Escolleia (3)
Reed was laughing.
Dolores also laughed with a mix of anger and relief.
Could it be that embarrassment came belatedly?
Dolores unconsciously shrank her body.
Reed sensed that and asked Dolores.
"Why are you doing that?"
"I... am a fool, right?"
"Huh?"
"I'm pathetic, right? A woman who is known as the Master of the Wallin Tower, who is so strict... I can't even speak properly about something so insignificant..."
Realizing that she had been deluding herself, Dolores felt like dying.
She is smart.
When a problem arises, she is a strong leader who can coldly discard what needs to be discarded and save what can be saved.
Feeling pathetic that such a woman was swept away by emotions.
"No, it's just a misunderstanding caused by me not telling you many things."
Reed's fault.
His excuse was good.
Dolores spoke with a bitter smile.
"Still, it's entirely my fault. As you became close with the owner of the Black Sky Tower and more women appear around you... I felt like I was nothing special... and I got a little jealous..."
But as much as Reed didn't know Dolores.
Dolores didn't know Reed's innermost thoughts either.
"Wallin Tower Master, no, Dolores."
"Yes. Yes?"
Dolores was surprised by him calling her name.
"I should apologize."
"Wh-what are you talking about? Why apologize suddenly...?"
"I thought there was no more resentment between us. I thought there were no more misunderstandings. But I couldn't read your emotions."
"It's not... exactly... like that..."
Dolores hesitated once more and rolled her eyes.
That was Dolores.
A genius of magic but a fool who couldn't even express her opinions properly.
So Reed spoke clearly to her.
"If you have something you want from me, tell me."
"Something I want?"
"Isn't it both atonement and to repay for taking good care of our daughter?"
It had been like that until now.
Reed had done nothing for Dolores, and Dolores didn't expect any reward from him.
In fact, she hadn't even thought about the reward itself.
'What I... want from Oppa?'
Even the smart Dolores was at a loss for words.
It felt as if she was standing in the middle of a desert.
But that place was not a barren land of death.
When she looked down at her feet, it was not sand but gold that filled the ground.
It wasn't that she didn't have any desires, but that there were too many.
Unknowingly, Dolores was twirling her hair with her index finger.
"Ah, um..."
It wasn't as if Rosaria was yawning, but she dragged her words and leaned her head on Reed's shoulder.
She had sleepy eyes half-open.
"Did you wake up?"
"Yes. And I solved everything..."
"You solved it?"
Reed and Dolores were surprised and looked at the paper she handed over.
Seeing that paper with clear drool marks on it...
Their expressions became doubtful.
Even though Dolores was smart, it was impossible to tell whether she had solved it or not.
On her paper, there were stick figures of people drawn.
Up to that point, it seemed like a child's drawing, but there were three people in the drawing.
If you count the numbers, it's the correct answer, but if you look at the picture, it's a coincidence.
It could be a coincidence for a simple child, but Rosaria has monstrous abilities.
Both Dolores and Reed were pondering whether she had really solved it or not.
"Rosaria, what does this mean?"
As Reed asked, Rosaria, rubbing her sleepy eyes, replied.
"Well, there are... three people. This is dad, this is me, and this is Unni."
"What does that have to do with the answer?"
Then, Rosaria's head tilted, and she answered with a dazed smile.
"I guess... I don't know."
Such a harmful little creature.
Reed pulled Rosaria's cheek, who had her eyes half-opened.
"Ow... Ouch, why? Ugh?"
"Next time, don't say strange things to your unni and cause misunderstandings, got it?"
"Uh-huh..."
Hearing her reply, Reed let go of her cheek.
Rosaria fully woke up from her sleep, touching her cheeks with both hands.
Reed looked at Dolores and said.
"If you can't think of what you want, you don't have to answer right away. Take your time to think about it."
"Yes."
Dolores nodded shyly.
As Rosaria had woken up, they moved to another classroom.
'What I want to do...'
Dolores was lost in memories, looking at Reed's back.
Dolores and Reed were classmates.
When Reed entered the school at the age of 20, along with other ordinary geniuses, Dolores passed the entrance exam at the very young age of 11.
She caught the eye of Anton, the Archmage and Dean, and even before her freshman year began, she became his apprentice and learned magic.
[T/N: Changed Principal to Dean, for Anton]
Since she was a prodigy among prodigies, it was virtually impossible for her to live in the same dorm as the ordinary Reed.
'I had so many things I wanted to do.'
Whether it was on-campus or off-campus.
Although they couldn't openly announce it due to school regulations, it was common for men and women to fall in love when they gathered in one place.
Eating together, studying in the library, comforting each other while complaining, and holding hands while walking through the school grounds...
Even though Dolores was smart, she studied hard for four years while gaining strength from her resolutions and fantasies of someday doing such things with her fiancé, Reed.
However, everything shattered as soon as they graduated.
That's because Reed declared their engagement over right in front of her.
The fragments of wishes that had been carefully stored in the drawer of wounds called heartache.
Could she not piece together those shattered pictures now?
'It's only me who loses if I keep acting like a fool.'
She realized it from this incident.
She can't just hope for him to come closer.
She must approach first and make him see her.
Recalling her pathetic self who hated him because of the misunderstanding, she filled her eyes with determination.
Dolores stood beside Reed, who was following her.
And without saying anything, she continued to walk with him.
'Walking together in the school grounds.'
Even though it was just walking side by side, Dolores felt happy just thinking about it.
It was a timid step, but she had taken one step in her own way.
As they were walking together, they encountered magicians from the workshop coming from the opposite side.
Ziegheil and the other chief magicians looked at them and tilted their heads.
"The atmosphere is strangely different."
"You're right."
"What do you mean?"
Reed asked about their mumbling.
"Just a while ago, you two seemed like you would tear each other apart, but now why are you acting like nothing happened?"
"No, the owner of the Wallin Tower was the one trying to tear each other apart, and the owner of the Silence Tower was like, 'What's going on?'"
"Yeah, that's the feeling. It was as if there was a big issue between the two of you."
At those words, Reed felt embarrassed.
Could they really be the magicians dispatched to Escolleia?
While Reed was admiring their observation skills, Dolores, far from being flustered, spoke firmly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but if you're slandering that the tower masters have a bad relationship, you should stop it now."
She cut it off without any hesitation.
The workshop magicians nodded their heads as they looked at her face.
"Well... if you don't know, what can you do?"
"Yeah, there's nothing you can do if you don't know."
They had no intention of retracting their observations.
Reed tried to change the subject to escape this uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Where are the workshop magicians headed?"
"We're going to the Mana Manipulation Testing Ground where this year's graduates are gathered."
"Since we're here now, it seems like the dispatched people want us to take a look at them. Would you like to come with us?"
Upon hearing that, Dolores looked up at Reed.
With a strict and serious expression, the unmistakable face of a tower master, she suggested to Reed.
"Let's go as well. If there are talented individuals with excellent mana manipulation skills, we need to pay attention to them."
"Let's do that."
Reed and Dolores changed their course and headed to the magic arena.
Reed glanced over and looked at her.
Feeling Reed's gaze, she turned her head, and their eyes met.
Dolores' face turned bright red as she spoke.
"Why... why?"
"No reason."
He wanted to pinch her cheek.
He desperately suppressed the desire to pinch her cheek.
