Honest Conversation (1)

It felt like half of my work hours were wasted on explanations.

I felt irritated because it seemed like there was no point in giving up my weekend.

'There's still no response from the most important place... There's no point in working like this.'

Reed decided to take his hands off work and even ignore the complaints.

Going to the research building and bothering Kaitlyn or the assistant magicians seemed to be more helpful.

Then, I remembered what Yustina had said.

-The path you have paved, where does it lead? That's all I'm concerned about.

Those words made Reed think a lot.

If that path was only for him to walk on, it could be ignored.

And to move on a new path in the future, one needs to look back at the path they have created, at their past.

'Someone who knows the past well...'

The ones who know that best are the family.

But when he checked the family tree, the only one left with the name Adeleheights was Reed alone.

If Reed abstains from marriage as it is, the lineage of Adeleheights will undoubtedly be cut off.

'Then, is it the alumni of EscolleiaAcademy?'

However, it was mentioned in the game that Reed has never properly conversed with the alumni.

If he asks them now who he was, nine out of ten will flatter him for his position as a tower master without knowing anything, and the rest will not even contact him.

A more certain person is needed.

"Dolores."

She was Reed's fiancée, nine years younger, and a woman who was dumped by Reed.

She had resentment towards Reed because of that, but it was somewhat resolved now.

'Dolores was taught by Reed when she was as young as Rosaria.'

It was information obtained accidentally from Rosaria.

Having been together since childhood and harboring feelings of hatred towards Reed, she might know Reed better than anyone else.

'Asking the person involved would be the best...'

The problem was that in order to hear everything from Dolores, he had to admit that Reed's memory wasn't intact.

'Absolutely not.'

Leaving aside whether Dolores is kind or not.

A secret is no longer a secret the moment it comes out of the mouth.

In the end, the best way was to create a situation where they could honestly talk to each other.

'Is it about time for Dolores to finish Rosaria's studies?'

The current time is 4:50.

Every Sunday, she spent time with Rosaria from 1 pm to 5 pm, skipping lunch.

It wasn't just about focusing on studying for four hours.

She taught her how to play with magic and fulfilled her role as a sister and a teacher, allowing her to enjoy magic.

The reason he knew this well was because whenever she learned magic from Dolores, she always came first to him to brag about it.

'If it's now, it must be almost over.'

Reed rose from his seat and headed to Rosaria's room.

He planned to sneak in, and ask if she needed anything, or if there was anything she wanted while he was tutoring her.

The moment he stood in front of Rosaria's room and was about to knock.

♩~ ♪♬♩♪~ ♪.

A sweet sound flowed from inside.

It was a tune Reed knew well.

He had heard it directly and listened to it dozens of times more for sound quality checks.

'Could it be?'

Reed opened Rosaria's room door without knocking.

The leaking sound became clear, and a recorder that should have been in the research building was seen between Dolores sitting at the desk, and Rosaria.

Rosaria was grinning at Dolores, and Dolores was savoring the song as if she was eating delicious food with her eyes closed.

After a while, the song ended and silence came.

"Ahem..."

At Reed's fake cough, Dolores, who was immersed in the afterglow, flinched like a cat.

On the other hand, Rosaria, who had no awareness, turned her head and grinned.

"Rosaria, why is the recorder on your desk?"

"I just borrowed it for a while!"

"Did you want to play it for your Unni?"

"Yes! I wanted to let my sister hear it!"

"Who did you get permission from?"

"No one was there, so Rosaria took it by herself."

'Well, that makes sense...'

Reed spoke, stroking her head.

"Rosaria, this is something that Dad is preparing to show to people."

"Was I not supposed to take it?"

"Showing an unfinished product to others is very rude. If you show something like this, they will only be disappointed in your Dad."

"Uh..."

Whether she was aware that she was being scolded, Rosaria looked down at the floor with a sullen face.

"It's fine to show it to your sister, but next time, ask the Chief Engineer, no, ask Kaitlyn before you take it. Okay?"

"Yep."

Rosaria nodded her head.

Reed put the recorder on the desk into Rosaria's hand and said.

"Now, you've played enough with it, so put it back where it belongs."

"Okay!"

Rosaria, holding the recorder tightly in both hands, went outside.

The only ones left in the room were the two of them.

Reed turned his head to look at Dolores.

She was also sneakily looking at Reed, and as soon as their blue eyes met, she quickly turned her head forward pretending not to see.

Reed opened his mouth.

"Let's go to my office and talk."

Reed's office.

Dolores sat stiffly on the sofa, and Reed poured her some tea from the opposite side.

"Did you hear everything?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Dolores was a bit flustered.

"Uh... Rosaria wanted to surprise me, so she brought it, I just left it thinking it was something else... I had no idea that it was a Sound of Music item. I only noticed after some of the song played, and by the time I came to my senses..."

You appeared.

But it was so frustrating to say it until the end that she shut her mouth.

"Would you have stopped Rosaria if you knew it was someone else's project?"

"The song was so good... and all the other tower owners had heard it, I wanted to listen too."

It seemed Dolores had also heard that rumor.

Reed told her the truth.

"The other tower owners have never heard it. It's all false rumors."

"I see..."

As it turned out that even her excuse was a lie, Dolores's cheeks turned bright red.

Reed did not scold her.

It was a time when it was about 80% complete and needed external evaluation.

Feeling that it was a good opportunity, he asked her.

"So, how was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the song of the elves and the song of the druids. I hope the results turned out the way I wanted."

Dolores seemed to hesitate for a moment, then began to talk about her impressions.

"It was very beautiful...."

"Is that all?"

"Well, and I could see how the elves sing, I couldn't understand the language, but I could feel their emotions in it..."

Dolores began to recite her impressions.

However, she was quite stiff, as if presenting in front of a professor.

After listening to Dolores's 10-minute review, Reed could tell that the recording had turned out as he had intended.

"I see."

"Is that okay?"

That was enough.

He was pleased as it was heading in the direction Reed wanted.

'It feels like I can pull out something more.'

Dolores was a woman like a textbook of orderly and righteous living with a lawful good alignment.

The fact that she touched another tower owner's project without permission must have been weighing heavily on her.

The situation was good.

In this atmosphere, it might be possible to have an open conversation.

They could naturally talk about the past, and through that conversation, they could find out what Reed's past self was like.

Thinking that it was time, Reed took out an object that he had stored away using magic.

A red liquid was contained in a transparent glass bottle.

Yggdrasil Wine.

It was a precious item, a liquor brewed directly by the elves of Yggdrasil's realm, so precious that if one could get it, the price would be worth their calling.

Rosaria had received a few gifts in gratitude for helping Yggdrasil grow.

One of those gifts was Yggdrasil Wine.

Being of noble descent, Dolores would certainly want to try the elf's liquor.

He wanted to have a sincere conversation naturally, accompanied by alcohol.

"The elves gave me a bottle of liquor as a thank-you gift. Would you like a glass?"

Reed showed her two glasses.

Contrary to expectation, Dolores shook her head with an even sterner face.

"I don't enjoy alcohol that much."

"I'm not saying you have to drink a lot. Just try it."

"This is difficult, Tower Master of Silence. Don't you know?"

She asked if he knew, but Reed had no idea.

However, sensing the mood, he quickly apologized when he felt he shouldn't continue to insist.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Reed put down his glass, losing his appetite with a bitter expression.

That act became a guilt for Dolores, and in the end, she contradicted what she had said.

"…I'll just have a drink."

"Are you sure?"

"I suppose…"

She spoke hesitantly, but Reed didn't notice.

Because she said she doesn't enjoy alcohol, he filled a crystal glass with Wine, about half as much as his, and handed it to her.

Dolores, who held the glass with both hands, looked down at the bright red Wine. Then she muttered something.

"You can do it. You can do it..."

"Let's drink."

"Ah, yes."

Reed and Dolores took a sip at the same time.

Reed, who was taking his first sip, was almost choked by surprise.

'Why is this so strong?'

He thought the Yggdrasil Winemade from fruit, would have a low alcohol content, like wine.

But drinking it, his throat burned as if he was drinking a potent distilled liquor.

"The alcohol is quite strong."

"...."

"Tower Master of the Wallin Tower?"

Dolores, who had emptied her glass, did not answer and remained silent, putting her glass down.

A moment later, the room began to get colder.

It was Dolores emanating the cold.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah..."

"Ah?"

"Ah, it's hitting me hard."

"Cough!"

She barely managed to suppress a choke.

Dolores wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"Why is it so strong? I thought my throat was burning."

"....."

"Why? You look surprised as if you're seeing a ghost."

As Reed stared at her, Dolores frowned.

"No, what you're saying is really..."

"Should I call you like a friend? Or should I talk to you like a child? But why is that surprising? Didn't you give me this? You wanted to see me drunk."

Listening to her slowly loosening words, he seemed to understand why she had hesitated about the drink.

'She can't handle alcohol.'

She gets drunk instantly, even with just one glass.

On top of that, it was clear that her drinking habits were not good.

As the alcohol took effect, her polite manner of speaking completely relaxed.

Her speech was even more clear-cut, but there was a distinct sense of incongruity typical of a drunk person.

What's more frightening is that only 30 seconds have passed.

It means she's not fully intoxicated yet.

'This is a disaster.'

"Even though my family has been known to have a weak tolerance for alcohol for generations... Did oppa want to see me drunk when you encouraged me to drink sneakily?"

"...Oppa?"

When Reed pointed out the term, Dolores looked up at him.

Her mature expression was nowhere to be seen, and a large child smiled broadly.

"You call your Oppa 'Oppa', what else would you call him?"

The honest conversation Reed was hoping for had begun.

However, its form had become strange.