Chapter 92 : Want to Come Along?
For anyone with a profession, Monday—the first day of the workweek—carries a certain weight. For Aracila, however, it was a day of unbridled enthusiasm as she headed to the Magic Tower. After a tumultuous vacation, returning to work felt surprisingly refreshing. The idle days spent at the ducal estate, with little to occupy her, had left her restless, so stepping back into her research lab was a welcome change.
Sally and Rudy greeted their senior, who had been away for nearly two weeks, with open arms and warm smiles.
“We missed you so much, Senior!” Sally exclaimed. “You have no idea how tough it was with just me and Rudy.”
“Oh, please,” Rudy shot back, rolling his eyes. “As if I wasn’t the one suffering, cleaning up after you.”
Aracila chuckled fondly at their bickering. Seeing them unchanged, as spirited as ever, reassured her that they’d managed just fine in her absence. The two had been childhood friends long before joining the Magic Tower, and their playful squabbles were so routine that it would’ve been suspicious if they weren’t at odds.
“Alright, you two,” Aracila interjected at just the right moment, cutting off their escalating banter. “Anything happen while I was gone?”
Sally and Rudy cleared their throats, exchanging a glance before nodding. Then Rudy piped up, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh, the Magic Tower’s 100th anniversary celebration is coming up soon.”
“Yeah, we got an official notice,” Sally added, handing Aracila a document she’d set aside. “It says everyone has to attend—no exceptions.”
Aracila’s eyes skimmed the notice, lingering on a particular line: “Married mages may bring their spouses as partners.”
Would it matter if that partner is a knight? she wondered.
The 100th anniversary was a significant event for the Magic Tower and its mages. Most married mages would likely bring their spouses, which meant that Aracila, as the most recently wed among them, should bring Damian. Her gaze drifted to the next sentence:
“However, all spouses, regardless of gender, must wear white attire.”
Since the Magic Tower’s uniform was white, the dress code was clearly meant to align with it.
Hmm, would Damian be okay with this?
As a knight, he might not take kindly to being asked to dress in accordance with the Magic Tower’s customs. Maybe I should just go alone. But what if they subtly pressure me about why we didn’t come as a couple?
After mulling it over, Aracila decided to be upfront with Damian and let him choose. If he wanted to go, they’d go together. If not, she’d attend solo. Simple as that.
***
After work, Aracila went to meet Iris. Something Oscar had said at the ducal estate had been nagging at her, and she needed to confirm it.
“I happened to see Lady Iris having a clandestine meeting with some strange man…”
At the time, she’d brushed off his comment nonchalantly, but the truth was, Iris hadn’t mentioned anything about seeing someone. On top of that, Oscar’s apparent interest in Iris made it impossible for Aracila to let the matter slide.
Iris was already waiting at a coffeehouse, perfectly timed to Aracila’s schedule. She waved as her younger sister entered. “Ari, over here!”
“Hi, Iris. Have you been waiting long?”
Iris shook her head with a smile. Ever considerate, she’d arrived thirty minutes early but didn’t bother mentioning it. Aracila settled into the seat across from her, noticing that her favorite tea had already been ordered—a small but thoughtful gesture from Iris.
“How’ve you been, Iris?” Aracila asked.
“Great, of course. What about you, Ari? Why did you want to meet?”
“I’ve got something to ask you,” Aracila said, her tone direct.
“Ask me? What is it?” Iris tilted her head, curious.
Aracila didn’t beat around the bush. “Are you seeing someone?”
“Oh…” Iris’s eyes widened, a mix of surprise and shyness flickering across her face. “How did you know? Did Mom tell you?”
The confirmation that Iris was indeed seeing someone left Aracila momentarily stunned, her mouth agape. A pang of betrayal stung her—her sister had been meeting someone without even a hint to her?
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Aracila demanded, her words tumbling out in a rush. “Who is it? When did this start? Where did you meet? How?”
Iris blinked, caught off guard by the barrage of questions. If Aracila had heard it from their mother, she wouldn’t be reacting like this. “Ari, you didn’t hear it from Mom?”
“I heard it from Oscar Vandemir.”
Iris flinched slightly. She hadn’t expected Oscar to run to Aracila and spill the news. Worried he might have said something odd, she studied her sister’s expression cautiously.
“Iris, tell me what’s going on,” Aracila pressed.
“Well… his name is Roberts, a young lord. Mom’s acquaintance introduced us, and we’re getting to know each other.”
“Is it serious? Like, marriage-level serious?”
“No, not at all,” Iris said firmly, shaking her head. “We’re not there yet.”
Aracila raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Really? I thought you’d only date someone if you were thinking about marriage. You’re always so careful and serious about everything.”
“Why do you say that?” Iris asked, a touch of defensiveness in her voice.
“Because you’re thoughtful, cautious, mature,” Aracila replied. “Even though you’re only a year older, you’ve always seemed so grown-up. You were like that even when we were kids.”
Though Iris had heard such praise countless times, today it didn’t sit well. She knew she was cautious, but lately, she’d been questioning whether she was truly as thoughtful or serious as people assumed. After all, she’d started seeing Eric on a whim, partly to avoid marriage without a clear reason.
Unable to confess this outright, Iris masked her unease with a faint smile. “We’ve only just started seeing each other. Thinking about marriage now would be reckless and shallow.”
Well, I decided to get married after meeting someone twice, Aracila thought, swallowing the retort along with a sip of her tea.
Then, as any concerned sister would, she asked, “Is this Roberts guy a good person?”
“Yeah. We haven’t known each other long, but we have a lot in common, and he seems like a decent guy.”
“Hmm.”
Aracila narrowed her eyes at Iris’s breezy response. Her sister was naturally kind and gentle, rarely speaking ill of anyone outright. That made it hard to gauge what this Lord Roberts was really like.
She looks happy, though, so he might actually be alright…
Still, Aracila wasn’t ready to let her guard down. Even though Iris had escaped a doomed fate tied to Oscar, the future remained uncertain. What if the danger from Oscar had somehow shifted to this Roberts? With nothing certain, Aracila opted for a neutral response.
“Well, that’s good to hear. Oh, and… nothing happened with Lord Vandemir, right?”
Having resolved her biggest concern, Aracila tossed out the next question casually.
“What do you mean?” Iris asked, tilting her head.
“I mean, he hasn’t been pestering you or anything, has he?”
Iris’s fingers twitched, a flicker of unease passing over her. Not wanting to stir up trouble between families, she quickly denied it. “No, nothing like that. I barely know him anyway.”
Her fake relationship with Eric had already put an end to things with Oscar. There’d been no contact since, and as far as Iris was concerned, pretending nothing had ever happened was best for everyone.
“Even if he tries to charm you, don’t fall for it,” Aracila said, grabbing Iris’s hand with a serious expression. “Don’t even talk to him. You don’t need to be polite.”
Iris blinked, a little startled by the intensity. “How can I do that? He’s your husband’s brother…”
“Forget that. Treat him worse than a stranger. Got it?”
Aracila was adamant, determined to keep Iris as far from Oscar as possible. Iris hesitated, her expression clouded with worry. “But that might cause trouble for you…”
“Iris, you don’t have to be the good guy for my sake,” Aracila said earnestly. She genuinely didn’t want Iris softening toward Oscar just to spare her feelings.
Oscar didn’t deserve even basic courtesy. If not for Aracila’s intervention, he would’ve led Iris to her death.
“You need to be the bad guy for your sake,” Aracila insisted.
Even if it meant Iris taking some heat, Aracila wanted her to steer clear of him. Oscar was nothing but a pest, a blight on Iris’s life.
“Don’t ever get close to Lord Vandemir. Don’t even entertain the slightest fondness for him. I wasn’t going to say this, but…”
Aracila paused, as if reluctant, before driving the point home. “He came on to me at our wedding.”
Iris’s brow furrowed. The idea that Oscar had flirted not just with her but with her sister—at her wedding, no less—made what little goodwill she had left for him evaporate.
…He didn’t approach me just to get to Aracila, did he?
If Oscar had been rebuffed by Aracila first, he might be using Iris to get closer to her sister again. The thought made her stomach turn.
“Aracila, you shouldn’t get too close to him either, even if he’s your husband’s brother,” Iris said, her face now serious.
Aracila, already keeping her distance from Oscar, nodded. “Got it. But you have to do the same, okay?”
“Yeah. Lord Vandemir is worse than I thought. I’m really done with him,” Iris said, her face contorted in rare disgust.
Relieved that no further contact would likely happen, she was glad he hadn’t reached out again. Aracila gave a satisfied smile.
Good. That should keep them apart.
***
Damian had changed his approach to finding the will.
If the ducal family truly didn’t have it, then the previous Duke must have hidden it somewhere no one could easily access. So, Damian decided to investigate people or places his grandfather might have trusted enough to entrust with such a document.
Even amidst this, he remained diligent as the leader of the Red Hawk Knights, attending to his duties and business matters with unwavering focus. He was particularly intent on reining in the lax discipline of the knights, who had grown complacent during the long break while he was at the ducal estate.
“Keep your pace steady! Matthew, don’t slow down. Kevin, how long are you going to stay in last place? The harder it gets, the harder you push!”
Under Damian’s relentless commands, the knights trudged forward, their faces grim. After an exhausting run that drained every ounce of strength, high-intensity training followed. Groans echoed across the field, but Damian didn’t flinch.
“I’m dying, Commander!” one knight wailed.
“Did you die?” Damian shot back.
“No, sir!”
“Then keep going.”
The sweet respite of their vacation came at a bitter cost.
Damian himself joined the grueling training, leaving his subordinates no room to complain—they had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow. By the end of the day, the knights were utterly spent, sprawled across the training grounds, too exhausted to move.
Leaving his worn-out men behind, Damian exited the knight’s quarters, looking as composed as ever.
Aracila, who had stayed out later to meet Iris, sought him out as soon as she returned home. Spotting him at his desk in a simple shirt, she got straight to the point.
“Damian, the Magic Tower’s 100th anniversary celebration is coming up soon. It’s a pretty big deal for mages like me.”
“I see,” he replied.
“They say married people can bring their spouses, but there’s a catch—you’d have to wear white to match the Magic Tower’s uniform.”
Damian nodded, his expression unreadable. Unsure if he was merely acknowledging her words or agreeing to go, Aracila asked directly, “Want to come along?”
“Yes.”
His immediate response caught her off guard. “You’re okay with dressing according to the Magic Tower’s rules?”
“It’s fine,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s just a couple’s outfit, isn’t it?”
Aracila blinked slowly. He’s right. It’s basically just matching white outfits.
Damian glanced at her dazed expression, then leaned back in his chair, adding, “Besides, if it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”
“Why?” she asked, curious.
A faint smile tugged at his lips, as if the answer were obvious. “Because I’m your husband, aren’t I?”
There was a warmth in his words, a personal note that felt different from their usual exchanges. It wasn’t unwelcome, so Aracila simply nodded.
Unbeknownst to them, this was the first time they’d agreed—without calculation or pretense—to present themselves as a united couple in front of others.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
buy me a coffee here to support the translation 🤗🤗🤗
