Chapter 36: Magic Tower Writhing

Finally, Jurgen found the weakness of the male mage who had been frequenting Noah’s laboratory.

The man, Joachim, originally didn’t hold Noah in high regard and quickly switched sides to Jurgen’s.

“Despite arriving at the Magic Tower five years later than I did, he quickly rose to the top. It seems he had the support of his childhood friend, Prince Edmond. With a splendid laboratory and abundant funds, anyone could achieve success. Even I could, with the power of my family and connections to the royal family,” Joachim said.

Jurgen agreed with half of what the man said, but Joachim’s talent was questionable. Even if this man had connections and funds, he wouldn’t succeed.

Just then, Jurgen heard rumors that Noah had appeared in the capital.

Jurgen immediately summoned the man to the least popular backyard of the Magic Tower. They both sat in a pavilion.

“It seems Noah has recently returned here. Do you know what he was researching?” Jurgen politely inquired.

His opponent is a high-ranking aristocrat.

“He was studying a groundbreaking method of transportation, but I don’t know the details,” the man replied. He was merely a minor figure in Noah’s laboratory.

However, the fact that Joachim could access Noah’s laboratory was advantageous for Jurgen.

“Is he in the laboratory now?” Jurgen probed.

“No, he was until recently, but he returned to his domain,” replied Joachim. The journey from the remote territory to the capital typically took about two months. Even with frequent changes of horses and riding through the night, it would still take half that time.

“In that case, would you let me into Noah’s laboratory?” Jurgen asked with a smile. The man widened his eyes.

“Absolutely not! If I do that, I’ll lose my job. I agreed to cooperate, but I can’t do that.” Joachim shook his head.

“Then, could you destroy or alter Noah’s research data for me?” Jurgen insisted.

“What?! No way! My career as a researcher would be over. It’s one thing to search for rumors or scandals, but tampering with someone else’s research is out of the question,” the man said, his eyes widening in surprise.

“You can’t refuse. What if it’s discovered that you, who married into the Earl’s family, had a mistress? What would you do, then? Don’t worry. You just accidentally unlocked Noah’s laboratory. I’ll take care of the rest,” Jurgen said confidently.

“There’s no way that excuse would work, right?” Joachim said, his face turning pale. He was truly a timid man.

Tampering with or discarding Noah’s research data is not a new occurrence. Going back to their student days, Jurgen had tampered with it several times.

However, Jurgen had never been caught. Part of it was due to his cunning methods, but Noah, being obsessed with research, spared no effort or time to find the culprit and dedicated all his time to research.

Unfortunately, since entering the Magic Tower, the security has been strict, making it difficult to tamper with his research. At most, Jurgen could subtly gossip about him in social settings.

Unlike in their seemingly equal student days, Noah was now in a much higher position.

However, this time, an insider had been found, so it was likely to work out.

—

Returning from the capital to his estate’s research building, Noah once again immersed himself in his studies.

Of course, he hadn’t spent all his time in the capital merely playing with Fiene.

He confirmed research data in the Magic Tower, leveraged his connections and wealth to secure rare items, conducted experiments, and even stumbled upon an ancient magic book and documents unique to the Magic Tower.

He thought he might be able to perform miracles with Fiene. Such thoughts drove him forward, forgetting even to eat or sleep as he delved into his research.

Then, a knock interrupted him.

Lloyd stood there, holding tea, snacks, and three letters.

His usually expressionless face is now clouded over.

Noah sipped his tea and opened the letters. The first was addressed to Muge, the second to Noah, and the third to Fiene.

The letters for Noah and Fiene had come by express delivery, so although the dates were different, all three seemed to have arrived almost simultaneously.

“There’s no Muge in this house,” Noah muttered as he opened the letter from the sender, Maggie Hausen.

The contents stated that Maggie had developed magical excess syndrome, requiring expensive suppressants, and the family finances were strained. Immediate financial assistance was requested. In other words, a plea for money.

Noah sighed but instructed Lloyd not to inform Fiene.

Next, he read the letter from Donovan addressed to him.

The contents were an apology for the swap between Muge and Fiene and a declaration to accept any punishment. It also mentioned the magical excess syndrome of the third daughter. Due to that, there was speculation by Wymain that Fiene might have developed magical exhaustion syndrome.

The Hausen family was on the verge of collapse, and they were relinquishing their title, requesting someone to take care of the second daughter’s bones.

Finally, the letter addressed to Muge was a forced apology written by the eldest daughter, Muge, for the third daughter.

Making him want to tear it up and discard it.

“What selfish actions,” Noah said, clenching the letter tightly in anger.

There was one more letter addressed to Fiene, this time from Donovan. Although he briefly considered opening it, he ultimately decided against it since it was a private letter.

After some hesitation, Noah decided to hold onto it for a while.

He judged that it might contain unsettling content for Fiene’s mental state, and he didn’t want her to lose her will to live.