TYLSA 10

Chapter 10

“To become Tower Master at twenty-five, you’d have to be able to do at least that much, wouldn’t you?”

“Hah…”

“Ahem, please don’t be too disappointed.”

“…Sir Elijah, are you alright?”

I picked up the feather that hadn’t budged and asked.

“You need to quickly untangle the circuits twisted with mine to avoid this ‘troublesome’ situation, don’t you?”

I put a little emphasis on the word ‘troublesome’ as I spoke.

“If my progress is slow, you’ll be disappointed too, won’t you?”

“…Come to think of it…”

Elijah was silent for a moment, as if he had realized something.

“?”

Why was that?

When I silently asked with my eyes, Elijah held his head and shook it.

“…No, never mind. Let’s stop here for today. I’ll take you back home.”

“…? If you say so.”

He was a man with more strange quirks than I’d thought.

—

<system> First lesson has ended!

<system> Lesson goal achievement rate: 0%

<system> You concentrated on the lesson but failed to achieve results.

<system> Mana increases by 5, Intelligence increases by 3.

—

As I gloomily confirmed the system messages, Elijah spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Ah, right. Before you go, there’s one more thing I must warn you about.”

“Yes?”

“Regarding your true name.”

“…”

“For a mage, one’s true name—the first name they were given in life—carries the meaning of bondage.”

I knew that too. That was why all the mages in this game—including those who hadn’t blossomed—didn’t use their real names.

I, too, was using the alias Yuri Elrose instead of my true name.

“For mages of noble birth like you, having a known surname puts you at a disadvantage compared to commoner-born mages like myself.”

That was true. No matter how much I tried to hide my true name, my surname—Rozenheyer—was far too famous.

“It doesn’t matter who it is. Aside from those who already know your name, you must never reveal your true name to anyone from now on.”

“…If I were to reveal it and something unfortunate happened, what would become of me?”

“…”

Elijah stared at me for a moment, then sighed and answered.

“Your true name is a mage’s fundamental weakness. If, by some chance, something unfortunate were to occur…”

“…”

“Never forget that you must be prepared for death itself.”

Leaving behind nothing but a bloody warning and no notable achievements, my first lesson with the Tower Master ended.

Fortunately, the maids hadn’t noticed I had disappeared. I told them, as planned, that today’s lesson had been canceled.

Anyway…

‘Relationship window!’

I was bothered, so I opened the relationship window.

‘Elijah Marakesh, Elijah Marakesh…’

—

Elijah: “A troublesome, temporary master-disciple relationship, it seems.”

—

…Had it changed, or hadn’t it?

Well, it wasn’t as if every increase in affinity was reflected in the relationship window message.

‘The font alignment height seems a bit different, but I can’t be sure.’

There didn’t seem to be any noticeable change in the relationship window, and in reality, raising affinity was quite difficult, so it wasn’t something to worry about right now, but…

Continuing to meet only one male lead consistently like this could be dangerous.

‘There are two main ways to prevent falling into a solo ending route.’

First, be careful not to enter a romantic relationship.

That was just a matter of staying alert, so it wasn’t difficult. The problem was the second one.

Second, raise the male leads’ affinity levels evenly to a similar degree.

If the male leads’ affinities were raised to similar levels, a ‘friendship event’ would trigger, and the more friendship events you saw, the less likely it became to fall into an individual romance route.

In other words, that meant.

‘I need to meet the other male leads as quickly as possible, aside from Elijah and Calix.’

And although it wouldn’t be easy, I needed to meet Calix frequently and somehow build a rapport.

“My Lady.”

“…Huh?”

Just then, a maid interrupted my thoughts.

“His Grace the Duke has returned home. And he has asked to see you privately.”

…Huh?

‘So suddenly?’

Only an awkward silence lingered in the Duke’s office.

‘He called me, so I came, but…’

The Duke—the one who had called for me—was silent, so I also felt awkward about starting any conversation.

“…Did the Noble Assembly meeting go well?”

All I could attempt was this kind of conventional greeting.

“Hm, yes.”

“I thought you might be tired, so you should rest.”

I subtly brought up the reason I hadn’t come out to greet the Duke when he arrived home.

Whether he knew that or not, the Duke answered tersely.

“I’m not that tired.”

“I see…”

Ah, this is the limit. I have no idea what to say beyond this.

‘How troublesome.’

I was scratching my head inwardly when, at that moment.

“Your Grace, I have prepared the tea you mentioned.”

“Bring it in.”

‘Tea?’

The door slid open, and the butler appeared, pushing a cart.

‘This fragrance…!’

As the butler poured the tea, he said cheerfully,

“This is chamomile tea that His Grace personally purchased on his way back today, my Lady.”

“Ahem. Philip.”

“Oh dear, yes. This old man has been talking too much.”

After arranging the tea and refreshments, the butler respectfully wished us a “pleasant time” and disappeared.

“…The fragrance is lovely.”

Chamomile—the tea that Yuri’s mother had loved, and the one I had served the Duke when I met him last time.

But instead of acknowledging it or showing any reaction, the Duke simply said,

“Drink.”

“Yes.”

I cautiously sipped the tea. Watching me, the Duke said out of the blue,

“I heard from Philip that it’s been a long time since you had a new dress made.”

“!”

Had word reached the Duke’s ears about how I’d turned away Master Kaminsky yesterday?

I cautiously gauged his reaction, wondering if my stepmother had whispered negative things about my behavior, but the Duke only gazed at me with unreadable eyes.

The feeling of those sharp blue eyes scrutinizing me made me want to shrink my shoulders, but I endured.

“I thought the dresses I have are sufficient.”

I gave the most neutral answer I could, but the Duke frowned.

“Frugality is all well and good, but you are a lady of the Rozenheyer Ducal House.”

“…Ahem, ahem.”

The butler, who had disappeared and reappeared, cleared his throat politely behind the Duke.

At that, the Duke made an uncomfortable effort to add,

“The ducal household is not so impoverished that you need to be excessively frugal.”

“Ahem!”

The butler’s throat-clearing became a bit more pronounced. But the Duke seemed unable to say anything more, as if he didn’t know what else to say.

Finally, the butler sighed and spoke.

“My Lady, His Grace is saying, ‘Prepare whatever you need, even now.'”

“Ah…”

So that’s what he meant.

‘If I’d misheard, I would have thought he was scolding me.’

Anyway, there was no reason to refuse being told to spend money. I smiled faintly.

‘Perfect timing.’

The Duke’s consideration was as good as cooperating with the small plan I was currently preparing.

“Thank you for your concern, Father. I’ll have new clothes prepared promptly, as you’ve suggested.”

“…Hm. Don’t worry about the cost—proceed as you see fit.”

Oh ho, really?

I smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! I’ll do that.”

“Hm, ahem!”

The moment the Duke cleared his throat—

A welcome “ping” sound rang out.

‘Ah, affinity!’

“Then, you may leave now.”

But there wasn’t a single change in the Duke’s expression. It was so subtle that even I wondered, ‘Did I mishear just now?’

‘I’ll check the relationship window later.’

“Then, I’ll take my leave now, Father.”

I gave a light bow and exited the office.

—

* * *

—

“Oh my, Yuri. Fancy seeing you here.”

On my way back to my room, I heard a voice that had become familiar by now—affectionate and warm.

My stepmother’s voice.

“I heard that Sir Elijah Marakesh never visited the estate today. Did something happen?”

Oh dear. The moment we meet, she goes straight for the sore spot.

I generously gave my stepmother the answer she wanted.

“Today’s lesson was canceled.”

“Oh my, is that so…?”

My stepmother fluttered her fan, covering her lips. A gesture that made her hidden smile all too predictable.

“The Tower Master is such a busy man—he must not have had the time to spare for his appointment with you.”

“Yes, it seems he had personal matters to attend to.”

“Oh dear. You’re not too disheartened, are you?”

“Not at all.”

I smiled brightly and answered.

“I have another appointment, you see. I’m just looking forward to the lesson.”

“I see, another appointment… of course you do.”

My stepmother nodded, then said, “Oh, and,” changing the subject smoothly.

“Come to think of it, it would be discourteous not to greet the Tower Master when he visits. Yuri, how about we all have tea together after your lesson? Eleni can join us too.”

Her intentions were clear as day.

‘I could refuse, but…’

Rather than refusing outright here…

“Of course. If time permits, let’s have Calix join us as well.”

…It would be more amusing to let her find out on the day of the lesson that Elijah would be taking me directly to the Magic Tower to teach me, rather than coming to the estate.

“Oh my, yes. I didn’t think of that. Of course Calix should join us too.”

My stepmother, completely unaware of my inner thoughts, clapped her hands cheerfully.

Since I—who had recently not been as obedient as before—had agreed with her, my stepmother’s smile deepened with relief.

It was a smile that said, “That’s how it should be.”

“Yuri, thanks to you, we’ll have a lovely time. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“By the way, it’s such a pity you couldn’t have a dress made by Master Kaminsky.”

My stepmother’s hand gently stroked my shoulder. I could feel the sharp sensation of her ring uncomfortably grazing my neckline.

“Yuri, if you change your mind, I could arrange for Master Kaminsky again… What do you think?”

Seizing the opportunity of the improved mood, my stepmother was trying once more to humiliate me through clothing.

I smiled politely and shook my head.

“I’m fine, Mother. I think it’s better for Master Kaminsky to focus on Eleni’s dresses.”

“But… if word spreads in society that Master Kaminsky refused to make your dresses, people might pity you.”

“They might. But I’m fine.”

“Yuri…”

My stepmother looked at me with what seemed like concern, but I consistently insisted I was fine.

In the end, my stepmother backed off, saying, “If that’s your wish, I suppose there’s no helping it.” I thought I understood why she didn’t push me to the very end.

‘Having only Eleni wear Kaminsky’s dresses and receive attention wouldn’t be a bad outcome for her, so she backed off at this point.’

As I saw my stepmother off as she turned away, I smiled secretly.

‘But I didn’t act without a plan either.’

Master Kaminsky and his flamboyant style of dresses had reigned in society for far too long.

‘In other words, the point is.’

The time had come for a change.