Chapter 06
To Neya, the two of them looked quite close. Just sitting across from each other and sharing something to eat was enough.
Even if it was alcohol, and both of their faces were bright red because of it.
“Calling them friends… is a bit…”
Shane hesitated to answer.
Azure and Gary were indeed quite close, but calling them friends felt ambiguous.
At one time, Azure and Gary had been closer to enemies than anything else.
Azure had a fiancé. And she also had a childhood friend she grew up with.
Her fiancé, Theodor, and her childhood friend, Lydia. And now, the two of them were engaged to each other.
That’s right—Azure had, in an instant, lost both her fiancé and her childhood friend. Because of that blasted thing called love.
The reason Gary and Azure started clashing so often was that a subtle tension had begun between Lydia and Theodor.
Fueled by the thought that her fiancé had been taken away, Azure became consumed with rage and began committing all sorts of cruel acts against Lydia. Before those acts could harm Lydia, it was Gary who intervened.
Azure and Gary had never gotten along well to begin with. Of course—they were enemies by nature. Azure disliked Lydia, and Gary had feelings for her.
Gary did everything he could for Lydia: stayed by her side when she was struggling, protected her from danger, treated her kindly, and always supported her unconditionally.
He always acted for Lydia’s sake, yet it all ended with Lydia smiling at Theodor’s side and saying a single line:
“Gary, I’m glad to have a friend like you.”
It was a cruel line, drawn so sharply.
In the end, Gary never even confessed his feelings, and his devoted unrequited love was forcibly ended.
And, ironically, that was what eventually allowed him to become friends with Azure—the very person he had fought with so much.
A sense of camaraderie grew between them, and they often drank together like this.
The problem was that the bond was forged by heartbreak.
“Why do you go to the one who made you cry instead of the one who made you laugh? Lydia, I loved you, but I have no idea what your taste is!”
“You just spoiled her like a pushover, so she got tired of it, didn’t she?”
“That’s unfair! I loved her and treated her well—what’s wrong with that?!”
Gary slammed the table in despair.
“I’m already stressed over the heir situation, and that blasted Lydia still doesn’t get forgotten! No, sorry for swearing! Lydia, I wasn’t cursing you, I was cursing myself!”
“Hey, at least you have the Mage Tower. I’m broke! Let’s see how well Theodor eats and lives after leaving me!”
“He’ll probably eat well and live fine! He’s the Crown Prince and his fiancée!”
“Exactly! We’re the only ones screwed! Ahaha, I failed in love and ruined everything else!”
Azure laughed like she had gone mad. Gary did too.
“Looking at this, I guess even hatred has some affection in it.”
“Mom’s crying.”
Shane and Neya leaned against the railing of the second floor, watching the scene.
The next morning, Gary slowly opened his eyes on the sofa.
Sitting up, he pressed a hand to his throbbing head. He felt as if his insides had been turned upside down.
“Ugh… my head…”
“Here’s some water!”
At Gary’s muttering, Neya promptly held out a cup of water.
“…?”
Even this early in the morning, Neya was dressed in her outing clothes. Gary looked at her in confusion.
“…Who’s this kid?”
“Don’t you remember what happened?”
Shane was baffled by her question. Gary must have been quite drunk when he came to this house.
Like Neya, Shane was also neatly dressed even in the morning. Of course, he always was.
Azure, on the other hand, lay face-down on the table with a blanket over her. She must have fallen asleep immediately after drinking, still wearing yesterday’s clothes, her hair in disarray.
“Your Highness, you should get up too.”
“Don’t talk to me… I feel like throwing up…”
Azure’s weak voice suggested she was suffering from the same hangover as Gary.
“My lord of the Mage Tower, drink the water!”
“….”
At Neya’s insistence, Gary reluctantly took the cup and muttered to himself.
“I woke up and there was a kid here… thought I slept somewhere else…”
“Me too.”
Azure quietly agreed. Both of them had had a rather chaotic first encounter with Neya.
Gary blushed slightly, remembering his behavior from yesterday.
“Sorry, uncle wasn’t in his right mind yesterday. What’s your name again?”
“Neya! I’m seven years old, and I’m Katsha.”
“Oh, so you’re her.”
Gary already knew that Katsha would be staying here as a gift from the Duke. He had visited this house often enough.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gary.”
“I know! You’re the lord of the Mage Tower!”
“Hmm… did I say that yesterday?”
Gary barely remembered anything from the previous day, so he was confused.
Seeing Gary treat Neya kindly, Azure said in surprise:
“What? You like kids?”
“Not really…”
Gary had no experience with children, so he couldn’t even say he liked or disliked them. The only memories he had were of kids running away in fear whenever they saw him. He never had a chance to grow fond of them.
“Strangely, kids seem to dislike me. I don’t know why.”
“You’ll know why if you look in the mirror.”
Shane replied kindly. Gary glared at him.
“Ugh, never mind. Azure, where’s the book I left here before?”
“You left more than a few books, how am I supposed to know?”
“The one with a silver leather cover.”
“Here it is.”
Gary took the book from Shane, opened it, and lay back down again, acting as if this was his own home. Azure looked at him, stunned.
“Not going home?”
“There’s still some liquor left from yesterday. I’ll finish it tonight.”
“Are you staying here all day?”
“I’ll even be here tomorrow.”
Gary answered as if it were obvious. Azure was exasperated.
Neya quietly watched Gary. Eventually, she blinked and tugged at his sleeve.
“Um, lord of the Mage Tower.”
“Hm?”
“I heard you’re really busy. Is it okay if you don’t work?”
Neya had heard from Hue that the lord of the Mage Tower had many responsibilities. Hue, being highly skilled in magic, often shared stories about the Mage Tower with her.
“Haha, this lord of the Mage Tower is so competent that he finished everything he had to do in advance!”
“What do you mean by competent?”
“Extremely smart and cool!”
“Wow…!”
Neya’s blue eyes sparkled. She shouted excitedly:
“Cool lord of the Mage Tower!”
“Yeah, you can call me that from now on!”
“Great, now there are two noisy ones…”
Azure muttered irritably at the sight.
“Neya, you don’t need to play with him. Come here. It’s time to leave.”
“Yes!”
At Shane’s call, Neya ran straight to him.
“So dressed up even in the morning… where are we going?”
“I need to buy some things for Neya, so we’ll go to the nearby town.”
“Then take him too.”
Azure pointed at Gary.
“…?”
Gary blinked in surprise at being suddenly chosen.
“Me… why?”
“Because he’s in the way.”
“Wha—”
Before he could protest, Neya’s expectant expression caught his attention.
“Will you come with me too, lord of the Mage Tower?”
“….”
Seeing her face, how could he refuse? Gary ruffled his hair and got up.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
“Looks like we got a porter.”
Shane seemed pleased as well. With Gary’s magic, they could travel without using a carriage, making the outing much easier.
Shane then turned to Azure:
“We’ll also have lunch outside, so we’ll be a little late.”
“Oh, okay.”
“The maid will come soon, so make sure you have breakfast and lunch.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Azure waved her hand as if to say she understood, eager for them to leave quickly.
Shane gave a concerned look at Azure, then left the house with Neya.
