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Chapter: 19
I had been worried that nothing would happen right up until I actually boarded the train and left, but the Tower Master did not disappoint me.
It seemed that I really had to cause this much of a commotion to provoke him.
When is he going to show himself?
As I blinked, a voice suddenly rang out and called to me.
“You’re awake, it seems.”
The Tower Master, Moremo, was smiling faintly as he looked at me.
“It seems the medicine was a bit strong. I was worried because you didn’t wake up even after a full day had passed.”
His lips were smiling, but his eyes were cold, exuding a chilling air.
A whole day passed?
I had clearly warned Leonar last night that I would cause trouble today.
Naturally, the message should have reached Pellion. Had he not returned to the Magic Tower?
Then today would be the second day.
The thought crossed my mind that perhaps he had no intention of saving me, but if that were the case, he wouldn’t have had Leonar keep watch over me either, so I forcefully pushed the idea aside.
It might just take him some time to get here. Though I don’t know if I’ll be safe during that time.
The last time I was kidnapped, Pellion had appeared at just the right moment, sparing me from serious harm—but this time, there was no telling what would happen.
It’s fine. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for this.
No matter what he did, I wouldn’t cry, so the outcome Moremo wanted would never come to pass.
Control your expression.
“You look curious about where you are. This is the laboratory in my private residence. Ever since the first time I saw you, Miss Ophelia, I’ve been eagerly waiting for the day I could invite you here.”
So it’s his private residence.
If this wasn’t the Magic Tower, then without someone’s help, the chances of escaping were slim.
I had given Leonar a pendant that would tell him my location, so all I could do was hope that Pellion would arrive before things went wrong.
I can’t even move my body.
I didn’t know what kind of drug he had used, but I couldn’t move an inch.
As I tried frowning deeply to see if I could at least blink, the Tower Master suddenly leaned in close and examined me.
His faded eyes scrutinized me as if dissecting me piece by piece. Then he curved his eyes and smiled.
“Don’t worry. It’s not a drug that harms the body. It simply anesthetizes you.”
He spoke gently, but regardless, my body was restrained, and since I couldn’t move my lips, I was unable to speak.
This is more serious than I thought.
When I glared at him angrily, Moremo merely smiled and began explaining what was happening.
“I heard from Elise. Apparently, my indifference has caused you quite a bit of distress, Miss Ophelia.”
I glared at him as if asking what he intended to do about it, but he didn’t lose his smile.
“I was simply watching over you because I wanted to help in my own way. I never imagined you wouldn’t be able to endure even that much. Your spirit impressed me—but only up to that point.”
After mocking my supposed weakness, he wiped the smile from his face and asked a familiar question.
“Miss Ophelia, I’ll ask again. Do you truly have no intention of becoming my disciple?”
Thankfully, I could still move my eyelids, so I blinked frantically.
It was a clear expression of refusal, and as if he understood, he muttered regretfully,
“Then I suppose I have no choice but to accept you not as a disciple, but as a test subject.”
A test subject?
When my eyes widened, he smiled as though he had seen an amusing reaction.
“I was planning to treat you kindly, since you’re a rather valuable material. But since you kicked that opportunity away yourself, you should consider whatever happens next as something you brought upon yourself.”
Perhaps deciding there was no longer any need for courtesy, his tone and attitude changed instantly. Like he was scolding a misbehaving child, he spoke and then brought something over to show me.
“Do you know what this is?”
As he came closer, I could see something settled at the bottom of the orb he was holding.
“This is a mermaid’s scale.”
A scale?
I hadn’t been sure at first, but this was the very orb containing a metal fragment that had once caught my eye when I visited the Tower Master’s room.
“It also explains why I tried to take you as my disciple, even though no magical power can be seen in you.”
My lips still wouldn’t move. As I continued glaring at him in frustration, he let out a hollow laugh, calling me bold.
“This is troublesome. Not being able to talk makes it frustrating.”
He picked up a potion bottle beside him and poured its contents into my mouth.
Perhaps thanks to the medicine soaking in, I soon felt sensation return to my lips, and they began to move at my will.
However, only my mouth was free—my arms and legs were still immobile.
“What is the meaning of this?”
He brushed my question aside lightly.
“This is an heirloom passed down in my family for a very long time. It reacts when someone with mermaid blood is nearby—like this.”
He told me to look closely and held the orb right in front of my face. The closer it came, the higher the scale floated.
“Suddenly talking about mermaids—this makes no sense. I was simply trying to leave the Magic Tower. You wanted me gone, didn’t you? So I’m leaving. What’s the problem?”
Once again, he ignored me.
“Ophelia, do you know anything about Hexwood?”
His tone was arrogant, as if he alone knew the answer. I wanted to shake my head, but since only my mouth could move, I deliberately played dumb.
“How would I know? I don’t know anything.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. But that’s not really a problem. You can learn everything by studying with me from now on.”
He laughed heartily and moved the orb to the side. Seeing the scale sink slightly, his smile deepened.
Did he research immortality magic using mermaid pearls? I should draw this out and dig deeper while I can.
“I’m not the Vice Tower Master’s daughter. I won’t tell anyone—so please, just let me go.”
“It doesn’t matter whose child you are. What matters is that you are of the Hexwood bloodline, which carries the power of mermaids.”
His words struck at the heart of the matter, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Mermaid blood is truly fascinating. Perhaps because of its mysterious power, it also has remarkable resistance to magic. I was overjoyed when I heard that you broke through Elise’s hypnosis.”
His words made me recall the strange incident at the train station.
No wonder it felt odd when our eyes met.
Now it all made sense.
“In the old texts, that power is called ‘mermaid magic.’”
Startled by the revelation, I muttered without thinking.
“I have mermaid magic?”
Though it was just a murmur, Moremo proudly pointed to the orb.
“Yes. This scale is the proof.”
He couldn’t hide his satisfied smile.
“A very long time ago, the first head of our family saved a dying mermaid. As thanks, the mermaid gifted him a scale and a pearl. Sensing the magic within them, the head realized that the power of mermaids could become a means to save humanity. Sadly, after that, they were never able to encounter a mermaid again.”
Perhaps feeling at ease, he began pouring out his thoughts freely.
“But even so, we couldn’t simply abandon the progress of humanity. We continued searching for mermaids and kept a close watch on Hexwood.”
It makes sense, if Hexwood’s ancestor was a mermaid.
Still, I put on a blank, ignorant expression.
“The ancestor of Hexwood was a mermaid with mysterious powers. A mermaid’s tears contained special magic that could cure all illnesses, and thanks to the pearls formed from those tears, the emperor of the time—whose illness was cured—granted the mermaid the surname Hexwood.”
Lost in his own excitement, he muttered endlessly as he moved closer to me.
“We learned that, very rarely, a child with mermaid power is born into the Hexwood family. I never thought I’d see one in my lifetime…”
Then he looked at me with an expression of awe.
“I really am lucky in my old age. Just when my research was stagnating, such perfect material comes rolling right in.”
The way he spoke of me not as a person, but as an object, sent chills down my spine.
“What kind of research requires you to go this far?”
“Immortality.”
“!”
“I’m researching a way to free humanity from the fear of death.”
