondered if the problem might lie with myself rather than my surroundings.

Even while knowing that I had been caught up in an absurd incident, and that the people who disliked me were also being absurd, part of me still wondered if there might be some flaw that made me deserve to be hated.

“Givnen, I wished you didn’t know anything.”

“…”

“I didn’t want to show any flaws… to you of all people.”

“How is this a flaw of yours?”

“I just didn’t want to create situations that could be seen as flaws. Even my existence is like a lump to you, isn’t it?”

A lump that he ended up keeping around somehow.

Yes, I thought there couldn’t be a more appropriate word. That’s what Riley Eadalyn is to Givnen Ryanster. A lump he has to carry around. Something that doesn’t matter if it’s there, but is cumbersome if it is, and better if it’s not.

A relationship he reluctantly maintains because of his master’s last words. If that’s the case, I should really be an obedient lump. To the point where he doesn’t even notice he’s carrying it. At the very least, I shouldn’t cause any harm, that’s what I thought.

“…I can’t even take care of myself properly.”

It was devastating that one way or another, I got involved in an unsavory incident, it escalated, and it came to a point where he had to step in. I was supposed to be a lump that didn’t bother him.

“Who said you’re a lump?”

“…”

“Have you been thinking like that all this time while pretending otherwise?”

“…”

“That your mere existence is a hindrance, a nuisance? You’ve been struggling alone, trapped in such thoughts. How unpleasant. Why would you think that? Have I done so poorly that you would have such thoughts? Am I still lacking that much?”

“It’s not like that. It’s not your problem, it’s mine.”

Givnen sighed deeply and pushed Riley.

Somehow ending up sitting on an old table, Riley looked at him in surprise. He lowered his body to match Riley’s eye level, then caressed her cheek.

“What more do I need to do to make you stop having such foolish thoughts?”

“I think about wanting to give back to you as much as you give to me.”

“…”

“But for me, that’s impossible.”

“I’ve never wanted to receive as much as I give.”

“I do. Because I know that the things given to me unilaterally are too much for me, things that the previous me couldn’t even dream of.”

“Can’t you just put aside these complicated thoughts and simply live by accepting what’s given? Why do you have to think about it so complicatedly?”

I don’t like that. I’m afraid I’ll end up just relying on him. I’m afraid I’ll just end up depending on him.

Riley suppressed the sincerity that had risen to the tip of her tongue.

She had told him she would live enjoying only what was given, that she wouldn’t be greedy anymore and wouldn’t cross any lines, but honestly, she wasn’t confident.

She thinks she will be abandoned someday.

She doesn’t think the current relationship will last forever either. Because you never know what will happen in the future.

Until then, Riley was afraid she would end up just relying on Givnen. That she would become a useless idiot who couldn’t do anything without leaning on him. Because she had already experienced enough how terrifying the absence of someone you depend on can be.

People can’t live just by relying. Because when the person you depend on disappears, you crumble.

So she didn’t want to rely on him if she could help it. Even though she was already receiving a lot of financial help and living a comfortable life because of it, making it unavoidable in terms of material aspects, at least in these personal matters, she didn’t want to lean on his existence.

‘The more kindly he treats me, the more I’ll end up relying on him, and in the end, I might end up being sincere about this strange relationship.’

What if I end up just leaning, just relying, and beyond that, truly loving him and even becoming possessive?

Riley’s lips moved slightly before closing again. She didn’t want to reveal such sincere thoughts. No, she couldn’t reveal them.

I have to hide my true feelings.

“…Thank you for helping. Forget what I just said. I’m just confused in many ways, so I spoke nonsense. I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

Givnen, who had been staring intently at Riley, pressed his lips against hers. While tightly grasping her hand.

Although her heart was pounding wildly at the gentle kiss, Riley ignored this regular and not unpleasant heartbeat. She received his lips as calmly as possible. Trying not to let her emotions leak out, trying not to be moved as much as possible.

‘This relationship is tilted.’

A tilted relationship can never become parallel, can never arrive side by side. Because it’s tilted.

I shouldn’t develop any personal feelings. I shouldn’t rely on him, lean on him, or love him. Because reality will thoroughly block the path where hearts meet.

I won’t beg for love anymore. I won’t love anyone either.

I had to remind myself of this long-standing resolve.

Because experiencing one-sided feelings turning into a dagger and coming back was enough at the Eadalyn mansion.

There’s no way it can become two-way. This time it’s so clearly one-way, why go through the trouble unnecessarily?

Don’t forget. Riley, you must never forget.

Never love, never give your heart.

To anyone.

[This is the timeline separator]

Although I was worried about what would happen if the news of my marriage to Givnen leaked, fortunately, it seemed that Givnen’s side had thoroughly silenced the student council.

Whether the matter was properly settled or if they really buried this incident, there were no more cases of the student council coming to look for Riley. Hila comforted Riley saying it was really fortunate that she had cleared her false charges, but Riley couldn’t feel completely relieved.

A week has passed like that, and now it’s time for the lecture.

It’s been three weeks since the argument between Josephine Lucan and Rivne.

Josephine Lucan was absent from last week’s lecture. I heard she was marked as absent due to illness because she was focusing on recovering from an injury. And for some reason, Rivne was absent too, thanks to which Riley got through this burdensome lecture relatively comfortably.

But today, for some reason

“I heard you were called to the student council?”

Rivne, who attended, sat next to her, and

“Josephine! You came! Are you feeling better?”

“Oh my, how did this happen…”

Josephine Lucan, who had been on everyone’s lips after being attacked by an unknown assailant, also attended.

“Why were you called? For what reason? It’s rare for the student council to summon an individual unless it’s something serious.”

As Riley was trying to answer Rivne while being mindful of Josephine Lucan, Josephine Lucan, with bandages wrapped tightly around her leg, approached using crutches.

Glaring at Riley with blazing eyes, Josephine abruptly asked Rivne.

“Unni, what kind of relationship do you have with this person?”

Rivne frowned, showing her displeasure. She seemed annoyed at the sudden interruption while she was in conversation with Riley.

“Just an acquaintance of an acquaintance, for now at least.”

“…Was it you, unni?”

“What?”

Josephine spoke in a very low voice, afraid others might hear.

“Did you pressure the student council, unni?”

“Why would I do such a troublesome thing?”

“You’re lying, it was you who stopped them, right! Why are you defending this woman? What kind of relationship do you have with her to treat me like this!”

Josephine looked extremely wronged. She seemed about to let out a scream, but conscious of her surroundings, she kept her voice very low as she complained. Thanks to this, the people around couldn’t hear the content of their conversation.

“I don’t know if you’re taking out your anger on me after getting beaten up somewhere. I have nothing more to say, so go. I’m starting to get annoyed.”

Josephine’s eyes soon welled up with tears, and she glared at Riley as if she wanted to kill her.

Riley thought she might hit her. But fortunately, Josephine didn’t cause any more commotion and returned to her seat.

“Why does she hate you so much? Did you do something wrong to her?”

At Rivne’s question, Riley sighed softly.

‘It’s because of you.’

If it weren’t for Rivne, there wouldn’t have been any spark, but since this wasn’t Rivne’s fault, Riley quietly closed her mouth, saying she didn’t know. Then she sat very quietly between Hila and Rivne, focusing on listening to the lecture.

She was worried that Josephine might call her out separately after the lecture, but fortunately, Josephine disappeared somewhere as soon as the lecture ended.

‘It seems to have been really well settled.’

It would be strange if it wasn’t settled when Givnen personally stepped in.

Still, she remained cautious for a few more days just in case, but there was no overt bullying. Rather, as days passed, even the hostile gazes decreased significantly.

Riley went to visit Arpeggio and talked about this tremendous change.

“The gazes have become much softer than before. Although everyone hurries to avoid me when they see me.”

“Why are you coming here to talk about that?”

“Just… I thought it would be nice to chat about various things while studying.”

“Why are you coming here to study in the first place?”

“Because you’re here, master.”

“I told you I’m not your master!”

“But you teach me well.”

“What, such impudence…”

Arpeggio sighed and sat down in a chair.

‘After thoroughly shaking up the student council, how could rumors not spread. Seeing that she doesn’t even realize she’s become a figure with a tremendous backing, it seems true that she has almost no friends…’

Arpeggio felt pity for Riley.

Being under Givnen Ryanster’s thumb alone would make her one of the top 3 most unlucky people in the world, and to think she’s not even properly adapting to academy life and seems to be an outsider without friends…

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Come here.”

“?”

“Give me your head.”

As Riley gently extended her head, Arpeggio pressed it down as if petting a rain-soaked puppy.

“Cheer up, you most unlucky child in the world.”

“?”

…Why the sudden insult, master?