* * *
That night, just as I had predicted, Ateol came to the Tower.
This was bad.
No—this was a complete disaster.
Struggling to move, I barely managed to turn over, my body feeling like it had melted into the sheets.
Ateol had appeared last night and disappeared by dawn.
In that short span of time, he had left my body utterly drained—until the stamina that had been at 12 was reduced to 0.
This couldn’t be right.
Ateol was completely insane.
Even as I teetered on the brink of unconsciousness with the rising sun in my vision, he was still inside me.
I passed out, only to faintly feel his lips pressing against my cheek before drifting off again.
By the time I woke up, it was nearly noon.
I had slept through his departure for morning court and then some.
‘This is bad…’
Hadn’t this gone too far?
Was this really necessary?
It wasn’t like I hated being with Ateol, but surely, there were limits.
Ateol had been thorough—so thorough that not a single trace of last night remained.
Even deep inside, I was completely clean.
The realization made my face burn.
Burying my head in the blankets for a long while, I eventually forced myself up and grabbed some clothes.
The thick fabric covered me from my neck down to my hands.
I checked the time.
Just before afternoon tea.
His Majesty, the newly crowned emperor, would be at his busiest right now.
I spent an hour contemplating my bleak future—one where I lived with Ateol sucking me dry, fearing the Grand Duke and the crown prince.
That hour mattered.
Because in the end, I made up my mind.
I was going to run.
The first time, I had been too disoriented to succeed.
But I wouldn’t fail twice.
I called Cloden and explained everything.
“I’m going to step away from the tower for a bit. Ateol will come after me, so do whatever it takes to stall him.”
“You’re leaving the tower? Where exactly are you planning to go…?”
“I’ll tell you when I get there.”
Where else? Somewhere no one could find me.
But if I wanted to avoid suspicion, I had to make it sound like I was just stepping out for a bit.
Sure enough, Cloden only nodded. “Understood.”
After sending him off, I started packing.
As the tower master, I owned an obscene amount of wealth.
Among my collection were raw gemstones and gold that I had set aside for future crafting—valuable items that wouldn’t leave a trace.
Those were the things I stuffed into my bag before pulling on a robe.
“The carriage is ready, Tower Master.”
“Good. …Ateol might be more forceful than we expect, so tell Serta and Bell to come with us. They just need to hold him back until I reach the portal.”
“…Understood.”
Cloden didn’t look convinced.
And I couldn’t blame him. I was acting like a fugitive on the run.
And, well—he wasn’t wrong.
I was running away after playing pretend, afraid of being exposed. Stealing what I could on the way out.
There were portals scattered in and outside the tower, but the ones within were all known destinations.
If Ateol could guess where I went, I’d be caught in an instant.
So, I chose the one near the hunting grounds, which required a carriage ride to reach.
No one but the tower master knew its destination, buying me crucial time to escape.
Normally, portals could be traced by stronger mages.
But since I was the strongest mage alive, the portals I created were unreadable.
Perfect for an escape.
I had a few private portals that only Yuri knew about.
They would be my lifeline.
Without further delay, we set off.
Cloden, Serta, and Bell all looked like they had a million questions, but my composed demeanor kept them silent.
The hunting grounds were ridiculously close.
Honestly, I could’ve run there on foot.
As soon as we arrived and I stepped out of the carriage, Serta and Bell unsheathed their swords in unison.
Alarmed, I turned—only to see Ateol speeding toward us on horseback in the distance.
How the hell did he find me so fast?!
I rushed toward the portal, but Ateol closed the distance like a specter.
Before I could take a single step, he leaped off his horse and swung his sword at Serta, who had moved to shield me.
Klang!
The clash of metal rang through the air as their swords met.
“Step aside.”
“I cannot.”
“You dare—”
“We are simply fulfilling our duty as His Majesty’s knights.”
Serta and Bell exchanged brief words before launching their attack.
At first, they were evenly matched.
But even for Ateol, fending off the empire’s strongest and second-strongest knights at the same time was no easy feat.
Bit by bit, he began to falter.
Watching them cross blades with crackling sword energy, I snapped out of my daze.
I didn’t have time to stand here.
Who knew when Ateol would break free? I needed to move now.
“I’m going, Cloden. Don’t worry too much.”
I wasn’t losing health—thankfully. That was one small mercy.
With that, I stepped onto the portal.
The moment both feet landed on the glowing line, something yanked at my robe.
I gasped and twisted around.
But before I could process what was happening, light engulfed my body, and the world shifted.
With a loud thud, I landed, entangled with another figure.
The impact should’ve been painful, but the person who grabbed me reached out to catch my fall.
The noise was dramatic, but I wasn’t hurt in the slightest.
My heart pounded as I looked up, fearing the worst.
Had Ateol followed me?
My face turned pale.
But the face before me was—
“Are you alright, Tower Master?”
Serta.
His lemon-colored eyes met mine as he gazed down, his hair slightly tousled from the fight.
As the wind from the portal’s activation died down, I took in my surroundings—
A wooden house.
The sound of the breeze outside.
The scent of grass carried through the open window.
We had arrived at the small house nestled in the Irue Mountain Range—my intended destination.
That was good.
What wasn’t good was the unexpected guest who had come with me.
If Ateol had followed, I wouldn’t have been this shocked.
“Serta… why are you here?”
“I was worried about sending you alone… I apologize.”
I wasn’t sure there was anything to apologize for, but—
My attention suddenly snapped to the way we had landed.
Serta was pinning me down in a rather compromising position.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have cared.
But after last night’s… ordeal with Ateol, I felt strangely self-conscious.
I quickly scrambled out from beneath him.
Serta, catching on to my awkwardness, muttered another apology.
“No need to apologize. By the way… you held your own pretty well against Ateol.”
I changed the subject, and Serta gave a sheepish smile.
“I am older than him, after all.”
…Age, huh?
He was older than Ateol, but did that really matter?
* * *
