At Aster’s command, Seoden channeled his magic into the sphere.

A voice echoed from within.

“Master of the Tower, we have received an urgent request from the Pentium Empire.”

An urgent message from Pentium at a time like this…”

Aster looked at Lady Blante briefly before answering.

“…What is the nature of the request?”

“It is a request to send search mages to locate a missing person lost at sea. You said that cost wasn’t an issue and asked that the mages be sent immediately, preferably today. When I explained that there were procedural difficulties, they abruptly demanded that the name of the missing person be given directly to you, Master of the Tower.”

“…….”

Aster’s gaze darkened, but Cecil, the request manager, continued to speak, oblivious to the change in his expression.

“The missing person’s name is Ariel Blante, the young lady of the Blante Marquisate of the Pentium Empire. They specifically requested that this be conveyed to you, Master of the Tower.”

“Missing at sea… Lady Blante of the Blante Marquisate…?”

It wasn’t Aster who spoke. Seoden turned his head to the unconscious red-haired woman, as if pieces of a puzzle had just fallen into place.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The shock of realisation caused Seoden to blurt out his thoughts before he could stop himself.

Aster’s eyebrow arched at the unexpected reaction, and Seoden, startled, quickly put a hand over his mouth. But the astonishment remained in his expression.

The woman’s identity was far more problematic than he had expected.

Though the mages of the Tower were expected to remain aloof from politics and focus solely on magic, Seoden, as Aster’s closest confidant and a grand mage of the Tower, understood the gravity of the situation only too well.

As one of the Grand Mages who administered the Tower, Seoden was expected to have a general understanding of the political dynamics of the various nations. Although the Tower was an independent entity, it wasn’t entirely free from interactions with other lands.

Among these nations, the Pentium Empire required special attention.

It was the largest empire on the continent, encompassing over half of the eastern lands, and was also the Tower’s most active trading partner.

As such, Seoden couldn’t help but be aware of certain events – such as the story of Grand Duke Seyerd and his fateful love for his fiancée.

During a recent visit to the Empire with Aster, he had learned something even more surprising.

The Grand Duke, once praised for his union with a fiancée said to be blessed by the Goddess of Love, had broken off the engagement. Apparently, Seyerd had ended things unilaterally.

The Empire was abuzz with scandal, and at the centre of the controversy was the woman who now lay quietly in bed.

Ariel Blante, former fiancée of Grand Duke Seyerd and only daughter of the Marquis Blante.

This meant that the Master of the Tower had brought Grand Duke Seyerd’s ex-fiancée into the Tower without so much as an explanation.

Unknowingly, Grand Duke Seyerd had sent his search request to the Tower.

If Seyerd found out… that Lady Blante was here…

Seoden’s mind raced and he hastily switched off the communication orb.

“What are you doing?”

Aster’s displeased gaze bored into him.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Seoden finally spoke.

“That woman… She’s Grand Duke Seyerd’s former fiancée, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

So his suspicions were correct after all.

Fighting the urge to grab a handful of Aster’s dazzling golden hair, Seoden forced himself to respond with restraint.

“Let’s contact the Pentium Empire immediately. Tell them that the Master of the Tower *coincidentally* rescued Lady Blante and is currently ensuring her safety, with plans to return her to them.”

For the moment, that seemed to be the best possible outcome.

There would be questions, of course. How had the Master of the Tower managed to rescue Lady Blante from the seas of the Pentium Empire in the middle of the night? How did they even know each other? And why had he brought her to the Tower instead of returning her to the Marquisate?

There would no doubt be much speculation, but at least a major conflict with the Pentium Empire could be avoided.

The fact that Grand Duke Seyerd personally sought her out suggested that there was something unresolved between them. Whatever it was, keeping Lady Blante here would inevitably look like Aster was interfering in their affairs.

To make matters worse, Lady Blante had been brought to the Tower unconscious and without her consent. If the situation escalated, it could easily be seen as a kidnapping.

And if rumours spread that the Tower had broken its vow of neutrality by interfering in another nation’s affairs – or worse, that its Master was involved in a romantic entanglement – it would be disastrous.

Seoden felt faint just thinking about it.

But while Seoden’s nerves cramped at the mere thought of such chaos, Aster was completely untroubled.

“Master of the Tower!” 

Seoden’s voice rose sharply, but Aster just furrowed his brow as if annoyed by the noise, refusing to give the answer Seoden so desperately wanted. 

No way. 

A sense of dread settled over him, Seoden asked cautiously, his words drawn out. 

“You’re not… You’re not seriously thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?” 

“Hm… I’d say it’s exactly what you’re thinking.” 

At Aster’s calm and quiet reply, Seoden groaned and grabbed his head in frustration. 

“Have you lost your mind? This is madness! We can’t do this! It’s *Great Duke Seyerd* who wants her – personally! He even said that money was no object. Do you realise what that means? He’s serious – dead serious! We must send her back at once! If we don’t, this could turn into a full-blown disaster! 

Seoden fired off his words in rapid succession, barely pausing for breath, his urgency unmistakable. 

Aster let out a low hum, his expression calm but knowing. He understood only too well – Seoden was absolutely right.

Yes, logically the right thing to do was to return Lady Blante – there was no arguing that. But… Aster couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

It wasn’t out of some sudden, irrational whim or stubbornness. 

If it had been her family looking for her, he would have told them the truth right away. 

But the one looking for her was Grand Duke Seyerd. And that was the problem. 

For it was Seyerd who had probably driven her to this state. 

Aster didn’t know exactly how Lady Blante had ended up in the cold sea, but he was sure that Seyerd’s hands weren’t clean. 

He had seen with his own eyes how Lady Blante had crumbled, broken by the Grand Duke’s actions. 

And now he was going to hand her over to that man again? 

Was that really the right thing to do?

Aster had already found it hard to turn away when she saw how Lady Blante’s circumstances mirrored Faelin’s. Now, with the situation as it was, the idea of sending her back seemed even more unbearable. 

The memory of Lady Blante came back to him clearly – her words echoing in his mind as if she were speaking them again. 

“I’m doing my best to be strong, to hold on, but honestly… I’m scared. Will I ever be able to forget him? Will I ever get my life back? Right now I don’t think I can.” 

“He was the one who made me believe in destiny… Where did everything go wrong? Or rather, what did I do so wrong to deserve this? Does none of this mean anything to him? Has he really… forgotten me?”

“…Lies never really help, do they?” 

He had lied to Lady Blante, telling her that Faelin had overcome her pain. 

It wasn’t meant to deceive her – it was a hope, a wish, that Lady Blante would find a way to heal, unlike Faelin. He truly wanted her to endure and recover. But in the end… 

Aster let out a low, bitter laugh.

Finally, Aster made up his mind. 

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t send Lady Blante back – not like this. 

He had to find out the truth about what had happened. After all, he had promised to help her. 

If she had run for her life, and if Grand Duke Seyerd was the one who had pushed her to such extremes… 

Aster took a deep breath. 

He turned to Seoden, whose eyes widened at the uncharacteristically serious expression on Aster’s face. Seoden shook his head firmly, as if to deny what was coming. 

“No. No way. I don’t want to hear this…” 

“Lady Blante was the one who helped Faelin.” 

Seoden froze in mid-protest. 

“And now,” Aster continued quietly, his voice steady, “she’s in the same situation Faelin once was.”

“……”

“To be honest, I’m still stuck. My time hasn’t moved past that day – the moment I refused Faelin’s request. I see it every night in my dreams, pushing her hand away like a fool.”

“Master of the Tower.”

“I couldn’t save Faelin, but I can at least protect Lady Blante, someone Faelin cared about. Right now, that is the only thing I can do for her.”

Aster looked at Seoden, his lips curling into a faint, practised smile. 

“So help me. I need you to do this.” 

Seoden stared at Aster’s smile in silence. 

If only he didn’t smile like that. When he did, it became impossible to refuse. 

It wasn’t because the smile was charming, but because Seoden knew what lay beneath it – the festering guilt, the unhealed wounds eating away at him. 

Seoden had thought things had improved since Aster had stopped asking for sleeping potions. But now… to hear that he was still haunted by those dreams every night…

Seoden let out a long, weary sigh. 

His rational side screamed that this was the wrong decision, that he had to stop it somehow. But when he spoke, his words betrayed him. 

“Help? Don’t say such disgustingly sentimental things – it’s disturbing. Just do what you want. You never listen to me anyway.” 

Avoiding Aster’s gaze, Seoden reluctantly put the magic back into the communication orb. 

Though he grumbled and complained, Aster knew the truth – Seoden would do anything to help. 

Soon, Cecil’s voice came out of the orb again.