"Neither did my expertise." That's not entirely true, because being aware enough his head was being screwed with meant he knew more ways to forcibly focus himself even if he couldn't remember everything. But it sure didn't stop the initial brainwashing.

"Ingestion and direct magic are different things. He slipped something into the food at breakfast that day that... I suppose either made us more susceptible to his magic or fogged our minds from the start."