I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 49

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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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The air in the Reception Room froze the moment the Tower Master spoke.
“Poisoning? What do you mean by—”
The Duchess asked, her face drained of color.
She genuinely seemed unaware of her own condition.
“Mother is poisoned?!”
Cassian, standing beside her, went ashen and opened his mouth in shock.
“Is it a severe poison?”
Cassian dropped his usual sharp banter with the Tower Master entirely, speaking with urgent sincerity instead.
“It shares the same root as the poison that afflicted you.”
The Tower Master’s voice was low and measured, yet his words carried considerable weight.
“Are you saying I’ve been poisoned with the same poison as Cassian?”
The Duchess’s delicate brow twisted in distress.
“Not the same poison—but the same root. For clarity’s sake, let’s call the poison component remaining in Cassian’s body Poison Component A, and yours Poison Component B.”
The Tower Master explained Cassian’s poisoning in detail to the Duchess.
The poison that had tormented Cassian was a combined form where two components, A and B, had bonded together.
That was why his treatment proceeded by separating the two bound components and then extracting one of them from his body—leaving Component A behind while removing only Component B.
Now I understood why the scent I’d caught on the way to the Reception Room had seemed so familiar.
“Good heavens…”
The Duchess fell into shock as she listened to the Tower Master’s explanation.
Someone had poisoned Cassian with Component A.
In that state alone, it caused no pain to a person—merely lay dormant.
The problem was that the Duchess, through contact with Cassian, had unknowingly transferred Component B to him.
When A and B met, they became an activated poison—and that was what had tormented Cassian all this time.
“Then I… I caused my own son to—”
The Duchess covered her mouth, seized by shock, and her fingers trembled white with tension.
“Wait. The person who poisoned both of you is a separate matter entirely, isn’t it?”
I spoke bluntly to keep the Duchess from collapsing deeper into despair.
“But if my poison hadn’t been transferred—”
“If we’re going to blame people, then if Component A hadn’t been in Cassian’s body, Component B alone would have caused no harm whatsoever.”
The real culprit was whoever poisoned Cassian and the Duchess in the first place—what possible fault could lie with an unwitting victim who simply touched her own son?
As I spoke those words with genuine conviction, color finally returned to the Duchess’s cheeks.
Cassian, too—who had been pressing his temple with a dazed, spinning gaze—suddenly regained clarity in his eyes.
“Pipi speaks truly. In terms of toxicity alone, Component B carried in your body is the greater concern. Your current condition has not improved, has it?”
The Tower Master gave his final approval, backing my words with decisive certainty.
Cassian was indeed standing steadily now. The Duchess, scanning her son’s complexion carefully, released a breath of relief.
“Pardon me, but… would it be possible for me to examine your quarters briefly?”
The Duchess looked at me in bewilderment.
“When it comes to poison, this child offers something I cannot. Please trust them.”
When the Tower Master placed his hand on my shoulder and affirmed his trust, the Duchess tilted her head and nodded consent.
“Your Grace, wouldn’t it be better to keep this discreet?”
I had no wish to suspect anyone, but one could never be too careful—
With that thought, I broached the suggestion gently, and the Duchess’s lips stiffened.
“My attendants and nursemaids are trustworthy… no, actually. I’ll take precautions myself. You two should see alone.”
This was a matter involving her son’s poisoning, after all.
The Duchess, who had initially claimed her own people were trustworthy, now set her jaw with grim resolve and nodded firmly.
As we entered the Duchess’s quarters, the scent became far more pronounced.
I traced its source using nothing but the sensitivity of my nose.
I’d wondered if it might be difficult to find, but the scent’s trail was unmistakably clear.
“…It’s the Bathroom.”
On a shelf beside the bathtub sat several jars containing finely ground powder.
Each jar carried a different fragrance, but one of them was problematic.
It appeared to be an ordinary Bath Product with a subtle herbal scent, but beneath that, the poison’s smell was distinctly perceptible.
The Tower Master, following behind me, took the jar and examined a handful of the powder.
He drew a Reagent from his robe, sprinkled it over the powder, and murmured something softly—an incantation of some kind. The powder then began to glow faintly.
“…How long have you been using this?”
The Duchess, who had followed us to the quarters, nodded.
“Yes. It’s a fatigue-recovery Bath Product I’ve used since childhood. I keep several jars with the same base materials but different fragrances, and I use whichever suits my mood.”
“…I see.”
The Tower Master exhaled a long, heavy sigh.
“There’s poison mixed into this bath product.”
“……That can’t be right.”
The Duchess’s lips trembled.
“I’ve used that my whole life. From the same Trading Company, delivered without fail every single time…….”
Her face drained of color, fear seeping into every line.
“There are many ways it could have happened. Even if the Trading Company itself wasn’t at fault, the poison could have been introduced anywhere—the source, the factory, anywhere in the supply chain.”
A chill ran down my spine at the Tower Master’s explanation.
The poison had seeped silently into her most intimate, everyday ritual. I understood all too well how devastating this revelation must be for the Duchess.
“The poison that seeped into your skin poisoned you. And from your saliva, blood, tears—all your bodily fluids—the poison leaked out in trace amounts and was transmitted to the Duke.”
“In that letter you sent him, the one asking me to deliver it to the Duke—there were tears on it, and they carried the same scent…….”
I watched her standing rigid, her face bleached of all color, and whispered the words. My chest constricted at the sight of her despair.
A mother comforting her weeping son, sharing a handkerchief between them. A mother’s light kiss conveying her love…….
Every moment had been filled with tenderness, only for it all to circle back as poisoning.
“……It was me.”
The Duchess began to blame herself again.
“……Mother.”
Then Cassian, who had remained rigid all this while, slowly spoke.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Cassian…….”
“Pipi fixed everything. I’m fine now. So don’t cry. If you do…… I might get poisoned again. So from now on, don’t cry—smile instead.”
It was clumsy comfort. But at those words, the Duchess broke down and wept.
She held up one hand to stop Cassian from embracing her, struggling to wipe away her tears.
“I’m sorry, Cassian. I’m so sorry…….”
In the end, Cassian wrapped dry towels from the bathroom around his own face and neck so his mother could feel safe to hold him.
Being careful not to let her tears touch him, he still pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Don’t worry. Pipi will definitely cure you too.”
Cassian’s eyes pleaded with me urgently.
It was a simple request, nothing difficult at all, so I nodded.
* * *
The Duchess’s Detoxification wasn’t particularly difficult.
We had disposed of the bath product that was the source of the problem, and by now I had plenty of experience drawing out poison.
Under the Tower Master’s supervision, ridding the Duchess’s body of the poison took about four days.
During that time, the Tower Master informed the Duke—who was still at his townhouse in the Yellow Capital—of everything.
The Duchess, rather than remaining bedridden, had the household thoroughly searched to find anyone connected to the poisoning.
Though her complexion still hadn’t fully returned to health—she had always been delicate—her condition improved noticeably.
She no longer suffered the lingering exhaustion and shortness of breath from before.
“……I don’t know how to repay such a debt, Pipi.”
The Duchess clasped my hand repeatedly, thanking me again and again.
Cassian stood beside her, grinning along.
The problem was that one crucial thing remained a mystery.
“It’s unfortunate we haven’t found who poisoned the bath product.”
The Tower Master shook his head with a low murmur.
“My husband is tracing the supply chain. We found no one among our household staff to be suspicious.”
The Duchess answered with a frustrated expression.
“Our side is much the same. We received a reply from the Information Guild to an inquiry we’d lodged some time ago, but…….”
The Tower Master continued with evident displeasure.
“We’ve confirmed the Assassin Guild is involved, but determining which specific guild among them is still proving difficult.”
“I see……. In any case, we’ll continue investigating on the Duke’s end as well.”
The fact that we’d neutralized the Duchess’s poison but hadn’t caught the real culprit was certainly unpleasant.
“But there are good things too!”
“Hmm? Like what?”
Cassian asked, tilting his head at my words.
“Well, if there’s no culprit in the household, that means everyone there is trustworthy! And the Duchess’s poison is completely gone!”
At my words, the Duchess and the Tower Master nodded with satisfied expressions.
That’s right—now Cassian could freely enjoy his mother’s embrace.
Poison Component A still remained in Cassian’s body, they said, but with the Duchess’s poison gone, he wouldn’t get poisoned again!
“You’re really something…… so optimistic.”
“What’s the use of worrying? Time’s too precious for that.”
I shrugged and chided Cassian gently.
All the while, the Duchess gazed at me as if I were the most adorable thing in the world.
“Listen, Pipi. If that child proves untrustworthy, wouldn’t it be better if she weren’t my daughter?”
“……I’m sorry?”
My eyes widened at the Duchess’s words.
And the Tower Master’s eyes seemed to widen as some strange realization struck him.
“That’s impossible!”
“No, Mother!”
The Tower Master and Cassian cried out in unison, their voices sharp with alarm.

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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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