On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 71

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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 71
“……!”
My heart plummeted.
I clapped a hand over my mouth in shock, certain I’d scream otherwise.
The revelation was so jarring that I found myself wondering if this was all some terrible nightmare.
‘A nightmare. Yes, it has to be a nightmare.’
The source of Cade’s recurring nightmares was standing right in front of me.
‘So Cade was… a sacrifice for Black Magic? When he was just a child?’
The more I tried to process this incomprehensible truth, the more the room spun.
Through my connection with Tris, I felt Cade’s rage and anguish, his humiliation, his shame—all of it clawing at my chest.
As I sensed how deeply those poisonous emotions had been gnawing at him all this time, my vision blurred with tears.
Even without knowing the specifics of what had happened to him as a child, I understood it had to have been horrific.
‘So that’s why.’
Why he hated Black Magic so fiercely, why he hunted for traces of it despite believing it had vanished long ago.
Why he’d never spoken of himself during our time together, only deflected.
Now I understood.
‘Cade…….’
I couldn’t bring myself to wipe the tears streaming down my face.
The shock refused to fade; my body trembled, and I was beginning to merge with the churning emotions of both the Crystal Whale and Cade, on the verge of collapsing into sobs.
Even Tris seemed ready to cry out at any moment and revert to his true form, and I found myself dreading it.
‘Please. You’re all right. Tris.’
I tried to calm him even as my own emotions spiraled beyond my control. It was impossible.
“I told you to discard these each time. What were you thinking, contaminating important Magic Circles?”
The Head Maid grumbled irritably, then upended the box and dumped its contents into the Sea.
The crystals that fell were pitch-black and deeply cracked.
The Black Mage and the Grand Duke’s servants exchanged a few more words before taking the Crystal Whale Blood and the crystals and disappearing into the Tunnel.
I’d held onto Tris through my Empathic Resonance until the door nearly shut; the moment I went limp with exhaustion, he released his Invisibility Magic and reverted to his true form.
Growl. Growl.
The bewildered Magical Beast, consumed by anguish, raked his sharp claws across the floor and walls.
“Huh…….”
I wept as I felt Cade’s emotions pouring through Tris—they hurt so much I could barely breathe.
“You’ve always been like this. You don’t listen, you’re wrong about everything! Something about you is broken!”
“……!”
So that’s why I’d been so shocked by what had seemed like such a small thing.
“You’re right—I’m broken, and I have no way to convince you or make you understand.”
He’d said it so casually, almost like self-harm, calling himself broken.
The fact that I’d never suspected it filled me with both sorrow and remorse.
As tears poured down my face, Cade suddenly burst through the Secret Door.
He was breathing hard, his eyes wild as he scanned the Tunnel. The Teleportation Prevention Barrier had forced him to run the last stretch.
Magic Circles flickered and pulsed around his hands, and the sight of them looked terrifyingly dangerous.
Once he confirmed that only I was inside the Tunnel, he approached and grabbed my shoulders. His cold hands were trembling.
“Forget everything. I wasn’t trying to deceive you. Well, I was deceiving you, but what you just heard—I mean, during all the time we’ve been together, nothing of Black Magic has touched you. You’re safe. I was so careful. So just forget what you heard here and don’t worry about it—.”
“Cade.”
I called to him through my sobs, and he finally stopped rambling and looked at my face.
“You……!”
His face went pale so suddenly it frightened me, and he cradled my cheeks with a sharp, hardened expression.
“Why are you crying? What did that filthy bastard do to you? Tell me. Right now.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Emotion welled up inside me, and I suddenly threw my arms around him.
“……!”
He went rigid, his arms lifting awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, Cade.”
“……Doesn’t it disgust you?”
“I didn’t know, and I said something cruel.”
“Doesn’t it terrify you? Didn’t you hear what the Black Mage said? It’s all true.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything.”
“That’s exactly why.”
“I…….”
His voice cracked like his throat was closing, and he buried his face in my shoulder. His arms, which had hung awkwardly at his sides, finally wrapped around my back.
“I’m broken just like you said—like that mad Black Mage said. But I know I can’t be forgiven for what I did to you.”
“I said sorry, didn’t I? Nobody’s asking for forgiveness. I was wrong—stop calling yourself broken.”
I sobbed and struck his shoulder once. He wiped at his eyes with reddened corners and gently brushed the tears from my cheeks.
We exchanged wet-eyed glances, and I suddenly realized how close his face was to mine.
“……!”
Startled, I pushed away from his shoulders and created distance between us.
Hurt flashed across Cade’s face.
“If you’re afraid of me, I understand.”
My heart sank at those words, and I frantically shook my head in denial.
“It’s not fear! I’m just too overwhelmed by emotion right now……. We’re not the kind of people who should be standing so close…….”
“……Doesn’t matter what it is. There’s something more important we need to deal with.”
Whether he believed me or not, Cade turned away in silence, his hands clenched into fists.
I could feel a murderous intent rising through all his anguish.
“……!”
I rushed forward and grabbed him, holding him back.
“Wait. Calm down. You can’t do this.”
“No. I should have killed him long ago. This waiting was a mistake.”
“Not like this. Not ever. There are procedures for everything, and this time, those procedures will be absolutely necessary.”
Working for the Imperial Court had taught me how difficult and complicated it was to oppose the Imperial Family.
Despite being called noble, the Imperial Family was no cleaner than anyone else. Many Civil Servants had tried to expose them, yet none had ever succeeded.
Not once had things ended well.
But Cade wanted to chase down the Black Mage immediately regardless of my protests.
“What procedures are you talking about?”
“There are many important ones, but before that, there’s something I need to do.”
I wiped the tears from my face and pointed toward the bound Crystal Whale.
“Help me with this.”
***
Once Cade calmed, Tris gradually settled as well.
He’d returned to his small form and still growled with a troubled temperament, but he showed no signs of transforming back to his true size as a great fox Magical Beast.
My own heart continued to race with anxiety, but as my inflamed emotions gradually subsided, I regained clarity.
I’d resolved not to let Cade shake me anymore, but I hadn’t anticipated something like this.
He must have been deeply startled when I suddenly threw my arms around him. His reciprocation came from his own weakened resolve.
But now, with both of us having faced the reality of our relationship, we maintained an appropriate distance.
That same awkward, slightly uncomfortable atmosphere from the Magic Tower settled between us.
Given where we were, it was unavoidable that we still relied on each other.
‘Get it together, Vivian Solling. Don’t let a moment of pity and guilt make you repeat your mistakes.’
I steadied my scattered mind and stroked Tris as if to soothe myself, then comforted him.
While I did this, Cade, who had been examining the Crystal Whale’s restraints, clicked his tongue.
“It’s a miracle it’s still alive.”
“Do you think it would die if we released it into the Sea?”
“What’s your sense of it?”
“…….”
I hadn’t been able to look directly at the Crystal Whale since earlier.
It wasn’t because I couldn’t bear its pain, or even because its very existence felt repugnant to me as usual.
A guilt similar to what I felt toward Cade seemed to be stabbing at me relentlessly.
Here I was, nominally a Crystal Whale Ecology Investigator, yet I hadn’t even suspected what was happening to my assigned creature—I’d only been thinking of transferring departments.
And I’d gained my Empathic Resonance precisely because of this Crystal Whale.
I was ashamed and disgusted with myself.

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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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