Chapter 94
Chapter 94
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: The Black Tower Lord's Wager
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Why are those two boxes listed as my property……?’
I blinked my eyes like the world’s most ridiculous fool.
Those two boxes counted among my assets were legendary artifacts renowned across the continent.
Each about the size of a fist, yet containing space vast enough for an entire sports field.
The boxes themselves were incredibly sturdy, worth the value of a whole castle.
‘I only uncovered them after investigating the Walter Group myself.’
Hidden inside were massive sums of the Walter Group’s black money—the leads I’d pursued during my days as Imperial Prime Minister.
They’d been so wealthy they could’ve founded a kingdom on a whim.
It took relentless investigation to finally secure a guilty verdict and recover it all.
‘So why are they registered as my property now?’
Was this really a bug?
Could bugs even trigger in this possessed world to begin with?
“I’ll step out to the restroom for a moment.”
Normally, leaving the table during a banquet with royalty was the height of poor etiquette.
But given the circumstances, I had no choice but to stand.
“Go ahead, brother-in-law.”
Fortunately, Logan gave his cheerful permission.
Lidas and Mariposa merely shot him odd looks, as he seemed unusually delighted.
“Phew……”
Once I’d made it into the corridor, I waved my hand through empty air.
And checked my real-time transaction log.
‘Who the hell is XX?’
“So those two boxes are sitting in my prison right now?”
Was someone trying to steal the vault and pin it on me, the continent’s most notorious figure?
No… that didn’t add up.
Artifact boxes could only be opened by their registered owner.
If I got nabbed as the thief, they’d lose access to the treasure they’d gone to such lengths to steal.
‘So it’s one of two possibilities.’
Someone desperate to frame me as a thief, even if it cost them a kingdom.
Or someone so eager to help me they’d hand over a kingdom’s worth of wealth.
‘But who’d go this far out of their way to aid me?’
What lunatic would smash the Walter Group, raid their vault, and drop it in my lap?
Not Grand Elder Dark.
The Princess wouldn’t act like this either.
Anje was the closest possibility?
No—even if we were on good terms, there’d be no reason for her to push this hard.
Myoran… same deal.
I’d only helped her adjust to this distant land, nothing more.
‘Definitely someone gunning for my downfall, then.’
Maybe a new bad ending triggered because I’d been so effective at averting ruin.
Having pieced it together, I had no choice but to calmly return to the banquet.
Suddenly the continent’s top arch-villain for looting its biggest corrupt conglomerate.
“Sorry, just had something on my hands.”
I slipped naturally back into my seat.
In the process, I gauged Lidas and Mariposa—they’d gone docile, just like Logan.
“Not bad, Warden.”
“Right—if you’re gonna be a scoundrel, better be the king of them.”
They’d clearly heard about my fortune from Logan already.
They figured I was the mastermind splashed across the front-page vault heist story.
“Camillia never exactly screamed ‘benevolent ruler’ either. Might make a decent pairing after all.”
Logan—the man who prized wealth above all—chuckled and sipped his champagne.
“Haha… no, it’s not like I earned it through my own efforts.”
I denied it with an awkward smile.
But the Walter-hating royals responded with smiles of their own.
“No need for humility. If you didn’t make it yourself but seized it anyway—that’s talent enough.”
“Taming your underlings to pull off the heist? That’s a gift in itself.”
The cool-headed twin brothers chimed in one after the other.
“True—not many can wrangle Dobermans like the Bakar Mafia.”
Mariposa piled on last.
Unlike her kin, though, she arched the golden eyes beneath her mask in an unsettling glare.
“But… a fat wallet alone doesn’t quite satisfy.”
The Black Tower’s mistress steepled her fingers by herself.
She propped her chin atop them, gazing at me with haughty witch-like poise.
“Wealth demands opportunities forged from courage and cunning. Care for a test from me?”
She straightened her fox mask.
And launched into the real interrogation.
“Word is, my tower’s vice-lord got tangled up with you?”
“You mean Kain, the vice-lord?”
I recalled the black mage who’d shown up to abduct Myoran.
His spatial magic traps dug into my prison had left quite the impression.
“You know his name. So you took care of him?”
“Not personally, no. He botched sneaking a prisoner out and got his comeuppance from her instead.”
“The cleanup was spotless, though. Gotta be your handiwork?”
It wasn’t.
I never even found where he vanished to—dead, maybe…?
“No answer? Guess that means yes. I admired your thoroughness back then.”
The masked woman’s eyes crinkled in a grin.
She snapped her fingers with casual flair.
“So—I’d like to propose a fun little wager.”
A servant approached from afar, masked just like her.
‘Sorceress to the core—loves her theatrics.’
But we’d come too far for me to fold now.
They knew my assets were fishy; fail to impress, and they’d launch an investigation to punish me.
No choice but to earn their trust as one of their own.
“Sure, I’m listening.”
The masked servant set a plate on the table.
Three mouthwatering cakes.
“Well? Pretty, right? I made them myself.”
The raven-haired woman cocked her head.
Even behind the mask, her innate feminine grace shone through.
Most men would’ve leered approvingly.
But knowing she’d mastered every brand of sorcery…
…those desserts looked plenty suspicious.
“Yes, they look utterly delicious.”
“One’s laced with poison. Guess which?”
It wasn’t about picking the safe one.
I had to nail exactly which harbored the toxin.
In other words: devour all three and drop dead.
A vicious ploy worthy of a grand witch.
“……”
Even the twins held their tongues this time.
No matter my riches, I was just a prospect with potential.
Not yet proven fit for the Princess.
True to their pinnacles, they fixed me with cold stares, awaiting my choice.
“Made by the Black Tower Lord—they’ll look flawless on the outside. You’re the poison virtuoso, after all.”
I picked up a fork.
“No helping it—gotta taste them all.”
“You know my rep for poisons and still scarf them down? What if you croak?”
The black fox tilted her head at my brash gambit.
Her gaze pitied the foolhardy youth.
“You’re too shrewd to judge solely by ill fame.”
I parried with veteran silver-tongued flair.
“I trust that even poisoned, it’s just a prank—days of the runs at worst.”
“Sweet talk won’t save you. So—eat or chicken?”
I met her challenge with gusto.
Ditched the fork and chomped huge bites from all three, barehanded.
The twins winced, brows furrowing.
Mariposa alone held her witchy impassivity.
“So—where was the poison?”
“Third whipped cream cake. Paralyzing toxin.”
Odorless. Colorless.
No mage, no chef could’ve sniffed it out.
Not without my league’s pinnacle poison mastery.
“Ingredients include Solnin—the Holy See’s recent go-to for lethal brews. Expertly blended to amp the paralysis.”
“Spot on.”
Mariposa’s lip curled at my bullseye.
But only that.
She pressed on in a chilling tone.
“Problem is—you trusted me, ate up, but the dose wasn’t trace. It’s potent.”
“Yes, way stronger than expected. A week of misery, easy.”
“Trusted and got stabbed in the back.”
“Exactly. Ruthless under that honeyed voice.”
The Black Tower’s mistress sampled the poisoned cake without a care.
Utterly at ease, immune as could be.
“See? Human bonds burn you bad if you trust lightly.”
She wagged her cream-smeared fork, lecturing me.
“A small-time crook loses one life and done. But we’re rulers. Stakes are sky-high.”
The twins nodded along.
“Our faithful followers could end up slaughtered too.”
“You’re reckless on that front. Dropped your guard chasing our favor.”
Mariposa dabbed white cream from her red lips and beamed.
“Now what if we chuck paralyzed you off the garden rooftop?”
Truth was, this dessert game wasn’t about raw courage.
It tested whether someone with my responsibilities stayed cautious.
Approached everything with prudence.
“Mm. Fair test, I’ll grant you.”
I replied like a stiff robot.
The brothers eyed me pityingly, shaking their heads.
“Money’s no excuse for foolhardiness, Minster.”
“This world doesn’t suffer fools.”
The royals wore deep regret.
They’d pegged me for greatness after my Walter Group haul.
But.
Their hopes weren’t dashed yet.
Because soon…
…I raised a finger, perfectly steady despite the paralysis.
“Lucky for me. Test stayed within expected bounds.”
I slipped the raised finger into my mouth.
Stretched my cheek wide to flash them my teeth.
“As a warden shouldering big responsibilities, I take precautions too.”
The antidote herbs wedged between my molars.
“……?”
The royals’ eyes gleamed like a huddle of foxes.
“What in the…”
“You already knew the antidote to my poison?”
Her prized creation, and Mariposa gaped in disbelief.
“Ever since crossing paths with your vice-tower lord Kain, I’ve prepped for sorceries and black magic alike.”
I plunged a hand into my inner pocket, utterly brazen.
Pulled out an identical herb bundle to the one I carried in my mouth.
“This brew doesn’t stray far from the recipes I’ve studied.”
“So you’d reverse-engineered my formula already?”
Mariposa crossed her arms solo.
Not angry, though.
Her eyes sparked past wounded pride into fresh intrigue.
“Yes. Solrin, quinin, amas—all in a 1:1:1 mix.”
“Disciples who aided my decades of research couldn’t even peg amas…”
Mariposa eyed the herbology whiz warden with wonder.
“Tweak the combo here, though, and you’d get a superior paralyzer.”
“Hm? Do tell.”
For all it was a test,
she nodded along like vetting a grad student’s thesis.
“Surprisingly, swap amas for this Blue Herb—I use it as antidote.”
“Blue Herb?”
I snatched a napkin to diagram for the Black Tower lord.
Scribbled the formula with a pen.
“Yes—the herb’s sterilizing agents trigger solrin, boosting paralysis.”
The Black Tower lord sidled right up beside me before I knew it.
Sat shoulder-to-shoulder, diving into the research collab.
“Ooh, nice. Dial back the herb ratio just a touch, and it’s gold.”
“Spot on. Ratios are my weak spot—give it a whirl yourself, Lady Mari.”
The twins watched the bizarre scene with clear unease.
“Clever, but don’t flash formulas like that. A shady tower lord like me beats you to the academy symposium, and poof—stolen.”
“If it aids the Black Tower lord, it’s my honor. Etching my mark in your legendary work.”
Honey practically dripped from the eyes of their sharpest viper.
“……You really mean that?”
“Naturally.”
I flashed an eye-smile, dark circles vanished.
Mariposa caught herself wetting her lips.
“Still—to be safe, sign the formula here.”
“Why not?”
I followed her nearby finger and signed.
She slyly slid over another napkin.
“This one too.”
“Sure. Hang on… what’s this say?”
I reached out, suspicious.
Mariposa snatched it back with speedy fingers.
Scribbled in tiny script on the napkin:
The twins spotted the text and went sullen-eyed as plateau foxes.
“Mari, what the hell?”
“Uh……?”
Her eyes sparkled like an academy prof’s.
She rolled them to dodge her relatives’ pitying stares.