Outside the office, Edsel stepped into the corridor, blood still trailing down his forehead.
The two soldiers avoided his eyes. They could already guess what had happened inside.
Hans followed shortly after, closing the office door behind him.
"Take this, Young Master," the butler said, offering a clean handkerchief. "Be sure to treat your wound properly."
Without waiting for a response, Hans locked the door again.
Edsel pressed the cloth to his forehead and wiped away the blood.
"Edsel… are you insane?"
He looked up.
Fiora stood a few steps away, her arms crossed. The frustration on her face was obvious, but beneath it, there was something else, Worry.
"You do not train, you are still weak and yet….Y-you made a deal to form a Second Circle in five days?" she continued. "Do you even understand what that means?"
"Fiora Alastair," Edsel said coldly, stepping closer until he stood directly in front of her, "who gave you the right to question my decisions?"
His gaze was sharp as he looked down at her.
"Do not get in my way."
He brushed past her and began walking down the corridor but Fiora followed.
She could not ignore it. Five days was absurd. Even talented mages took weeks, sometimes months to form a stable Circle. Less than five days? It was impossible. Even sword mages with exceptional control could not do such a thing.
"Wait, Edsel!" she called, quickening her pace. "You know it is physically impossible. Why don't we think this through—"
He did not slow down but she ran ahead and tried to catch up.
"Edsel, listen. If you explain properly why we are ending the engagement, your father might reconsider. You can even say that I insisted on it—"
She collided with his back.
Edsel stopped. Slowly, he turned.
"Fiora," he said quietly, "I know you don't believe in me. Just like everyone else but your constant doubts are beginning to irritate me."
His eyes hardened.
"Mind your own business. And watch from the sidelines."
Her brows furrowed."Why would you say that? I am only worried about you!"
"You are sure talkative for someone who wanted to break this engagement," he replied flatly. "You are annoying."
"Huh?!"
Her patience snapped, and her Mana surged from her body, pressing outward in a wave of pressure.
The air trembled slightly but Edsel did not flinch and he turned his head slightly toward her.
"I said… do not get in my way."
Then he continued walking.
This time, he did not stop and she stood there, staring at his retreating back.
"My lady!"
Elena hurried over, slightly out of breath, stopping beside her.
"That bastard," she muttered. "He will definitely fail." Her grip tightened further."And when he comes crawling back to beg for my help…"She looked down the corridor where he had disappeared."I will not care."
****************
Edsel arrived at his room.
Waiting inside was his personal maid, Mia. She held a silver tray lined with six small glass bottles filled with dark liquid.
Her face looked as pale as someone who had just witnessed death.
"H-How did the meeting go, Young Master?" she asked nervously.
Edsel gave her a flat look.
"You can see the blood on my forehead. That should answer your question."
Her eyes widened.
"Oh no—please, let me treat your wound—"
"No. Do nothing."
His gaze shifted to the tray in her trembling hands.
The six bottles contained concentrated poison extracted from toxic herbs. Each one was dangerous on its own. Together, they could easily kill an ordinary person.
He stepped closer.
"Mia," he said calmly, "you knew what this was the moment you brought it into my room."
She immediately fell to her knees.
"My lord… I think what we are doing is wrong. If something happens to you, I—"
"You are already involved," Edsel interrupted coldly. "The moment you agreed to prepare this, you became part of it. Do not back down now."
"Eek—!"
Her forehead pressed against the floor as her body trembled violently.
She understood the weight of it. If he died, she would not survive the consequences either.
Edsel removed his upper garments and sat cross-legged on the floor.
His eyes fixed on the six bottles.
His body's constitution was weak. Pathetic, even. In a family known for battle mages, such a fragile vessel was a disgrace. If he wanted to wield powerful spells, his muscles and mana channels needed to endure violent output.
But he could not circulate mana normally.
So he would force his body to adapt.
In the game, there had been a soldier who survived brutal poison treatments during the war against the Southern Kingdom. The method was designed to harden muscles and strengthen internal pathways but it was meant for aura users.
Edsel was not an aura user but a mana user.
Worse.
He wielded death energy.
That made this gamble even more dangerous but it also meant there was a chance the poison would interact differently with his core.
A high chance of success or a high chance of death.Without hesitation, he grabbed one bottle.
Mia looked up in horror.
"Young Master—!"
He uncorked it and swallowed it in one gulp.
The moment the liquid slid down his throat, the effects began. The heat exploded inside his stomach and It felt as if his intestines were melting. Edsel coughed violently, a mouthful of blood splattering onto the floor.
"Young Master!"
Mia scrambled forward in panic.
Ignoring her, Edsel immediately activated his mana circulation. He guided the poison through his meridians, forcing it to spread evenly rather than destroy a single organ outright.
The damage was severe.
He could feel it.
His internal pathways burned as if fire had been poured directly into his veins.
[System detected danger.]
[System detected high concentration of poison.]
A massive wave of pain surged through his body and his vision blurred and his muscles convulsed.
A groan escaped his lips as darkness crept into the edges of his sight. He was on the verge of losing consciousness.
No.
He bit down hard and pinched his thigh with brutal force, grounding himself in the pain.
"Stay focused…" he muttered hoarsely. "Do not lose concentration…"
If his control slipped for even a second, the poison would destroy his core.
Seconds felt like hours.
Then—
The pain began to lessen.
A cold, dark energy stirred within his core. The damaged tissue slowly began to regenerate, death energy devouring the poison's corruption and converting it into fuel.
Edsel inhaled sharply, his organs were healing but not enough.This was only the beginning.
"Young Master…"
Mia's face was soaked with tears, her breathing uneven from sobbing. She stared at him in disbelief.
"You… you are alive…"
Edsel lifted his head, his faint smile appeared on his lips.Without hesitation, he reached for the remaining five bottles.
And drank them one after another.