# 49
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“Rumours?”
“Miss Elinor is said to be seeing many men besides you... What, didn't you know?”
Cornelia frowned as she saw Matthias' stunned expression.
“I thought you knew for sure.”
“Tell me everything you know in detail.”
“Lately, there has been talk among the maids about Miss Elinor. They say she sneaks out of her room every night to meet the men.”
"prattle."
Matthias confirmed firmly.
“A woman doesn’t trust anyone to leave her child with him, including me. She spends her whole day taking care of the child without stopping, so how can she meet men?”
“I think the same way, but the problem is that these rumors are spreading among the maids. No, if you had made a quick decision from the beginning, there would not have been any problem.”
Matthias frowned in response to Cornelia's accusation.
Rumor has it that Miss Elinor meets men every night?
He knew it was false rumors that didn't deserve a response, but he felt extremely annoyed.
* * *
While the banquet was in full swing, Elinor was not in her room.
"Wow! Kiah!"
“Haha, are flowers sexy?”
It was in the greenhouse that Matthias had told her about.
Getting there was easy.
Since Matthias had told the servants beforehand, no one stopped her.
Moreover, the greenhouse in the west was the special place that Cornelia cherished.
Elinor was able to be alone with the child without followers.
No, now three.
“You came?”
“Ellie!”
A red circle appeared in the still air of the greenhouse, and a man stepped out.
The man with swaying red hair was as tall as Mathias.
The man hugged Elinor tightly.
“I missed you. Why did you call now?”
“I was a little busy during this period.”
“You didn't call first, I didn't know where you were.”
Because if you knew where I was, you would have run to me right away.
A few days ago, the red hair ribbon Elinor cut off was equipped with a charm that transferred her current location to the Lord of the Wizards' Tower.
Elinor smiled at the Master of the Tower of Wizards, Agares, whom she had finally met.
“Were you okay during this time?”
"No, I wasn't feeling well. The Emperor was bothering me a little. And you, Ellie…?"
“Hugh, woah!”
The child, sandwiched between Elinor and Agares, began to cry, as if he was uncomfortable.
Agares' eyebrows drew an arch.
“You have a baby now?”
“It's my sister's baby.”
said Elinor, patting the child on the back.
"Due to certain circumstances, I'm the one taking care of him. Didn't Mikael tell you?"
“I didn't hear anything.”
Miquel was Agares' personal secretary, who assisted Elinor in her first escape.
It is unlikely that Mikel, as meticulous as he is, did not pass on the news.
'I might have told him, but he didn't listen carefully.'
Agaris Esial, the greatest wizard in the history of the Masters of the Tower of Wizards, possesses immense magical power.
There were many rumors surrounding him, but the most popular was that angering him should be avoided at all costs.
'He's a mad dog. Even if the King of Hell returned, he would be less terrifying than the Tower Lord.'
‘If you make a mistake with him once, he will harass you to death.’
He was arrogant and difficult.
The worst tower master in history in terms of personality.
Despite the terrifying rumors surrounding him, only a few had met the Tower Master directly.
He was elusive and free-wheeling, rarely appearing even at public events.
But, paradoxically, his character was an opportunity for Elinor.
'You don't have an ounce of magic power, so how can you understand magic like this?'
One day, Agares suddenly appeared before Elinor while she was researching the academy.
It had come about after reading a research paper I had submitted.
Agares, driven by his own interests, took an interest in Elinor's accomplishments.
This became an opportunity for Elinor to deal with the Wizards Tower constantly.
Since the Mage Tower operates as a one-man dictatorship, winning favor with Agaris means gaining the tower's protection.
'The problem is that this friendliness has increased to the point that he now wants to include me in the Mage Tower.'
If there had not been a need to seek help regarding the child, she would not have reached out to Agares.
“Strange, he looks a lot like you, Ellie.”
Agares bent down and examined the child from every angle.
“I liked his red eyes.”
"Maybe he inherited it. My father's eyes are red too."
"Hmm. Ororo, peekaboo!"
When Agares tried to play with the child, the eyes of the child in Elinor's lap widened.
But he quickly pressed his lips together and began to cry loudly.
“Hugh, woah!”
Agares pursed his lips in amusement.
“He hates me so much.”
“It's okay, stop. He's not a scary person.”
Elinor tried hard to calm the baby, but his crying would not stop.
What if a maid came to the greenhouse now?
As Elinor looked anxiously toward the doorway, Agares tapped his fingers.
“Wah-um.”
A pacifier appeared in the mouth of the child, who was crying loudly.
The baby looked surprised for a moment, but then stopped crying and started sucking on the pacifier normally.
Elinor sighed.
“Thanks. I should have gotten the pacifier from the room.”
“Kids are really annoying.”
Agares looked at the child with the eyes of a rare creature.
“But I think I know why he's crying like that.”
“Because he is afraid of strangers?”
“No. Doesn’t he have holy power?”
Elinor's mouth opened in shock at the immediately correct answer.
“How did you know...? Did you feel something?”
“Templar men usually revolt when they see me. I felt like this child was similar.”
Did he only find out because of this?
Should I say he has good intuition or good luck?
“Agares, since we’re on the subject… I have a request.”
"What is it?"
“Can you temporarily hide the child’s sacred power?”
Agares' head tilted.
“Holy power?”
“There are circumstances that make it necessary to hide it. Is this possible?”
"It's possible, of course. But he'd hate it so much."
Agares gently touched the child's arm.
When the baby looked like he was going to cry again, Elinor quickly calmed him down.
“Look, he hates me even to the touch.”
“…However, we must do it.”
Since she had not met Charlotte yet, if the child was discovered to have sacred power, he would definitely be exploited.
“Help me, please. You're the only one I can ask for help.”
Elinor whispered urgently.
Agares made a sound through his nose and leaned towards her.
“Really, I'm the only one?”
"Yes."
“Well, no one treats you as well as I do.”
"naturally."
"Good."
Agares agreed with unexpected ease.
“Since you're the one asking, I have to agree.”
He laced his fingers with Elinor's.
Elinor was a little surprised by the sudden contact but remained calm.
Agares raised the corner of his mouth in satisfaction.
“But I hope you will fulfill my request as well.”
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes, it is...”
Cut.
At that moment, a strange sound rang out that neither of them had made.
Elinor and Agares turned at the same time.
Elinor's eyes widened.
“Mother of the child, what are you doing here?”
Matthias, who had entered unnoticed, was smiling with eerie elegance at close range.
* * *
Rumors say that Eleanor meets men every night.
Matthias hesitated throughout the banquet whether he should tell Elinor what he had heard.
'I shouldn't tell her.'
These are rumors that will only make her feel bad.
Even he, who was not the person in question, felt in such a bad mood, how would Elinor herf feel?
She already has a lot to worry about because of the baby, and this will cause her extra stress.