Chapter 146
Cassius had always been healthy and had never fallen seriously ill, but still, who could say they had never been sick even once in their life. When he lived in the Thousand Tower, there had been exactly one time when a fever spiked and he groaned in pain. Back then, Eki had not even been born yet, so there was no one to take care of him, and he had simply lain in bed, sleeping as if dead.
Cassius, who had known no other way to recover, learned the warmth of another person. Once again, Eki taught him something new.
‘…Eki. Thank you.’
On the final night, when his fever had nearly subsided, Cassius sincerely resolved to thank Eki from the bottom of his heart. Eki was moved and responded with a kiss for her master. And after that, well… as always, they did things unbecoming of a master and disciple.
But after that, Eki’s expression worsened when she went to work, and one day she even took a half day off. Since she usually coordinated her leave with his, Cassius naturally pressed her about what was going on.
‘Uh, um. Well, my parents found out.’
‘Your parents?’
‘Yes. Since I moved to the capital, I’ve been living at the main family estate. But, um… when I went out to nurse you, I lied and said I was meeting Milla…’
‘What?!’
‘Ugh, I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. My parents are strict, so they don’t allow overnight stays.’
Eki had been an adult for a long time, but she was still the daughter of a baronial house. The reason she had managed to avoid marriage even at her age was because of the excuse that she was busy with her work as a mage. But after she and Cassius moved to the capital, and when she went back to living with her parents, she argued with them endlessly about marriage, until she finally revealed that she was in a relationship with him.
Naturally, the Provanet household was thrown into an uproar. Eki had been under Cassius at the Thousand Tower for seven whole years. Baron and Baroness Provanet demanded that their daughter quit her work as an adjutant immediately, but at Eki’s earnest plea, they decided to wait and see. In the midst of that, she had stayed at Cassius’s estate for three days. And she had lied about it.
‘…This is my fault.’
Cassius had thought at some point that he should meet her family. Since he was serious about their relationship and even had the goal of extending Eki’s lifespan to a thousand years.
But for one reason or another, he had kept postponing it, and things had ended up like this.
He could not let it go on any longer.
“I caused you trouble because of my foolishness. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, no. Lord Cassius, there’s no need for you to…”
“Please lift your head. We heard you were unwell.”
Though they clearly did not fully approve of him, Eki’s parents fidgeted and tried to soothe him, as if they could not bring themselves to hate him outright. Eki also joined in, making a fuss.
“That’s right, Master, you didn’t do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing!”
No. He had done many things wrong.
The sin of coveting his disciple. The sin of letting her get hurt. The sin of refusing to let go even in the face of her parents’ opposition.
So he needed to apologize properly, before it was too late.
“The time Eki was ill recently was also my fault. I failed to protect her as her master, so if you wish to hold someone responsible, please hold me responsible, Your Lordship and Ladyship.”
Speaking so formally for the first time in his life felt awkward. Having to use honorifics toward humans hundreds of years younger than him also felt awkward. But Cassius endured it. If he did not, he would have no face to show Eki and her parents.
A heavy silence wrapped around them. At last, Hera, Eki’s mother, let out a sigh and spoke first.
“Lord Cassius, please raise your head.”
“……”
“You didn’t come here today as Eki’s master, but as her lover, didn’t you?”
Cassius’s broad back flinched.
“To be honest, I wasn’t pleased, since Eki suffered quite a lot at the damn tower… ah, no. The Thousand Tower. But meeting you in person like this has changed my mind. I heard you were an archmage with quite the bad reputation.”
Damn tower. Bad reputation.
Cassius snapped his head around to look at Eki. She, who had been trying to stop him earlier, was now clearing her throat and whistling.
“And you were ill recently, weren’t you? Are you feeling better now?”
“There’s no need for you to worry. Thanks to Eki taking good care of me…”
Hera’s eyes sharpened. Cassius hurriedly corrected himself.
“No. Um. Thank you for your concern.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Randy, who had been silent until then, cleared his throat lightly and began to speak in a gentle voice.
“In any case, we didn’t intend to oppose this outright. We learned that the two of you have been together for quite some time. But overnight stays are not allowed. I trust you understand why.”
“…Yes.”
“Since we’ve come together like this, I thought it might be good to get to know each other and clear up some of the questions we’ve had. So how exactly did you end up in such a deep relationship with Eki? Our daughter hasn’t told us anything like that at all—”
“Dad!”
“Why, you little brat. You used to talk our ears off about your master, but these days you don’t say anything.”
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.