CH 87

Xyle was discontent with himself for being disappointed by the word “friend.” He couldn’t believe that he was so easily shaken when he knew the meaning and weight of the title “Master of the Tower.” Even now, Ella’s eyes that were looking straight at him without any hesitation had grasped his heart. The deep dark blue color had mysteriously left a trace on her emerald-colored eyes as he met his eyes with hers, which blurred his understanding of his future. It felt like he was being colored by her clear-colored eyes, which differed from his bright blue eyes.

‘What? Deep dark blue? What was I thinking? Was I always this emotional?’

Xyle couldn’t stop but sigh. He always thought he was the logical type of person who always thought about numbers, information and letters first. He wasn’t the only one who thought of himself that way. Everyone who knew him thought the same. But actually, he was just a fool who knew nothing about feelings between people other than what he read from a book.

‘There’s nothing I can do even if I know now. What could I do?’

He was already the Master of the Tower. He was the watcher of secrets, the recorder, and the protector. He had to remain an emotionless person who only thought about numbers, information, and letters. Xyle reminded himself of that and thought about the unwelcome guests.

“Did you tell the Crown Prince to come see you here?”

‘I knew you’d agree in the end,’ thought Ella as she peered at him with a sulky expression. Then, her eyes, which were like a child anticipating the most interesting play in the world, looked at Xyle.

Although she didn’t want to see Cladis, she had to. Because she didn’t want to show herself to him so easily, she began her walk early in the morning today. She proudly told Xyle that she was 38 years old, but her actions today were like a child’s prank done on an urge. That urge, however, had an unexpected result. It excited her. Her shiny eyes were retracing back to the path she had come from.

“Hmm… Not really. I just left a trace all over so he could find me here. I eased Countess Setin’s worries on the way as well.”

“Oh, you mean the skilled lady who’s dying to see you debut your outdoor dress?” Xyle responded.

Ella was surprised by his acknowledgement of that and replied, “You knew? She asked when I would be going out with that dress as she was sending me a new dress. She asked me if I needed it quickly last time. She probably thought I would go out wearing it right away. I was really surprised to see those dresses she showed me when I stopped by her place today.”

She gestured to Count Setin’s tailoring shop by exaggeratingly hopping off the books. Even with her exaggerated gestures, however, it wasn’t enough to express all the hard work the Countess had done. She knew how popular Clara’s new dress was, so she believed that Ella’s new dress would gain a lot of popularity as well.

Last night, after hearing the news from her regulars, she prepared the dress more passionately. She wanted to be ready so that she wouldn’t run out of stock like Clara’s dress last time.

“You have to see her shop. Do you even understand how burdening it is? She might come to sue me for her loss if I manage to step down from the seat of the crown princess,” added Ella. She knew it wouldn’t happen, but she still shivered as if she was frightened.

“That’s all her own doing. It’s none of your concern.”

“Yes, but I don’t like seeing others experiencing a loss because of me,” said Ella.

That’s what she actually wanted to tell Xyle. She didn’t want to see him get into trouble because of her. The Magic of the Long Moonlight was the most secretive and unwelcoming of all secretive magical towers out there. Xylem was on top of it.

‘If he still can run, isn’t it right to let him go?’ wondered Ella. She had added her concern in those words while she was explaining what she had done.

“Then tell her you won’t become the crown princess.”

“Xyle! That’s easy for you to say!”

“But isn’t that obvious? It’s always easy to say that when it’s not your own problem. You should think of it like this. Don’t you think that lady is doing this without thinking about the consequences? She’ll take care of her loss. It’s too much if you’re worried about other people’s problems,” replied Xyle casually, but his eyes, which glanced at her, looked serious.

What he wanted to say to Ella was clear, ‘I’ll get away on my own, so you don’t need to worry about me.’ In the end, it was his choice that he allowed her to take advantage of him.

“You’re right,” said Ella.

“So, you came right after you stopped by the store?”

“No, that would be too easy. I stopped by a few more places.”

Xyle shook his head, watching her playful eyes that seemed to have forgotten to worry about him. It almost seemed clear what this trickster girl had done while she came here by herself on a horse. His imagination was quite accurate.

***

“Where are you going so early? Please, shouldn’t you at least tell me?”

Maylin nagged at Ella the entire time she was getting dressed. However, Ella didn’t tell her the reason. She knew how early Cladis from the novel came to her house to stay for the entire day, so she quickly got herself ready and hopped onto a horse.

‘The Countess is so skilled. She didn’t forget about my request to design the dress to make it easier to get on the horse,’ thought Ella as she smiled while getting herself on the women’s horse saddle on the back of the horse.

The dress was more comfortable than she thought. Ella, who rode the horse slowly as a test, began to speed up and got out of the estate. Then she immediately ran toward the forest by the outskirts of the capital.