MTIC 09

Chapter 9

“…You’re right.”

Jade didn’t even argue. He simply accepted Miel’s words as they were.

His unusually agreeable attitude made Miel feel puzzled.

In the original novel, Jade had been selfish and extremely possessive.

Not only that, he ignored and treated everyone coldly except the female protagonist.

He had lived in the Magic Tower since childhood and had already been designated as the next Tower Master.

Since the Magic Tower was home to countless mages, its hierarchy was naturally determined by the superiority of one’s power.

Jade had known from a young age just how powerful he was, so he naturally came to look down on people weaker than himself.

Still, because of the teachings of the previous Tower Master, he never openly showed contempt toward others.

However, he looked down on people subconsciously and never bothered to consider other people’s feelings.

He also had a cruel side.

In the original novel, some of the people who had harmed the female protagonist, Rowen, ended up being killed by his hand.

‘At least no one in the Magic Tower has been killed by the Tower Master himself so far…’

In any case, the Jade Miel had known was not a particularly nice person.

She could tell just by looking at how he had treated her over the past two years.

In his mind, she was probably just a subordinate beneath him whom he could afford to ignore.

That was why Miel had been prepared to be harshly reprimanded.

But what was this?

Instead of scolding her, he actually agreed with what she had said!

She had been certain Jade would become angry.

After all, Miel was his disciple, and as far as he was concerned, she was practically an eyesore.

Even though the message written in the summons was simply ‘Return to the Magic Tower,’ its underlying meaning was ultimately ‘Come find me.’

Yet his current subordinate and disciple had ignored that order.

Naturally, Miel had expected him to explode in anger.

Instead, his reaction was remarkably calm.

If anything, he looked as though he had actually been persuaded by her words.

‘…Something’s strange.’

Miel and Jade were currently in a lounge on the same floor after leaving the dining hall.

Jade stood by the window, looking outside, while Miel watched him from a distance.

An awkward silence settled between them.

‘He looks exactly the same as usual, but something about him feels strangely different. Could something have changed in his mind?’

Had something happened at the Magic Tower during the two months she had been away?

Just as she was thinking about it, her eyes met a pair of dark crimson eyes.

Jade, who had been staring out the window the entire time, had turned around.

“Miel.”

His low voice reached her ears.

Miel straightened her slightly slouched posture and answered.

“Yes?”

But Jade didn’t respond.

Instead, he simply stared at her.

‘What’s with him? If he has something to say, he should just say it quickly. I’m exhausted.’

Jade continued staring at her.

Miel’s face stiffened slightly.

She was just beginning to wonder if he had eaten something strange when—

The corners of Jade’s eyes reddened.

Then, slowly, he lowered his head.

Only then did that persistent gaze finally disappear.

‘Did he just look like he was crying? Or did I imagine it?’

There was no way.

After all, he wasn’t just anyone.

He was the Tower Master and her master.

There was no way he would cry in front of her.

No, to begin with, he was someone who simply couldn’t cry.

Miel pushed the fleeting thought to the back of her mind.

He must have gotten some dust in his eyes.

“…You really are much younger than you were back then.”

Jade murmured quietly.

Miel tilted her head slightly.

What is he talking about?

She couldn’t understand what Jade meant.

Moreover, his gaze was so ambiguous that she wasn’t even sure whether he had been speaking to her.

So Miel ignored his words and opened her mouth.

“Master.”

At her dry voice, Jade raised his head.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll be going now.”

She had thought that if she followed him, she would find out why he had come looking for her.

But Jade had made her stand there without actually saying anything useful.

Well, it was actually for the best.

At least he wasn’t going to give her any work.

Miel intended to say goodbye to Jade and leave the lounge.

However, Jade’s voice stopped her.

“I… I’m sorry, Miel. For not understanding your feelings.”

Miel’s eyes widened at the sudden apology.

That man, who had always cared about nothing but himself, was apologizing?

She had never thought she would hear such words from the Tower Master.

Because of that, Miel failed to properly hear what he said afterward.

The other words that came from him simply went in one ear and out the other.

The only thing that remained firmly lodged in her mind was the unexpected apology from her master.

Jade had apologized.

He felt sorry.

What on earth was going on?

They said that when someone suddenly started behaving strangely, it meant they were about to die.

Could her master have contracted some kind of terminal illness?

That was how strange Jade’s behavior was that such a thought naturally crossed her mind.

“I think I’ve been far too indifferent toward you all this time.”

“Pardon?”

“…I didn’t understand your feelings at all.”

Jade murmured as though speaking to himself.

What kind of nonsense is this now?

Miel couldn’t understand Jade at all.

“Anyway, from now on, I intend to do my best as your master.”

So this was the conclusion he had reached.

He was basically saying that since he had neglected his duties until now, he would finally fulfill his responsibilities as a master.

Miel had no idea what had caused this sudden change in his attitude.

‘Master or no master, I don’t need any of this. I just want to rest.’

Miel wanted to say exactly what she was thinking.

However, she forcibly suppressed those feelings and answered as politely as she could.

“No, it’s fine, Master.”

I’m perfectly happy living comfortably like we have been. I don’t particularly want to learn any more magic, either.

But Jade was adamant.

“I’m not fine with it. You’ve been learning magic from Shulien all this time, haven’t you?”

“I have, but…”

“I’ll teach you things far more impressive than those trivial spells. Not just Meteor and Storming, but powerful magic as well.”

“I don’t want to destroy the world, so you don’t really need to teach me natural disasters in the form of magic.”

Jade didn’t back down and continued explaining.

He talked about powerful magic, transformation magic, invisibility magic, concealment magic, methods for making potions, ways to raise dragons, and countless other things.

After listening to his endless explanations, Miel eventually surrendered completely.

Both hands and feet up.

She was exhausted just listening to him.

She wanted to return to her room and rest immediately.

“All right. Then I’ll be going now.”

Miel said goodbye to Jade before leaving the room.

She was already physically exhausted, and now she was mentally exhausted as well.

Who would have thought that the master she hadn’t seen in so long would become this strange?

He had not only agreed with her words and apologized to her, but was also spouting incomprehensible nonsense.

And, instead of assigning her work, he was insisting that he would teach her magic.

It was almost enough to make her wonder whether this was really the same person who had been indifferent toward her all this time.

Her master was truly acting strange.

Miel couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

She was even beginning to worry about Jade, who seemed to have suddenly become an entirely different person.

‘Surely…’

A flash of realization passed through Miel’s mind.

‘My master has gone crazy.’

After reaching that conclusion, Miel decided that she would discuss it with Shulien soon.

“Phew.”

As soon as Miel left the room, Jade let out a sigh of relief.

The moment he had actually come face-to-face with her, he couldn’t stop the corners of his eyes from growing hot.

For an instant, the image of Miel dying to save him overlapped with the Miel standing before him now.

Her small body, limp and powerless.

The sorrowful look in her eyes as she gazed at him just before the light of life disappeared.

Her cold hand after all its warmth had vanished.

He couldn’t forget those memories.

No one in his life had ever shown him feelings as passionate and sincere as she had.

That was why his emotions had surged to the surface.

He had almost cried in front of Miel.

Fortunately, he had used mind control to suppress his emotions and hadn’t let her see his tears.

And then he had apologized to her.

Jade had never apologized to anyone before.

After all, he had always been in a position where he didn’t need to apologize to others, even when he had done something wrong.

But with Miel, he wanted to express his regret.

To Miel, who had shown him such loyalty and affection, apologizing was nothing.

He had been indifferent toward her and had never understood her feelings.

That was why, in this life, he intended to teach her as much as possible as her master.

It was both a way of repaying her for her feelings and an act of atonement for having been indifferent to her all those years.

“Fortunately, Miel seemed to like it…”

A gentle smile spread across Jade’s lips.

When he apologized for having been so indifferent all this time and offered to teach her magic, Miel had looked extremely surprised.

Perhaps because she was flustered, she had tried to refuse, saying things she didn’t actually mean.

Jade noticed her hesitation and persistently pressed the matter.

He explained various interesting types of magic that he thought Miel might enjoy, and in the end, she gave in.

“So, what should the first lesson be?”

Jade left the lounge and headed straight for the library.

He needed to prepare for their first lesson.

There were so many things he wanted to teach Miel.

And so, he locked himself away in the library for two whole days preparing the lessons.

As he enthusiastically prepared everything he would teach her, something warm began to bloom inside Jade’s heart.

Yet Jade didn’t know what that emotion was—

the feeling that naturally made him smile.