Chapter 50
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Experiment (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thud.
Approaching Rose closely while holding the experimental knife,
Twitch.
Rose trembled in her shoulders but didn't back away. Nor did she avert her eyes from mine.
'Bold, isn't she.'
I wondered if she knew that kind of demeanor only provoked a man further.
Swish—
I moved the hand holding the knife. Rose tracked its path with quivering eyes.
Instead of stabbing her neck with it,
Clack.
I merely placed it on the table after passing her shoulder.
"Enough with the pointless questions."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm not going to stab my wife anyway."
I muttered the last part under my breath so she couldn't hear. Then I calmly gave the order.
"Prepare for the inspection."
Rose stood there blankly for a moment, then finally began moving when I urged her with my eyes.
"Hoo."
She placed a hand on her chest and swallowed a sigh, apparently having been quite tense after all.
"Please wait just a moment."
Just like that, Rose calmly touched the devices around the chair.
Click.
She connected a few more tubes and inserted pre-ground herbal powders into them.
"I'll start with three well-known toxic herbs. These are so common that Your Excellency is surely immune already. Think of it as a test run to check if everything works properly."
As Rose pressed a sequence of complex buttons,
Whirr—
the chair began to vibrate faintly. The gauge's needle moved, drawing intricate waveform graphs.
"Come over here, Your Excellency."
"Mm."
I nodded and approached the chair.
Knowing full well what would happen once I sat, I showed no sign of it on my face. It was something I had to endure anyway.
'She plans to do that again this time, doesn't she.'
Anticipating the next development,
Thud.
I sat in the chair. Feeling the hard sensation against my buttocks, I placed my wrists on the armrests.
Then,
Clank.
the armrest locks clamped down, securing my wrists. I was now bound inescapably to the chair.
"-!"
She really did it.
I'd braced myself, but actually experiencing it left me quite flustered.
This unfamiliar sensation of being prey caught in my own trap was something I'd never felt in my life.
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"Ah, sorry. You must have been startled."
Rose feigned surprise by furrowing her brows while brazenly spinning her lie.
"I should have warned you. It's set to activate automatically when someone sits."
"Why?"
"Because the body mustn't move during the inspection."
"Why didn't you mention such an important detail?"
"Please don't be too angry, Your Excellency. It was just a precaution."
Rose blinked quickly as if to say not to blame her too much. Then she hurriedly placed something in my hand.
"Here, this is the control key. Pressing the button under your thumb should release it."
"......"
"If you're scared or frightened, you can release it and stand up anytime."
I had to swallow a hollow laugh while looking at Rose's smiling face.
The original Dane, of course, never pressed that button.
'Does she think I'd be afraid of something like this?'
I scoffed inwardly and handed the control key right back to her, displaying towering pride as if a man could never fear such a thing.
But this too was one of Rose's cute tricks. The safety device was already in place—it wouldn't release even if pressed.
'They wouldn't give the subject that kind of authority.'
As Rose said, the body mustn't move during the inspection.
It was something she could only do with absolute certainty that I would never press that button.
That was the kind of man Dane Schmichael was, as observed by Rose across her past and present lives.
'How well does she think she knows me......'
I wasn't sure if it was cute or brazen.
"...Understood anyway."
I was tempted to press the button just to test and fluster her,
"No need for it, so take it back."
but I snorted deliberately and returned the key to her.
"...Yes."
As expected, Rose hid a knowing smile but still glanced worriedly at my face to check if I was displeased.
"Hmph."
I leaned back as if utterly unperturbed, showing no tension whatsoever.
"By the way, Madam."
"Yes?"
"If it's as you say, isn't this a remarkable invention?"
It could scan every corner of a subject's body—something the medical world would applaud with both hands.
"Why haven't you published this research? You could patent and sell it for a fortune."
"Ah... well."
Rose gave an awkward hehe laugh.
"It's based on infusing mana stones' mana into the human body and linking specific component wavelengths. This detects resonating components within the body, but as a result......"
"The cost doesn't match?"
"Yes, exactly."
Rose shrugged.
"It consumes mana stones' mana like water, so only those with substantial wealth could afford it. It's also too complex for commercialization."
"I see."
There were other reasons too, but Rose didn't confess them to me. It would come to light soon enough anyway.
Click.
I tested moving my wrists a few times, then
"Begin."
nodded to Rose.
Slide.
Rose put her glasses back on. Apparently her personal gear for important tasks requiring focus.
Click.
She dragged over wires with clips at the ends and began attaching them to my body.
Click, click.
With a serious expression, she pressed various spots on the control panel.
Whirr—
A stronger vibration than before rumbled from the chair beneath my buttocks.
"It'll enter soon."
Rose's calm voice reached me.
"3, 2, 1....... It's starting."
I felt unfamiliar mana flowing into my body. A cold energy spread through my veins to every corner.
"Mm......"
I lowered my eyes and focused on the strange sensation.
"Are you alright?"
"For now."
Rose alternated glances between me and the panel. Unknown symbols and numbers flooded the display.
Only a magic studies scholar like Rose could comprehend their meaning.
I stared fixedly at Rose's serious profile, then
"Ugh."
let out a groan as a sudden alien sensation overwhelmed me.
"Your Excellency?"
"...My stomach."
I furrowed my brows, trying to figure out what it was.
"My stomach... feels off."
My vision began to spin slowly. Nausea rising from my gut crept up to infiltrate my head.
"Ah, as expected."
Rose pressed her forehead as if it were a headache.
"You're feeling it too, Your Excellency. I thought someone as sturdy as you might not."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all. It's an unavoidable symptom from foreign mana circulating in the body."
Rose wrinkled her nose and continued.
"I tested it on myself first. It felt just like... a hangover."
"Hangover?"
A word I knew but had never experienced.
"That feeling the day after drinking heavily?"
"Yes, exactly. Have you... never had one?"
"No."
I hadn't touched a drop since returning to Schmichael Castle, but during my academy days, I'd drunk with classmates often.
Ordinary liquor didn't faze me, so I'd outlast them all, watching them collapse while I finished the last glass alone.
'Monster bastard......'
'Doesn't he have a hole under his jaw?'
The next day, they'd sigh at my fresh-faced appearance. I clearly remembered their agony and pallid faces.
'So this is a hangover.'
Then those fools endured this torment every time, just to try beating me once?
'Why do something so foolish?'
I sighed anew at their stupidity.
My vision spun wildly, my stomach churned. A throbbing pain stabbed one side of my head, twisting my features.
"Hoo......"
I'd prepared myself for this. It was described in the original work.
But the actual hangover was far worse than imagined.
Thud.
I leaned my head back. Maybe fixing it would lessen the spinning.
Cool sweat began beading on my nose bridge and forehead.
"Your Excellency?"
Rose's face blurred in my sight. She checked the panel, sensing something off,
"What?"
and let out a flustered voice.
"There's no way you'd struggle this much?"
Rose glanced between the panel and me, assessing the situation.
"Can you endure just a bit longer? It'll end soon."
"...Yes."
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the pain.
The queasy something rising from my gut shook my head—it was utterly alien and unpleasant. One lapse in focus, and I'd vomit.
I strained not to show such an unsightly sight.
"What is it? Why is this happening?"
Sensing my state,
Click.
Rose hurriedly pressed a button.
Psssh—
The something churning inside me began draining out. The nausea that had reached my throat slowly subsided.
"Your Excellency."
Rose rushed to my side.
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency? Are you okay?"
"...I'm fine."
Opening my eyes slightly, I saw Rose's eyes glistening with tears, on the verge of crying.
"What do I do? I'm sorry. I did something unnecessary. What now......"
"I said I'm fine."
Tilting my chin back for deep breaths, the nausea receded faster. Rose floundered at the sight.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency. Truly sorry. I didn't expect this."
"Don't worry about it. It's what I agreed to."
Not yet able to turn my head, I glanced sideways at the panel.
"Are the results out?"
"Pardon? Ah, one moment."
Rose hurried to the panel and checked the numbers. Then her expression turned grave.
"What do these readings mean?"
Rose's finger traced the panel meticulously.
"This is strange. Why is this......"