On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 74

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

Chapter 74
“…….”
“And if His Majesty has already overlooked it, there’s no chance of success. The moment you move against the 2nd Princess, you’ll be branded a traitor.”
Cade let out a frustrated sigh, as if he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“Damn.”
“Cade. I know it’s maddening, but something like this demands thorough preparation. Even with every contingency in place, paperwork rarely yields the result you want.”
“……I understand.”
“Then let’s gather all the materials here.”
“We can take them using Duplication Magic.”
While Cade duplicated the documents, I examined the magical beasts and animals trapped in the iron cages.
Their eyes flickered as if they might lose consciousness at any moment.
“Cade. These magical beasts and animals here…….”
As I faltered, he approached and checked their conditions.
“It’s too late to save them. Their mana is barely flickering. They’ll be dead soon.”
Cade’s words held no shock for me—I could already feel their life force dimming.
With a heavy heart, I gazed at the dying magical beasts.
“……Does it hurt?”
“Who knows. They’re probably frightened, at least.”
His answer sounded as though it came from experience, and that thought pained me.
From what I could see here alone, these beasts had endured cruelty so severe they could barely feel their own suffering.
Still, there was something I could do—I could keep them from fearing what came next.
Though I couldn’t erase the agony they’d already endured, I could ease their minds in these final moments.
I cradled the emotions of the trapped magical beasts, holding them as death approached.
With my Attunement Ability, I held each one close, comforting and caressing them one by one.
‘Dream of something good. A dream where you run freely, without cages or chains…….’
As the magical beasts found peace, the atmosphere slowly softened, and the animals too seemed to grow slightly calmer.
“I’m sorry. My ability can only do this much.”
I whispered, holding back tears, and Cade spoke softly in return.
“Vivian. Speaking from someone who’s been pulled back from nightmares thanks to your power more than once—that’s anything but ‘only this much.'”
Though it might have been mere formality meant to console me, Cade’s words brought genuine comfort.
We gathered the documents duplicated by magic and prepared to leave. Since we’d snuck in, we had to get out before our presence was discovered.
As a final act, Cade copied the image of the altar used in the dark magic onto a blank sheet of paper.
The fading farewells of those dying creatures brushed faintly against my senses.
Even after leaving that hidden Dark Magic Laboratory, the horrific sight remained vivid, as if burned into my mind.
‘Is there anything else we can do here?’
I gazed up at the crystal hovering where the Crystal Whale had been held, then reached out toward Tris.
[Whimper…….]
“It’s all right. We’re leaving now. Don’t be afraid.”
When I lifted and soothed Tris, the creature buried its head in my arms—anxious all this while.
Through Empathic Resonance with Cade’s emotions, Tris had suffered alongside him and felt the slow, painful deaths of those magical beasts.
So Tris, just like me, must have found every breath in this space suffocating and agonizing.
As we broke free from that stifling, terrible warehouse, Cade suddenly stiffened.
He drew out a pocket watch from within his robes and opened it. It looked like an ordinary pocket watch on the surface, but its interior was engraved with a magic circle—a magical device.
His expression turned grave as he stared at the device, then snapped it shut.
“There’s a problem with the Central Barrier.”
“What? That’s serious, isn’t it? Go check it out.”
I urged him to go, but instead, Cade turned back and extended his hand toward me.
“You have to come too. I need your help to fix what’s happened to the Central Barrier.”
“……What?”
It was an unexpected turn, but there was only one reason he’d need me.
“Did the magical beasts cause the problem?”
Cade didn’t give a straight answer and fumbled.
“……It’s not exactly that, but let’s say an Attuner’s power is needed.”
If it wasn’t because of the beasts, I didn’t understand why he’d take me along. But since an Attuner was necessary, I decided to take his hand.
The sensation of Teleportation never felt natural, no matter how many times I experienced it.
Still, whether it was my imagination or not, this Teleportation felt more stable than the previous ones.
Cade’s grip on my hand was extraordinarily firm.
***
Melgote Frozen Wasteland.
Barrier stones were erected across frozen earth hills that had hardened like rock from repeated freezing and thawing.
At the center of a great magic circle rested the Central Barrier Stone, above which a ring gleamed with ethereal light.
A conduit that wove together countless spells and organically connected Melgote’s barriers.
But today, that conduit—which was always shrouded in overlapping protective wards—was in a state unlike any before.
“Damn it! The protective ward is broken!”
A Wizard shouted while deflecting enemy attacks.
“I’ve sent the signal—the Tower Master will be here soon!”
Ben, who’d made this bold claim, clicked his tongue where no one could hear.
After a year of relentless assaults, the protective ward had finally shattered, and the ring’s position had shifted subtly out of alignment.
Since the conduit sustained countless spells and barriers, it was a delicate and temperamental object.
Even the slightest misalignment would cause several barriers to flicker out or weaken.
‘Already a few barriers here have gone dark.’
Only the ring’s owner could realign its position, which made things troublesome.
For that reason, the Central Barrier’s conduit was typically designated as the Tower Master’s most precious possession.
But the new, reckless Tower Master had chosen his dead fiancée’s ring as the conduit, and now they had no idea what to do.
Then the Tower Master appeared not far away.
“Tower Master! Right now……?”
As Ben rushed toward Cade, he noticed that Vivian was at his side.
‘Why is the Investigator……?’
Not just Ben but the other Wizards glanced over with confusion, though Cade paid them no mind and focused on assessing the number of enemies.
“That’s thirteen, right?”
“Y-yes, fifteen, sir. Two left briefly to replenish scrolls, it seems. But…….”
Ben exchanged a respectful nod with Vivian and posed the question.
“Investigator, what brings you here? It’s dangerous.”
“I’m not entirely sure myself. I was just told there was something I could help with.”
“Move aside.”
Cade pushed Ben out of the way and deflected an incoming magical attack.
Then he pointed at Vivian, who flinched with each burst of magic fire.
“The Investigator can realign the conduit.”
Ben responded as if wondering whether the Tower Master had lost his mind.
“Pardon? That can’t be right.”
“Ben. The Investigator can do it.”
“But that conduit is…….”
Then, as Cade’s insistence registered, something clicked and Ben gasped in shock.
“You’ve got to be kidding?!”
Vivian looked bewildered, glancing back and forth between Cade and Ben.
“What? Why are you both like this? What’s going on?”
“What are you even thinking……?”
Ben shook his head slowly, still reeling from shock. Then he pointed to the light hovering above the Central Barrier Stone and asked.
“Investigator, do you know what that is?”
“Ben.”
Cade called his name in warning.
Ben trudged toward the other Wizards, muttering to himself.
“Lord, there are plenty of mad people in this world, but…….”
“……?”
Vivian still couldn’t grasp the situation and stared intently at the luminous cluster above the barrier stone.
If it was such an important conduit, the way it floated enshrouded in light was almost beautiful.
It seemed enclosed in a rounded protective sphere, but through a small gap where the barrier had fractured, a ring was faintly visible.
‘Ah. So that’s the late fiancée’s ring.’
Vivian belatedly understood Ben’s strange reaction.
‘He’s acting like I’m some new romantic prospect for the Tower Master.’
From Ben’s perspective, arriving at the place where his late fiancée’s ring was kept would naturally be bewildering.
As Vivian regarded the ring with reluctance, a sudden sense of déjà vu struck her.
‘Wait…… where have I seen this before?’
Just as she stepped forward to look closer, a translucent curtain spread wide around the barrier stone.
Faced with something concerning magic, she turned to Cade without hesitation.
From the way the light wavering near his hand had vanished, it was clear he had intentionally hidden it.

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