The civil officer’s assignment didn’t end there.
“Please tell Simona to report to the docks tomorrow.”
I had only just returned from fieldwork and hadn’t even finished opening the office door.
The officer, having completed yet another round of overtime, disappeared down the corridor.
Leaving me with a completely unexpected errand.
Letting out a long sigh heavy with exhaustion, I stepped into the office.
Senior Simona is probably enjoying herself at the party by now.
As I slipped the note she had given me into my pocket, I glanced at the calendar I’d brought from the Imperial Palace.
The star I had drawn in red ink over the already-passed departmental transfer interview date stood out vividly.
Every time things became unbearable in the Crystal Whale Department, I had gone over it again and again.
Once I finish this assignment, I can transfer to another department. A little hostility from a temporary posting I’ll never revisit isn't worth worrying about.
Straightening my shoulders, I left the office.
Even in the bleak atmosphere of the department, Senior Simona had been the only one who approached me first.
She’s a little scatterbrained and chaotic, but she’s a good person.
Even though I was tired, all I had to do was deliver a message and head back to the inn to rest.
It should have been simple.
But the moment I arrived at the location written on the note, I immediately felt that something was wrong.
This is really the place?
What had Senior Simona said about the party again?
“It’ll be a small gathering, so there won’t be many people. You don’t know how long you’ll be staying here, right? It’d be nice to make some familiar faces.”
Who on earth held a birthday party in a magical greenhouse this extravagant and enormous?
In a freezing region like Melgot, maintaining a greenhouse of this size would require an absurd amount of magical equipment.
The place was filled with brilliant flowers one would normally only see in the warm southern regions.
Guards stood watch at the entrance, and through the wide-open doors I could see crowds of people.
Small gathering? Not many people? Do researchers use those words differently?
Everyone seemed dressed in splendid formal attire.
Was I really supposed to walk in wearing a government uniform?
As I hesitated near the entrance, one of the guards extended a hand.
“Invitation, please.”
I searched my empty pockets before freezing in panic.
“What if I was invited by someone who received an invitation?”
“Then simply provide your name. We have a guest list.”
“I’m Vivian Soling.”
I answered, though not with much confidence.
Had Senior Simona actually put my name on the list?
“You are a guest of Miss Simona Hart. Please enjoy the banquet.”
Fortunately, she had.
Even though I’d told her I probably wouldn’t attend.
I should make the prettiest laboratory access documents for her from now on.
Adjusting my uniform, I was about to enter when a thought occurred to me.
“By the way... who’s the birthday celebration for?”
The guards stared at me as though I were an oddity before answering.
“Her Imperial Highness, the Third Princess.”
“...What?”
Cheerful music, lively conversation, and bursts of laughter filled the greenhouse.
As befitted a celebration of the Third Princess’s birthday, both the decorations and the guests were dazzling.
The cake placed in the center was so enormous that its decorations rose above the crowd’s heads.
The colorful flowers lining the hall were fascinating and fragrant, but I wasn’t in any mood to admire them.
Where is she?
Keeping close to the wall and trying not to attract attention, I searched for Senior Simona.
Because a guard had let me in through a side entrance, few people paid me any mind.
It also helped that a good number of guests were already drunk.
I don’t understand why Her Highness, who should be in the Imperial Palace, decided to hold her birthday banquet here.
Perhaps she simply liked this magical greenhouse.
Or maybe, being someone who enjoyed parties, she had sought out an unusual venue.
Whatever the reason, meeting the princess right now would do me no favors.
An uninvited civil servant attends the princess’s birthday banquet empty-handed, offers congratulations, and immediately leaves? Absolutely not. Who knows what rumors that would create.
Senior Simona had probably come wearing a dress.
There was no way she had shown up in uniform.
With that assumption, I carefully examined the crowd.
Then—
“AAAAAH!”
“Gasp!”
A scream rang out somewhere in the hall.
At the same time, the music abruptly stopped.
People began murmuring and backing away toward the walls.
A familiar whistle cut through the commotion and echoed across the greenhouse.
As I peered over people’s shoulders, a metallic smell brushed past my nose.
Ugh. What is that smell?
Others were covering their mouths as their faces paled.
Someone stood before the towering cake.
A man wearing a lazy smile while softly whistling.
A man drenched from head to toe in dark crimson blood, staring silently at something.
A man who seemed utterly indifferent as blood dripped steadily from the hem of his long robes.
No way...
Even with blood splattered across his hair and cheeks, there was no mistaking him.
It was Cade.
My ex-boyfriend.
And the current Tower Master.
My heart nearly stopped, and I instinctively covered my mouth just like everyone else.
At this point, it was almost miraculous how we only seemed to meet in the most unpredictable places imaginable.
Why is he here now? And how much blood is that?
Without realizing it, I took a step toward him.
“What is the meaning of this disturbance?”
A sharp voice suddenly rang out.
I snapped back to my senses and halted.
Had the Third Princess not appeared just then, I might have walked straight up to Cade.
As Cade inclined his head in greeting, droplets of blood splashed from the tips of his hair.
Despite his appearance, his manner was calm and composed, not at all like someone suffering from serious injuries.
Only then did I notice the invitation in his hand, half-soaked in blood.
Wait. He was officially invited and still showed up looking like that?
Considering all the rumors surrounding the Tower Master, I highly doubted he had attended out of loyalty to the imperial family despite being injured.
The situation was baffling.
The moment the Third Princess recognized the invitation and robe in his possession, her cold expression softened.
“The Tower Master. But what is this discourtesy? Such a careless and filthy appearance. It seems becoming Tower Master has left you with nothing to fear. This is an imperial banquet.”
Whispers spread rapidly through the crowd.
Cade let out a low chuckle, his voice rough and deep.
“I declined your invitations several times. Yet when I heard Your Highness was coming all the way to Melgot, I felt it would be rude to refuse again and attended.”
He casually glanced at his blood-soaked clothes.
“As for the outfit—I was simply exterminating monsters for the peace of the Empire and got splashed with a little blood. Is there a problem?”
Monsters?
Startled, I looked him up and down.
He said he was leaving the tower because of monsters, but... all of that blood is from monsters?
There was no way someone became drenched like that from fighting only one or two.
How many did he kill?
Suddenly, I remembered people calling the new Tower Master a genius mage.
Even now, it felt strange to associate those words with Cade.
But perhaps he truly was skilled enough to become the youngest Tower Master in history.
Meanwhile, perhaps because I was staring too intently—
“I have heard much about your insolence, but that can be addressed in time. However, this dreadful appearance is truly unbearable. Guards. Take the Tower Master away immediately and assist him in changing clothes.”
The Third Princess gave the order with visible displeasure.
Yet at that exact moment, Cade abruptly turned his head toward me.
No. Not now. If our eyes meet in this situation, it’ll look like we know each other!
Panicking, I quickly crouched down to hide.
Unfortunately, I caught my foot on a large flowerpot and staggered.
Ah—!
In that brief instant before I fell backward, my eyes met Cade’s.
Judging by his expression, he clearly hadn’t expected to find me here either.
This is so embarrassing.
Just as I braced for impact, someone grabbed my arm.
It was Cade.
He had teleported over in an instant.
The nearby guests recoiled in shock as the Tower Master suddenly appeared right in front of them.
W-What? Why...?
Before I could react, Cade tilted his head slightly.
Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, he said:
“Excuse me.”
He gently moved me aside.
Then he took a glass of drink from a maid’s tray behind me and teleported back in front of the Third Princess.
“My apologies for arriving empty-handed. Allow me to offer this, at least.”
The Third Princess stared at the bloodstained glass as though she had been personally insulted.
That hooligan. He really is a hooligan.
Without question, every person present was thinking the same thing.
No one would do something like that at a royal birthday banquet.
Not even another member of the imperial family.
“How dare you...!”
The Third Princess, who had maintained her elegant composure all evening, finally lost her temper.
With a sharp snap of her fan, she struck the glass from Cade’s hand.
The sound of shattering crystal rang sharply through the greenhouse.