A psychopath who burned people alive while smiling.
A lunatic who stripped senior archmages naked and chased them out.
A rogue who had never once replied to an invitation from the Imperial Palace.
A madman who sent monster corpses to the imperial family as tribute.
A delinquent.
All of these titles referred to the new Master of the Magic Tower.
Clenching my trembling fists, I stared at the grand entrance of the towering structure before me.
Sure, people also called him a genius mage and the youngest Magic Tower Master in history, but somehow those titles didn’t seem likely to save my life.
Calm down. Stay calm.
I might be about to achieve the greatest accomplishment of my life since winning first place in the contest for identifying magical beasts by hearing only one second of their cry.
The achievement of becoming the first civil servant ever killed by the new Tower Master.
No. It'll be fine.
I shook my head and forced myself to think positively.
No matter how much of a troublemaker he is, there’s never been a rumor about him killing a government official... yet.
Unfortunately, that didn’t stop my shoulders from stiffening with tension.
Do you know who the unfortunate soul was that got dispatched to this terrifying Magic Tower, surrounded by countless horrifying rumors?
Me.
Vivian Soling, civil servant of the Gaia Empire and employee of the Department of Magical Beast Ecology.
Like anyone else would have been, I desperately did not want to come here.
Every official who met the new Tower Master came back to the Imperial Palace in tears.
I had never heard the details of what happened, but one thing was certain.
Not a single one of them had succeeded in obtaining the Tower Master's signature on an official document.
And a few of the people sent before me even had their hair burned off. So that means I could end up just like them...
My rigid shoulders trembled, but I couldn't stand in front of the Magic Tower forever.
“Director, you'll really transfer me to another department if I do this, right?”
“Of course. Bring back the Tower Master's seal on this document, and you'll be transferred wherever you want immediately!”
The annual departmental transfer opportunity came only once a year.
I needed this chance desperately.
Maybe I couldn't risk my life for a transfer, but I could risk my hair.
After all, hair grows back even if it gets burned off.
All right. Let's do this.
After taking a deep breath and steadying myself, I pushed open the doors of the Magic Tower.
Well, technically, the moment I touched the handle, the massive doors swung open on their own.
Creeeeak—
At once, every mage wandering through the lobby stopped and turned toward me.
“...”
Without realizing it, I hunched my shoulders before quickly straightening them again.
There was no benefit to looking frightened here.
“I've come from the Imperial Palace. We informed you in advance that I would be meeting with the Tower Master—”
My calm introduction ended abruptly.
One of the mages was stuffing official letters from the Imperial Palace directly into the fireplace.
Very deliberately.
The mages paid no attention to what I was saying.
Instead, their eyes gleamed as they noticed my government uniform.
“A civil servant.”
“Another one? I thought they'd finally given up.”
They looked me up and down, whispering among themselves with obvious anticipation.
“I bet she lasts five minutes.”
“Five? That's generous. She looks too weak. Three minutes.”
“What if she starts crying the moment she sees the Tower Master? I’m betting one minute.”
Go ahead and bet all you want.
I had already prepared myself for the possibility of losing my hair.
Compared to that, being the subject of their gambling and laughter was nothing.
Whether I cry or not doesn't matter. As long as I get that signature.
Just as I decided to ignore their chatter and wait for the Tower Master to appear—
I heard something I couldn't ignore.
“One minute is impossible. Before she starts crying, she'll probably be too busy staring at the Tower Master's face.”
“The last civil servant couldn't even recover after getting blasted by magic while admiring him.”
“Seriously. Man or woman, everyone who sees the Tower Master for the first time gets captivated by that face. Wait... what?”
The sneering mage flinched as he looked at me.
Only then did I realize I had been glaring at them.
A wave of irritation washed over me, overwhelming even my fear.
I let out a scoff.
I know the rumors. Apparently the new Tower Master is ridiculously handsome.
I'd once overheard a civil servant from another department sobbing as he said,
"He's a complete lunatic, but he's handsome."
He'd even claimed it was a waste for someone with that face to stay locked up in the Magic Tower.
But no matter how handsome he was, I had already developed a certain immunity to beautiful faces.
I'd dated the most attractive man in the Empire.
...Kay.
My ex-boyfriend.
The ex who knew exactly how much he was worth.
Thanks to Kay, I'd learned firsthand how little trust should be placed in handsome men.
Of course, I hadn't fallen for him because of his looks alone.
But there was no denying that his beautiful face had played a significant role in starting our relationship.
Which was exactly why I would never again lose my senses over someone's appearance.
Not even if it killed me.
Wait. Come to think of it... wasn't the new Tower Master's name Cade?
Suddenly, irritation surged up inside me.
Not just because his name resembled my ex's.
Simply remembering it brought Kay's pale, soft hair and blue eyes vividly to mind.
The fact that I could still remember that annoyingly handsome face so clearly wounded my pride.
His cute habit of loving flowers, perfectly suited to his appearance.
The way he'd call me “Vivi.”
His smiling voice.
Even the tiny beauty mark beside his eye.
Stop. Stop thinking about him! Is now really the time to be remembering that piece of trash?
It definitely wasn't because I still had feelings for him.
Absolutely not.
The idea that I'd still be hung up on someone like him is ridiculous.
I bit down on my lip before it could pout and struggled to maintain a neutral expression.
At that moment—
A faint whistle drifted through the air.
The lazy breath carrying it sent a chill across the lobby, as though a thin layer of ice had spread over the floor.
“The Tower Master.”
“That civil servant's doomed.”
The fear I'd momentarily forgotten returned full force.
Slowly, I turned around.
Someone was descending the dim staircase at the far end of the lobby.
A dagger spun idly in one hand, glinting like the fang of a venomous serpent.
His long robe concealed most of his figure within shadows.
Other than his broad shoulders and tall frame, it was impossible to make out much.
One thing was clear, though.
His head was turned slightly to the side.
He wasn't even looking at me.
“Well, well. They sent another civil servant? Persistent, aren't they?”
His voice carried amusement.
His tone was relaxed.
Yet murderous intent lurked beneath every word.
For a moment I almost shrank back—
Then something felt strange.
Huh? This voice...
Like someone worthy of being the youngest Tower Master in history, his voice was youthful and deep, carrying both weight and a refreshing clarity.
And somehow...
It sounded familiar.
It overlapped perfectly with another voice.
Vivi.
“Maybe I should gouge out your eyes before sending you back. Or perhaps I shouldn't send you back at all?”
Mocking me, he stepped out of the shadows.
The dagger continued spinning effortlessly between his fingers, an oddly unmage-like weapon.
Then his face emerged into the light.
“Look at that. She was glaring at us a second ago, and now she's completely speechless.”
“I knew it. Nobody's ever reacted differently.”
Just as the mages whispered, I stood frozen.
But not for the reason they thought.
The Tower Master, who still hadn't spared me a single glance, surveyed the room before smirking.
“Pleasure not meeting you. Now get lost.”
A glowing white magic circle flickered at his fingertips.
Fwoosh!
I sensed a gigantic fireball descending from above.
The scorching heat drew closer and closer to the top of my head.
And then—
“...You piece of trash?”
The words slipped from my lips before I could stop them.
The Tower Master's brows furrowed.
He looked at me for the first time.
Even across the distance, our eyes met perfectly.
The instant he recognized me, his eyes widened.
Then—
His fluttering robe suddenly filled my vision.
The Tower Master had closed the distance through teleportation.
Wrapping an arm around my waist, he pulled me against him and scattered the incoming fireball.
Gasps of shock erupted throughout the lobby.
But I couldn't take my eyes off him.
The Tower Master stared down at me with an unmistakably flustered expression.
Soft beige hair.
Clear blue eyes.
A man I knew all too well.
Why the hell... is this bastard... here?
Because he was none other than my ex-lover.
Kay.
As I stared at him in disbelief, a memory from one year ago—one I desperately wished to forget—rose to the surface.
Crash!
A wave slammed against the breakwater, exploding into white foam.
Feeling as though I'd just been slapped across the face, I asked blankly,
“...Break up? Right now?”
I was holding out a bouquet of flowers to Kay, the man I'd dated for two years.
At the exact same moment, I was being dumped.