I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 60
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
* * *
Cassian’s condition had stabilized, and since the Tower Master had decided to observe Girlon’s interrogation, we set out for the Dukedom the following day.
The moment we arrived at the Duke’s Residence, the Tower Master left us behind and departed for the interrogation.
‘Something useful has to come from this.’
I saw the Tower Master off with a worried heart, then climbed the stairs to Cassian’s room.
The Nanny gasped in alarm when she saw us both trudging up like stragglers, our nerves on edge.
“Good gracious! Young Master! What in heaven’s name do you look like!”
“Whimper……”
“How can a gentleman go about completely naked!”
I’d expected her to be shocked by his beast form, but instead she was scolding him for not wearing clothes over his soft, furry body.
‘Hmm……?’
I wondered if she was simply strict about propriety, but then I noticed her jaw trembling faintly.
She wasn’t calm—she was pretending to be calm. It seemed she didn’t want to startle Cassian, who had only just begun to settle.
“Surely you have clothes that would suit the Young Master?”
I asked, cradling Cassian, who was now the size of a doll no larger than my own face.
At that, the Nanny smiled warmly.
“Worry about everything, don’t you? When I was young, my needlework for doll clothes was the finest around.”
She summoned a maid, saw that we were both provided with plenty of sweet treats, and then hurried off to find her sewing basket and bolts of cloth.
“Grrrr. Whimper……”
Cassian, who had wanted nothing more than to snuggle in the Nanny’s arms and be coddled right up until our reunion, was now thoroughly indignant at being teased.
It was far better than seeing him dejected, so I laughed brightly and shrugged my shoulders.
“Well, if the Young Master isn’t yet a gentleman, what can we do about it?”
“Roar!”
As Cassian and I bickered, the Nanny swept in with maids laden under towering bundles of materials.
The Duchess followed behind them.
“Ah, Cassian. So you’ve become a runaway prince and forgotten all your manners. Going about without proper clothes like that.”
The corners of the Duchess’s eyes were slightly reddened.
I realized she had heard an account of his condition and come in after quietly crying outside.
“W-whimper!”
Though Cassian himself seemed not to have noticed.
‘Tsk, tsk. If he picks up something strange again, I really will need to give him a proper scolding.’
As I glared at the back of his head, which was causing worry in every direction, Cassian shuddered once and patted his head with his tiny front paws.
They didn’t quite reach, so he ended up rubbing his fur awkwardly near my cheek instead.
“Pipi, you’ve endured so much. You’ve saved my child more than once.”
“Not at all. When there’s danger, of course I have to help.”
I sat up straight and answered the Duchess’s words of gratitude with dignity.
At that, her eyes grew even softer, almost glistening with warmth.
“Let me see… how about we drape a Cape around him for now? It’s simple enough.”
The Nanny made her suggestion to the Duchess.
The Duchess tilted her head thoughtfully and murmured.
“Shouldn’t we cover the lower half first……?”
“F-for heaven’s sake!”
Cassian, perched on a cushion atop the table, trembled furiously.
The ladies’ tea and my milk sloshed violently in their cups.
“Don’t use such unbecoming language!”
“My, it seems Young Master is confused as well.”
And both the Nanny and I spoke up at once.
‘What?’
I tilted my head in confusion.
I’d expected her to scold him harder, but why was she saying something so odd?
As I stood bewildered, the Duchess’s gaze fell upon me with a look of profound significance.
“Pipi, can you understand what Cassian is saying?”
“……Yes. Is that not supposed to happen? Something feels strange?”
I rolled my eyes carefully and asked hesitantly.
“You two……”
The Duchess looked at me and Cassian in turn with an expression most grave, then shook her head.
“No. That’s not the important thing right now.”
‘Is it the same reason the Duke and the Tower Master looked at me strangely before?’
I had clearly witnessed them sending suspicious glances when I answered Cassian’s words.
I stood flustered, my eyes meeting Cassian’s.
Cassian seemed equally bewildered, tilting his head in that endearing way of his.
“We’ll discuss this once Cassian returns to his human form. For now, we need to get him some clothes.”
The Duchess clearly wasn’t going to answer my question, so I let it go for the moment.
Instead, we settled down with delicious refreshments and cheerfully debated what sort of garments would suit Cassian best.
A cute Cape, Pumpkin Trousers, and all manner of charming, hastily fashionable ensembles tumbled forth.
“Grrrr, grrraaaahhh?!” (Am I a baby?!)
Cassian was horrified at first.
“Kuu, kuu-urrgh.” (Well, it’s not bad.)
But once everyone gathered around praising how adorably the outfits suited him, he lifted his head with a curious dignity and tried on this and that with gusto.
Meanwhile, the sun finally sank below the horizon.
It was the hour when the Tower Master had promised to return to the residence.
* * *
“Welcome back!”
I greeted the Tower Master alongside Cassian, now dressed in fresh clothes and looking quite presentable.
The Tower Master stopped short at the sight of us.
It was because I was wearing a Ribbon Decoration on my chest—the same as the one attached to Cassian’s Cape.
The ladies had kindly made the matching set for me, and I’d put it on for the occasion.
“……I see.”
“Are you tired? You look upset…….”
I looked up at the Tower Master with concern. His complexion was dark.
“There’s been no progress. The interrogation is still ongoing, but honestly, there’s nothing to uncover.”
“What? Wasn’t that person supposed to be the mastermind?”
I tilted my head, recalling the name of Count Girlon, who was said to have manipulated Marquis Ettre, and the Tower Master sighed.
“He’s only saying he received poison from some suspicious person.”
He explained the interrogation briefly, his jaw clenched as if he wanted to gnash his teeth.
A suspicious figure in a hooded robe had come to him, encouraging his ambitions—telling him the Duke’s House would soon collapse and he should prepare for what comes after.
Count Girlon naturally hadn’t believed it at first.
But he came to realize the Duke’s House was indeed hiding something in secret.
Then the suspicious person appeared again, informing him that Cassian had been poisoned, and the Count verified it was true.
After witnessing Bedel rescue Cassian moments before death and transport him to the Magic Tower, the Count’s desire to become the next Duke burned bright.
“So…… he didn’t know the identity of the suspicious person?”
“……He says the other party didn’t ask him to join forces. They simply told him to take note of things.”
That villain had made it clear he was using the Succession Rights for other purposes—he wasn’t asking to become a subordinate or to help each other.
Because of this, Count Girlon hadn’t made any particular effort to identify the villain.
“……He…… really just used the poison given by that suspicious person?”
“Yes. He’d already seen the results of the first poison, so he used the second one without any reservations, figuring he had nothing left to lose.”
I found myself momentarily speechless, my mouth falling open.
‘No wonder he couldn’t save Cassian before the regression…….’
Before the regression, Cassian had survived under far worse circumstances and claimed the Duke’s position.
In that case, the Count was merely a supporting character who provided only a brief moment of tension.
He must have harbored doubts initially. But once a prophecy rings true, it feels like sweet gospel to a greedy heart.
“Kuu, kuurrrgh…….” (All that for this…….)
Cassian thrust out his snout, as if his pride had been wounded.
“But…… that doesn’t make sense. If they didn’t want to interfere with the Succession Rights, why did they need to kill the young lord?”
The second poison was even stranger.
Why target Cassian’s Core specifically with poison?
There were several possible directions for improving the poison.
‘If the goal was to ensure his death, they could have developed a poison that gnawed at other organs instead of the Core.’
As I spoke my thoughts aloud, the Tower Master nodded.
“The interrogation was so tedious I gave some thought to that poison, and something feels within reach. I should go to the Temporary Laboratory.”
“Can I come too? My nose might be useful!”
“Hmm, then follow along.”
The Tower Master, resolved to channel his frustration at wasting an entire day into his research, headed toward the room where Bedel had set up equipment brought from the Magic Tower.
Since the interrogation had yielded nothing, the poison itself was the only lead remaining.
‘Strange.’
So the Tower Master remained glued to the second poison, which he’d designated as N002, alongside Bedel.
After analyzing the poison, his conclusion was.
“……Strange. This poison wasn’t made to target the young lord.”
The villain’s purpose had only deepened the mystery.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————