Life as a Tower Maid: Locked up with the Prince

Chapter 197

Translator: Yonnee

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In his disbelief, little Albert opened and closed his mouth many times before he finally spoke.

“What brings you here, Master?”

“You told me to come here and hang out with you, so I made some time to visit.”

Speaking politely, the man walked closer to Albert.
As I observed him closer, the man looked a bit unique.

With bobbed hair that looked quite good on him, there was a rather androgynous atmosphere to him.
Rather than saying that he had a good physique, it would be more apt to say that he seemed a little thin.

Despite that, with the corners of his eyes raised like a cat’s eyes and stiffly closed lips, he gave off a sharp impression that made it clear that he should not be underestimated.

As much as the man caught my eye though, my gaze gravitated towards the little black dragon beside him as well.

Smiling, the man picked up the black dragon cub and carried it in his arms.

“It’s been a while since you last met Noir[1], right?”

The little black dragon, or Noir, bowed to Albert, who was in turn rather aloof towards the dragon.

“…Really, why are you here?”

“Really, haven’t I been invited by you, Young Count, my student?”

The man replied while hugging Noir.
Albert, of course, did not let go of the matter easily.

Shrugging as he looked at Albert, the man eventually confessed to the truth.

“My ordeal is just around the corner, so I came here to see your face one more time before going.”

At the mention of the word ‘ordeal’, I figured out the situation right away.

Albert was about to lose his teacher.

He said that his teacher had died because he couldn’t overcome the pain caused by the dragon’s transformation.

Unlike me, the man right here had a physical body.

After suffering through all that pain continuously and incessantly, the man had chosen to end his own life.

A thousand emotions were like a whirlwind in my mind.
The man in front of me now did not know what the future had in store for him.

I didn’t know what kind of expression to make.

As I was puzzled and half in a daze, the man pointed directly at me and spoke.

“So, when will I be able to be introduced to the person next to you?”

His words made my eyes go wide.

He could see me? The moment I thought so, the man plopped Noir into Albert’s arms and asked the boy a favor.

“I just remembered, Young Count, but I’ve been meaning to buy a hat from that store over there.
Would you mind getting one for me?”

The way that the man treated Albert was exactly as how an adult would treat a child.
However, he spoke to Albert with utmost politeness, complete with addressing Albert formally with his title, too.
Besides that, he spoke so elegantly that no fault could be found in his words.

The man looked troubled as he asked Albert this favor, brows knitted in the middle.
As he met eyes with Albert, he soon nodded.

“It’s because I’d like to have a chat with your guest.”

When his teacher gently admitted it, Albert looked rather relieved before he moved away.

From the way Albert left my side just like that, I could feel just how much he trusted this man.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve met a fellow dragon contractor.
It’s a pleasure to meet you—I’m Emmett.”

Emmett reached out to me.

“Hello, I’m Jung-in.”

Albert was supposed to be the only one who could see me, but how could he be an exception to that?

“But… How can you see me?”

“It’s because I’m the one who created the magic circle to make this possible.”

“…Pardon?”

I asked with a blank expression, but the man grinned back.

“The bracelet you’re wearing is something I made as I was yearning to see my lover.
Let’s see… I believe it was 350 years ago that I made it.
I could feel Albert’s magic emanating from it, so it seems like he became quite the spectacular mage in the future.”

What the man said just now was strange.

Ever so casually, he was talking about something that happened three centuries in the past and far ahead in the future.

What the heck was up with that? At his stage as a dragon contractor, he shouldn’t be sharing his dragon’s lifespan yet.

But he had clearly lived beyond normal human limitations.

“I am a sage.
I am also a dragon contractor, but before entering the contract with my little one, I was already living beyond mortal limitations, with magic beyond human capabilities.”

“…If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’ve lived for over 500 years now.”

Emmett nodded at me as my mouth gaped wide open.

Albert never really talked about his teacher in great detail, but I didn’t know he was this amazing.

I was learning so much about him that I wouldn’t have been able to know had I not come back to the past.

“How did you know that I’m a dragon contractor too?”

“Because of the pattern on the back of your hand.”

Emmet glanced at the pattern in question.

“The pattern is clearer than it’s usually supposed to be, and judging by how you look to be from a completely separate place with your different appearance, it seems like you’re currently going through your ordeal.”

His perception was formidable.
No, it’s the fact that he had lived for so long that’s formidable.

“You seem to have met quite a few people who have also gone through their ordeals, Lord Emmett.”

“That’s right.
The longer you live, the more that you see.”

Emmett admitted this passively.
I couldn’t help but think that meeting him like this was a great opportunity.

There were so many things that I still didn’t know about the ordeal I was facing.

The physical pain that I was originally supposed to go through had disappeared, but I couldn’t figure out why I was sent back to the past.

Even the time I was spending here with Albert was, so far, a series of precious moments, and that couldn’t possibly be considered an ordeal.

The time I was being granted to stay here was graciously allowing me to show Albert what happiness truly is.

This was a good chance for me to find out if he might know anything about this.