On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 70

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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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Episode 70
Someone had arrived.
“……!”
I froze, instinctively searching for a place to hide.
[Beep.]
Then a pure white fox-shaped Magical Beast materialized from empty air.
“Tris?!”
My eyes widened as Tris somersaulted through the air and nestled into my arms.
In that instant, both Tris and I became transparent.
Squeak.
We’d concealed ourselves just before the door swung open.
‘What is Tris doing here? I never knew it had this ability.’
Even as bewilderment flooded through me, holding Tris in my arms let me sense the presence of someone connected to the familiar.
‘……Cade.’
Tris wouldn’t have the strength to follow me this far outside the Magic Tower on its own; it must have come on its master’s command.
A Magical Necklace hung around Tris’s neck. I’d seen it once in the Magic Tower’s research lab.
It was a magical tool that let Cade hear sounds traveling through the necklace.
It seemed both Tris and the necklace were currently connected to Cade.
‘……Why? Is he watching me?’
Our relationship had deteriorated recently, so I couldn’t think of any reason other than surveillance.
In a way, I was grateful he was monitoring me now—it kept me hidden.
‘I don’t know why he attached Tris to me, but at least I won’t be discovered because of it.’
Pressed against the wall, I stroked Tris and held my breath.
Moments later, the warehouse door creaked open, and figures in women’s clothing entered.
The instant they lowered the shawls that had covered their faces, I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock.
I nearly gasped aloud.
‘Those people……!’
Astonishingly, every single one of them was a maid I’d seen at the Grand Duke of Melgote’s estate.
They showed no surprise at the whaling vessel hidden within the warehouse.
Instead, they deftly manipulated a concealed lever and opened a secret door I hadn’t even known existed.
My heart hammering, I pulled Tris close and crept after them through the hidden passage.
‘This isn’t a warehouse—it’s more like a cave.’
The sound of lapping water echoed through the space.
This seemed to be the tunnel the merchants had mentioned, the one that led to the Sea. They’d said it was sealed, yet someone was using it regularly.
It was a strange sight, but I had no leisure to marvel. My heart raced with mounting dread.
The presence of the Crystal Whale, which I’d sensed only faintly outside, became overwhelmingly strong here.
A few steps farther, and the tunnel opened onto a cavern where it met the Sea.
There, half-submerged in the saltwater, lay a Crystal Whale bound in layer upon layer of Binding Magic.
The crystals along its spine had been carved away entirely, and its entire body was covered in scars.
[――――.]
A cry of anguish pierced through to the bone. My breath caught.
‘How could this be…….’
Paralyzed by horror, I watched the Headmaid frown and draw out an enormous syringe.
“I told you it needs to be sedated.”
With that, she injected an enormous quantity of sedative into the Crystal Whale.
Even the impossibly intricate Binding Magic seemed insufficient to suppress such a magnificent being.
Yet despite the sedative, waves of savage anguish crashed over me like a tsunami, crushing the breath from my lungs. The emotion was so thick and intense I could scarcely breathe.
In that moment, I felt the Crystal Whale become aware of my presence.
‘What is this……?’
Through my Attunement Ability, the massive creature seemed to be reaching back toward me.
Now I understood.
The force that had kept me trapped in Melgote, unable to leave—the anguished vibrations scattered on the wind—
They were all cries for help, directed at me.
‘It’s so horrible……!’
How long had it been imprisoned here? No barrier, no magic circle, could fully muffle the Crystal Whale’s screams.
As the crushing weight of its emotions threatened to overwhelm me, I squeezed Tris tight and shut my eyes hard.
A sensation I’d never experienced before made me gag.
The old man who emerged from the hidden door felt like a creature woven from malice itself.
If a monster beast’s corrupted mana were to curse something, this was what it would feel like.
‘Who is this person? I’ve never felt anything like it. I want to run right now.’
No word could adequately describe the repulsive aura emanating from him.
“Ah, you’re right on time.”
With each step the old man took, a nauseating and sinister presence spread like poisonous mist.
The Headmaid confronted him directly.
“Dark Mage. Why are you so late?”
I studied the old man carefully, scarcely believing my ears.
A carefully groomed beard and immaculate, expensive formal clothing.
He looked like an utterly ordinary elderly gentleman.
‘That man is a Dark Mage? But Dark Magic was supposed to have disappeared…….’
“If you were to find the person in this world who hates Dark Magic most, it would be me.”
“I’m only trying to find a way to track the Dark Mage’s traces without leaving a trail.”
Suddenly, Cade’s words came back to me.
Could he have actually discovered evidence of Dark Magic?
The thought that I stood in the same space as a Dark Mage—something that shouldn’t exist—made my limbs tremble.
The Dark Mage stroked his beard and shook his head in disapproval.
“You’re impatient. I told you that Magic Circle was slow. That’s why I said we needed younger sacrifices. Tch.”
I pushed past the crushing weight of horror and strained to listen.
‘What is he talking about? Young sacrifices?’
Through Tris, I felt Cade’s emotions suddenly surge with turmoil.
Sensing the Dark Mage’s presence, Tris grew agitated in response to Cade’s disturbance.
His emotions were spiraling out of control.
‘If this keeps up, Tris’s magic will break. We’ll be discovered for certain.’
If the Dark Mage found out I was hiding here…….
I didn’t want to imagine what would happen.
‘It’s all right. Nothing will go wrong.’
As I tried to soothe Tris through our empathic bond, something felt strange.
Perhaps it was because I was connected to Cade through his familiar.
It felt as though I was peering deeper into his emotions than when we were trapped in the iron cage together in uncertainty.
I sensed not only his hatred and fear of Dark Magic, but something else—an inexplicable thirst for revenge.
I’d desperately wanted to know Cade’s inner thoughts, but experiencing his emotions this way made me deeply uncomfortable. It felt as though I were stealing a glimpse of his private journal without permission.
“If you need human sacrifices, you should have obtained them outside the Empire. In Gaiana, where slavery is forbidden, multiple children vanishing at once would draw unwanted attention, as you yourself said.”
The Headmaid’s sharp retort made the old gentleman click his tongue in displeasure.
“The Grand Duke will eventually require sacrifices as well.”
“What difference would it make if we used them as sacrifices? Do you know of any better sacrifice than a Magical Beast?”
At the Headmaid’s relentless words, the world tilted beneath me.
I remembered the ailing Magical Beasts from the auction house, the suffering creatures in the Grand Duke’s manor.
‘Could those Magical Beasts have been used as Dark Magic sacrifices?’
That explained why there had been so many Magical Beasts at the Grand Duke’s estate.
Magic’s foundation lay in weaving equations that bound one’s innate mana and the mana existing in nature, calculating through formulas to construct Magic Circles.
Dark Magic involved drawing forth more mana than one could naturally command, disregarding the equations entirely, and achieving countless terrible things through magical means.
The price paid in lifeforce.
Lost in shock, I heard the Dark Mage laugh meaningfully.
“The purer and stronger the lifeforce, the greater its value as a sacrifice. Humans are preferable to Magical Beasts, and children to adults. They’re also more susceptible to Brainwashing.”
“What happened to those young sacrifices?”
“Well, most of them broke down and died. The ones the former Tower Master took when he attacked—he likely kept those alive. But at least one is still broken. The one I mentioned before.”
The way they spoke of living Magical Beasts and children as mere tools made my stomach churn.
Through Tris, I sensed Cade’s emotions growing increasingly violent.
‘Calm down……!’
I held Tris firmly, desperately trying to steady him.
“Such an adorable puppet it was. After a few rounds of Brainwashing and torture, a simple servant magic was all it took—it would bite rats to death on command.”
The old man chuckled as though reminiscing over a cherished memory.
“The others hesitated at first when Brainwashing was applied, as if instinct made them reluctant. But not that one.”
“How twisted.”
“It was perfect as a sacrifice. Tremendous latent mana, yet innocent of magic—ideal in every way.”
Even at the Headmaid’s dry rebuke, he savored his delight, his expression utterly repugnant and vile.
‘Using Magical Beasts as Dark Magic sacrifices is already horrific—how could he do this to a person…….’
Fighting down the urge to retch, I held my breath as the Dark Mage continued boastfully.
“If I’d known that young sacrifice would become Tower Master, I’d never have let it slip away. A pity. Given that it’s called the Executioner, it might have had a talent for Dark Magic.”

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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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