"That... doesn’t seem like something you need to concern yourself with, Rianel," Penelope replied, her expression hardening.
Rianel had anticipated her reaction but mentioned the Tower Master nonetheless. And yet, uncharacteristically, he found himself stung by her response.
With a polite bow, Rianel said, "I have overstepped. I will not be able to escort you out. I hope you understand."
"That’s fine. I can find my way to the exit," Penelope answered briskly before striding purposefully toward the main gate.
Rianel stood silently, watching her retreating figure. His gaze fell to his own hands, and a sudden surge of possessiveness roiled within him like an impulsive tide.
‘Forcing her to stay by my side wouldn’t be difficult. Binding her limbs and breaking her legs...’
His eyes darkened ominously, black as a moonless night. At that moment, he found himself face-to-face with a massive, unblinking eye.
It resembled a fragment of the moon that had mistakenly fallen to earth.
The cold, predatory gaze shimmered unnaturally with a golden hue—the mark of magic.
The eye regarded Rianel and spoke, its voice resonating in his mind.
—Do you really need a warning?
Rianel curled his lips into a faint smile.
"How childish. Were you truly spying on me?"
—It’s not spying when it’s impossible not to hear.
The golden eye narrowed disdainfully, as if expressing its contempt.
Rianel responded calmly. "You seem quite on edge. And here I was, generously gifting the Tower Master the magic book of the first Tower Master."
—Don’t twist words. That wasn’t a gift from you. I won it at auction.
"That amounts to the same thing."
Rianel chuckled softly, knowing full well that the Tower Master was feigning ignorance.
Even so, he hadn’t expected Ahwin to linger in the estate after receiving such an extraordinary "toy" to distract himself with. Nor had he expected that even after releasing a news article and deploying his followers to hover around Penelope, Ahwin would remain fixated on her.
‘It only means he’s that serious about her.’
When Rianel saw the Tower Master, who could single-handedly reshape the continent, submit so effortlessly to Penelope’s every word, he couldn’t help but feel astonished.
The sight of Penelope casually giving orders to the indomitable Tower Master was nothing short of remarkable.
‘She knows exactly who she’s dealing with, yet she remains so composed.’
It was hard to decide whether her attitude was bold or simply reckless.
Once again, Rianel felt his possessiveness toward Penelope flare.
‘If it’s her, she wouldn’t break or falter by my side.’
Rianel had always wanted a partner who was both resilient and tenacious—someone who wouldn’t easily be hurt or die while standing with him.
‘To think my ideal partner would be a woman strong and bold enough not to succumb to Karla.’
He sighed inwardly.
It was the same reason he had once felt deeply drawn to Elizabeth. She, too, had been a woman who wouldn’t break or falter by his side.
His obsession with Penelope was, in truth, that simple.
With a bitter smile, Rianel turned his gaze in the direction where Penelope had disappeared.
The golden eye stared at him for a moment longer before slowly fading away.
***
Penelope abruptly asked Ahwin, "Why do you look like that?"
"Like what?"
"You were just looking at me like I was pathetic."
"Me? You’re imagining things. Why would I look at you like that?"
"Never mind then. Are you hungry?"
When Penelope changed the subject, Ahwin hesitated for a moment before nodding, his eyes faintly shining with anticipation.
"Now that you mention it, I think I might be. Want to eat at my place?"
"Let’s go to my house. It’s closer."
"My house?"
"Oh, I mean, my home," Penelope quickly corrected herself. Her speech habit from her previous life of referring to everything as "ours" had slipped out unconsciously.
That habit, she realized, needed to be fixed.
As they walked, Ahwin glanced at Penelope and asked, "Do we really need to take a carriage to get to your house?"
"I’m not traveling anywhere by magic," Penelope declared firmly. The memory of dancing mid-air due to Ahwin’s magic flashed vividly in her mind.
Ahwin shrugged, looking slightly deflated, and resumed walking.
From a distance, the coachman spotted them and began preparing for departure. Soon, a servant quickly opened the carriage door.
As Penelope climbed into the carriage with the servant’s assistance, she suddenly spoke.
"I’m thinking of returning to the Halo territory."
"What...?!"
Ahwin exclaimed in shock, grabbing Penelope’s sleeve. His unexpectedly intense reaction startled her.
"All of a sudden? Why?"
"Why else? Because I want to."
"Why do you want to? Is it uncomfortable here? Should I move back to my house with you?"
"This is a townhouse in the capital. My real home is the Halo estate. And no, I’m not moving back in with you."
Did she need a specific reason to want to go home? A home is a place you simply want to return to.
‘Besides, I’m the lord of Halo. Do I need a special reason to want to visit my own territory?’
It was hard for Penelope to provide a more detailed explanation. She pulled her sleeve free from Ahwin’s grasp and took her seat.
Ahwin, looking like a child whose candy had been taken, stared at her dejectedly before following suit and sitting down.
"...When are you leaving?"
"Hmm, not immediately. After I finish developing the hair iron, and the styling comb and hair essence hit the market."
The more Penelope elaborated, the narrower Ahwin’s eyes became.
"And you know when that will be?"
"If I ask Pablo, it shouldn’t take too long. Everything should be sorted before summer."
Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.
Ahwin pouted, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing.
"So you have no idea when, in other words."
"At least I can start mentally preparing for it."
"That’s something you can do without much preparation."
Ahwin retorted dismissively. Penelope, too tired to argue further, decided to change the subject.
"By the way, what does the magic book by the first Tower Master say?"
"I don’t know yet. I’m planning to figure it out bit by bit."
"Is there even a script you can’t read? You’re fluent in the original imperial language and ancient tongues."
"True, there aren’t many scripts I can’t read."
Ahwin idly swung his legs as he spoke. The tension from earlier, when he had been caught off guard, had completely vanished. The moment the topic shifted to his area of expertise, his demeanor transformed entirely.
‘Honestly, I thought he’d already be poring over that book.’
Penelope found Ahwin’s lack of excitement surprisingly anticlimactic.
Ahwin’s linguistic prowess, spanning every continent’s common languages, numerous royal tongues, runes, ancient scripts, Dwarvish, and Elvish, was legendary. It was one of the details Penelope remembered vividly from the original story.
‘But he can’t decipher what the first Tower Master wrote? Could it be... the book is written in Hangul?’
Such tropes often appeared in fantasy novels.
‘Am I the only one who can interpret the first Tower Master’s magic book?’
Penelope allowed herself a glimmer of hope.
Ahwin frowned deeply before suddenly muttering, "The handwriting is atrocious."
"...."
***
Pablo had been busy since early morning, summoned by Penelope.
‘She must have something urgent to deal with,’ he thought.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, so Pablo prepared himself without hesitation.
When he arrived at Penelope’s townhouse, the butler greeted him as though he had been waiting.
"Let me escort you to where the mistress is."
The butler led Pablo to the townhouse’s dining room.
Penelope had yet to arrive, as the seat at the head of the table was still empty.
"Would you like to wait here?"
"Thank you for showing me the way," Pablo replied, suppressing a sigh as he glanced around.
Seated at the table was the Tower Master, his gaze locked on a thick book with an intense expression.
Judging by its size, the book seemed to be either a history book, a poetry collection, or a magic book.
‘Since the Tower Master is reading it, it must be a magic book. But didn’t Baroness Halo leave his house? Why is the Tower Master still here?’
A small curiosity flickered in Pablo’s mind.