Mercury, arsenic, lead.
Are we here to die, by any chance?
Is that it?
"So that's why the color is so brilliant."
"No wonder. It really does... Hehe. Look like it's painted with dye."
"We actually use the same materials used in dyes, haha."
I was stunned.
I couldn't help it.
Lately, to be honest...
I'd become a bit complacent.
Our 19th-century doctors keep going on about hygiene, hygiene...
And it's not just about washing hands, huh?
It's no joke.
And among them, our Joseph is making even the other guys wash their hands.
He's so proactive... no, from a certain perspective, he's been making such a fuss that an anti-Joseph faction is forming.
"Aha? So you're a chef and also a painter. No wonder it looked artistic."
"But wouldn't that make the taste a bit strange?"
"Hahaha. If that were the case, would so many people have loved our shop like this?"
"That's true too!"
"Right, right. Well then..."
So I expected.
No, I felt relieved?
That our 19th century was finally becoming enlightened.
But I was too hasty.
These crazy bastards...
They're making and selling food with this stuff.
And the very people who should be stopping it more than anyone—the doctors, Liston and Blundell—were picking it up and saying it was good.
"Wait a minute!"
Selling it?
Well, what can I do about it?
There's no immediate solution.
It probably isn't illegal.
There's no Food Sanitation Act, so how could it be illegal?
They're just eating it freely, that's all.
But I can't just stand by and watch people I know eat what might as well be poison right in front of my eyes.
"What's the matter?"
"Ahh. These two are both green. My apologies. You can have one."
I shouted out loud, and Liston looked curious, while Blundell looked apologetic.
Neither was the reaction I wanted, but I could be satisfied.
Whatever the case, those foods didn't go into their mouths right then.
'Another regressor... This is messed up.'
I want to kill my past self who thought that.
Thinking about it, the fact that a dessert with a brilliance rarely seen even in the 21st century was openly available should have been strange from the start.
Instead of waiting in line, I should have chased away the people in line.
"This is... mercury, lead, arsenic..."
Think, brain.
All three of these are excellent poisons.
You shouldn't eat them.
It's not that you shouldn't eat a lot; you just shouldn't eat them at all.
Mercury poisoning even has the nickname Minamata disease, and lead poisoning is similarly harmful.
Arsenic?
Arsenic is just poison.
"Yes, those three. Why?"
"Hurry up and say it. I'm hungry."
But the dangers of mercury and lead weren't widely known yet.
Heck, isn't mercury even used as medicine in our hospital right now?
There were even opinions to use it as a disinfectant.
Lead?
I'm not sure about lead...
If even I don't know well, these people probably don't either.
It won't draw aggro.
'Arsenic... arsenic is real poison. They... couldn't possibly not know.'
But arsenic is different.
- Arsenic? But this is poison?
Back then...
I definitely heard it when I went to see the chemist for syphilis treatment.
There's no way they wouldn't know!
"Isn't arsenic poison?"
"Huh? Ah... It can be used as poison, yes. But the usage is different here."
"Right, haha. Our Pyeong... See, this is where your lack of experience really shows?"
He said with a knowing smile, brandishing the arsenic.
It felt like I'd landed a critical hit.
But the reaction was utterly lukewarm.
It was as if the word 'miss' was floating above Liston and Blundell's heads.
Literally, there was zero impact.
"What... What do you mean? It's poison, but the usage is different?"
"Listen carefully. It's being served as food now, isn't it?"
"Well... yes."
"It's bound to be different from when it's used as poison."
"What's... different?"
"The intent, above all. And look, it has a greenish tint, right? This isn't just arsenic. It's been chemically processed."
"What?"
Does the toxicity decrease if the intent is different?
Are they seriously saying that?
If it weren't Liston, I would have really hit them with the arsenic...
"Haha, that's correct. Originally, arsenic is colorless. But when it's oxidized and combined with copper, it takes on this beautiful green hue."
"See this! It's not just arsenic!"
"Right? Did you really think we'd just eat plain arsenic?"
The stun was ongoing.
If this were a game, this chef would be invincible.
Seriously...
He can keep me perma-stunned, can't he?
And does that mean his damage is low?
No.
It feels like I just got hit by an ultimate ability.
'So that means there's copper in here too.'
Copper is also an excellent heavy metal.
And if it's oxidized, even more so...
Calling it oxidation is a nice way of saying it rusted.
You've probably seen metal turned green in museums; it's all like this.
Ah, now that I think about it...
So that's why it's green.
Of course, since they processed it to make it even greener, it was all the more brilliant.
"It was developed by a man named Carl Scheele and is called Scheele's Green. Recently, a new rival called Emerald Green has emerged, but if you're looking for something truly luxurious, this is still the best."
"Hahaha. Do you understand now?"
"Hahahaha! Our Pyeong. You still have a long way to go. You still need to study. Don't worry. If you stick with us, you'll find there's so much to learn even in everyday life like this."
While I was spacing out, just looking at the color, Liston and Blundell promptly polished off the desserts made with arsenic and mercury respectively.
And they handed me another arsenic dessert, placing it right on my plate.
"Eat up."
"Have some."
"Please try it. I heard you're a noble from the East... The food here is probably quite different from there. Haha."
Was it because I've almost become a 19th-century person myself by now?
Or was I just losing my mind?
I'm not really sure, but anyway, I ate it.
Not all of it...
About half.
"Bleeeeh."
I have no memory at all of what was said after that.
Truly, I might have looked fine, but mentally, it was safe to say I had completely passed out.
It was a full blackout.
"Ugh."
When I got back to the hospital, I went straight to the bathroom.
Vomiting wasn't difficult.
There were disgusting things everywhere, after all.
The only disappointing thing was that the green color wasn't coming out well.
'Fuck... Am I going to die like this? No, no. Really... Does processing arsenic in some way reduce its toxicity...? Leaving only the color? Huh? Then that'd be awesome.'
Didn't they say they use it as a dye anyway?
As I pondered this deeply, I realized I'd seen this color somewhere before.
And quite recently at that.
I was utterly admiring it then!
'Right, right... Sir Jamie. I saw it at his party.'
There were two greens; one was Scheele's Green, and the other was Emerald Green.
Now I see, that was arsenic paint.
If it were dangerous, would a noble of his stature use it?
And spend that much money on it?
It doesn't make sense.
'It shouldn't make sense, but...'
Sir Jamie is the one who called Harry the Butcher and voluntarily had his balls cut off.
Can he be trusted?
No way.
It doesn't make sense.
Above all, if this method were truly safe, this green should have still existed in the 21st century.
Why?
It's really pretty!
It's so luxurious it almost gives off a Goryeo celadon vibe!
'But it completely disappeared.... That means... it's dangerous.'
Unless it was extremely dangerous, wouldn't you tolerate the risk for a green this beautiful?
I was so captivated the first time I saw it that I immediately wanted to decorate my room with that green.
But...
In the future I know, this kind of green doesn't exist.
Hehe.
Am I dying?
Is that it...?
'No, no. It's not.'
Confirming that nothing more would come out even if I vomited again, I left the bathroom.
There was another reason, actually.
"The original symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea... right?"
There are no poisoning symptoms, not right now.
Maybe it's because that thought cooled my head?
The scattered bits of knowledge I'd studied and learned about arsenic began to come back to me one by one.
'And often, it doesn't kill you instantly. That's why killing with small amounts of arsenic over time was common.'
That's how you do poisonings.
This thing called arsenic is colorless.
It has no smell.
And almost no taste… but if it does have a taste, it's sweet.
Good heavens...
Considering that our sensitivity to bitterness is for survival against poisons, arsenic is truly a near-perfect poison.
'That's why it can even be eaten in desserts.'
A sweet poison.
And it takes… quite some time to die if consumed in small amounts.
Because of these properties, it can be eaten in desserts.
In other words, that restaurant is slowly poisoning countless citizens of London.
And that's not all.
Clothes, wallpaper, carpets...
Would the arsenic there just stay put...?
'This might actually lead to mass casualties.'
Sir Jamie.
If you paid money to a quack to have your balls cut off, you should just be ashamed and keep it quiet...
Why did you have to throw a party and start a big green trend!
'I have to stop this.'
I have to prevent it somehow.
With that thought, I first headed to Liston.
Liston would be in the lab or the operating room, but since amputations have decreased significantly at our hospital lately, I went to the lab first.
Sure enough, Liston was inside, but he wasn't alone.
There was some other middle-aged man with him.
"Who..."
"Ah, he's a salesman. I'm thinking of changing the wallpaper here. It's drab, you see."
"Ah..."
His execution speed is something else.
This crazy guy...
Now that I look, the things the guy who said he was here to sell had laid out were all green.
They seemed to be wallpaper samples...
And seeing them like this, they really were pretty.
It's not just any green.
It's brilliant.
But I must not be bewitched.
This is the green of death.
'Is this why poison is depicted as green in the West?'
I don't know history precisely, so this might be complete nonsense but...
Somehow, I feel convinced.
This...
It feels real.
This is it!
"Hyung, wait a minute."
"Huh? Why. Ah, you want to do it too? Well, your room's wallpaper is old too... It even smells moldy, you know. It'll ruin your health, I tell you. Let's change it all to new stuff."
"That..."
If you change it to this, it's not just ruining your health, you'll die...
"Sir, step outside for a moment, please."
"Huh? No..."
"Just go out, please."
"Well, alright."
Was it because he looked worried about the older brother?
Or was it because of my reputation as a Qing gangster?
Anyway, the salesman who had come to pitch was quickly kicked out.
Left behind was Liston with a bewildered face.
"What's this all about?"
He, who had been excitedly thinking about decorating in green, demanded an explanation from me.
I...
'In the future, green is used for poison...!'
No, I can't.
I can't say that.
I slowly started turning my gears.
Pondering how I could make this guy see reason and get back on the right path.