A table on the balcony.
The three of them sat there and enjoyed a light teatime.
The original plan had been to have a brief conversation with Theodore and then return to the castle.
But with Vivian joining, that plan went up in smoke.
This was because Vivian had asked to have tea as though it were perfectly natural, and Theodore agreed that it was a good idea.
Rosenta had no veto power.
"Haaaa."
Yawns kept coming out.
No matter how much he tried to stay alert, his eyes kept getting sore and tired.
Vivian carefully asked him if he was all right, worried by his appearance.
"Rosen, are you tired?"
"A little bit."
He smiled half-heartedly and stretched his stiff neck.
Perhaps because Rosenta looked so tired, Vivian turned and spoke to Theodore with a sullen face.
"Should we have not held him here?"
But Theodore dismissed Vivian's words.
A line was drawn.
"Vivian, ‘we’ didn’t hold him here, you did."
"Didn't Your Majesty agree to teatime?"
"I did agree, although it was you who asked."
The two of them were bickering. As usual, the children were having a childish fight.
It was obvious that they were picking on each other because they were bored.
Rosenta shook his head.
"I have a headache because of you two."
"Oh! We can’t have that!"
Vivian was startled and put something into his mouth.
It was a small cookie.
In an instant, the taste of sweet butter and chocolate spread across his mouth.
He couldn't speak because of the cookie, so he opened his eyes wide and looked at Vivian.
Then, Vivian smiled brightly with her dimples on full display.
"What do you think? Doesn't eating sweet cookies make your head hurt less?"
Vivian was copying his behavior. Just like when he recommended Vivian cookies before.
It was very lovely.
He closed his eyes and faced Vivian with a friendly smile.
"Oh! That's right!"
Vivian suddenly clapped her hands, as if something had come up.
Clap.
She jumped out of her seat and began to spin.
She kept spinning and asked him.
"What do you think?"
The white lace hanging from the red dress fluttered in the wind. Like white flowers falling.
Rosenta could see why Vivian spun so hard.
"You’re wearing my present."
It was definitely the dress he’d sent.
It seems she’d worn it to the Imperial Palace as soon as she received it via the delivery service today.
"That's right!"
Vivian continued to nod.
She then sat back in her chair and tucked her pink hair, which was tickling her face, behind her ear.
"Delivery, was it? A carriage calling itself a private transportation business came and delivered it, so I was doubtful...…. It really was a gift from Rosen."
In the letter, he revealed that he was "investing" in this business.
But he didn't say it directly.
For a moment, Rosenta debated whether or not to explicitly tell these two that he was investing in the business.
‘Well, it shouldn’t matter if I tell them.’
As soon as he was about to speak, someone suddenly interrupted him and made him keep his mouth shut.
"It's a gift...….”
Theodore interrupted the conversation. He sounded sulky, too.
"I gave Vivian these clothes as a gift...….”
He stopped talking and stared at Rosenta.
His golden eyes were full of dissatisfaction.
Rosenta felt like he was discriminating against his friend for some reason. Without realizing it, he turned his eyes away.
Theodore then wrinkled his nose and opened his mouth again.
"Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever received a gift of clothes from you."
Was that true?
Rosenta thought about it. Vivian was often given dresses but...….
It seemed Theodore was indeed excluded.
Rosenta shook his head and accepted the truth of Theodore’s words.
"But I don't think Your Majesty has ever given me a gift either."
"What? On your birthday...….”
‘I knew you were going to bring this up.’
Therefore, he cut off Theodore's words and answered proudly with his chin raised.
"I also give gifts on Your Majesty's birthday. Vivian often gives me presents so it’s only right that I give them, too."
Regardless of whether he liked it or not, he didn't want to one-sidedly receive from Vivian every time.
As a result, whenever he went somewhere, he would select gifts for Vivian along the way.
It was odd.
Theodore had known about this for years and was suddenly complaining.
Rosenta had a smile on his face.
He jokingly asked Theodore,
"Are you jealous?"
At his question, Vivian nodded as if she was in agreement.
"Are you jealous? Your Majesty is older than us but acting like a child."
"A child...…. I see."
Contrary to their expectations, Theodore lowered his eyes seriously.
Even the answer was serious.
"I must have become a child. I’m becoming so jealous of everything that you usually do."
***
A land in the east, hidden by several layers of magic, the Magic Tower.
It was built in the form of six towers surrounding the dwellings where ordinary mages lived.
The six towers. They were the residences, laboratories, and warehouses of the sages.
[t/n: This was a bit confusing, but the sages are the best mages, the regular mages live in houses between the towers. The Tower Lord is the best sage.]
It was also called the indestructible tower.
However, black smoke and flames were burning in five of the towers.
"Is this the last magical tower?"
The only tower left.
The situation here was not much better.
There was no smoke, but the inside was in a terrible state.
The stone walls of the tower had collapsed here and there, and several people fell to the floor and screamed.
If there was a living hell, it would be like this.
"Ugh, Ugh, Ugh. Spa, spare me...….”
"Please spare me……. Please, please!"
They all begged one man.
A man with black hair who looked down at people with brutal light green eyes.
It was Enoch.
And by Enoch's side was Lysander, who was grinning.
"The mage hiding among the people over there is the sage here."
Lysander's role was simple.
He picked out the hidden sages and offered them to Enoch.
In the days before coming there, he’d handed over information about the sages to Enoch without missing any details.
In addition, he also told him about the dirty side of the tower, which no one outside knew.
As Enoch was, underprivileged children were still being abused.
"What about the kids you're raising?"
He approached the sage lying on his stomach.
Enoch forced him to lift his head by pulling it up using a handful of his hair.
His neck was bent to almost 90 degrees.
But he didn't groan at all, as if he didn't feel any pain.
The sage only looked at Enoch with a white face, as if he had forgotten how to breathe.
Then, he managed to open his mouth. He fumbled and begged for his life.
"Yes, you’re the boy who once killed a sage and ran away...…. I'll release your status as a fugitive...….”
"What about the kids?"
Enoch cut him off.
He asked the same question as before.
He had very frightening eyes.
He would die regardless, but it would be a less painful death if he spoke.
The sage gave up.
"Well, there...….”
As soon as he pointed to the 'warehouse', he was consumed by Enoch.
To be precise, Enoch's blue mana.
It was instantaneous. The sage lost all his magic and died without time to panic.
The mages helping the sage in the tower looked at Enoch dumbfounded.
Lysander realized it again.
He was a mage of overwhelming power who could not be touched, and who only appeared once every 100 years.
"Since the sage of the sixth tower has just died...…. Congratulations on becoming the lord of the Magic Tower."
Lysander congratulated Enoch.
Originally, the title of Lord of the Magic Tower was a title held by the most outstanding of sages.
However, since they were all exterminated, it was natural for Enoch to fill the vacancy.
Enoch stared down Lysander, who was more pleased than he was.
Then walked past him.
He had no greed for a seat on the throne. Enoch's attention was focused on something else.
"Open the warehouse."
Enoch's deep voice, as if reciting a sweet melody, was heard.
Then a wizard, who was still in good shape, crawled out.
"I'll open it, then."
He opened the door of the warehouse.
At the same time as the door was opened, there was a putrid smell that stung his nose.
In fact, the floors and walls were covered with all kinds of filth and mold.
"Nothing’s changed."
Enoch continued to look inside the warehouse with indifferent eyes, despite the fact that he was looking for "children."
It was a place he’d passed through for a while.
Although his magic power was significant from the beginning, so Enoch was taken straight to the lab...….
It was common for orphans or children from the poor, who were in the developmental stage of their magic, to be raised here.
"There's a lot of venom in your eyes."
Enoch examined the children's eyes carefully.
Then he looked down at everyone like the king of beasts who had established his new kingdom.
"I'll save you."
Behind Enoch, the black night sky spread like a painting through the cracks of the collapsed ceiling.
Yellow-green eyes shone brightly like stars that illuminated the lightless night.
Everyone in the warehouse marveled at the sight.
A savior or a devil.
A savior who came to rescue abused children, but he seemed like a devil who instilled fear in people's minds.
"Instead, you...….”
Enoch smiled.
At first, he wanted to destroy the Magic Tower which had become a hindrance.
‘But now I've changed my mind.’
‘I will cut off the rotten upper layers and harvest the abused young beasts.’
Give them freedom but keep them under foot...….
"Swear your allegiance to me."
He decided to create a sword and shield for himself.
He didn’t intend to force them, though, because the more you oppressed young beasts, the more fiercely they would bark.
First, he gave them a choice.
"Those who don’t like it, leave here. I won't chase you."
No one volunteered to leave at Enoch's words.
In fact, they knew.
They knew that leaving the tower wouldn’t improve their lives.
‘I'll probably end up in some back alley and get kicked out or end up doing anything that makes money because I'm hungry.’
It would be the same hell.
It might be better to pledge allegiance to this tough, fascinating demon that saved them.
"Loyalty...….”
The oldest child raised himself first.
Then he bowed his head.
“……I swear."
"Please accept us...….”
Following the first child, others did the same, one by one.
That's how Enoch’s kingdom was completed.