I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Ptooey. That almost went in my mouth.”
I immediately wiped the blood from my cheek with the back of my hand, rough and hurried.
“Ugh, if it gets on light-colored clothes like this, it’s so hard to wash out….”
The thought that had just crossed my mind spilled out of my mouth before I could stop it.
When I caught sight of the Tower Master’s expression—strange and unreadable—I had no choice but to fall awkwardly silent.
“You… you coughed blood. Are you alright?”
“It’s fine. Actually, it’s a good sign.”
“Good?”
“The poison that was raging inside him is being expelled. The medicine and magic forced it out.”
The Tower Master wiped away the blood at Cassian’s mouth as he spoke matter-of-factly.
‘So… that’s good, not bad?’
I stared down at Cassian in a daze.
The body that had been convulsing violently all this while lay still now, eerily calm after the coughing fit.
His breathing was becoming steadier, the dense poison aura leaking from him had nearly vanished, and the bluish tint to his skin looked a shade lighter.
‘He really is stabilizing.’
Only then did I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
‘Thank the gods.’
While I was doing that, the Tower Master gathered the empty medicine bottles and approached me, looking me up and down.
“You look a mess.”
“You don’t look much better yourself, if I’m being honest. At least you could just change clothes.”
Of course, Cassian, who still lay on the bed, was in no better state.
The blanket and clothes covering him were soaked through with blood, completely ruined.
The Tower Master shook his head and drew a small Artifact Jewel from the nightstand drawer, placing it over Cassian’s body.
“Activate.”
In an instant, Cassian’s body—drenched in cold sweat and filthy—was spotless.
Though the artifact couldn’t restore the clothes and bedding to their original state, of course.
“Wow.”
“You’ll probably want another bath anyway to feel fresh, but that blood on your face is unpleasant. Use this too.”
He held out the jewel to me.
A single-use artifact—what extravagance.
‘If I sold this, would I get some decent gold?’
As I stood holding the jewel and staring at it, the Tower Master seemed to read my mind and warned me.
“If you’re not going to use it, I’ll take it back. Use it now.”
Then he gestured away the blanket that was already pitted and torn in places where the poison aura had eaten through it and stained with blood, pulling out a fresh one from the cabinet and draping it over Cassian.
‘Tch.’
I used the jewel to clean my face and body thoroughly.
Besides, I was used to looking this way anyway.
Looking like someone who’d just walked in on a murder scene, I waited for the Tower Master, who came back after tending to the purification device.
“Come on.”
He scooped me up without ceremony.
‘Last time he did this because he wanted to hear the report quickly, but why is he picking me up again?’
I stared at the Tower Master’s face with my eyes full of questions.
The Tower Master then spoke to me with a calm, unconcerned expression.
“We can’t have the Magic Tower contaminated with bloody footprints.”
‘Why does that sound like an excuse?’
But I didn’t bother checking the soles of my shoes to see if they were actually stained with blood.
There was no reason for the Tower Master to lie about carrying me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and went along with it.
His footsteps, which had hesitated for just a moment, resumed their climb upward.
‘A child who asks too many questions comes across as tactless, which isn’t ideal….’
I, who had been sitting quietly in his arms, opened my mouth again.
“This isn’t the way to my room.”
“I know.”
He brought me to his private quarters and set me down in the bathroom.
“Once you’ve washed up, I’ll have some warm tea ready for you.”
With that, the Tower Master handed me a clean towel and fresh clothes.
‘Is this the outfit he used when he was nursing me?’
I took the simple white pajamas he offered and rolled my eyes in thought.
‘What… is this?’
The Tower Master told me to wash up and left, but I found myself standing blankly in front of the sink for a moment.
He could have just shown me to my room instead?
‘……Is this normal?’
What kind of employer goes to such lengths?
I truly couldn’t say, but it occurred to me that the industry I’d worked in might have been the abnormal one, so I didn’t even bother asking.
Assassin versus Experimental Subject. Neither exactly falls under normal trades, but at least one of them is legal and thus respectable by comparison.
‘If I asked whether he was perhaps concerned about me personally, or if there was something like that in his heart…….’
If this turned out to be routine and I was just overthinking, I’d die of embarrassment!
‘……No, no. Stop it.’
It’s just management for a perfect experimental subject. The Tower Master has always said as much.
I forced myself to that conclusion and washed away every trace of blood.
When I emerged, freshly dried, the Tower Master had already changed clothes and was waiting on the sofa with a steaming cup of tea at the ready.
“Oh, thank you.”
“It’s warm tea. Come sit.”
He held out an adorably petite teacup for me.
It was an extraordinarily cute tea set—the sort one wouldn’t expect the Tower Master to own.
“Thank you…… The teacup is so lovely.”
“Do you like it? You’re welcome to visit often.”
What? Why was he speaking as if the cup were meant for me……?
I blinked a few times, then just laughed awkwardly.
Even if he treated me well, it was normal not to particularly want regular tea time with one’s employer…….
‘Wasn’t it?’
Truth be told, I’d never had a bad time with the Tower Master.
“If you mean it, I’ll come again.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
“Ah.”
My mood lifted somehow.
I swung my legs and sipped the milk-flavored tea, and warmth spread through my body in an instant.
“Come to think of it, Tower Master. Why did the young Duke suddenly have that seizure?”
“Much remains unknown about that poison. So I can’t be certain, but the Letter Poison and the poison in his body may have clashed.”
“Really? Then…….”
Was the Letter Poison intentionally meant to put Cassian in greater danger?
As I grew a little melancholy thinking of human malice, the Tower Master studied my expression and quickly denied it.
“No, that was probably coincidence.”
“How can you be sure?”
“The Letter Poison was detected only where there were clear traces of moisture.”
At the mention of poison being found in tear marks, I let out a small gasp of surprise.
If poison had come from someone’s bodily fluid, it meant the Duchess was in a poisoned state.
‘She was said to be sickly……was it all because of the poison?’
I found myself briefly wondering whether the Duke and Cassian already knew this.
“Still, thanks to this, the young Duke’s Detoxification should accelerate.”
“Really?”
“A considerable amount of poison has left his system. It seems complete Detoxification shouldn’t take long.”
“Hmm…….”
I nodded at the welcome news.
A thousand Gold wasn’t far off—good news for everyone!
“But first, Experimental Subject.”
“Yes?”
“You haven’t experienced a racing heartbeat, dizziness, or sinister imaginings, have you?”
“……Suddenly?”
At the sudden question, I tilted my head in confusion, and the Tower Master explained with a serious face.
“According to numerous childcare manuals, if a child finds themselves in a situation that could be distressing or frightening, they may show such symptoms afterward.”
“……Did I go through such a situation?”
Unable to recall anything, I could only blink and tilt my head, at which the Tower Master narrowed his eyes at me.
“Receiving a large quantity of blood all over one’s body is a situation anyone would naturally find startling and frightening. You didn’t appear to cry or collapse, though.”
Understanding what the Tower Master meant, I went rigid for a moment, then answered awkwardly and jerkily.
“W-well, y-yeah, aha, haha. I, I suppose so…… but, um, it was an urgent situation, so I wasn’t so much scared as surprised, and I forgot all about it once I’d washed up!”
I hadn’t realized that crying was the normal response to something that had become so routine for me.
‘Blood is just blood…….’
It’s not like tears would make it evaporate anyway. Why would I cry over something a simple wash can handle!
Of course, I would’ve been annoyed if blood had stained the necklace permanently, but a rinse with water and it was spotless again.
“Hmm…….”
The Tower Master studied my expression with a grave look.
His eyes seemed to pierce straight through to my true thoughts.
‘He couldn’t possibly know I was an assassin before, right? Right!’
After all, I didn’t just wash my hands — I returned to a different life!
But with that guilt nagging at me, I found myself unable to meet his gaze directly, my eyes darting away instead.
The Tower Master withdrew a notebook from his robes again, scribbled something extensively, then gave me an approving nod.
“Should you have nightmares, or if anything troubles you, come find me again.”
So this whole visit was meant to provide psychological support for an experimental subject, it seemed.
I answered meekly with “Yes,” drained my tea in one gulp, and had no choice but to excuse myself to bed, avoiding his penetrating gaze.
* * *
Several days passed since the coughing blood incident.
Remarkably, Cassian’s condition had improved noticeably since that day.
To what extent?
“Ah, you’ve awakened……!”
“……You.”
More than merely awakening — he could even respond to what I said.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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