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CHAPTER 28
Compared even to my royal palace chambers, the Tower of Lord Ruberigo was remarkably luxurious.
Carmen, as if to confirm that the entire fifth floor was indeed designated as our private space, eagerly gave me a room-by-room tour.
Every room on the right side of the hallway was mine to use, and the left side belonged to Cecile.
I was satisfied.
“Judging by how fairly they divided this space, perhaps they’re not completely unreasonable.”
Cecile must have thought the same, nodding along as she glanced around the ornate walls. After introducing every room, Carmen left us with a final instruction: shake this artifact if we needed anything before the banquet, which someone would naturally come to inform us about later.
“An artifact, huh?”
I gently placed the diamond-shaped artifact Carmen had left us on the desk.
Just as I was looking around the room, Cecile knocked and entered.
Curious about her visit, I looked up as she gave a respectful bow.
“Magician Carmen gave permission for us to tour the Magic Tower. If you have no other plans, would you like to come with me?”
“A tour of the Magic Tower, huh…”
I groaned but accepted her suggestion. Cecile reached out her hand, and together, we stepped out to explore the tower.
The residents of Kosaren were on poor terms with the Imperial Family, so this might be our only chance to see the inside of the Magic Tower.
Cecile scratched her cheek with her finger.
“But… where should we start?”
“Did Magician Carmen mention any restricted areas? Maybe we can look everywhere else.”
“Restricted areas… Ah, yes. The very top floor is reserved for the Tower Master and should not be entered without permission. And also…”
“And?”
“She said the seventh floor is restricted as well.”
The seventh floor? What was on the seventh floor again?
After thinking for a moment, I clapped my hands in realization.
“Oh, right. That’s where that person is.”
Adix Ruberigo’s cherished one.
“His son…”
“Pardon, Your Highness?”
Cecile asked, as if she hadn’t heard me properly, and I quickly shook my head.
“Nothing. So, aside from that?”
“She didn’t mention anything else. The first floor is just a lobby, so there’s not much to see. The second and third floors are labs, and the fourth is a training room.”
The fifth and sixth floors were our quarters, as well as storage for magical materials and herbs.
The seventh, as mentioned, housed Ruberigo’s son, and the uppermost floors, filled with traps in every room, were strictly off-limits per Carmen’s warning.
“If we visit the labs, rumors will spread that the Imperial Family came to steal Ruberigo’s tech. Let’s just visit the training room.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
Cecile’s eyes sparkled. Her cheeks flushed, and she straightened her back with enthusiasm.
“I’ve heard Ruberigo’s mages are incredibly strong. One of them is said to have the strength of five hundred ogres. Though, of course, our court mages are superior.”
“And your point is?”
“Would it be alright if I spar with one, Your Highness?”
I knew it.
Cecile was a woman with ten times the muscle mass of a grown man.
Naturally, since she was the commander of the Empire’s knights—but knowing her brute strength made me uneasy about this request.
“Is beating up court mages not enough for you…?”
Again, Cecile was that woman—so terrifying that enemies avoided battle entirely, claiming anyone who met her on the field would be reduced to unrecognizable flesh and bone.
She was also the first female swordsman to master all swordsmanship forms by age ten and achieve the rank of Aura Master just two years later.
So what I meant was—
“You beat mages in a minute flat…”
Sure, Ruberigo’s mages were powerful.
But standing next to Cecile, their frames were practically swallowed by her sheer presence. I looked at her with a resigned expression.
“Behave. No rampaging like an angry colt.”
“But Your Highness, surely Ruberigo’s mages wouldn’t lose to a mere swordswoman?”
You’re not a mere anything…
“Even if we’re destined to be rivals, needless bloodshed must be avoided.”
When I shook my head firmly again, Cecile deflated, her shoulders drooping.
With a glum face, she led me to the mages’ training ground.
The training ground was quite close—just one floor down. Upon our entrance, the training mages instantly stiffened.
“That’s the one who sent a duel letter to the Tower Master…”
“Apparently, she wrote ‘duel’ in elegant handwriting with that lovely face.”
“As expected of Estie. Even their princesses are something else.”
Sharp eyes turned toward me.
Cecile, who had wilted like dead grass, perked up immediately, looking ready to brawl. I quickly grabbed her arm.
“Let it go, Cecile.”
I knew she was using this as an excuse to challenge the mages.
She lowered her arm sheepishly under my glare.
Leaving her behind, I approached one of the mages and asked if I could watch.
“Uh… I suppose it’s fine.”
She looked reluctant but nodded.
I sat on a bench in a corner, which seemed to be a resting spot for trainees.
The mages kept glancing at me.
Cecile leaned down and whispered, “Shall I gouge their eyes out for you, Your Highness?”
I gave her a look like she was a pile of dung.
‘I’ll just ignore her.’
Looking away from Cecile, I watched the training. As expected from the mages’ stronghold, the magic was like nothing I’d ever seen.
One mage chanted a spell, gathering a blue orb of mana in her hand.
It floated and suddenly struck the ground like a bolt of lightning.
BOOM!
Despite the deafening roar, the mages remained calm, continuing their drills or sparring in various styles.
Cecile shifted her weight, itching to jump in. Just as I tightened my grip on her arm—
“I heard she came under the Emperor’s orders. So, she’s been discarded, huh?”
Cecile and I both froze.
Her gaze, once burning for a match, turned instantly cold, and I fixed my eyes on the mage who had spoken loudly.
“Oh, dear. Did you hear that, Your Highness? My apologies.”
“So you know you should be sorry.”
I snapped icily. The mage’s lips curled.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? We might be in the provinces, but we still hear the rumors. ‘Just a stain’—that’s what they call you, First Princess.”
“What did you just say…!”
Cecile raised her voice, but I held out an arm to stop her.
“Your Highness!”
“Hold it.”
Not yet.
Cecile bit her lip, understanding my warning.
The mages watching us began to snicker and whisper.
“Come on, it was strange, wasn’t it? The Emperor ordering the First Princess out here? It’s like telling her to die. He knows how bad our relations are.”
“Poor thing… such a worthless pawn at such a young age.”
It felt like I had entered a miniature social circle under the guise of a mage’s domain.
They feigned sympathy while clearly enjoying the spectacle, their stares full of open disdain.
I closed my eyes.
‘As expected, I could break one of their arms and probably get away with it.’
A thin smile curled on my lips.
As the tension peaked, a young mage—likely sent by Carmen—arrived and restored order.
“That’s! En! Ough!”
The little girl with deep blue hair confidently commanded the room, hands on her hips.
I stared at her curiously.
‘Who is she?’
She looked about my age, yet scolded older mages with ease and came running to me.
“The banquet has begun, Your Highness! The Tower Master wishes to see you!”
“It’s that time already…”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
She tugged on my hand, and the mages returned to training as if nothing had happened.
“One day, I’ll personally crush every one of them.”
Cecile muttered darkly, scanning the training ground as she followed behind.
The perceptive girl whispered to me, “Your Highness, did something happen earlier?”
Amused by her odd speech, I offered a vague reply.
“Hmm… And what is your name?”
Blinking her bright teal eyes, she said proudly, “Asta!”
‘I’ve never heard that name before.’
From what I saw earlier, those mages were at least third-circle.
Yet a girl even younger than them had taken control so easily?
‘No way I wouldn’t know of someone like that.’
I studied Asta, who tilted her head at my stare.
“Your Highness, do you need something from me?”
“…Just looking.”
Asta nodded innocently, then dragged me away. Soon we arrived at the grand dining hall.
The door opened automatically as I approached—likely another trick of Adix Ruberigo’s.
Asta practically flung me inside, then grinned at Adix seated at the head table.
“I brought her, Tower Master!”
She was so familiar with him.
Only his son had ever shown that kind of ease with him—until now. And Adix’s reaction?
“Good job, Asta.”
He gave her a gentle smile.
Asta beamed and ran to him, bonking her head softly against his knee before vanishing—probably teleporting.
The moment she disappeared, Adix’s face turned cold.
Leaning back with a chill smile, he tapped the seat across from him.
“Sit, First Princess.”
“Gladly.”
I sat and looked over the feast laid out—an array of seafood, meats, soups, and more.
Glancing at the food, Adix spoke.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I prepared everything.”
“I’m honored.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Assuming it’s not poisoned.
Adix chuckled.
I ignored him and stabbed a shrimp with my fork.
He leaned back, watching me eat.
“So, why are you really here? I know this isn’t an imperial order. You sent the duel letter yourself.”
“Curious, are you?”
I swallowed the shrimp. Adix stared at me in silence.
“I’ll get straight to the point. I’m not patient.”
I can tell.
‘Better not push further.’
If I kept playing around, he might kill me before I even got to the offer.
Setting my utensils down, I smiled.
“How about a wager, like I proposed in the letter?”
“With you? Estie’s infamous First Princess?”
“I think you’ll find it tempting.”
“Go ahead.”
Arrogantly folding his arms, Adix gestured for me to speak.
If only I had the power to crush that arrogance…
“I want the data and partnership you have with Dolak Taksiden.”
“You’re insane if you think I’d give that to you.”
Adix growled, mana crackling subtly in the air.
Cecile, flung back by the force, shouted my name from beyond the sealed door. I looked at Adix with mock pity.
“Aren’t you searching for the Heart of Arteessa?”
That was when—
CRASH—!
RUMBLE—!
Glass and silverware shattered as the ground trembled.
“How dare you speak that name…!”
Adix Ruberigo erupted in fury.
His voice, once smooth, twisted into something terrifying. His cold eyes brimmed with murderous intent.
Gales of wind filled the dining hall.
Smiling, I looked him in the eye.
“Now you feel like negotiating?”
As the First Princess of a nation, and the Tower’s Master—
Outside, Cecile shuddered at the eerie chill spreading from her arm.
Just before Asta shoved me into the hall, she had cast a spell on Cecile to knock her away.
That hadn’t been Adix’s power—it was Asta’s.
Off guard, Cecile couldn’t block it. The door slammed shut.
When she tried to force it open, it wouldn’t budge—as if backed by a mountain.
‘I can’t just destroy it…!’
Cecile gripped her sword’s hilt, lips tightening.
And that’s when she felt it—an overwhelming surge of murderous energy and magic from inside.
“Damn it… First Princess…!”
Had she angered the Tower Master?
Drawing her sword, Cecile slammed it against the door—again and again.
But it didn’t leave a scratch.
Only then did she realize—it wasn’t the door that was strong.
It was Adix Ruberigo’s power.
She bit her cheek and kept pounding the door.
Then, a voice came from within.
“Cecile, calm down. I’m fine.”
Cecile froze, staring at the sealed door.
Was her mistress… enjoying this?
