Chapter 39

Elena asked the most curious question.

How much was the cost of a portal that no one has ever bought?

“Twenty million gold.”

Unlike Lexion, who answered calmly as if nothing unusual happened, Elena’s eyes widened.

‘Twenty million gold…? I didn’t hear it wrong, did I?’

Lexion donated 10 million gold to the Magic Tower yesterday.

Even that was not a small amount of money.

It was enough money to buy several mansions in the capital.

While on that subject, he bought a portal worth 20 million gold. He paid twice the previous amount!

Halos would be the only family in the Empire that could have such money as this.

At this point, the orthodoxy of academia was that the scale of the Duke’s family was heredity.

‘It doesn’t matter since it’s not my money….’

Was it okay to just use it like that though?

Elena blankly looked up at Lexion. Then Lexion smiled mischievously.

‘Don’t smile like that!’

“Then sister, I will head back to the office for a while.”

Then he slipped into the portal.

After Lexion left, Elena sighed deeply.

If he had stayed a little longer, she was sure her face would have turned red.

Maybe it would bee redder than the color of her hair.

She then exerted herself to fan her face.

Then, Lexion came out of the portal again.

‘What? Didn’t you go to work… ?’

Besides, his clothes were quite different from before.

At present, he was wearing a white shirt and pants, plus a neat jacket.

‘It looks prettier when you wear it like that….’

Elena looked at his face as if possessed and belatedly woke up.

Fortunately, Lexion didn’t seem to notice that she was staring at him.

Looking back, the tips of Lexion’s ears were dyed red.

Also, he seemed to want to say something to her.

‘… I wonder what.’

As she tilted her head and looked up at him, Lexion pulled something out of his arms.

Then he approached her slowly and whispered.

“… I want to hear your answer from last time.”

‘What answer?’

“I think I gave you enough time.”

As soon as she heard the word “time,” she knew what he was talking about.

“Last time, I was in a rush that I forgot, but…”

What came out of Lexion’s arms was a ring with a translucent gem.

He came closer and grabbed Elena’s left hand.

“Please marry me.”

The length of ‘time’ that Lexion said and the length of ‘time’ she wanted was pletely different.

Elena had said at least three days or more, but Lexion seemed to mean two days.

Otherwise, there would be no way for him to propose to her again now.

No. It wasn’t about anything random; it was about a marriage that concerned her life and was only given two days to think!

“Hey, Lexion. Wait…”

Elena pulled back her left hand that was held by Lexion.

Then, Lexion’s bright face hardened a little.

Subconsciously, his eyes became gloomy.

“I can’t get married.”

“…….”

Lexion looked at her without saying a word. His eyes appeared pitiful as if he had been hurt.

‘What? Why are you looking like that?’

It made Elena look like a sinner!

“So… Well… I have a lot of things I want to do. I have to study. I want to study more and I want to see the world… Anyway, that’s why I don’t want to get married right now.”

At Elena’s words, Lexion seemed to be thinking about something.

Then he nodded slowly and said.

“… All right.”

Then, he put the ring he was holding in his hand back into his arms, and slowly turned to face the portal.

Just before his body pletely passed through the portal, Lexion’s low voice continued.

“But I will not give up.”

Lexion withdrew first, but he won’t give up… 

After that day, Lexion thoroughly kept his word.

He came to Elena for several days and proposed to her over and over again.

It was like having a parrot next to her.

He even gave a thoughtful marriage proposal, paying attention to what Elena had said.

“Even if you marry me, I will make it possible for you to do whatever you want. This is an oath between me and my family.”

“I will make it possible for sister to study smoothly and to see the world.”

But Elena fervently refused.

She thought it was too early. She wanted to live her life unrestricted that was why – time and time again – she refused him with varying excuses.

It felt like she was hurting Lexion every time, but she couldn’t help it.

No matter how much he allowed her to do everything, the position of ‘Duchess’ was not a place where freedom was allowed.

‘Also, the most important thing is that we are not even lovers.’

And by this time, Lexion should be aware of this.

An engagement vow with the names of the two people on it was meaningless.

In the first place, the steps were arranged incorrectly.

****

“This experiment is progressing quite quickly.”

“Yes! I think we can make a prototype soon.”

“That’s good news then.”

Elena entered the lab with Jeremy.

He would often stop by Elena’s lab, look at the experimental data and prototypes, and give her lots of helpful advice.

As the owner of the West Tower, he had a lot of work to do, but he always put Elena’s work first.

“Well, mixing it with planetium would help.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Although planetium is a rare herb, it has a memory-enhancing effect. Even just adding a single leaf can make a big difference.”

“Yes, teacher!”

Elena diligently wrote down her teacher’s words.

Time has passed since she received advice on a few medications.

“I have some spare time today. Shall we have tea together?”

“Yes.”

Elena prepared light refreshments in the kitchenette attached to the lab and sat down at the lab desk.

Tea time with Jeremy always brought stability to her heart.

She didn’t know exactly why, but it seemed like it has been a long time since she had known Jeremy.

In particular, he was always kind to her, as if she had an older brother.

“Oh, it’s kind of strange that the Archmage willingly granted Lexion permission to purchase the portal.”

“Because he’s the Duke of Halos and not anyone else. He contributed a lot to the development of our Magic Tower, didn’t he? Even the Archmage emphasized that point.”

She knew it. In the end, it was a victory for the capital.

“But I hear she hasn’t given anyone permission to purchase the portal so far.”

“They said she gave permission once about 50 years ago.”

“Really?”

Jeremy nodded and explained.

“I heard that he is not from the Soleth Empire, but from a kingdom that exists in the ‘Black Continent’.”

‘The Black Continent.’

The name of the continent where the Soleth Empire was currently located was the ‘White Continent.’

The Black Continent was located to the south of the White Continent, and it was known that several hundred years ago, it was the place where monsters first appeared.

At one time, Elena heard that there were a lot of powerful demons running wild and there were hardly any people, but it was said that the game changed about a hundred years ago.

However, the distance was quite far, so there was not much information about the Black Continent.

‘At the same time, the Archmage made a deal with the Kingdom of the Black Continent….’

According to rumors, the Archmage of the Magic Tower had lived for hundreds of years.

‘I don’t know if it’s true or false.’

If it was true, her friendship with the Black Continent also made sense.

“By the way, it seems that Duke Halos visits the tower frequently these days.”

Jeremy laughed softly.

His smile was so refreshing, it felt like fresh juice.

‘My teacher is such a forthright person.’

“Yes. After installing the portal, he came more often.”

“He seems to have a lot of affection for Elena the same as when he was a child.”

‘… It’d be nice if there was only a child’s affection.’

Tea time with Jeremy was short.

“Then do your research hard.”

Elena went out into the hallway to see Jeremy off from the lab.

“Yes. As always, thank you, teacher.”

She greeted Jeremy with a bright smile, who encouraged her until the end.

Jeremy then gently hugged Elena and left.

Since Elena was young, Jeremy and she have hugged each other each time they succeeded in experiments or came up with innovative ideas; so it felt more like a familial hug than a touch between the opposite sex.

It was warmer.

With a smile on her lips, Elena was about to enter the lab.

But at that moment, she felt someone behind her.

When she turned her head, she saw Lexion.

“… Sister.”

Lexion must have been in the hallway.

After the portal was created, Lexion stayed in her laboratory all the time and did not particularly wander around the tower.

So, she couldn’t help but be surprised by such a sudden meeting.

Elena stared at him with her eyes wide open.

Somehow, his eyes felt cold today.

‘… Why are you being like that?’

Lexion gazed at Elena and approached her.

For some reason, she felt frightened and took a step back on her own.

She felt the lab door touching her back.

Seeing she could no longer able find a place to escape, his hand quickly moved towards her and wrapped around her.

His solid forearm wrapped around her waist, pulling Elena forward.

As a result, the distance between her and Lexion grew shorter.

Close enough for their breaths to mingle.

Elena stopped breathing for a moment.

Then, a low but trembling voice was heard.

“… Did your type change while I was away?”