Chapter 82
“If neither of us has a marriage partner a year from now, how about we just marry each other?”
At Arian’s words, Franz went blank for a moment.
Various conditions were attached, but in the end, it was no different from proposing marriage.
That was also why he couldn’t easily give an answer.
Immature romantics might make marriage promises easily, but adults who knew better couldn’t do the same.
In the needlessly awkward atmosphere, Franz looked at the high mountain range in the distance covered in snow and spoke.
“Did you drink a lot?”
“This is only my second glass.”
He didn’t know how well Arian could hold her liquor, but if it was her second glass, it was likely she was sober.
Then again, she had walked all the way here without stumbling, so that was a given.
Haa-.
Franz let out a sigh in a very quiet voice so Arian wouldn’t hear.
'Why so suddenly…'
It would be one thing if there had been signs from the start, but doing this suddenly was troubling.
He thought they had just gotten close enough to open up to each other…
If she did this, they couldn’t go back to how things were.
It was a hellish collaboration created by the two of them - Arian, who hadn’t been honest, and Franz, who was terribly dense.
To the point where if there had been someone close to them both, they would have died of frustration long ago.
“Why did you think of that? No, are you even okay with marrying me in the first place?”
Franz spoke while slowly swirling his glass.
Red wine was swaying inside the glass.
“I feel like I should get married, but I don’t really have a partner. It’s the same for you, Magic Tower Lord. So, well, it’s just something that happens between people in similar situations. And I don’t mind if it’s you, Magic Tower Lord.”
“If we get married, we’ll have kids and, well, live together and bicker… Haa-, I don’t even know what I’m saying. Anyway, you still don’t mind?”
“Yes, I don’t mind.”
Arian gave her answer without hesitation.
Franz had asked again, wondering if Arian was just blurting out thoughts she didn’t mean.
Because there had been a lot of talk about marriage lately, she might have been feeling pressured.
But seeing no hesitation in her answer, it seemed she had thought about this matter over and over again.
And in this world, it wasn’t easy for a woman to bring up the topic of marriage first, so she must have mustered a lot of courage.
Franz could no longer think of it as a joke either.
He had to seriously consider marriage with Arian.
He thought he would never have to worry about this again when Ballak canceled the arranged marriage, but how on earth did things end up like this…
'Could I really meet a woman better than Arian?'
It was a thought he’d had not long ago, but Arian was flawless as a marriage partner.
She had a good family, a pretty face, and they had spent a long time together.
It was just that he had never looked at her in that way until now.
It probably wouldn’t be easy to meet a woman better than her.
In the end, the conclusion was no different from what had already been decided.
Perhaps it had been decided the moment he blurted out that he would take responsibility for Arian.
“Well, let’s do that…”
“Does that mean…”
“Let’s do it. That promise or whatever…”
Feeling embarrassed, Franz answered in a needlessly gruff manner.
His gaze was still directed at the mountain in the distance.
One year later, and even then, it was a vague promise with the condition that neither of them had a partner.
But why was he so embarrassed? Arian, who had brought it up first, was simply amazing.
Tossing back the remaining wine in his glass, Franz slightly turned his head to look at Arian.
She was staring at him with a blank expression.
She seemed surprised that he had accepted the promise.
“Arian.”
“Y-yes?!”
“Let’s go inside. You’ll catch a cold.”
“Yes…!”
As Franz took a step, Arian naturally followed at his side.
As the two stepped inside the building from the balcony, the sound of music began to echo simultaneously through the party venue. The band prepared by the ducal house started playing.
The party continued for quite a while like that.
Even as darkness fell over the world and the night deepened, the party venue remained lively.
Although many people came and went repeatedly during that time, Franz did not suffer at the hands of the noble young ladies. He was able to enjoy the party leisurely, just as he had hoped.
Franz simply thought they had lost interest, but there was actually another reason.
With Arian sticking right by his side wearing the face of a girl in love, the young ladies couldn’t approach.
Though Franz, like a fool, was completely unaware of that fact.
The enjoyable party ended, and they were on their way back to their rooms.
“Magic Tower Lord, when are you heading back?”
Arian suddenly asked Franz.
“I’m scheduled to leave the day after tomorrow, but I’m not sure how long it will take to catch the Cultist, so it’s not certain.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, then. But are you going to catch the Cultist alone?”
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to?”
Yuna, Yustia, Hera.
The three of them would definitely accept gladly if he asked for help.
But asking for help every time something came up felt like he was being a nuisance, so he was a bit reluctant.
After all, he was the one who had received the task from Your Majesty.
“Will you be okay…? Not that I doubt your skills, Magic Tower Lord, but…”
“I’ll be fine.”
Franz gave a firm answer.
Even if the Cultist was strong, how strong could they be?
Thinking back to when he fought that guy Belphegor, Franz knew half a day would be more than enough, let alone a full one.
While conversing with Arian like that, Franz arrived in front of his room before he knew it.
“You must be tired, so get a good night’s sleep. I’ll be going now.”
“Yeah, you sleep well too.”
With that short farewell, Franz entered his room.
The door closed soundlessly, and Arian, left alone in the corridor, lingered in that spot for a while feeling a needless sense of regret before returning to her own room.
Entering his room, Franz lay down on the bed, feeling the subtle rise of tipsiness.
'What kind of guy will it be this time…'
It would be nice if it ended without any annoying trouble.
Franz closed his eyes, thinking that.
The next day, Franz woke up early in the morning and immediately prepared to head out.
He put on his usual comfortable clothes for moving around and draped the robe Arian had picked out for him over his shoulders.
“Good morning…”
As he stepped outside, Arian greeted him from the corridor.
Judging by her sleepy face, it seemed she had just woken up.
“You could have slept more. What did you come out for?”
“But you’re leaving, Magic Tower Lord, so I have to see you off…”
Was that really necessary…?
That thought crossed his mind, but he decided to keep it to himself.
It wasn’t something to say to someone who had gone out of their way to see him off.
“Be careful.”
“Yeah, I’ll be back.”
Franz reached his hand into the bag at his waist.
And he pulled out the staff he had received from the World Tree.
'It really is amazing.'
It was his first time holding the staff since that day.
But as expected, he could feel an immense power from it.
Then again, it was an item made directly by the World Tree, so that was a given.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle began to draw itself beneath his feet.
Soon, the magic circle began to glow, and his figure disappeared.
The place where he reappeared was Duke Phrygia’s mountain range, specifically halfway up the second highest peak.
Whoooosh-!
Snow covered everything in all directions, and a fierce wind blew alongside it.
Feeling his body heat escaping in an instant, Franz snapped his fingers to cast a protective shield over his body.
'How on earth are they living in a place like this…?'
No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t a place fit for human habitation.
Maybe for an animal with thick fur, but a human would never be able to endure it.
Did Belphegor spill false information by any chance…?
Perhaps he really had.
There was a possibility that the torture had been too hard to endure, causing him to just blurt out anything.
Well, in the end, he had no choice but to check for himself.
Thinking that, Franz began to send his mana out into the surroundings.
The mana rippled like waves and spread in all directions, and subsequently, the surrounding terrain was drawn in Franz’s mind.
It felt even more detailed and accurate than before, likely thanks to the World Tree’s staff.
'What in the world is this…'
From the outside, it clearly looked like nothing more than an ordinary peak, but a castle was hidden beneath the covering snow.
And a castle made of magic, at that.
And inside that castle, there were two entities emitting a foreign mana.
One had the form of a person, so that was definitely the Cultist who had created the castle.
But the other one was.
'A spearhead…?'
A spearhead.
The term refers to the bladed part attached to the end of a spear.
When Arian’s grandfather explained this peak, he had mentioned a childhood rumor.
That it soared higher and sharper because a spear was sealed there.
Perhaps that wasn’t just a simple rumor, but the truth.
Thinking that, Franz snapped his fingers and used teleport.
Soon, the place where he appeared was, naturally, inside the ice castle.