I Became the Magic Tower Master's Experimental Mouse - Chapter 69

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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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“A false death? What on earth do you mean by that?”
Griffin looked at the Tower Master in bewilderment.
“Exactly as I said. But there’s something we must establish first.”
The Tower Master wiped his hands calmly and continued.
“We need to determine when and where the young lord ingested the poison.”
“You can figure that out?”
“This poison activates within four days of entering the mouth.”
It was a timeline I’d learned firsthand through watching Schultz poison Cassian.
“Where was the young lord in the days before he collapsed?”
“He was on his first leave after joining. Spent five days at the Mansion, and collapsed in his Bedroom the night before his return.”
“Then the poisoning occurred at the Mansion.”
The Duke’s face trembled with shock.
“There is an enemy among those who have access to the young lord’s food and chambers. To catch that person, we must stage a false death.”
The Duke dried his face with his hands and sighed.
“If word leaks that the heir has died, it will throw the entire household into chaos—the retainers especially. And with your successors poisoned one after another, how do we manage the guard duties?”
“Report it to the Imperial Palace as a riding accident or some other injury requiring recovery.”
The Tower Master answered without hesitation.
“Beyond that, you only need to deceive those within the Mansion who saw the young lord around the time of his poisoning.”
“Why must we resort to such deception? Couldn’t we simply catch the culprit quietly?”
The Duke asked, plainly uneasy.
The Tower Master glanced back at me and Cassian briefly.
“You two should head upstairs now.”
“What? Right now?”
I pouted at the sudden dismissal.
I was curious about how the Tower Master would set his trap!
“Squawk!” (I’m involved in this too!)
“That’s right! Cassian says he’s a party to this too!”
I relayed Cassian’s protest.
The Tower Master hesitated for a moment, then sighed and continued.
“You must not speak a word of this outside.”
“Yes!”
“Squawk!” (No one would hear me anyway!)
We answered promptly, and the Duke gestured for us to get to the point.
“This poison’s true target is not the young lord.”
“What are you saying? My son has suffered this fate.”
“Both the Behemoth young lord and the Griffin young lord are merely test subjects. I’ve suspected it since the Behemoth incident, and now I’m certain.”
“Who dares make a Divine Beast—my own son—a test subject?”
A terrible killing intent rolled off Griffin in an instant of fury.
For a moment he lost control, but the instant he saw my small frame waver under the weight of his intent, he quickly suppressed it.
“I apologize. I lost myself for a moment.”
I shook my head at the Duke’s apology.
There was no way he could remain composed when his child had been used as a poison test subject.
“They start with young Divine Beasts, then move to slightly older ones, gradually expanding their scope. If a third victim appears, it will likely be an adult. And after that…”
A chill passed across the Tower Master’s face.
“They will target the strongest Divine Beast on this continent.”
The blood drained from the Duke’s face.
As head of the house that guards the Imperial Palace, he could never be ignorant of that Divine Beast.
“The Emperor.”
“Yes. I believe they’re targeting the Imperial family.”
The Duke staggered for a moment.
In an instant, his expression shifted from father to knight, and his eyes fixed on the Tower Master.
“Are you truly certain?”
“I am. The Duke Behemoth already knows this as well.”
“Then…”
Griffin nodded.
“If we can catch them in my own yard, we must do whatever it takes. I will inform His Majesty of this matter directly.”
“Good. Let me explain the detailed plan.”
The Tower Master laid out the charade in meticulous detail for the Duke.
“Identify anyone who had access to the young lord’s meals, medicine, clothing, or bedding at that time, or anyone who spent considerable time in his presence.”
“……And then what else?”
The Duke’s fists trembled as he found himself forced to doubt his own retainers.
“And prepare a funeral. In secret, quietly. When you make the arrangements, tell each of them a different burial location.”
“That part isn’t difficult, but…….”
“However, each location must be different.”
The Duke’s eyes widened.
I grasped the Tower Master’s intention in that moment.
‘Ah……! If someone appears at one of those locations……!’
Odds were strong that person would be the culprit.
“……In the unlikely event that there’s no reaction at all?”
“Since this is an experiment, someone will certainly attempt to verify the data. But even so, that would be an answer in itself. Proof of poisoning through a different method.”
The Tower Master shrugged as he spoke.
“Whether it’s a coffin bearer or someone pretending to be a passerby, every single visitor must be documented.”
“Understood.”
The Duke nodded.
“Surveillance should be entrusted to the Information Guild or…… well, to outsiders. You can’t trust anyone within the Mansion at this point.”
“Hah, to think we’re staging a theatrical performance with His Majesty’s safety at stake.”
The Duke exhaled slowly, then turned to look at his son asleep on the bed.
“When Aquila wakes, he’ll be shocked to learn his funeral is being held in multiple locations.”
“The Griffin House will weather it with fortitude.”
The Tower Master answered matter-of-factly.
I felt laughter bubbling up at the worst possible moment and pressed my lips firmly shut.
* * *
That night.
Cassian, who had returned to Pipi’s room, sat in a basket atop the side table with his short legs crossed, lost in thought.
Pipi, exhausted, was sleeping soundly on the adjacent bed.
‘……I could go back now, if I wanted to.’
He knew it well enough already.
He could return whenever he chose.
‘If I became human again…….’
His limbs would be free.
He wouldn’t need to be carried everywhere by someone else.
He could resume his Swordsmanship training.
‘……Is that all there is?’
Yet in his current form, he could nestle in Pipi’s arms, sleep in her room, and avoid pointless conversations with worthless people.
‘……This form has overwhelmingly more advantages.’
Struck by the sheer incomparable appeal of it, Cassian’s nose twitched with a soft snort.
The moment he became human again, the nine-year-old young lord would be expelled from this room. Propriety demanded it.
‘And besides, being near Pipi makes me feel good.’
He had no desire to be far from Pipi.
This dependence only grew, until he wanted to shred apart any obstacle that might separate her from him.
‘In this form, even the Tower Master doesn’t dare touch me.’
Cassian recalled the Tower Master’s complete indifference even when he and Pipi pressed close together, and smiled darkly.
* * *
Days later, someone stepped into a secluded chapel on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital and froze.
He had come deliberately the day before, having heard the funeral would be held the next day.
He needed to open the coffin a day early to verify the corpse’s condition and confirm whether the Core had been struck properly.
But the chapel was not yet arranged for the funeral.
‘What is the meaning of this……?’
The man turned immediately, alarmed.
But someone was already standing at the entrance.
A watcher, waiting for just such a visitor.
“A delivery, sir. I’ve brought candles for tomorrow’s service ahead of time.”
The man spoke in a measured tone, holding up a box.
The watcher at the entrance approached with a smile.
“……Tch.”
Of course, no one had ordered candles—it was purely a disguise—so the watcher should have approached with suspicion rather than a smile.
The man, sensing something had gone wrong, immediately bolted toward the chapel’s rear exit.
“Hold it!”
The watcher called after him and hurled a Short Sword.
The Short Sword flashed across the man’s sleeve in an instant, slicing cleanly through fabric before he darted away.
The man fled the Chapel with relief, grateful the blade had missed him.
Of course, the Information Guild member watching felt no alarm.
He had already glimpsed the tattoo on the man’s inner forearm, and besides, more Guild operatives were already positioned at the rear exit.
* * *
Duke Griffin entered the Audience Chamber with heavy bearing.
It had been years since he’d had a private audience with the Emperor.
Ever since the incident seven years ago, the Emperor had remained in self-seclusion.
If Griffin hadn’t petitioned for this meeting himself, the Emperor would likely have sent word to submit his business in writing from the start.
“Griffin pays his respects to Your Majesty!”
The Duke bowed deeply, his tense face hidden beyond his brow as he caught only the Emperor’s shadow in his field of vision.
“……Come now, Duke. What manner of theatrics is being staged in the Imperial Capital?”
At the Emperor’s words, a chill ran down Griffin’s spine.
Though the Emperor’s retreat had grown so prolonged, not a single minister dared resist — because from his seat, the Emperor knew everything.
‘Surely His Majesty already knows of this as well?’
For a moment that thought occupied the Duke’s mind, but he cast it aside and proceeded to recount the affair in full.
The poison that kills Divine Beasts. The experiments inflicted upon two heirs. And the targets that followed.
“……Thus the culprit appears to be targeting Your Majesty, Sire.”
“……A poison that kills Basilisk.”
At last, the Emperor let out a soft laugh.

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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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