Chapter 49
VII.
It was now the third day beyond a full week. Dormi, locked in the stifling, windowless isolation room of the Magical Tower, let out a sigh.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t help but wonder if he truly deserved this level of punishment. Hermie shrinking had been an unforeseen accident, and selling her to Marquis Froy Ozette had been an agreed-upon arrangement.
And he had even gone to Marquis Froy’s estate to fulfill the terms of the contract. Hadn’t he done his best, given the circumstances?
He had given the 2,000 gold received from Marquis Froy to Hermie as a form of consolation, so he felt he had done his part. As for the debt he owed the Pumpkin Flower Guild—well, he hadn’t forgotten it exactly, it wasn’t intentional. He had repaid that along with the consolation money.
“How utterly unfair,” he muttered.
Sixty days confinement, a hundred days ban on magical research, and being forced to return 50% of the profits from the Fairy’s Potion… The punishment felt excessive, and he was left with nothing but a sense of injustice.
Hadn’t he invented the potion that was currently making waves throughout society? For a great mage like himself to suffer such humiliation, framed unfairly because of some worthless commoner woman…
Just as he was grumbling about the Tower’s harsh judgment for his “grave mistake,” a fellow mage came to visit, supposedly to see him.
The isolation room door was a thick iron slab, with only a small slit of a window big enough to see a visitor’s eyes. The mage spoke through the gap.
“Oh?”
“What?”
“You’re being surprisingly docile in there?”
He must have come to gloat. Dormi protested.
“No! I intend to appeal the research ban and the profit return as unjust!”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just stay quiet and not cause trouble?”
“If you came to tease me, go away. I’m not in the mood.”
“That’s not it. Marquis Froy Ozette is trying to see you.”
“Marquis Froy Ozette?”
Dormi’s eyes widened. Why would the Marquis be looking for him? Dormi grew tense, gulping as he racked his brain. The only cause he could think of was Hermie.
'Come to think of it, she said she escaped from the estate, didn't she?'
His fellow mage had come to advise him to stay quiet and informed him that Marquis Froy was looking for him. That was a bit of a problem.
Could it be that they had discovered she wasn’t a real fairy? Was he coming to confront him about it?
The issue between Hermie and the Pumpkin Flower Guild was a minor one that could be resolved with money.
Upon careful thought, the reason he received such a heavy punishment seemed to be because a noble was involved. If it were just those two matters, Dormi wouldn’t have been punished this severely.
If his fraud against Marquis Froy Ozette were exposed, not only he but the entire Tower would be thrown into turmoil. On top of the Tower’s honor being tarnished, they would have to step forward personally to offer apologies and settlement money.
“So it’s because of Marquis Froy Ozette…”
Dormi immediately dropped any thought of an appeal.
If he were to be cornered by the Marquis, the Tower would become his most reliable shield. In that case, he would have no choice but to rely on the Tower’s protection.
The Tower truly was the cradle of mages, after all.
Dormi consoled his discontent and resolved to enjoy a peaceful, wise prison life.
It was precisely 13 days, 23 hours, and 30 minutes into his prison life when it happened.
"It's been a while."
A voice he thought he’d never hear again came from outside the door. Through the opening slit, icy blue eyes appeared, fixing directly on Dormi.
Dormi, who had been meditating on the hard cot, flinched in shock at the sight of those eyes.
“Wh-who’s there?!”
"Have you already forgotten me?"
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