Chapter 25

***

“I’ll be back.”

Nabel kissed her cheek once more.

He didn’t need to worry about the public display of affection as   would take care of those who were watching.

In fact, Nesha was glaring at those standing behind them while Ronée and Nabel whispered loving words to each other.

“If you don’t want your heads to fly, pretend you didn’t see anything here!”

His stony-faced expression demanded it.

Ronée received several kisses on the cheek from Nabel under the pretext of a greeting, and then disappeared into the tower.

Nabel did not take his eyes off of Ronée for a moment, even after she entered the tower.

Previously, the mage’s tower was glowing brightly, but now it was cloaked in darkness.

However, the tower would gradually regain its original brightness as the owner of the Shinsu ascended the stairs.

“I can’t believe we are about to witness the awakening of a new Master of a Shinsu.”

“Isn’t this the result of the Iver’s blessing?”

The mages were still bursting from excitement at seeing Shinsu with their own eyes. As each floor of the tower began to light up, revealing its structure, their hopes grew while they waited for the ninth floor to be revealed.

Nabel’s gaze immediately shifted to the second floor the moment it lit up.

Ronée was ascending the tower at a rapid pace. Then, in a split second, the third floor was flooded with a brilliant light.

‘The moment my sister reaches the 9th floor, the fog will be lifted.’

‘But she won’t be able to see my expression properly.’

‘I’m sure she will be scared.’

So, he wouldn’t move an inch until Ronée safely reached the ground. Her red cape would be seen clearly, even with the significant distance.

A moment later, the lights on the fifth floor turned on.

“……?”

But all of a sudden, a strange sound could be heard coming from the side of the tower.

Due to the countless years spent on the battlefield, Nabel knew immediately that something ominous was about to occur.

“Nesha.”

He summoned Nesha without averting his eyes from the tower.

Nesha had been always wary of his surroundings, so it came as no surprise that he was also staring at the tower blankly.

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“Did you hear-.”

He was just about to ask Nesha if the strange noise originated from the tower.

But the next moment, Nabel was at a loss for words.

Boom!

A giant fire rose from the fifth floor of the tower.

And the cause seemed to be an explosion.

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion could be heard in the distance.

Instinctively, Ronée closed her eyes tightly and covered her face with her hands

She didn’t suffer any injuries, but the bright light from the explosion blinded her momentarily and left her ears ringing.

Ronée’s scream was silenced by the deafening sound of another explosion.

BOOM!

Deprived of her vision, Ronée could only grab hold of Bell tightly as she felt her body tilted sharply to the side.

Bell darted through the tower, quickly maneuvered to avoid the next explosion, and barely managed the blast.

“Oh my god.”

Ronée’s eyes flew open and once her vision cleared, she was frightened to find that they were standing on a set of stairs that was on the verge of collapsing. 

The horrifying scene was something she had seen before.

The memory of the wooden annex in the Rieda mansion rushed into her mind.

Kwang!

When the Countess Rieda threw a fireball in one of the corridors of the annex.

Remembering the terror, Ronée squeezed her eyes shut.

BOOM!

There was another explosion, followed by a burst of flames. The only way out had been blocked long ago.

‘You only need to go up to the 9th floor.’

Ronée looked up as she recalled the mages’ words. She was still on the 5th floor.

‘It’s unlikely, but if you jump out at from a lower level, you will fail the trial.’

Those who pretended to be the owners of a Shinsu often claimed that they didn’t have the confidence to jump off the ninth floor and would only climb the tower halfway.

As a result, it become a rule that the trial couldn’t be completed successfully if a participant jumped out of the tower at the halfway point.

‘…I thought everything would be fine.’

Ronée clenched her fists.

But something was wrong, she could feel it.

‘I’ll be watching.’

And Nabel wasn’t here to help her.

‘If the trial included explosions within the tower, Nabel would have told me.’

The same was true of the mages.

All I have to do is go up to the ninth floor and jump through the rough air currents.

‘You must be scared, but….’

At that moment, Ronée thought of Nabel’s expression.

‘Of course, jumping from a high place is scary.’

But he will be waiting for her at the end.

‘And above all, Bell will protect me.’

Ronée was well aware of this fact.

From an early age, even before she was aware of Bell’s existence, he protected her.

The same was true when she tripped over the railing while looking outside with Nabel and Ryne at the Rieda Mansion. Her body was thrown over the ledge and she almost lost her life.

But fortunately, Bell summoned a gust of wind to lift her to safely and put her back down in the hallway.

She was confident it would be the same this time.

“Let’s go up first.”

Squeak.

Suddenly, Ronée heard an ominous sound coming from the center of the tower.

The way downstairs had already been blocked. She had to go up as fast as she could because the fire was spreading upward.

There was no time to waste.

“Put out the fire!” Nesha screamed.

The whole situation was a mess. All the mages were summoned to help with putting out the fire regardless whether they were mages in the West or mages from the East.

“…Sister.”

Nabel clenched his teeth. For a moment, he felt like he was going insane.

‘Somehow, someway, I had to get my sister get out of there.’

Before Nabel realized it, his feet were carrying him closer to the tower..

“Your Majesty!”

Other knights, including Nesha, grabbed him to prevent him from going nearer.

“The closer you get, the more dangerous it is!!”

The remains of the building, that had already been destroyed by the explosion, was  scattered around his feet.

Nabel looked down at the charred pieces in front of him. A complicated feeling came over him when he couldn’t even tell what it was originally.

Ronée was still in the tower where the explosion occurred.

“Sister!”

Nabel kept moving toward the tower as he was unable to restrain himself any longer.

His pace gradually increased until he had begun to run.

The knights tried to drag him back.

“You can’t get any closer!!”

They held onto his precious body, an action that was against the will of the emperor, so even if they were beheaded as a punishment, there was nothing they could say to defend themselves.

But it was the responsibility of the knights to protect their master from danger, even if that danger was himself. 

The tower would be a danger to anyone.

The fierce flames filling the space inside the tower could be seen from outside the window.

“Why are you just standing there? Do something!” Nesha screamed. 

As soon as the explosion broke out, the mages skilled in divine water magic were ready to take action. But, there was another factor obstructing them.

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“We can’t use any magic to put out the fire from outside. The center of the tower has already weakened and tilted. And if we accidentally do something wrong, the tower could collapse due to shock from the magic..”

Then what about Miss Ronée? She’s still trapped inside the tower.

Nabel clenched his teeth.

‘I always thought…’

‘I didn’t need anything like the owner of a Shinsu.’

‘It didn’t matter what status you had or what I needed to do to get you next to me.’

‘I just wanted you to be next to me, smiling happily while we spent the rest of our days together.’

‘For that, I held out for ten years.’

He had to save her at once. If it’s impossible to stop the fire from outside, there is only one way.

He had to use his position and issue orders.

“The lights on the 6th floor are on, Your Majesty!” Nesha shouted.

“What?”

Nabel quickly looked back at the tower.

It was as Nesha said, the tower was lit by one more floor.

“…No way.”

‘You’re still going to ascend the tower and jump from the top?’

And then…

“The 7th floor is also lit!”

Nabel clenched his fists. The sixth and seven floors were now lit, which meant her pace was steady.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of the tower.

‘You don’t have to take the risk, why are you going to such lengths?’

He clenched his fists until they turned white.

The Mages’ Tower.

Of course, someone  had planned to harm Ronée and cast explosion magic in the tower.

They must have assumed that the evidence would have been destroyed by the explosions. Which is why they committed such a bold crime.

And the audacity to commit such a crime was fueled by their ignorance of the Iver family’s abilities.

His lips twisted into a sneer. Regardless of how they hid the evidence, Nabel was a man who would find the culprit by any means necessary.

Ting!

Before long, the lights on the eighth floor flickered on.

Coincidentally, the fire had already spread to the seventh floor. It was almost as if Ronée was being chased by the fire.

The black smoke rose and covered the eighth floor. The smoke was so thick that made it extremely difficult to see the light properly.

“…Sister.”

‘You don’t have to be the Master of a Shinsu.’

‘You have no need for such a title.’

Nabel’s gaze was fixed on the roof of the tower.

‘Just come down safely.’

At that very moment, a brilliant light illuminated the ninth floor.

-Cough-

Due to the smoke, her eyes were burning and it was harder to breathe

Whether she buried her face in Bell’s fur or leaned down, she could not free herself from dizziness.

Her clothes, which were clean and neat at the start of the trial, were now stained with black soot blown by the wind.

[9th floor]

Ronée glanced upwards at the wooden door that led to the roof.

It was already the last floor.

Squeak!

As Bell moved a little closer, the door opened wide in response to his divine magic.

She went up the stairs connected to the ceiling and arrived on the rooftop.

Since the height of the tower was immense, Ronée should have felt a cold air breezing the moment she stepped onto the roof.

But what greeted her instead was the heat of the fire that had been chasing her from the fifth floor.

Ronée grabbed Bell’s fur tightly. She couldn’t prevent her hands from trembling with anxiety.

She didn’t want to be on top of the tower when the fire finally reached the roof.

She took a deep breath just as the smoke hit her face.

Kwang!

Ronée recalled the memory of her youth when the annex in the Rieda mansion was charred black from the constant lightning strikes.

‘You’re the reason my divine magic won’t activate!’

Whenever the Countess’ divine magic would fail, she would blame everything on Ronée. As a child, she escaped the Countess’ rage numerous times, much to her stepmothers dismay. 

“Oh my god!”

Had it not been for the maid, who was killed by the Countess’ magic, she would have continued to run away.

When she managed to learn how to avoid the lightening spells thrown by the Countess, there was a maid who had just entered the mansion.

She was a new maid from a commoner family, who had not yet heard the rumors about her properly.

Since then, Ronée decided that it was better to suffer than to be chased down.

She even gave up running away whenever she saw the Countess.

Memories of the past began to flood her mind.

The memories started to dominate her thoughts, just as the black smoke gradually grew thicker and obscured her vision.

Kyaang!

Then the piercing sound of Bell’s cry rang through the rooftop.

A strong breeze whipped around Ronée, blasting away the suffocating smoke and blistering heat in an instant.

At first, Ronée thought the wind was caused by the air currents, however, the soft, glowing Bell shook his tail as if to reassure her. When she observed this, Ronée hugged him tightly as a reward.

As if he had read her mind, Bell approached the edge of the roof. There was no railing to prevent anyone from falling, perhaps to make it easier for the owner of a Shinsu to jump off.

The lower floors were still engulfed in flames. The fire was spreading at high speed and would soon reach the ninth floor.

The heat was blocked by a blue dome-like shield, which was created by Bell, but there was no guarantee of how long it would last.

Whoosh.

Once again, when the wind blew and the smoke surrounding the tower was removed.

In no time, the people wandering around the base of the tower could  be seen clearly by Ronée.

Among them, at the forefront, was a man wearing a red cloak.

With his gorgeous blonde hair, his eyes were locked on where she was standing.

She couldn’t see his expression because the distance was too great. However, she could see a group of knights clad in black, struggling to pull him away fro the tower.

“……Nabel.”

He was keeping his promise to her.

‘I’ll watch until the very end. I’ll be waiting for the moment you come down.’

Ronée looked down.

Beyond the visible flames, the ground was far below. If an ordinary person jumped from this height, they would not survive.

Kking…

At that moment, Bell rubbed his face against Ronée’s cheek.

She believed in Bell. And she also trusted Nabel.

“……This is the only way.”

Even with this knowledge, she was still nervous.

Standing at the edge, her hair whipped around her face as the violent air currents blew gusts of wind over the rooftop. There wasn’t a mage in existence with the ability to use flight magic to navigate through the turbulent winds on the ninth floor.

With the exception of the Master of a Shinsu.

Ronée was considerably anxious.

She was certain that someone was after her. If an explosive device was installed, she was certain that Nabel and the mages would have informed her in advance.

Even if she jumped from here and survived, someone would continue to aim for her in the future.

‘You don’t have to be nervous.’

She recalled Nabel’s low whisper, the soft touches and the red traces he left beneath her clothes.

The memory of the sweet moments they spent together made her nervous in a different sense, but strangely it was enough to dispel her fears.

‘If I jump down, I can see Nabel.’

‘We will be happier than we were in our younger days, and I can fight by his side as we face these perils and defeat all who seek us.’

“Bell.” 

At Ronée’s signal, Bell crouched low.

As she glanced down, Ronée remembered the only wish she had during her youth, something she had long forgotten.

Ronée was no longer willing to sacrifice her desires, or fear that the joy she experienced everyday would be snatched away forever.

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She relished her time with Nabel.

And she never wanted to be separated from him again.

This trial was a step towards that. 

She held onto Bell tightly.

Bell sprang forward into the air as Ronée’s eyes swung downward.