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Chapter 23
Drawing the Line
Reception Room.
Elysia picked up her fork as one after another, snacks were laid out on the table. Perhaps because she hadn’t had breakfast yet, the scones lightly topped with butter looked more appetizing than the sweet desserts.
‘Is it poisoned this time too?’
Cautiously, Elysia placed a piece of scone in her mouth. But—
‘…’
Nothing happened. This time, there was no poison alert. Curious, Elysia took a sip of the tea in front of her.
Still nothing.
No alert at all!
‘…How disappointing.’
Elysia clicked her tongue inwardly. With such a big guest like the vice tower master of the Magic Tower present, if the food had been poisoned, she could’ve demanded a public investigation on the spot.
Unlike the Duke, Jerome actually listened to her. If she had shouted that the food was poisoned, he probably would have investigated immediately.
But her enemies weren’t fools either. No matter how bold they were, they probably didn’t have the guts to serve poisoned food right in front of a high-ranking mage.
“Before we begin, would you mind if I cast one more soundproofing spell?”
Jerome, seated now, opened the conversation.
“Of course, I don’t mean to doubt the Duke’s soundproofing system. But for something this confidential, the Tower’s policy is to apply additional soundproofing ourselves…”
“Go ahead.”
The Duke gave immediate permission. That response reassured Elysia as well.
‘A dual-layered soundproofing system from both the Duke’s household and the Magic Tower—I can trust this setup.’
Even if there were ears within the Duke’s estate, they wouldn’t be able to overhear this conversation now. After finishing the spell, Jerome turned to the Duke and asked,
“To start with, how much have you heard?”
“Well, I’d like to hear everything from the beginning. I want to see if what I know matches what you’ll say.”
The Duke glanced briefly at Elysia and answered nonchalantly. Elysia’s eyebrows rose at that.
‘Hmph? So he does have his own information network.’
She hadn’t told him anything herself, so that meant he must’ve had some other source backing him up.
‘Is that why he didn’t bother stopping me when I stormed out of the dining hall?’
Instead of chasing after her for answers, he just waited to hear them through his own channels.
‘So… he never needed to talk to me at all?’
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over Elysia.
Somehow, she had the feeling this kind of thing had happened over and over again.
Everything she didn’t tell him—he probably learned through his informants anyway.
Maybe, instead of ever trying to speak honestly with her when things happened, he just gathered information and took action on his own.
A silence fell over the room. Then Jerome spoke again.
“Then… have you heard the story about the lady killing the hellhound?”
“…!”
The moment those words were spoken, the Duke’s expression hardened.
“…Is that true?”
“Yes. Two nights ago, a hellhound suddenly appeared behind the Duke’s mansion, for reasons still unknown.”
“How could such a dangerous beast appear here…?”
“We tried to contain the situation, but there was no need. While I stood stunned, the lady took care of it herself.”
“…”
The Duke didn’t look at Elysia once during the explanation. With his chin resting on one hand, his expression seemed clouded, almost as if he were angry.
Sensing the air in the room getting heavier, Jerome cautiously asked,
“Did you… know the lady possessed such power?”
“Of course not.”
The Duke’s answer was immediate—and, in a way, it made sense. Even if the Duke’s family had known about Elysia’s overwhelming power, he’d never admit to hiding it. Still, he asked again, almost to confirm.
“You’re absolutely sure? Elysia is the one who killed the beast?”
“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“…”
Sitting quietly between them, Elysia tilted her head as she set down her teacup.
Come to think of it, it was a little funny. Whether it was the Imperial Palace or even her own home—everyone kept confirming things with Jerome, while the person at the center of it all, Elysia, just sat quietly. She felt like a ghost.
She finally spoke up.
“Yes. I killed it.”
“…What?”
At her words, the Duke snapped his head toward her. He looked like he was about to interrogate her, but Elysia beat him to it.
“But what’s the problem with that? Was I supposed to just stand by and watch while a monster invaded our home?”
‘Not that I did it to protect the house, anyway!’
To be honest, she’d done it to hunt the monster.
She wanted to sell it for money! LOL
Elysia, who had seen the hellhound as a bag of gold, was even upset when Jerome took the corpse away and she lost her earnings!
But now she was bold. She had done something praiseworthy, hadn’t she? She deserved thanks from the Duke—especially after being ignored all this time.
“I think I deserve praise instead.”
“Elysia!”
The Duke shouted her name, his face contorting with fury as if he couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Who told you to protect the Duke’s estate? And do you think it’s something to boast about, leaving without permission?!”
“You… you left without permission?”
Jerome, unaware of that detail, was flustered.
“I assumed the lady had received permission before I accompanied her to the palace.”
“We already discussed that part, Vice Tower Master, so don’t worry.”
Elysia had already made it clear that the palace visit was entirely her decision, so the Duke couldn’t blame Jerome any further.
Elysia stared directly at the Duke and continued.
“Am I not allowed to protect the Duke’s household? Must I receive orders to do so? Why? I’m part of the family too.”
“…”
“I’m Elysia Sempherion. Isn’t it only natural that someone from the Sempherion family protects the Sempherion estate?”
A long silence followed. The Duke froze, as if he hadn’t expected that answer. The time it took him to respond felt excruciatingly long.
In that tense moment, after a couple of deep breaths, a notification appeared.
Disappointment -5%!
Disappointment: 320% → 315%
The Duke’s disappointment has slightly decreased.
“…Still, it was too dangerous. You should’ve asked for help the moment you saw it.”
The Duke looked away from her and sighed. Then he turned to Jerome and added,
“It’s shameful, arguing in front of a guest like this.”
Clearly embarrassed by airing the family’s dirty laundry in front of an outsider.
“It’s quite alright.”
Now that the mood had softened, Jerome looked visibly relieved. It seemed like the perfect moment to bring up the main topic. He quickly continued,
“As you’ve just heard, Lady Sempherion possesses unmeasured magical power. According to protocol, such cases must be investigated. That’s why the Magic Tower came to bring her.”
“To bring her?”
The Duke’s voice rose, surprised. He had assumed they were just here to explain the situation—not to take Elysia away.
“Why the rush? High nobles usually get a few days before testing.”
His face darkened.
“Don’t tell me the Magic Tower is belittling the Sempherion family…”
“No, no! Not at all!”
Jerome frantically waved his hands. Closing his eyes tightly, he added in a troubled voice,
“The truth is… the Tower Master himself has taken an interest.”
“The Tower Master?”
“The Tower Master?!”
Both the Duke and Elysia exclaimed in unison.
Elysia peeked at the stream chat in disbelief. She hadn’t seen that twist coming.
∥“Wait, the Tower Master wasn’t even in the original story, was he?”∥
Not only was he not a love interest, he hadn’t even made an appearance in the original game. Theories ranged from “he’s in part two” to “he’ll show up in a future patch.”
So… has he finally been patched in??? Is this the pre-release teaser???
‘So even the viewers are hearing this for the first time.’
His appearance, personality, background—everything was unknown.
‘Maybe the Duke knows something?’
But the Duke’s face looked just as confused as hers.
“He usually doesn’t get involved in these matters…”
“It was a hellhound attack. And with someone capable of stopping it, how could he not take an interest?”
Jerome bowed deeply, face solemn.
“The Tower sincerely wishes to bring Lady Elysia to the Tower.”
And at that moment—
“…But I refuse.”
“…Excuse me?”
Jerome lifted his head in shock. He had thought the Duke was smiling, but it turned out to be more of a scoff.
“The Tower prides itself on merit, does it not? Are you sure it’s wise to make such a fuss over a daughter who may not even have talent?”
“…That’s—”
“If you take her so ceremoniously and it turns out she has no magical ability, won’t the ridicule double?”
The Duke slowly ran a finger along the rim of his teacup, his expression sour.
“And who will bear the shame then? The Sempherion family?”
‘What is he saying?’
Elysia frowned. He was basically saying that he was worried her failure might disgrace the family.
If she went to the Tower and turned out to be powerless, how would they deal with the humiliation?
And the moment that thought clicked in her mind, Elysia stood up.
“…I don’t understand why you’re worried about that. If I’m not talented, I should take responsibility. Why should the Duke’s household be blamed?”
Everything about her actions was being tied to the family’s honor. Even watching from a third-person perspective, it felt suffocating.
Elysia stood up from the table and said,
“Anyway, I’ll go. I’ll head to the Tower right now.”
“L-Lady?”
“And also.”
She turned to the Duke and added,
“If it turns out I do have talent, who gets the credit? Will you all bask in the glory while I’m left out again?”
“…!”
The Duke had no response—either from disbelief or speechlessness. Then, trying to regain control, he shouted sharply,
“Sit down, Elysia. This isn’t your place to—”
“I refuse.”
“…What?”
“I don’t want to just do as I’m told anymore, even if it’s about my life.”
Elysia threw his own words right back at him. While the Duke still looked stunned, she grabbed Jerome’s arm.
“Let’s go, Jerome!”
“L-Lady?!”
“Elysia, what do you think you’re doing?!”
Like a bullet, Elysia shot out of the room, dragging the dumbfounded Jerome with her.
“L-Lady, wait—why are we running?!”
“What are you all doing?! Stop her, now!”
The Duke’s belated roar echoed through the mansion, but Elysia shouted back at the top of her lungs.
“No need! You don’t even trust me anyway! Just wait here, Father! All you want is a certified test result from the Tower, right? I’ll go get it now!”
“Y-You’re too fast—aaaack…!”
Jerome was practically flying at her speed. The Duke’s eyes widened in shock, and Elysia slammed the front door open.
“To the Tower!”
And strangely enough, no servants tried to stop her anymore.
Elysia glanced back.
Far in the distance stood the Duke, frozen in place.
Oddly… his Disappointment meter didn’t rise.
