Adopting Disaster

As they disappeared, Reed looked up at the woman with green eyes, just like Morgan.

"Miss Hupper."

"Tower Master."

They exchanged light greetings, and Adonis sat down in Morgan's seat.

The first thing she took out was Reed's handkerchief.

"This is the handkerchief you lent me before."

"I told you that you could throw it away, but you ended up keeping it with you."

"How can I throw away something that belongs to my benefactor?"

Reed put the neatly folded handkerchief in his pocket.

Then he noticed a change in Adonis.

"You've grown your hair."

"Is it noticeable? It hasn't grown much yet."

It was impossible not to notice.

Before, her hair was like a man's long hair, but now it was styled into a fresh and feminine bob cut.

A beautiful woman with bright blonde hair and green eyes.

Reed, who liked long-haired women, thought that the short hair didn't look bad on Adonis either.

"How long do you plan to grow it?"

"At least long enough not to be embarrassed when I'm with the king. I'll be seen a lot in public."

"Are you quitting being a knight?"

"I've become a regent leading the country, but my ultimate goal is to protect my brother. I can't neglect my training to fulfill my duties."

Hearing Adonis's words, Reed took a look at her status window.

Three unreleased traits.

"Sura's Sword", "Magic Swordsman", "Sword Master".

"Sura's Sword" is the path to her bad ending.

"Magic Swordsman" or "Sword Master" would be the path to her normal or happy ending.

'How is her magical talent?'

Her Mana Sensitivity and Magic levels are not very high, but if her incredible strength and magic are combined, even Sword Masters who are known for their swordsmanshipwould run away crying.

'There's no need to tell her now.'

It wouldn't be too late to talk about it after the political situation becomes stable, and she steps onto the path of a sword master.

"Um... "

Adonis carefully opened her mouth.

"Please don't think too deeply about the marriage. He's still a young king and makes many slips of the tongue."

"Young children tend to say everything they know. How scary innocence can be."

"I believe you are an attractive man, Tower Master, but since the situation is unstable, but ignoring your thoughts and forcing you would be uncomfortable for both of us..."

"I understand what you're saying. Don't worry, I wasn't offended."

Adonis finally closed her mouth.

Marriage.

Both Adonis and Reed avoided each other's gaze and only drank their tea.

Having run out of topics to continue the conversation, they remained silent for a while before Reed finally spoke.

"…Are you afraid of frogs?"

"…"

'I messed up. Why did I bring up this topic?'

Adonis, who had been expressionless, bowed her head and hid her face behind her hand.

"I had a lot of nightmares about frogs when I was young. Even though I'm not scared of them now, but... whenever I see their smooth skin and bulging cheeks, it still creeps me out."

"I understand how you feel."

"Fortunately, a knight's job isn't to catch those disgusting creatures, but to kill monsters."

The woman who could snap ogres in half was still afraid of frogs.

It was a somewhat human and cute side of her.

"Only my brother and you know about this. Please don't spread it anywhere."

"Of course, Miss Hupper."

"Please call me Adonis."

"Miss Adonis."

Reed smiled to reassure her.

"Come to think of it, you didn't become a king."

"I made such a promise."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't keep the promise."

"There's no need to be sorry. It was my decision to refuse. If I had become king forcibly, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

If that's what Adonis wanted, Reed accepted it willingly.

Reed stared at her quietly.

"Miss Adonis, are you happy?"

At the same time as Reed's question, a faint rose scent wafted in.

It was the first time he realized.

That the always expressionless Adonis could smile so beautifully.

"I'm more than happy."

***

The weekend at the Silence Tower.

The magicians took maintenance time and accumulated mana in the mana pillar.

In Rosaria's room, the once-a-week education session was underway.

Dolores Jade.

A genius magician who became the youngest Archmage and the Tower Master of the Wallin Tower.

Under the pretext of a hobby, she came to the tower every weekend and conducted Rosaria's studies.

"Do you understand what I taught you today?"

"I still don't know very well."

"I'll give you homework based on what you learned today. You don't have to solve everything, but you have to solve it alone without asking others."

"I don't like homework…"

Rosaria puffed up her cheeks.

Dolores laughed and poked Rosaria's cheek with her finger.

Although she was undoubtedly a child, Dolores still couldn't fully grasp Rosaria's abilities.

'She's still weak in calculations and such...'

She wasn't proficient in handling numbers, only knowing addition and subtraction.

'But her magic is on par with mine...'

The problem was that she could solve college-level mathematical formulas with just addition and subtraction.

At first glance, she seemed like an ordinary girl, but within her lay the dormant potential of a genius among geniuses.

The world of magic is like mathematics.

Rather than relying solely on intuition, one must understand and derive the formula to become a stable magician.

'I have no choice but to figure it out quickly.'

To make Rosaria an excellent magician.

That was Dolores' current goal.

"Hey, Dolores Unni."

"Yeah?"

"Papa said…"

Papa.

That's what Rosaria called Reed.

Rosaria tried to talk to Dolores about many topics.

Especially about Reed.

Whenever that happened, Dolores felt her heart tighten.

And a strange sense of anticipation, like scratching a lottery ticket, enveloped her.

What story would it be today?

What did Reed do?

Did he talk about me, perhaps?

Even trivial stories didn't matter.

As long as it was related to Reed.

Still, if it was a story about herself, that would be so nice...

If he thought of her even a little bit, Dolores felt there would be nothing happier.

Feeling a strange excitement, Dolores unknowingly twirled her hair with her finger.

She waited for Rosaria to speak, and Rosaria smiled brightly and said,

"Papa is getting married!"

Dolores' eyes trembled.

[T/N:- Emotional Damage]