My Dream is to Get My Own House

Pedro quickly leaned his body to the floor as the light projectiles exploded.

After the smoke cleared, Pedro was astonished to see holes all over his finely tailored suit.

“What is happening here?”

At that moment, a woman sitting in the center of the tower abruptly stood up. She had a unique appearance with a wide-brimmed hat that covered her forehead and eyes, leaving only her lips visible.

“I made a mistake,” she confidently declared, holding the lid of the light projectile in her hand.

“A mistake? You threw a light projectile at someone! It could have been attempted murder!” Pedro exclaimed in disbelief.

The magician who had been impressed by Pedro’s words now protested, “A mistake? That’s it?”

“I don’t know. Arrest her immediately. What is this nonsense?”

“Well, um… wait for a moment,” Helic interjected, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Helic, what is going on?”

Helic nervously explained while dabbing his dry hands with a handkerchief, “Well, there is a tradition in the tower, isn’t there?”

The woman chuckled softly. “That’s right, it’s a tradition created by Alfred Saboia, the current tower lord.”

—

I was well aware of Claude Saboia’s personality. He couldn’t stand boredom and had a fondness for the peculiar.

So, I took advantage of the tower’s tradition.

It happened when Alfred, the Lord of the Tower, was giving a presentation related to magical theory. He was in high spirits, presenting his own theory, when a passing beggar shot a light projectile, temporarily blinding him.

Naturally, Alfred became furious.

But the beggar confidently corrected Alfred’s theory and disappeared.

Initially, Alfred was angered that someone like a beggar would dare to challenge his opinion.

But…

“I was wrong, and the beggar’s theory was correct! Where is that beggar?”

“He disappeared a long time ago.”

“I have to reward him, but what a nuisance!”

Since then, Alfred allowed the shooting of light projectiles for cases of false information or suspicion of plagiarism.

It was a rare occurrence, so gradually, people forgot about it.

“But before I returned to the past, there was a magician who shot a light projectile at Claude’s heart.”

I remembered reading about it in the newspaper and found it fascinating, so I decided to make use of it.

“I believe light projectiles are shot when there is suspicion of plagiarism or false information in a thesis.”

Helic shook his head anxiously. “It’s not directly at a person but in the air… Well, forget it. For now, you’re unharmed.”

Pedro stumbled out, fuming with anger. “What do you mean, ‘for now’? I could have been seriously injured!”

I slightly pointed out the flaw in Pedro’s logic. “But you’re a man, how could you have been ‘seriously injured’ like that?”

“Anyway!”

“It’s a pity, but that thesis itself is impractical and full of flaws.”

Ishael was indeed intelligent in the past, but that thesis had clear shortcomings.

Claude Saboia’s chilling gaze fell upon me.

It felt as if he could tear me apart for crushing his hopes.

Fueled by that resilience, Pedro exploded in anger.

“My theory is not wrong! Can you prove otherwise?”

I shrugged my shoulders and spoke again. “Then, please try whispering about the necessary background knowledge you must understand to write that thesis, Pedro.”

The past Ishael, who had foolishly dedicated herself to Pedro, was no longer there.

“What exactly is the magic formula to be engraved on the tracking potion?”

“Well, um…”

“Did you come to the thesis presentation without even knowing what a magic formula is?”

“No!”

“Then what exactly is the magic formula? You claim to have conducted experiments?”

As I prodded him with questions, Pedro’s face turned pale.

“Why should I answer such questions? The fact that this thesis is mine won’t change!”

“That’s true.”

“How can you believe the claims of an idiot who suddenly shot a light projectile?”

“While it is suspicious that you talked about a magic formula without even knowing what it is… since you claim to know, let’s hear it from you.”

Now, let’s cut it appropriately here.

“Then, let’s examine the thesis.”

“You don’t even have the thesis!”

I raised my eyebrow at Pedro and stood up.

Everyone had already received a copy of Pedro’s thesis.

I looked at them intently and spoke.

“Everyone, please read the magic formula on page 38 of the thesis.”

“What…?”

“It’s rubbish.”

“It’s certainly useless.”

“Still, there is no concrete evidence yet…”

“But we should at least verify and examine it…”

“Although it’s a pity to completely discard this theory, maybe we can develop it further?”

“But how does that person know the thesis so well?”

Now it was time to drive the wedge in and seal the deal.

“How do I know so much about this thesis?”

When I told Pedro that we should break up, I had the recording device activated.

It was all for today.

I pressed the button on the recording device.

“…What? You’re just a 1st Circle magician, and even if you’re 3rd Circle, I’m about to receive a noble title.”

“Oh, really? Then who wrote the thesis you submitted to receive your noble title?”

Pedro’s complexion turned pale as he saw the recording device still in motion.

He must have known what would come next.

“That’s… it’s you.”

Of course, the voices in the conversation matched perfectly with the current Pedro and my own voice.

“You! Ishael…!”

I turned off the recording device and opened my mouth.

“If necessary, you can verify the authenticity of the voice recorded in the device.”

In my words, Pedro became as speechless as a mute.

“What? It was ghostwriting?”

“Ghostwriting a thesis! A magician should be embarrassed!”

“But if it was ghostwritten, isn’t the person who wrote it also at fault?”

Yes, I knew that line would come up.

Both of them were the problem, a neutral statement indicating that.

I raised my voice towards the chaotic crowd.

“I had my thesis stolen. They threatened that if I didn’t hand it over, they would kill me.”

At that moment, Pedro confidently interjected.

“I never said I would kill you! I said I wouldn’t marry you!”

“But you still insisted that you couldn’t give it to me, so you sneaked into my house and stole the contents of the thesis.”

“I didn’t steal everything! You also helped me at first-“

I shrugged my shoulders and playfully interrupted him.

“In the end, you stole my thesis, didn’t you?”

Pedro’s complexion turned pale as he realized he had lost completely.

Claude reached out his hand towards the air, silencing everyone.

From a few years ago, when he lost his expression and suffered from aphasia, to recently regaining some vitality and handling external matters in the tower.

People were frustrated that they couldn’t understand his words.

That’s why he created a magical device that interprets his body language.

People thought of him as a taciturn and noble magician.

But the secret he kept hidden…

Claude raised his hand solemnly.

Through the magical device, his voice resonated authoritatively.

“Get lost, you scammer.”

His elegant lips hardened, firm and resolute.

I bit my tongue inwardly as I watched him.

“Well, you see.”

Pedro wiped the sweat off his forehead, trying to come up with excuses.

But Claude’s words, or rather, his thoughts, were as blunt as a mop.

“It’s you. Pedro, you scammer. I thought I had discovered a useful tracking magic, but you turned out to be a useless fraud. You have disappointed my expectations. Scum like you should die. Die!”

Verbal abuse continued from the thesis abstract presentation.

Pedro was in shock, barely able to keep his eyes open.

He trembled as if he were a crow that failed in its mating dance and was about to be devoured by a female.

“What… What are you saying! This is too much!”

“I don’t want to say any more. Just get rid of that scammer.”

It was essentially a death sentence.

Pedro slumped to the ground, his legs trembling.

He hated the Viscount Saboia, and as a result, not only would he lose his noble title, but he wouldn’t even be able to find employment in the tower.

His life had been completely ruined.

I laughed gleefully.

I had severed all social ties with my ex-boyfriend.

Of course, it would be troublesome if I thought today was the end.

“In Korea, we have a saying, ‘Three strikes.'”

The first strike was the humiliation at the ball.

The second strike was the embarrassment at the conference.

And the third strike was…

At that moment, Claude Saboia’s gaze briefly recognized me as if he lingered in my direction.

I secretly cheered inside.

If he were to call me now, my path would be solid.

What was Claude Saboia like?

Even though he knew that Pedro’s theory had flaws, he still manipulated him recklessly.

It was because he discovered the possibility of tracking magic in Pedro’s thesis.

So this time would be the same.

He would definitely invite me to the tower.

We would build a friendship while going together.

I would also learn about magic formulas!

I might even subtly introduce an item for a future business venture.

That’s how I would secure a seat of wealth, right?

But then, it happened.