Third-Rate Villain Of Fantasy Novel-Chapter 45: Meeting Of Tower Masters [3]

Joachim inhaled slowly, then exhaled.

"...There is," he said at last.

Every Tower Master straightened slightly in their seat.

"And it isn’t something I can summarize with a schematic or a projection."

A faint ripple of unease passed through the long table. Fingers paused above crystal tablets. Eyes lifted. Everyone waited for him to continue.

Joachim swept his gaze across the council chamber—faces he had known for decades, rivals and allies alike—then let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Forget about it," he said. "It’s not something you should be concerned about."

The air tightened rather than relaxed.

At that moment, Theodor leaned forward, elbows resting on the polished stone. His voice was calm, but too deliberate to be casual.

"Is this about your daughter?"

"It is not."

The reply came instantly.

Too instantly.

A few of the Tower Masters exchanged brief looks.

’It’s about his daughter.’

Although Joachim denied it, the tension in his shoulders betrayed him. Anyone who had known him long enough could see it. Elena was the center of his world, and lately, that center had been... unstable.

All of the children of the Tower Masters—including Elena—had once run through these halls together.

Elena, in particular, lingered in their memories: a small, tender, introverted child who hid behind Joachim’s coat, who listened more than she spoke, who made even the most severe among them want to lift her into their arms and shield her from the world.

Now, the thought that such a child had reached puberty drew complicated expressions across the table—regret, nostalgia, and a touch of helpless resignation.

It was Heron Sepier who finally broke the silence.

The Master of the Recording Tower folded his hands together, his voice gentle, almost weary.

"Don’t worry too much," Heron said. "Children grow faster than we expect. One moment they’re clinging to your sleeve, and the next, they won’t even look at you. This phase will pass, just like the others. It’s only a brief irritation."

He paused.

Then, in a voice so quiet it barely echoed in the chamber, he added,

"...Though right now, mine won’t even talk to me."

A visible change swept over Heron. His green hair—normally vibrant, almost luminous—seemed to dull, the vitality draining from it as if his words had weighed him down.

Joachim blinked, startled.

"What? No—wait, that’s not—" he said quickly. "Heron, you’ve misunderstood. This isn’t about adolescence. Don’t get the wrong idea."

Heron raised an eyebrow, skepticism plain on his face.

"Then what is it?" he asked. "If it’s not Elena, what else could possibly trouble you this deeply?"

Joachim hesitated.

The chamber fell silent again.

Every Tower Master turned toward him, attention sharp and unyielding. These were rulers of towers, masters of knowledge and power, yet in this moment, they were simply parents—watching another parent struggle.

Joachim’s fingers curled slowly against the armrest of his chair.

"...I," he began, then stopped.

He swallowed.

Lowering his voice, as if afraid the walls themselves might overhear, Joachim finally spoke.

"I haven’t heard from my daughter," he said.

A beat passed.

"She hasn’t contacted me."

The words settled heavily over the table.

Theodor’s expression hardened. "How long?"

"...Too long."

"That’s vague," another Tower Master said sharply. "Joachim."

Joachim exhaled through his nose. "Long enough that she would have reached out by now. Long enough that silence no longer feels accidental."

Heron straightened. "Elena isn’t careless. You raised her better than that."

"I know," Joachim replied immediately. "That’s exactly the problem."

Murmurs spread—quiet, controlled, but unmistakable.

"Has she missed a scheduled report?"

"Any trace through the relay towers?"

"Could she be deliberately avoiding contact?"

Joachim shook his head. "If she wanted distance, she would have said so. She’s honest to a fault."

Theodor tapped the table once. "Then this is no longer a personal matter."

Joachim looked up. "I already told you, you misunderstood me."

----

"Everyone’s making a big deal out of it for no reason..."

Joachim muttered under his breath as he walked down the dim corridor toward his research room, his robe swaying softly with each step.

The moment those words left his mouth, the person who reacted most strongly was the Master of the Tower of Twilight, Franz Erthuwen.

"What?" Franz stopped short, staring at Joachim as if he had just heard something unbelievable. "You can’t get in touch with her? No—why are you walking away so calmly?! We need to go find your daughter right now!"

Joachim let out a quiet sigh and turned around, clearly puzzled by the sudden outburst.

"It’s not that she’s missing," he replied evenly. "I sent her to her fiancé’s residence. I simply haven’t heard back from her yet."

"...Fiancé?" Franz’s expression stiffened. "You—what about my son, Richard?! Since when did this come up?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I don’t understand why your son’s name was mentioned," Joachim said flatly. "Elena is currently staying at Kraus’ Castle."

"K–Kraus?" Franz’s face drained of color. "Arthur Kraus? Why did Elena go there? Don’t tell me—you arranged a secret engagement with them without telling me?"

"Right," Joachim answered without hesitation.

Franz exploded.

"You— you motherfuckers!!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger. "It was the same back at the academy! You’d always leave me out and stick together like it was natural! And now you pull something like this behind my back?!"

The surrounding tower masters froze, unsure whether to intervene or pretend they hadn’t heard anything. Talking about an engagement so casually—and so publicly—was far too much.

Franz continued to fume, his face red as if old memories had been dragged violently back to the surface. Meanwhile, the other tower masters began to quietly observe Joachim with undisguised interest, their gazes sharp and probing.

In the end, Joachim couldn’t bear the weight of their attention any longer. Without another word, he turned on his heel and returned to the tower.

"...Was it really that obvious on my face?"

Inside his research room, Joachim leaned against the desk, rubbing his temples.

It was true that he had been thinking about his daughter more than usual these days. Still, it wasn’t as if he was frantic or unstable

Elena wasn’t in a dangerous place—quite the opposite. She was by the side of a sword master, arguably the safest place in the entire continent.

He had even received a message from Arthur himself, confirming that Elena had arrived safely.

Once she entered the Kraus Lordship, there was virtually no chance of her being exposed to the outside world.

The only thing that bothered him—no, the only thing that truly unsettled him—was the silence.

He hadn’t heard from Elena through the communication device he had personally given her.

"...Could someone be deliberately blocking the connection?"

The thought surfaced unbidden.

There was no reason for Elena not to contact him. She was a good daughter—obedient, considerate, and always mindful of her parents’ feelings. If anything unusual had happened, she would have reported it immediately.

That was precisely why Joachim couldn’t dismiss the possibility that something—or someone—was interfering.