It was kind of embarrassing.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned to bring up Mom’s looks—because I was worried this exact reaction might happen.
‘Well, Dad might’ve exaggerated about Mom’s beauty anyway.’
He was never the type to speak ill of her, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d sugarcoated things.
I cleared my throat and added,
“...You’re thinking I don’t take after her, aren’t you? Yeah, I felt pretty awkward saying it myself.”
“No.”
The Tower Lord waved a hand with a serious look.
“If you put on a bit of weight, it’ll be fine. Right now, you’re like one of those pathetic twigs lying around in winter, the kind that gets stepped on in the street.”
He continued, still grim-faced.
“Any mages in your family?”
“Nope.”
“Your mom’s side too?”
“Yes.”
Dad said Mom couldn’t use magic at all.
From the Tower Lord’s line of questioning, he seed to suspect that my mom might’ve been his daughter...
[You’re so good with scrolls, Namia. But neither I nor your mom could do magic.]
[That’s possible, Dad. Magical ability isn’t inherited.]
[Really? I heard the Tower Lord’s daughter was so good at magic, she was going to succeed him. That’s why I thought it was genetic.]
From every angle, Mom and the Tower Lord’s daughter seed completely unrelated.
Still, just in case, I cautiously brought it up.
“I heard the Tower Lord’s daughter is incredibly talented at magic.”
“What? Who told you that crap?”
“My dad. He said my mom—who was from the capital—told him that crap.”
The Tower Lord didn’t respond.
He just narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought before asking again.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any other... strange abilities?”
“...Huh?”
“You know, so weird, unusual power. Strange. Sothing no one’s heard of.”
“Uh... um...”
Sothing did co to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) mind, actually.
[This world is actually from a book, and I reincarnated into it. So I know the future. A war’s coming soon, and I’m doing my best to stop it.]
Was I supposed to say that?
But then the Tower Lord abruptly waved a hand and said,
“Even if you do, just say you don’t in front of others. And don’t go telling people you could create scrolls when you were a kid.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“...Normally soone would ask why.”
“Would you tell ?”
“No.”
After a long silence, he placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
“I think I’ll be heading out again. A long trip.”
“Ah, okay.”
“...Normally soone would ask where and why.”
The Tower Lord clicked his tongue and continued.
“Feels like I’ve found a trace of my daughter. Hmm. I’ll have to look into it more...”
As expected, he was the type who just volunteered what he wanted to say, even if you didn’t ask.
His blue eyes stared straight into mine.
And then—
‘Huh?’
He suddenly started rummaging deep into his robe.
A mont later, he handed a scroll.
“Here.”
At a glance, it looked incredibly complex—way beyond my level to decode.
I’d thought I was pretty amazing, but this instantly humbled .
“A gift.”
“Ah, okay.”
“...Normally people would be surprised.”
“Well, I honestly have no idea what kind of scroll this is. The formula looks crazy complicated... When am I even supposed to use this?”
“When a man confesses to you and says he likes you.”
The Tower Lord stood up slowly as he said it.
“Keep it with you at all tis. You never know when soone will confess.”
My eyes sparkled as I looked at the magic circle engraved on the scroll.
No matter how closely I examined it, it was too complicated. I couldn’t figure out the principle, but it was beautiful and amazing.
Seeing like that, the Tower Lord chuckled softly.
“Finally, so life in those eyes, Minister.”
Then, resting on his staff, he patted my head.
“When I went to fetch you from the Empress’s room, your eyes were completely lifeless.”
“Ah...”
I was so distracted staring at the scroll, I finally looked up.
Then, feeling a little awkward, I muttered,
“It’s just... being there felt kind of...”
“What?”
“Like I was intruding on a family mont.”
Maybe it was because we both had missing family mbers and were left behind.
I ended up blurting out my honest thoughts to the Tower Lord without realizing it.
“But I wasn’t in a position to say sothing like, ‘I’ll just excuse myself’...”
After being separated from Dad, I’d always lived like that.
At the Roafi Barony manor, I’d always felt like a foreign object.
‘Of course I’d feel that way... stuck in soone else’s family setting.’
Especially when I saw how much the Emperor clearly cared for Kiaros—it made feel weird inside.
‘anwhile, I have to go figure out where I’m spending the night...’
Since leaving the Roafi manor, I’d been staying at inns.
I’d originally planned to ask Luka to help find a boarding house today, but it was already too late.
I thought the Tower Lord would mock Dragonbloods as nothing special—but he was surprisingly quiet.
After parting his lips briefly, he let out a sigh and said goodbye.
“Take care until we et again. My gut says we’ll see each other very soon.”
His voice—usually so eccentric—trembled slightly.
“And when that ti cos...”
He couldn’t finish the sentence.
Before I could even say goodbye, he vanished like the wind.
***
The Tower Lord left the palace and mounted his horse.
His destination was already decided.
‘Southern Arbin...’
Namia had said that was her birthplace.
‘Maybe...’
He planned to head there and investigate further into his daughter.
It was still just a suspicion, but Namia was probably Aran’s daughter.
Because of sothing Namia had said earlier.
[The Tower Lord’s daughter... I heard she was incredibly good at magic.]
But Aran couldn’t use magic at all.
She had obsessed over keeping that fact a secret from the outside world.
Even though no one in the Tower cared.
The only person who would’ve spread such a ridiculous rumor... was Aran herself.
Especially to a man she t in secret, hiding her identity...
‘Aran... did you have a daughter? Huh?’
To be honest, the mont he saw the scroll Namia made, he’d thought of Aran.
[Father, I’m sorry.]
Aran’s last mory: grinning like a lunatic while holding his blood.
[I like power more than love or affection! I’ll evolve and gain strength, no matter what it takes!]
[Evolve? Power? What on earth are you talking about, Aran!?]
Making scrolls alone at age eight—that was not a normal ability.
Namia definitely possessed the abnormal power Aran had been seeking.
‘What kind of experint did you do to that child? Huh?’
Thankfully, she still seed unaware of any of it...
It was a relief that she’d already sold her soul to the minister’s position.
‘But this ti... I think I can dig out the whole truth.’
Looking closely at Namia’s features—though she was a bit thin—she definitely resembled Aran.
And coincidences like this don’t pile up for no reason.
But the reason he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to Namia at that mont...
‘If the monster my foolish daughter created is you...’
The Tower Lord bit his lower lip and thought,
‘...then no matter what, Grandpa will protect you. Because you’re not a monster—you’re my granddaughter.’
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone else knew Namia’s true identity yet.
If soone had found out, she wouldn’t be living so freely.
The Tower Lord glanced back once at the glittering imperial palace.
‘Hmph. At least that Crown Prince brat will keep her safe here. He was practically bug-eyed swearing he’d protect his subordinate.’
He found the young man unbearably irritating—but he was still the most reliable youth he knew.
Given how things were turning out, the imperial palace had beco the safest place for Namia.
‘And since he’s famously uninterested in won, there’s no chance he’d ever lay a finger on her.’
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