Chapter 196

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After Loretta returned to her room crying from the reception room, Claude reluctantly left for the Magic Tower immediately.

From the sky filled seamlessly with dark clouds, thicker rain began to fall, and soon thunder and lightning began to shake the whole world.

Claude leaned against the backrest of the carriage and looked at the endless raindrops hitting the window.

Soon, the dawn of that day inevitably came to mind.

“…Get out of the way!”

The scream still echoing clearly in his ears.

The incompetent man had no choice but to obediently step back and give way at those words.

He didn’t even have the courage to follow her and vow eternity.

Even to such a pathetic human, she had kissed him. Maybe it was to comfort him.

He leaned his head hard against the window, making a thud.

“Phew.”

He couldn’t wallow in self-pity, reminiscing about that moment forever.

Claude soon recalled another moment.

The day after she left.

He went to find the Records Keeper who had made a promise with Melody.

The Records Keeper’s story was almost the same as what Melody had told him.

“Do you… regret it? That it would have been better if you hadn’t found those shoes in Kristonson.”

At Claude’s question, she shook her head.

“It’s better than another Records Keeper finding out and the world getting chaotic.”

She added with a bitter smile.

“I thought I would never be able to accept what my teacher did in my lifetime, but now I’m doing the same thing. Now… I can’t even ask for forgiveness.”

“By any chance.”

Claude knew it was rude, but he pried a little deeper into the situation.

“Do you know… who your teacher was trying to protect?”

Fortunately, she didn’t take issue with his rudeness.

“I didn’t even ask. I did tell him that he was someone who betrayed his professional ethics.”

Moreover, judging by her nonchalant answer, she seemed to want to talk a little about her past regrets.

“…I shouldn’t have said that. No matter how important records are, they’re not more precious than a person’s life.”

Around the time he recalled that, the carriage began to slow down a little.

Looking outside, they had already passed the outskirts and arrived near the Magic Tower.

“Young Master.”

At the coachman’s call through the small sliding window, Claude quickly lifted his head.

“What is it?”

“There are many carriages at the entrance. Shall we wait? Or should I stop a little further away?”

“Getting wet in the rain won’t be a problem. Let me off at a suitable place.”

The carriage stopped at a distance from the entrance of the Magic Tower.

Although the coachman was worried that the rain was getting heavier, Claude lightly ran into the Magic Tower without an umbrella.

Arriving at the entrance and shaking off the moisture from his coat, he saw a group in white robes coming down the nearby stairs in a line.

Claude carefully hid behind a nearby pillar.

They were high priests from the temple and imperial physicians, and they all had expressions as if dissatisfaction had risen to the tips of their hair.

Something must not have gone as they wished.

Behind them, Jeremiah was following with a bored-to-death expression.

Of course, only Claude could recognize that expression, and others would have thought he was smiling kindly.

The priests and physicians boarded the carriages lined up in front of the Magic Tower one by one.

Each time, Jeremiah greeted them with perfect etiquette.

Waiting for all the carriages to go far enough, Claude quietly approached behind Jeremiah.

With the thought of surprising him a little.

“Brother.”

But the one who was surprised was Claude. Without even turning around, Jeremiah accurately sensed his presence.

“You knew I was coming?”

When he asked with an embarrassed smile, Jeremiah adjusted his glasses and replied with his characteristic expressionless face.

“You seem to like such pranks, so last time I put a tracking spell on you. Now I can know wherever you are.”

“…!”

Startled, Claude quickly looked down at his body. Not that he could see Jeremiah’s magic with his eyes.

“I’m joking. I wouldn’t do such an unethical thing.”

“You scared me.”

“More importantly, you’re drenched in rain.”

Jeremiah raised one hand and held it in front of Claude’s forehead. Green light swirled above that hand.

Soon, the water droplets that were stuck to Claude’s clothes and hair began to rise upward, forming a large water droplet in the air.

“It would have dried on its own, but thanks.”

“It would be troublesome if you caught a cold, brother. You’re my guardian on paper after all.”

Jeremiah shot the large droplet that had formed in an instant outside the Magic Tower, then turned his body sharply.

“Then I’ll guide you.”

Jeremiah turned and started walking with quick steps. He seemed to have guessed Claude’s business without asking.

Claude followed him up the stairs lined with cats.

“How is the Magic Tower Master?”

“I believe he will be fine. As long as the imperial family doesn’t bother him any further.”

That seemed to be aimed at the temple priests or imperial physicians who had just visited.

“It seems His Majesty is concerned about the Magic Tower Master.”

“Even though we didn’t ask. It’s so annoying I could die.”

Jeremiah grumbled, openly expressing hostility.

“Why don’t they understand that coming like that and insisting on taking him away interferes with the treatment?”

“They want to take him away?”

“Yes, they suddenly started calling the Master ‘His Highness’.”

Claude finally understood why Jeremiah was so angry.

The Magic Tower Master had been desperately trying to sever ties with the imperial family.

He rarely interacted with nobles, only wishing for the advancement of magic and the safety of mages.

“The Emperor probably wants to claim that the imperial family had a hand in discovering the mana stones.”

“Well.”

Claude caught up to Jeremiah’s side and offered a slightly different opinion.

“Anyway, the Emperor and the Magic Tower Master are brothers like us, so he might just be concerned. Just like you worry about my cold.”

“How can they be the same as us? At least we…!”

Jeremiah stopped talking and adjusted his glasses for no reason, turning his head away. The tips of his ears were a little red.

“…Trust each other?”

When Claude arbitrarily continued, Jeremiah pressed his lips together, saying, “Think what you want.”

Without much conversation, they climbed a bit more stairs and passed through the hallway. Jeremiah finally stopped in front of a large door.

“This way.”

At the same time as those words, the door opened.

Seeing the door move without anyone touching it, some magic must have been at work.

Claude waited for the door to open wide and bowed politely.

“It’s been a while, Magic Tower Master.”

“I wondered who it was, it’s my favorite apprentice’s brother. Heh heh.”

At the voice mixed with rough, labored breathing, Claude looked up in surprise.

There was no trace of the healthy Magic Tower Master.

His cheekbones protruded harshly, and his white hair had fallen out so much that his scalp was clearly visible.

“I heard you had been overworking these days.”

When Claude approached with a worried face, the Magic Tower Master slowly shook his head.

“I was fine until a few days ago… I guess my broken body knows it’s going to rain and is in pain.”

And he slightly bowed his head and apologized.

“You must have been looking forward to spending time with your brother at the mansion.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Magic Tower Master. It’s okay since I met Jeremiah like this. Hmm…”

The Magic Tower Master seemed to have noticed that Claude was about to add something but stopped.

Offering Claude a seat, he made a regretful remark to his apprentice Jeremiah.@@novelbin@@

“Even if it’s your brother, he’s a guest to me, and if we don’t treat him properly, won’t it be embarrassing for the Magic Tower Master’s reputation?”

“Then, I’ll have Evan…”

“No, it would be better for you to go. If you go to the magician Miguel, you can receive the tea I specially left with him.”

Jeremiah seemed reluctant to leave his teacher’s side, but unable to refuse his order, he immediately left the room.

As soon as they were alone, the Magic Tower Master smiled at Claude.

“He’s an apprentice who loves his teacher to the point of embarrassment, so it’s not easy to separate him even for a moment.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Claude felt very sorry for making the patient considerate.

“No, the magician Miguel is probably wandering around looking for an experimental subject, so it will take quite some time for Jeremiah to return.”

The Magic Tower Master now nodded with a stern face.

It would mean that he could say anything.

“Magic Tower Master, actually I ran into the imperial physicians and priests at the entrance a little while ago.”

“My brother must be worried too.”

He coughed briefly and gently shook his head.

“He seems to be afraid that this younger brother will pass away first.”

“You won’t… meet His Majesty?”

Claude asked in a lowered voice. Maybe because it would be a very unpleasant question if other mages heard it.

“I will never meet him.”

“At least a letter…”

“I won’t write one.”

There seemed to be no room for compromise in this firm answer.

“Magic Tower Master, do you remember about Jeremiah? From a long time ago, when that child didn’t like the ducal family.”

“How could I forget? It was a big concern of mine. Fortunately, the ducal family’s brothers reached out to that child first.”

“And you brought Jeremiah into our arms, Magic Tower Master.”

Claude hesitated for a moment but soon conveyed his thoughts.

“So I thought… you were someone who valued family very much, Magic Tower Master.”

“…”

“Magic Tower Master. May I dare ask about your contradiction, foolish as I am?”

The Magic Tower Master considered it right for Jeremiah’s relationship with the ducal family to improve, but he showed a different attitude in his own family relationship.

Of course, it was impossible to view one’s own affairs and those of others in the same way.

Moreover, there had been terrible incidents in the imperial family one after another.

But it bothered him that the person who had tried so hard to allow Jeremiah to return to the ducal family didn’t even properly respond to the hand extended by his own brother.

“If it’s not rude.”

Claude, who had been closely observing the Magic Tower Master’s expression, spoke again.

“I will change the question. Magic Tower Master, you haven’t approached not only the Emperor but also anywhere near the imperial family for a long time. Could it be that you have a promise to… No.”

At the word ‘promise’, the Magic Tower Master’s eyes shook for a moment. Claude didn’t miss this.

“Is there… a reason?”