Episode 103
“Would you sit down? Don’t we have things to discuss?”
His gentle eyes crinkled at the corners, and his blue hair, like gentle waves, swayed.
The Tower Master was acting as if nothing had happened. My pent-up frustration exploded.
I had a lot to say. So much that I wouldn’t be able to finish even if I stayed up all night.
But there was something I had to do first.
My body shrunk, and my clothes fell loosely around me. I expertly wriggled my way out through the neck hole and flapped my wings a few times.
To gain momentum.
The clueless Tower Master just smiled, watching me.
“Suddenly transforming into a bird? Did you dislike talking to me that much? You seem more resentful than I expected.”
“Beep?”
‘Resentful? It’s more than just resentment!’
I flew up and charged. Towards where? His solar plexus!
“Beeeep!”
‘You bastard! I won’t let you off the hook!’
Having downgraded his title from “Tower Master” to “bastard,” I launched a headbutt. But he quickly flicked his fingers, and my wings froze mid-air, as if stuck.
I flapped my feet and chirped angrily,
“Beeeep! Beep!”
‘Let go of me! Do you know how much I’ve suffered?! Did you really think I would have a nice chat with you after you suddenly summoned me here?!’
“Why don’t you calm down?”
“Chirp!”
‘Calm down? You threw me into the Imperial Palace and then ignored me! And you ran away when I accidentally destroyed a building and was forced to stay there!’
“Violence isn’t the answer. Even my disciple wasn’t this aggressive as a child…”
“Beep…?”
‘Who are you comparing me to? I’m better than Cesar!’
My furiously shaking head feathers expressed my feelings, like a cat twitching its tail in annoyance.
“I understand why you’re angry. But it would be better if you transformed back into a human. We need to clear up this misunderstanding.”
“Chirp?”
‘Misunderstanding?’
I was incredibly suspicious, but at the word “misunderstanding,” I relaxed, and my wings became mobile again.
“It seems you’re finally willing to listen. Then shall we talk again, after you transform back into a human, Lily?”
He had a kind face, but after being repeatedly scammed, I couldn’t see him as anything but a swindler. But as they say, you should always hear someone out, so I decided to listen if he had an explanation.
I reluctantly agreed to follow his instructions.
“So, why did you suddenly transform into a bird and attack me?”
After I got dressed and sat down, the Tower Master asked.
“You might look young, but you’ve lived for a long time, haven’t you?”
“That’s true.”
“Have you heard of respecting your elders?”
I couldn’t hit an elderly person, no matter how angry I was. Even if he looked young.
‘I wouldn’t feel good about hitting someone so much older than me.’
It was strange that the K-Confucianism ingrained in me since childhood wouldn’t change just because I was in a romance fantasy novel.
“Respecting your elders? You aimed for my solar plexus as a bird.”
“Animals are different. They’re cute!”
Cute things are forgiven. That’s how it works. Even when cats knead on your chest, you just smile.
“So what did I misunderstand?”
I looked at him, ready to hear his explanation. Other people’s emotions were usually visible in their eyes, but it was difficult to read the Tower Master.
“As the Tower Master, I have to maintain a neutral position. If I interfere based on personal feelings, it would be a disaster, like disrupting the flow of mana.”
I knew that. That’s why he had always remained a bystander, despite knowing everything. Except for one exception.
“But it seems I’m also becoming swayed by my emotions as I age. I wanted my disciple to be happy. That’s why I was happy about your existence.”
“My existence?”
“Yes. Originally, my disciple’s path was a dark, damp swamp.”
The Tower Master’s eyes darkened.
The Tower Master in the novel cherished Cesar. He had even appeared before Cesar after he turned villainous, expressing his genuine concern.
So the only time he abandoned his neutrality and intervened was for his disciple, Cesar.
“But things changed because of you. You were changing the flow of fate.”
“Changing it? Or ruining it?”
“Do you believe in predetermined fate?”
I nodded, figuring there was since the novel had a definite ending. The Tower Master shook his head.
“There’s no such thing. The path you walk is your fate, Lily. I merely created an opportunity for you to intervene.”
“So that’s why you sent me to the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes.”
“But why didn’t you contact me even once…?”
I suddenly realized. It wasn’t that he didn’t contact me; it was that he couldn’t.
“As you’ve realized, I can’t interfere any further. My role is to observe silently, even if the results of your actions lead to another disaster.”
I had assumed there was a reason why he sent me to the Imperial Palace, the center of the events in the original story, and then silently observed.
“I thought there must be a reason, but everything I experienced was hardship and trials… so I was angry when I saw you.”
“Don’t worry; I expected that.”
Although my anger wasn’t completely gone, thinking of what I had been through, I understood his situation.
“But I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“You said you would send me to a place where my wish could be fulfilled when you sent me to the Imperial Palace.”
What he wanted was Cesar’s happiness. I understood that.
But I still didn’t understand his words about my wish also being fulfilled. The more I was caught up in the vortex of fate, the more difficult it seemed to live freely as a human.
A gentle smile spread across his face.
“You still remember. Yes, your wish was to live freely as a human. So you had to intervene in the flow of fate, break free from your original destiny, and create your own place with those who would help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lily, your life won’t be easy either. There will be those who will try to take you away, to obstruct your wish.”
“The Holy Kingdom…”
The Tower Master smiled bitterly at the name I unconsciously uttered.
“I called you here because I wanted to help you, even if just a little, despite my position as a bystander.”
His hand touched my head. White orbs of light appeared and then spread through my body.
“With this, even if they encounter you, they won’t be able to sense your true nature. But you mustn’t use excessive power. They’ll notice if you do.”
“Thank you, Tower Master.”
I thanked him, clutching the artifact around my neck. The Tower Master grumbled, as if disappointed,
“I’d like to talk to you more, but I can’t. If my disciple finds out I brought you here again, my life will be in danger.”
His words sounded like a farewell, so I asked,
“Will we never meet again?”
“If fate allows it, we will. I’m a master who cares about his disciple’s well-being.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. My trust in the Tower Master, which had been at rock bottom, was restored.
And I had also received a small gift. I felt the anxiety that had been weighing on my heart lessen.
As I felt my body being transported, the Tower Master spoke,
“The soul that called you here exists somewhere. It will appear when the time is right. And at that moment, your wish will truly be fulfilled, Lily.”
‘The soul that called me here?’
I was about to ask what he meant, but I was already lying in Cesar’s bedroom at the Dukedom. I flailed my arms in disbelief and then held my head, struck by a sudden realization.
‘So I wasn’t just randomly reincarnated?’
Who summoned me here, and why?
But there was no one to answer my questions. I just had to wait.
I drifted off to sleep, thinking I would give that soul, who summoned me here, a piece of my mind when we finally met, for all the suffering I had to endure.
For some reason, I felt like I saw pink feathers fluttering in the wind in my dream.
On a languid morning, with a cool, pleasant breeze,
“Is this what you wanted, Lily?”
His seductive voice tickled my ear.
I saw his sharp nose and mesmerizing purple eyes, gazing only at me, right in front of me.
That’s right. Cesar was currently looking down at me, his arm wrapped around my waist, as I lay in bed.
This had to be a dream. Or a grave mistake.
“…It was a mistake. Get off me, Cesar.”
Cesar, instead of just helping me up, stubbornly insisted,
“A mistake? But Lily, you pulled me towards you.”
And he was even blaming me!
I sighed. Why was I in this position with Cesar in broad daylight?
We had been arguing because he was objecting to my attending the hunting competition, making all sorts of excuses.