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Chapter: 29
“Why should I apologize to him?”
Shana, wearing her research department gown, stomped and threw the paper in front of her to the floor.
Once a fellow student and colleague of Pellion at the Mage Tower, Shana could no longer contain her anger.
“If it’s his daughter, shouldn’t he have taken care of her from the start?!”
At first, upon hearing that her obnoxious classmate Pellion had a daughter, she had thought to herself, “Of course, a noble would live so recklessly,” and tried to let it go.
But he had never acknowledged his daughter, letting the rumors grow unchecked.
So she had stepped in, pretending to be his daughter, and even claimed he had fallen out of favor with the Mage Tower Master, thinking she might at least scare off those who were posing as his child.
‘It was a bit of a cruel trick on a non-mage.’
Yes, to be honest, seeing a face resembling Pellion’s twisted in fear would somewhat soothe her frustration, so she had tried this extreme measure.
But that was in the past. No one had been hurt, and Pellion himself had suffered nothing. Was there really any reason to involve herself so directly now?
“That guy has been unlucky from the start!”
Even when she saw him rapidly climbing the ranks under the name of Hexwood, while her own abilities were similar, she had already noticed him.
Despite his exceptional talent, he had barely reached the level of a mid-level mage in the research department, while Pellion had already taken the position of Deputy Mage Tower Master.
Seeing him snatch the Mage Tower Master position as soon as he could, it was clear how power-hungry he was.
“If it’s really his daughter, he should’ve taken care of her from the beginning!”
This wasn’t even about mocking someone. By revealing the truth now, what about all those who had stood up for him before?
She couldn’t understand it at all.
“Why should I bow my head to a rookie who just awakened their magic?”
That child must have expected this when coming to the Mage Tower, right? She was angry because he had no right to complain about something he should have been able to handle.
As Shana stomped out of her personal lab, mid-level mages scratched their heads, looking embarrassed.
‘Aren’t these the ones who tormented him?’
Indeed, how could a senior mage bow to a junior? Surely, they must also be dissatisfied with this situation; protesting together would have been enough.
But Shana’s plan could not proceed.
“Still, we were at fault, right?”
“Thinking back, I feel like I was possessed or something. Why did we harass him so much?”
“We probably got too caught up in strange rumors. Maybe we should go out more instead of staying in the lab all the time.”
Seeing them sincerely regret their behavior looked so foolish that Shana decided it was better to avoid the group and not be the “villain” herself.
Angrily, she stomped down the corridor.
She had no intention of apologizing and planned to pick any mission just to leave the Mage Tower, heading toward the administration office.
“Research Department mage, Shana. Long time no see.”
From the shadows at the end of the hallway, a strange figure emerged.
“…You are?”
A beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair—Elise.
She had been on the run, so why was she at the Mage Tower?
The question flitted through Shana’s mind, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“This is truly regrettable. A talented mage like you, Shana, having to suffer such humiliation over a mere child mage.”
Elise held an official document from the Research Department.
“She’s young but wields the family’s power to seize authority. How selfish, to abandon the child she bore and so easily break the bonds with other tower mages.”
Although Shana knew she should report a fugitive, Elise’s words made it hard for her to move.
“There’s an offer from someone who recognizes your worth. Would you like to hear it?”
Soon after, Shana calmed her trembling body and followed Elise to the location she mentioned.
“It’s very simple. You just have to deliver this item.”
Shana swallowed nervously as she looked at the bottle containing a black liquid in her hand.
“The escape itself will be handled. Once he escapes safely, he will gather those who share his vision and reclaim the Mage Tower Master’s position.”
She was to deliver the suspicious-looking liquid to the imprisoned former Mage Tower Master, Moremo.
“Wouldn’t you feel better if Pellion were unhappy?”
Should she have ignored Elise’s words, no matter how tempting?
“Why are there so many spiders here?”
Spiders in a well-maintained tower—everything suddenly seemed creepy and uncomfortable.
These were bigger than the usual spiders, making Shana almost recoil in disgust.
‘Should I just turn back now?’
Why had she believed a criminal and done such a thing in the dead of night? Maybe it wasn’t too late to go back.
Shana swallowed hard and turned to leave—but then remembered Elise’s words:
“If he reclaims the Mage Tower Master position safely, he promises to appoint you as Deputy Mage Tower Master.”
This wasn’t about envy; it was about her rightful claim.
‘It could have been my position originally.’
Unlike herself, who had passed the formal exam, Pellion had used underhanded methods to enter the tower as a favored student of the previous tower master.
Unlike Shana, who had only just reached the level of advanced mage through proper channels, Pellion received all the privileges and easily became Deputy Mage Tower Master.
‘If I were born in Hexwood, I would have enjoyed that too. No, probably even more!’
There had been rumors that Pellion’s magical talent was extraordinary and that the Mage Tower Master had personally pulled him in, while he had also left the Hexwood family behind.
Although true, such rumors were meaningless to Shana.
Determined, she exhaled slowly and moved toward the location Elise had shown her.
‘Indeed, as Elise said, the security magic is strong.’
But for an advanced mage like herself, it was nothing.
Shana deftly dispelled the security magic and instantly neutralized the guarding mages who rose at her intrusion.
“Clack clack. Long time no see, Shana.”
From a corner came an unpleasant, scraping voice.
The former Mage Tower Master, Moremo, hung chained against the wall.
Spiders were unusually clustered around him.
Feeling the ominous aura, Shana placed the bottle Elise had given her a little farther away.
“I heard from Elise. Thank you for making the right choice for the future of mages.”
“Hey, don’t forget your promise,” Shana said.
Practical rewards, not flattery: if the Deputy Mage Tower Master position became hers, she could shake off this uneasy feeling.
Moremo chuckled, the sound echoing eerily in the underground chamber.
“But Shana, moving like this is difficult. Won’t you come closer to help me?”
“That wasn’t part of the plan. I heard you’d escape on your own.”
Feeling threatened, Shana hesitated. Moremo pretended to be a pitiful old man.
“You’ll need to take this potion to escape. You can’t do it like this. Just give me the potion.”
“Ugh, really…”
Reluctantly, Shana picked up the bottle and approached him. As she opened the lid to administer the potion, the contents burst out.
“Ugh!”
Before she could wipe it off her face, she smelled it.
‘It smells like rotting blood, or maybe fishy… I’ve smelled this unpleasant odor somewhere before.’
Her suspicion was immediately confirmed.
“Old blood smells disgusting, doesn’t it?”
