“Ugh?!”

Thud! The man suddenly stumbled and then fell heavily to the ground. Startled, Gretel quickly approached the man.

“Are you okay?”

“There’s nothing here, why did I fall…?”

He awkwardly smiled as he picked up the handkerchief he accidentally dropped. Then, looking embarrassed, he quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Regardless of the outcome, Gretel naturally completed the mission and returned to where Elodie and her group were. And nearby.

“Carlot.”

“What! Why!”

Carlot snapped back, feeling irritated. Unable to meet Jansi’s gaze, not knowing if he was aware of what he had done, Jansi firmly admonished Carlot.

“You shouldn’t attract attention.”

“I-I know that…!”

“But why did you do it?”

“Well, sometimes playing it cool can be unlucky, and well…”

‘Playing it cool? Who’s he talking about?’

Jansi concealed his bewildered thoughts with a smile.

Clearly, it was Elodie’s friend, Gretel Sangpan, who had approached first and pulled off the stunt. But in Carlot’s eyes, it seemed like the man was the one pulling off the trick.

Jansi glanced at Carlot with a renewed interest.

Was it fate that brought the simple-minded younger brother face-to-face with his destined match? Jansi had been aware of the incident when Carlot had blocked Gretel’s carriage as she left after Elodie invited her to join them, a few days ago.

Most events at the Perdian Mansion were under Jansi’s control.

It was unusual.

Carlot had never shown this level of interest in the opposite s*x before. Typically, he would just brush them off with a “Bothersome” or “Annoying.”

Jansi turned back to Elodie and looked at Gretel, who was smiling shyly. ‘The other party doesn’t seem interested in Carlot,’ he thought. Perhaps that’s why he felt curious.

Of course, Jansi couldn’t empathize with whatever emotions were stirring within Carlot.

***

It wasn’t long before the demonstration of the new magical device began.

Elodie already knew what the demonstration would be at the South Tower today. 

She couldn’t not know. After all, it was her who had been actively investing in it since Isis had planned the new device. Technically, it wasn’t a device.

’A large-scale teleportation magic circle.’

It was a large-scale magic that could be activated to transport a large amount of items to a location where another magic circle was active.

However, it had the fatal drawback of requiring a significant amount of magic stones per activation, and only the highest quality, and it was not yet possible to transport creatures through it due to its instability.

But Elodie, who knew the future, was confident.

’In the not-too-distant future, people will also be able to move through teleportation circles.’

So she had urged and invested in Isis, not knowing that her initial research would be stolen by Gabe.

“All of that is my money…”

Elodie was staring jealously at the magic circle as it started to power up.

 Woosh-! The magic circle glowed and then began to vibrate loudly, shaking the entire tower. 

Kugugugugung-.

The eyes of those present at the demonstration widened in anticipation, wondering what kind of magic was about to be unleashed. Soon, a mage from the South Tower stood majestically in front of the magic circle that emitted a powerful light. 

“The magic we will introduce today is none other than the large-scale teleportation magic circle!”

“Wow!”

The response from the attendees was tremendous. It was to be expected.

Teleportation magic was a very useful magic in many ways.

Especially in exhibition situations, it was most useful for transporting goods.

“We will now move all the boxes here to the warehouse in Somnia.”

Workers piled boxes onto the magic circle.

“Let’s see it now!”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Amidst the spectators’ anticipation, the magicians from the south tower surrounded the magic circle and began chanting spells. The light and vibrations grew stronger.

“Now! Behold! This is the large-scale teleportation magic circle!”

The magician spread out both hands. In everyone’s anticipation, light burst out like an explosion and soon disappeared in an instant.

 “…….”

 “…….”

Silence followed. The uninitiated looked around, then up at the circle. 

 “It’s still…… there.”

The boxes were left standing on the magic circle that had lost its light.

“What’s going on?”

“Has the magic failed?!”

Amidst the barrage of complaints, the magicians from the south tower, sweating profusely, sharply eyed the magicians who had activated the magic circle.

But even they were bewildered.

It was a magic circle that had been activated several times before.

There shouldn’t have been a failure like this.

“It seems there was a mistake. We will try again.”

This time, with a rather cautious attitude, they activated the magic circle once again.

However, it failed.

They tried again but failed.

Once again, failure. In the end, another failure!

“Are they joking right now?”

“Why did they bring people here and do nothing?”

“Ha, they must be out of their minds! I’m withdrawing my investment!”

The protests were especially loud from those who had invested in the tool. The wizards of the South Tower glared murderously at the new recruits from the West Tower. The demonstration was a failure. Disastrously. It was then. 

 “‘Pfft……. Haha.”

Someone began to laugh uncontrollably. One magician of the South Tower looked around aggressively, searching for the source of the laughter. His gaze fell on a small child about half their size. 

 “Who are you!”

 “I’m here to catch a thief?”

“Eek!”

Just by that voice, some of the magicians recognized the identity of the other. It was unmistakable. How could someone who looked like a child roast them so harshly?

 ‘We’re in trouble.’

‘He’s here to get revenge on us!’

If so, the lord of the West Tower has done something……. Dispel. It meant he nullified the magic circle by breaking its formula. It was something extraordinary, achievable only with extraordinary intelligence. And being the original owner of the recipe, he was capable of casting Dispel. The magicians of the South Tower asked Isis in disbelief. 

 “Is this your doing…?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“…….Surround them! Don’t let them escape!”

At his shout, the mages of the South Tower surrounded and encircled Elodie’s party, each of them poised to strike.

 Isis smirked and crossed his arms. 

 “Funny. I wasn’t planning on running away in the first place.”

 “You will pay for making a fool of the South Tower.”

“You brought this mockery upon yourself. Are you fools?”

“What…!”

“Enough. If you feel unjustly treated, summon your Tower Lord.”

Summon the Lord! At Isis’s taunt, the opposing mage pursed his lips. The tension, like a taut string, felt as though it could snap at any moment.

***

 “Brother, isn’t this…… dangerous?”

 “…….”

 “Shouldn’t we go and save our sister?”

It was bad enough that she was hanging out with the Lord of the West Tower, but now she was in the South Tower, causing trouble, and being surrounded. 

 ’What the h*ll are you up to, sister!’

Unable to act recklessly, Carlot waited for Jansi’s permission. But Jansi, without saying a word, simply kept a close watch on Elodie and her group.

“Brother!”

“Quiet.”

“If something happens to Sister-“

“No. Stay put, Carlot.”

Jansi’s firm demeanor made Carlot bite his lip, glancing anxiously at Elodie.

Though it was a volatile situation, Jansi couldn’t intervene recklessly. After all, Father’s command was to observe Elodie, not to intervene.

He knew Elodie wasn’t someone to act impulsively. As evidence…

‘Look at that.’

Jansi observed carefully.

Elodie was smiling beneath her pressed hat.

Smiling despite being surrounded, he couldn’t just rush to her rescue.

***

The standoff didn’t last long.

 The master of the South Tower soon appeared. Pale skin almost as if he hadn’t seen sunlight, piercing eyes. It was Gabe Jenade’s appearance.

“This is a breach of our mutual agreement.”

Isis shrugged in response to his first words.

“So what? It’s not like it’s a marriage vow or anything.”

 “…….”

 “Besides, wasn’t it the South Tower who first broke the agreement between the Towers?”

“There seems to be a misunderstanding.”

“Is it a misunderstanding that you took my mages and attempted to present the magic formula we were preparing?”

“Yes, it’s a misunderstanding.”

The two Tower Lords faced each other without yielding an inch. Instead, the attendees of the exhibition began to murmur about the unfolding events.

“Is this a confrontation between the south and west Towers?”

“It seems the South Tower stole a magic formula from the West Tower…”

“But there’s no concrete evidence.”

“I wonder how this situation will unfold…”

The onlookers were numerous, and if rumors of a clash between Towers with a non-interference policy spread, it would be quite exhausting.

Gabe surveyed those who accompanied Isis, his gaze lingering longest on Elodie.

Despite clearly knowing her identity, he gave a short command without a word and turned away.

“Escort the guests,” he said curtly.

“Yes, Tower Master.”

They were guided to the reception room of the Southern Mage Tower. Gabe immediately got to the point.

“Where is the evidence that this magic formula was being researched by the West Tower?”

Isis chuckled briefly at his bold attitude.

 “In my head.”

As a result of his understanding of the magic formula, he claimed that dispelling it was sufficient evidence. However, Gabe remained composed as he asked further.

“I am equally knowledgeable about that formula.”

“And?”

“It could be the opposite scenario. Especially since I received reports that several of my mages defected to your Tower.”

Isis presented his argument, and Gabe brazenly countered it, mirroring his logic.

Since he didn’t expect him to admit it willingly, Isis felt no impact at all.

 While they argued, Gretel eagerly sought any opportunity to make contact with Gabe. However, frustratingly, there was no opening for her with Gabe.

‘Oh no, what should I do!’

She’d succeeded in making contact with the man earlier, but she wasn’t sure she could do the same with the corpse-like tower lord in front of her. 

This time, she didn’t even have tea to spill accidentally.

 Elodie shook her head slightly as her eyes locked with Gretel’s, who was frowning.

 It was too risky to try to make contact. 

Checking her face first was a signal to retreat for now, especially with no telling what that snake of a Gabe might be thinking.

 But Gretel was determined. She’d come this far, and she couldn’t just turn back. In times like this, you just go straight. 

“Southern Tower Master! You shouldn’t act like this!”

Gretel suddenly stood up and firmly grasped Gabe’s hand with both of hers.

“Stealing from others is wrong!”

Gabe stared at the woman who was now standing and speaking emphatically, her face flushed. A woman he had never seen before, admonishing him in a place he didn’t even know she was present.

’Is she out of her mind?’

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