On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 73
“Wait here. Or go back to the Magic Tower first.”
“No. I’m coming in too.”
When I refused Cade’s suggestion firmly, he shook his head.
“We don’t know what’s in there. We don’t know what might happen.”
“You said earlier that the Dark Mage was using Magical Beasts as sacrifices. There could be other creatures locked up besides the Crystal Whale.”
Seeing that I wasn’t about to back down easily, he sighed and gestured to Tris.
“Tris. Stay right beside her.”
A soft chirp sounded.
Tris immediately plastered itself against my side, wrapped its tail around my leg once, and released it.
Cade picked up an empty Crystal, infused it with mana, and left it floating where the Crystal Whale had been confined.
“This should keep the Crystal Whale’s escape hidden for several hours.”
The door that appeared in response to the mana opened, with Cade taking the lead.
Beyond it lay a hidden altar and what looked like a breeding ground.
I gasped.
A stench so overwhelming I could hardly believe it had been hidden by just one door came pouring out—the smell of blood.
I covered my nose and mouth with my hands, swallowing down nausea as I looked around.
Animals and Magical Beasts locked in iron cages lay limp and listless.
Some of the animals bore Crystal Whale Crystals embedded in their backs, apparently transplanted for experimentation.
I could sense mana, but they didn’t seem to have become true Magical Beasts.
‘I can’t read their emotions through my Attunement Ability.’
They seemed so drained of vitality they hadn’t even noticed our arrival.
Faced with the gruesome sight, I heard a pained groan beside me.
Cade’s eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw clenched so hard the tendons stood out.
“Cade…!”
Though I didn’t know much about Dark Magic, his reaction and the suspicious altar made it clear this was a Dark Mage’s space.
If Cade had been confined to a place like this during the time he was called a “Young Sacrifice,” this scene would be enough to trigger his trauma.
“Cade. You can wait outside. It doesn’t look like there are any people in here, so I’ll search quickly and get out.”
“…No. No, I have to be the one to do this—if there’s a way to make that mad Princess and the Dark Mage pay.”
He took a few deep breaths, then stepped forward.
I don’t know how deep Cade’s wounds run, but I understand that coming close to something that causes him such suffering is agonizing.
‘Even though he still has nightmares.’
I decided to hurry through this place so he could escape it as soon as possible.
“There are records here.”
Scattered across a messy table were records of activities in this place and various Dark Magic documentation.
To understand what was happening here, I searched through the records and materials thoroughly.
Every sheet of paper that fell into my hands was filled with shocking content.
The more I turned through the documents, the more the stench and foul odor of this place seemed to intensify.
“This wasn’t the first Crystal Whale I’d seen here. I suspected as much from the whaling ships, but…”
The records showed a pattern: illegally captured Crystal Whales were exploited until they died, then new ones were brought in to be exploited again.
Most of the Dark Magic being performed with the blood and life force of the Crystal Whale seemed related to experiments happening here.
There were endless attempts to implant crystals containing mana into animals without mana to turn them into Magical Beasts.
‘It looks like some of the animals showed Magical Beast abilities shortly after implantation, but then became unstable as empty Crystals had their mana refilled repeatedly.’
I still couldn’t fathom why the Princess was working with the Dark Mage to do all this.
What was there to gain from turning animals into Magical Beasts, sea creatures into Monster Beasts?
A stronger grip over Melgote and the coastline against the threat of monsters?
‘The position of Grand Duke of Melgote can only go to the Imperial Family member with the strongest mana anyway. The Princess’s position is already secure.’
Satisfying some twisted curiosity about the little-known Crystal Whale?
‘But when I visited the Princess’s residence, she never asked me about Crystal Whales. Even though she knew I’m an Attuner in the Crystal Whale Department.’
No matter what reason I considered, nothing felt right.
“Vivian. Look at this.”
That’s when Cade called me with a meaningful voice.
After reviewing the records first, Cade handed me a sheet with a grim expression.
Upon seeing the contents, my face turned just as grave.
“Crystal implantation in humans…?”
The documents described experiments where Crystals were implanted in humans and continuously charged with mana to enable them to use Magic.
Initially there were frequent failures due to instability, but over time various approaches increased the stability.
And each increase in stability required enormous numbers of Magical Beasts to be consumed as “sacrifices.”
After reading through the materials, I stared blankly at Cade.
“The Princess…?”
As I muttered in disbelief, he nodded slowly and added his words.
“Wasn’t a Wizard.”
I gasped.
The shock of deducing from the circumstances versus actually hearing it said aloud was vastly different.
I’d considered the possibility that the Princess might be a Dark Mage, but I’d never imagined she wasn’t a Wizard at all.
Every Imperial child dreams of becoming a Wizard at some point in their childhood, but that dream only belongs to youth.
Why would someone artificially want to become a Wizard?
“Did she need the position of Grand Duke?”
“She wanted the position of Tower Master.”
“The Tower… Tower Master?!”
“From the start, the Princess wanted to become Tower Master. If I hadn’t returned to the Magic Tower, she would have become it.”
Unlike my startled reaction, Cade spoke as though relaying facts he already knew.
“She’s still watching for her chance.”
“How could she possibly…?”
As I let out a pained sigh, something seemed to dawn on him and he laughed bitterly.
“So it makes sense that I’d feel mana as clear as a Crystal Whale’s. She must have implanted a Crystal Whale Crystal in herself.”
Then he turned back to me and asked,
“Come to think of it, you said you didn’t feel the Princess’s mana clearly.”
Cade added at the end of his question as though thinking aloud,
“Was that really true?”
I was taken aback by the way he asked, as though he’d never believed me.
“That’s what I said. Did you think I was lying?”
“To me it feels offensively clear.”
“Everyone said the same thing, so I thought it was strange too. From the moment I stepped into the Princess’s residence, it felt repulsive and unsettling.”
Cade still looked puzzled.
“How could you possibly feel something different from everyone else?”
“I found something in the Mirror Library—if an Attuner undergoes Secondary Awakening with the mana of a Crystal Whale, they can do it, and―”
I explained about my Secondary Awakening of my Attunement Ability and how it made me sensitive to monsters and Dark Magic.
“―So I thought the chilling aura I felt from the Princess was because of traces of monsters. Well, now I see the monsters were created by Dark Magic anyway.”
He fell silent.
Cade’s expression grew serious as he listened to my explanation.
“How were you exposed to the Crystal Whale’s mana?”
“Ah.”
I realized too late that I’d revealed I’d met the Crystal Whale and become an Attuner.
‘Why did I say that!’
I absolutely didn’t want him to know that I’d fallen into the sea after he rejected me, wallowing in self-pity.
“It just… happened that way. Anyway, let’s focus on these documents in front of us for now.”
As I gathered up the scattered papers and changed the subject, he gave me a suspicious look but mercifully didn’t press further.
Cade held up several sheets in his hand and shook them as he asked,
“Is this the ‘procedure’ you said was so important? If so, there’s no way the Princess can weasel out of this now, right?”
“No. This alone isn’t enough. We need decisive evidence.”
At my words, Cade furrowed his brow.
“Evidence is overflowing here. What’s the problem?”
“Look carefully. There’s no evidence that all these materials here are connected to the Princess.”
“The Princess’s subordinates and the Dark Mage talking about her should be recorded in that necklace.”
I laughed bitterly and explained the reality of the Imperial Palace.
“They’ll claim the subordinates acted on their own initiative and cut ties. There are plenty of cases that have ended that way.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————