What a Family Is (1)

Over a hundred wizards were bustling about, busy with various tasks.

The Silence Tower was busy regardless of whether it was a weekday or a weekend.

Naturally, they were occupied with the production of the magic recording deviceorders.

However, even setting aside the task of crafting the spheres, it was difficult to meet the daily quota just by the wizards taking turns squeezing out mana to copy the recorded contents.

The busiest person amongst them was undoubtedly Kaitlyn.

She had finally received a mountain of bonus money and returned from a vacation, only to find a fire at home.

Without even a moment to regain her composure, she was thrown back into the lab.

As the most skilled technician, it was no exaggeration to say she was burning her soul, taking on the final inspection and production of the recording device at the same time.

On the other hand, Reed, who did not participate in the production, was having a headache in other ways.

'Why the hell are there so many letters?'

Reed's desk was full of letters.

They were all letters from the noblewomen who had attended the banquet.

'I'm going crazy.'

Having too many letters was a headache, but the bigger problem was that he couldn't just brush them off with vulgar words.

In the world of nobles, replying to letters was mandatory.

In proportion to the amount received!

And making sure that the content is not similar to the letters sent to other nobles!

'I should have become a novelist instead of a tower owner.'

The most terrible was the letter from Yuria Frenda.

With an astounding number of six pages, she had written a densely packed love thesis, front and back, as if she was worried she might not have written enough.

As expected of a girl in love, she was rambling on and on.

"Love is a meteor? What does that even mean?"

Upon reading a phrase that implied love approaches as a disaster, Reed began to wonder if she actually disliked him.

In the end, he decided to leave Yuria's letter for last and quickly started to get rid of the other letters.

"Tower Master~."

Then, Phoebe's drawn-out voice came, sounding like the grim reaper.

"Did you get more letters?"

"That is... yes...."

What Phoebe shyly pulled out were five love letters.

His energy drained instantly upon seeing them.

"Phoebe."

"Yes?"

"Don't you feel like burning all these letters?"

Phoebe, looking down at the letters, tilted her head.

"Why? They're fine."

"Really?"

"Well, they have to write letters to see you, but I get to see you in person like this~."

"..."

"And you even gave me perfume as a gift!"

Phoebe wiggled her body lightly with a triumphant expression on her face.

With her movement, the scent of the perfume Reed had given her wafted faintly.

It was a perfume made of a hundred roses.

It was the perfume he had said he would give to Adonis again, and while he was at it, he had prepared one for Phoebe as well.

'I'm glad she likes it.'

If Phoebe liked it, there was no doubt that Adonis would also like it.

Reassured, Reed asked Phoebe.

"How's Rosaria? Is she having fun with the Master of the Wallin Tower?"

"Yes, with the Master of Wallin Tower's guidance, it seems like her magic skills are improving rapidly."

Although improving skills was a good thing, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had left her alone for too long.

I should play with her at least once....

As he was thinking about this.

Knock, knock.

Speak of the devil.

A small white-haired head peeked through the door gap and called out to Reed.

"Papa!"

"Hmm? What's up?"

Rosaria approached with quick steps.

She tugged at Reed's sleeve.

"Dolores unni and I are doing something fun, and she said you could join too! Let's do it together!"

"Something fun?"

"Yes! It'll be fun if we do it together!"

Then, Phoebe crouched down and spoke to Rosaria.

"Miss, I think the Tower Master is busy today and won't be able to join us. Would it be okay if I go with you instead?"

"Uh, I wanted to do it with Papa...."

Rosaria lowered her head in disappointment.

The look she had when she went to the elf's territory with Phoebe.

Reed stroked her head and spoke.

"No, Papa will go and join you."

"Really?"

"Yes, let's go now."

"Wow!"

Rosaria jumped up and down with both hands in the air.

"Let's go fast! Let's go fast!"

"Okay, got it. Sorry, Phoebe."

"No, it's fine. I'm happy if you have fun with the miss."

Phoebe smiled as if she were in a good mood.

Leaving Phoebe behind, Reed was led by Rosaria's hand toward her room.

In the room, Dolores was sitting in the middle, looking dignified.

Upon seeing Reed, Dolores turned her head and her eyes widened.

She seemed to have not expected him to actually come.

"Ah, you really came? Please sit here."

Dolores patted the seat next to her.

Reed took a seat next to her as she suggested.

"Do you remember this?"

"...I'm not sure."

"It's a tower-building game you taught me a long time ago."

Like I would remember.

"I've been so busy these days that I can't remember."

"You taught me when I was having trouble handling mana. You said it would be fun. Well, since you taught me, I've only done it alone... so it's understandable that you don't remember."

Dolores was disappointed that he couldn't remember, but she accepted it in her own way.

She showed him how to do it, starting by crossing two sticks in an X and using magic to fix them together.

Then, another X-shaped stick is placed on top of the ends of the first X.

Reed immediately understood the purpose of this game.

'Mana control is the key.'

The purpose of this game was to improve "Mana Sensitivity".

Since the already built structure also needed mana to maintain, the difficulty increases exponentially as the tower gets higher.

Reed concentrated and tried to build it as high as he could.

Cross the X and stack it, cross the X and stack it...

When he reached the 20th layer.

Crash.

It collapsed.

He had built it up to the point where he felt he was at his limit.

Wondering whether this was good or bad, Reed glanced at Dolores.

"Well... you stacked a lot more than you used to."

There was no doubt that she was being polite.

Wondering how much others could stack, Reed asked Rosaria, who was sitting across from him.

"How many floors did you build, Rosaria?"

"40 layers! Isn't it amazing? People usually can't stack this much on their first try!"

She spread three fingers on her left hand and clenched her right hand into a fist, showing them while giggling.

"That's impressive."

"Heehee."

He praised Rosaria with a smile mixed with admiration and surprise.

Then, out of the blue, Dolores, who had been sitting next to him, opened her mouth.

"I can stack up to 60 layers."

"...Really?"

"...Yes."

At his hesitant response, Dolores quickly turned her head away.

She cooled her blushing face with the coldness of her hand, as if she was embarrassed by her own words.

'I feel like a fool for competing with a child...'

Reed remained silent, regretting that he should have reacted more kindly.

In such an uncomfortable atmosphere, Rosaria turned to Reed and said,

"Should I show you how I stack them?"

"Yes, please show me."

"Okay!"

It was her time to show off, so Rosaria began to stack the sticks one by one with a determined face.

Dolores and Reed quietly watched her.

After about 10 floors, Rosaria's speed started to slow down.

In the meantime, Dolores started a conversation.

"I thought you were quite busy, but I guess not?"

"I am busy, but I am busier due to other tasks."

"Why? Did you receive a lot of letters?"

That was the correct answer.

Dolores narrowed her eyes slightly and glared at Reed.

"I heard from the tower masters of the Jade Tower and the Greenwood Tower. They said you were amazing at the banquet?"

"I didn't intend to stand out. But things got messed up."

"I'm envious. The Tower Master of Silence is too popular with women."

She said it was envy, but it was closer to sarcasm.

Dolores was on bad terms with Reed.

So, this situation wouldn't be pleasant for her.

"If the Tower Master of Wallin was there, you would definitely have attracted attention."

"Why?"

"Because you're a beauty."

"Of course. As an archmage... B, be, beautiful?"

People looking to expand their network would line up to meet an archmage.

So, it was like a surprise attack for Dolores, who thought he would say something along those lines.

Seeing her reaction, Reed regretted and added.

"I mean you're a woman of many talents. You're proficient in many ways."

"Appearance too?"

Unlike Reed who was trying to step back, Dolores was taking another step closer.

He had no choice but to nod.

"Yes."

"Have you always thought so?"

"..."

"Ahem! I overstepped. Let's forget about this question."

Dolores did not have the confidence to continue this strange atmosphere.

She felt like she would be knocked down before she could corner the other.

So, she quickly ended the conversation, turned her head, and fixed her eyes on Rosaria.

In such an awkward atmosphere, someone knocked on the door like a savior.

Phoebe slightly opened the door and said,

"Master, I'm really sorry to interrupt your play, but someone came to see you."

"Who is it?"

"It's the Third Knight Commander."

"The Third Knight Commander?"

***

It was Adonis Hupper.

When Reed entered the reception room, he saw Adonis.

She was dressed like a knight in plate armor.

"Welcome, Ms. Hupper. Or should I say, the Third Knight Commander?"

At the banquet, she was a princess, but now she came as a knight defending a country.

Considering her status, it seemed inappropriate to address her casually, so he quickly corrected his words.

"...Please feel comfortable, Tower Master of Silence."

A polite greeting.

But her face told a different story.

'Hostility? No, it doesn't seem certain enough to be hostility.'

She looked like she was at a crossroads of choices.

Reed realized that this situation was not light at all.

Cooling his head, he sat opposite her.

"May I ask what brings the commander of a knight division of a country to the tower of magicians?"

"There is one thing... I want to ask."

"What is it?"

"Do you know a man named James Bren?"

"I do."

He was the bomb that Morgan planted to eliminate Adonis.

"James Bren resigned from his knighthood today and left this to me."

Adonis took something out of her pocket and showed it.

The napkin from the banquet, the very napkin that Reed used to lure James.

"When James Bren came to his senses, he said that the Tower Masters were around. So I asked around, and they said this phrase was written by you, the Tower Master of Silence."

The Tower Masters talked about that napkin.

'Well, I didn't explicitly say it was a secret.'

Explaining why they shouldn't tell Adonis would eventually reach not only Freesia but also Morgan Hupper.

So he had to gloss over it, but he never expected to trip over that napkin.

'Lie?'

There's no doubt it would backfire.

He was already stepping on its tail to some extent.

Trying to escape would only make him sink faster into the swamp.

Reed decided to affirm the letter.

"Yes, I wrote it."

"Then did you also write this?"

This time, what she pulled out was the anonymous letter Reed had written.

The fact that she brought it out meant that Adonis had already compared the handwriting.

Brushing his chest with the affirmation that his decision not to lie was right, he nodded.

"Yes, I wrote that too."

He thought that would be the end of the questions.

But there was one more thing left.

"Then, may I ask why you changed your handwriting when you sent the perfume?"

"Perfume?"

"This."

This time, she showed a small note.

-For your successful debut.

He couldn't recognize whose handwriting it was.

No Tower Master used such handwriting.

But Reed knew who wrote this sentence.

'It's Freesia.'

It was clear that she had subtly adjusted the intensity to avoid being caught.

'There's another problem here.'

Lie.

He could say that Phoebe had written it for him. It would be hard to tell the Tower Master's deputy's handwriting, even if the Tower Masters' handwriting could be recognized quickly.

But Reed chose the truth again this time.

"The phrase I used when sending the perfume wasn't written by me."

"Then who wrote it?"

"Those who are trying to slander you."

Reed told her the truth with a clear voice.

"The perfume you used was a poison that would lead you to death."

Adonis lowered her head and covered her face with her hands.

James Bren, the napkin, the perfume, and even "Trigger Hypnosis".

When she connected all the situations, Adonis could finally understand.

""Trigger Hypnosis"... The trigger condition was that perfume."

She had no choice but to know now. Someone was targeting her.

And Reed intervened in that situation.

To save her.

Then who would be targeting her?

Knowing the plan, Reed would undoubtedly know the target as well.

However…

"...I won't ask. It will undoubtedly be hard for me to accept. But I would like you to answer this."

Adonis's brow furrowed.

For the first time, the doll-like woman revealed her expression to Reed.

"Why did you help me?"

Their first encounter was merely a minor issue.

And all they did was dance together at the banquet.

On the other hand, Reed knew a lot about her.

He had observed her from afar.

He saw her dedication to the country as a knight, alongside Freesia.

He had seen her perfect debut as a princess.

The things she had done were acts of selfless devotion that could only be done by someone who loved their family.

Such a woman falls into ruin due to the betrayal of the family she loved.

Thus, becoming the third calamity, Adonis, leaving with only despair and eventually meeting her demise.

Reed answered Adonis's question.

"Because you don't deserve to be unhappy."