“So it seems poison can’t kill him after all.”

As if he had sensed the failure, Reynold was very calm.

He never thought poison could kill a wizard, but the reason he kept using poison was to steadily inflict internal injuries on him.

When he went to Lurat before, even the sniper’s attack couldn’t reach him, and the poison put in his drink was also ineffective, perhaps because it was a poison he had experienced before.

However, this poison seems to have been quite potent, as the fact that he collapsed with internal injuries was already a great achievement.

“Still, it’s impressive. That poison is an extremely potent one where a single drop can kill an elephant, yet he survived consuming a large amount of it.”

“Even so, he had never collapsed from poison before. This poison must have been truly lethal.”

“Wouldn’t now be the chance to eliminate him?”

“His mansion is even more dangerous than Horizon. The moment you approach, you’ll be devoured by the wolf that swallows the moon.”

“That magical beast… Yes. It’s enormous and ferocious, but can’t we deal with it?”

“That beast is a top-tier magical beast. Givnen Lianster didn’t hunt it alone. He captured it with the combined efforts of a hundred high-level wizards. I don’t know how Givnen Lianster contracted with that beast, but… anyone who approaches without permission will be eaten. He knows his home is the safest place, so he crawled in there.”

“Then isn’t it meaningless? He won’t crawl out until he’s fully recovered…”

Instead of answering, Reynold lit a cigar and put it in his mouth. Hazy smoke scattered in the air.

“No matter how much of a genius he’s touted to be, he’s still a youngster. The death of his master, successive assassination attempts… Even if he pretends to be fine on the outside, he must be rotting on the inside.”

“…”

“He’ll gradually go mad. The more he becomes weak like today, the more cowardly he’ll become and his intelligence will dull. Then he’ll show an opening. Just like his master did.”

“How long do we have to wait? We need to seize Horizon quickly…”

“Rushing will only ruin things. The opportunity will surely come. We just need to seize that chance.”

This is how Nihil had endured.

With their heads submerged underwater, they quietly, quietly waited for the right time to surface, and repeating this rising and sinking, they continued on.

For them, there was no such thing as an impossible request. Even if it took decades, they always accomplished their goals. Except for that one time.

“Lord Reynold.”

“What is it?”

“Count Willow Ermeints has come to see you.”

“…A client?”

After pondering for a moment, Reynold waved his hand.

“We don’t have room to take on more requests. Politely send him away.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate who had gone out to send away Count Ermeints returned shortly after.

“Count Ermeints left a message.”

“…”

“He asked if you weren’t curious about information on Ryston.”

“!”

Reynold abruptly stood up at the name he hadn’t heard in a long time.

Then he calmly sat back down.

“He said Ryston’s daughter is alive, and that he would tell you about her.”

“What? Daughter?”

Reynold’s eyes widened so much they looked like they might pop out, then he pressed down on his pounding heart.

‘No, it might be a trap. I must be cautious.’

He couldn’t contact him right away. When an underwater person deals with someone above water, they must be careful. Especially since Count Ermeints, while one of the highest-ranking nobles in the empire, had no prior dealings with Nihil.

One misstep could lead to their tail being caught. Moreover, Count Ermeints wasn’t the type to rely on others to handle his political opponents – he preferred to deal with them himself. He was known for his strong stubbornness and pride, disliking dependence on others.

Why would such a person come all the way down to this underground?

And how did he know about Ryston…

Reynold pondered for a moment, then said:

“For now, I’ll report this upstairs and decide whether to receive the Count or not.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Riley took over all the nursing duties that the servants should have done.

Seeing this, the servants were very touched by how devotedly the mistress cared for the master, and how the master didn’t push her away.

From their perspective, it was quite a remarkable thing.

Whenever he had been unwell or in poor condition before, he would lock himself in his room and allow no one but Sack to enter. But now he let Riley stay by his side all day.

The servants of the Lianster mansion were moved, believing this to be true love.

While the outward appearance was that of a lovey-dovey couple, making everyone smile contentedly, in reality, Givnen was still grumpy.

“Is your arm still uncomfortable? Shall I feed you?”

“…Why are you still here? Isn’t it time for you to be at the Academy?”

“I didn’t go.”

“Why?”

“How could I go when you’re sick?”

Givnen found this situation too unfamiliar, while for Riley it was perfectly natural.

For Riley, it was common sense not to go out leaving a sick patient behind, but for Givnen, it was a question of whether this much was really necessary.

“Here.”

Now she even blew on the hot porridge to cool it and held it out to his mouth.

“You need to eat quickly so you can take your medicine.”

Givnen just stared at the spoon Riley was holding out.

Normally, if he wasn’t in such an emotionally sensitive and intense state, Givnen would have taken advantage of this situation quite nicely. Acting like a kind and caring lover, very convincingly.

But he still hadn’t adapted to the situation of Riley staying by his side, and he hadn’t let his guard down even with her. As a result, it was difficult for him to maintain his well-groomed appearance in front of her.

Of course, that didn’t mean he disliked it. He just found this situation too unfamiliar, awkward, and disconcerting.

He had never imagined in his life that he would end up eating porridge fed by someone else.

“Hurry up.”

At Riley’s urging, Givnen opened his mouth as if he had no choice. Riley quickly pushed in the porridge and smiled with satisfaction.

The situation repeated with Riley holding out the spoon again and Givnen accepting it. Givnen felt a confused feeling like he had become a child, while Riley acted like a skilled servant carrying out an assigned task and immediately prepared the medicine.

“You seem used to this.”

“?”

“You must have done this often.”

“Oh, yes, when I lived at the Eadalin mansion, Claire was often sick.”

“Did you even do the servants’ work?”

“I did sometimes, but not often. I just saw a lot of how the servants took care of Claire.”

Riley opened Givnen’s mouth and pushed the medicine in. When he grimaced at the bitter taste filling his mouth, she didn’t forget to give him candy.

“Still, I’m glad you seem to be in better condition than yesterday. The fever is still rising, but… at least you’ve regained consciousness.”

This time she took a wet towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Isn’t it bothersome to wipe away the sweat every time, dry off the moisture with a dry towel, and then prepare new clothes?

“I’m fine now, so go back to the Academy starting tomorrow.”

“I’ll decide that based on your condition.”

“Why are you even skipping classes in the first place? You were living so diligently as if your life depended on studying at the Academy.”

“?”

“Attendance scores also greatly affect grades. If you skip lectures tomorrow too, it will impact your grades.”

“It’s okay, it can’t be helped. The Academy… you’re more important than that.”

Givnen paused and stared at Riley. Riley tilted her head and asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You don’t seem like the type to usually say such embarrassing things.”

“…I’m just stating a fact. In terms of importance, of course you’re more important than the Academy.”

“…”

“You’re the one who’s actually like this normally.”

“?”

“Do you know how contradictory your usual kind self is to your current grumbling self?”

“People are inherently complex and two-faced. Don’t you think your usually docile and obedient personality contradicts your current stubborn one?”

“I know. I don’t dislike it, I actually like it. It feels like I’ve gotten to know you a bit more.”

“…”

“It’s just, this side of you seems to suit your age more, so it feels fresher and more interesting. It’s much easier to deal with you. How should I put it, your usual self seems like a perfectly polished adult without any flaws, so I was a bit more careful.”

“So you’re saying I’ve been uncomfortable until now.”

“It’s not like that, this side just feels more familiar.”

Givnen let out a low sigh.

He certainly did try to show only a polished and organized image in front of her. He always tried to appear perfect, kind, and caring.

Givnen lay down feeling a bit embarrassed. His body wouldn’t listen to him, so it took a while just to lie down on the bed. If Riley hadn’t supported him, he would have looked quite ridiculous lying down.

‘How did it end up like this?’

Givnen felt cracks forming in what he had thought was his perfect plan.

If nothing else, the plan to always show a perfect and manufactured image in front of Riley seems to have turned to bubbles.

From the beginning, he had never shown this side to anyone other than Sack, Sophia, and his family. He had always dealt with people by putting up walls and showing a manufactured image. Revealing this side was tantamount to tearing down those walls for him.

Moreover, in previous cases, he had first revealed himself to those he had spent a long time cultivating and observing. People he truly thought of as “my people.” But Riley?

Rather than revealing, it was more like being caught.

The fortunate thing was that she seemed to prefer his usual personality over his polished image.

Whether it was because he was sick, his head felt warm.

“Are you planning to stay here tonight too?”

“Well, I was thinking of sleeping in my room if your fever goes down.”

“Don’t go.”

“Weren’t you desperate to send me away before?”

“Since it’s come to this, take responsibility till the end.”

“Alright.”

“But don’t doze off sitting. If you’re sleepy, lie down properly on the bed and sleep.”

Riley smiled and tidied his disheveled hair.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The magical doctor visited regularly to use magic that enhanced recovery abilities and occasionally checked to ensure the magical power wasn’t tangled.

Perhaps thanks to that, by nightfall, Givnen had recovered enough to raise his body on his own.

Of course, he was still suffering from high fever and headache, still sweating profusely, and the pain of his organs burning was still there, but it was a good sign that the paralysis of his body was starting to wear off. He was still in a state of living corpse, but that hadn’t changed.

While Riley went to wash up, Givnen sat on the bed reading a book.

‘How long has it been since I had such leisure?’

The good thing about being sick was that he could temporarily escape from stressful human relationships and Magic Tower duties. Of course, it would be best to rest with both body and mind in perfect condition, but that’s impossible unless he gives up the position of Magic Tower Lord.

Knock knock.

“Master, it’s Sack.”

“Come in.”

The door opened and Sack entered.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better than yesterday.”

“I heard that the young lady stayed by your side all day, nursing you devotedly.”

“…Word travels fast.”

“Can you still not move your body?”

“I can raise my upper body now. Walking is still difficult though.”

“After examining the poison, it was identified as the venom of the White Umbrella Mushroom Snake.”

“I’ve never heard of such a snake.”

“It’s a species that inhabits the White Desert of the Erasia continent. Upon investigation, it appears to be a rare snake that stores poison by eating a poisonous mushroom called the white umbrella mushroom. It creates a new form of poison by combining it with the venom secreted from its existing venom glands and stores it in its venom sac. It seems to be a poison used as a weapon by minority ethnic groups on the Erasia continent, not easily obtainable.”

“What was the route of entry for the poison?”

“After searching through the ledgers of food ingredients imported to the Magic Tower and the warehouses, the venom of the White Umbrella Mushroom Snake was detected in Weizhan tea leaves. I suspect they finely ground the tea leaves and mixed them with coffee powder. When I checked with the Winston merchant group that deals in tea leaves, the manager named Justin who was in charge of ingredient delivery on the day of supply has disappeared and his whereabouts are still unknown. Suspecting it was his doing, we traced his address and raided his residence, but he had already finished packing and fled with his family.”

The Winston merchant group had been in charge of supplying food ingredients to Horizon Magic Tower for a long time. Givnen had been in regular contact and exchange with Baron Winston, the head of the Winston merchant group, for quite some time.

“Regarding this incident, the head of the Winston merchant group said it was news to him and seemed very surprised, but won’t it be difficult for him to avoid responsibility? Perhaps we should stop dealing with the Winston merchant group and look for another…”

“No, leave it for now.”

“But… Master.”

“The probability that Baron Winston is involved in this incident is low. He’s not foolish enough to attempt such an obvious poisoning that would easily be traced. It’s not like it’s the first time a subordinate has been bribed to cause trouble. We can’t change suppliers every time something like this happens.”

Givnen covered his eyes with his hand and muttered.

“They’re trying to cut off everything one by one.”

“…”

“Severing those connected to me one by one, sowing discord. Making someone constantly suspicious.”

“…Master.”

“It’s always been like this. Ever since I was young.”

He never had a friend to confide in. Even when he had a group to hang out with, they would sow discord and keep each other in check. He doesn’t blame them. What would they know at such a young age? It was the adults’ one-sided scheme.

You must get along well with that child, you must maintain a good relationship with that child, stay close to that child. You must become their best friend.

Kill that child, bring that child to me, that child…

Planned approaches, planned socializing, planned relationships.

Even within that, a repetition of food chains where they tear each other apart. It’s no different now. It’s still ongoing.

Relationships based solely on self-interest. Within that, constantly killing, checking, betraying each other… Around him were only people he had to continuously interact with for the benefit of the Magic Tower, for the Lianster family, for the current position, to protect himself from enemies.

Relationships formed by mutually satisfactory deals.

But now even those relationships are being shaken.

Making everyone suspicious and eventually driving people mad.

Trapped in delusions that someone might come to kill them, that this person might betray them, they suspect, get angry, suspect again, become sad

They would become empty like that. They would get tired and let go of everything like that.

They would collapse like that.

“Leave now, I want to be alone.”

“Yes, Master. Rest well.”

After Sack left, Givnen covered his face with his hands. A face he doesn’t want to show. A face he always wants to hide. He despises the moment when emotions eat away at him.

He didn’t want anyone to catch a glimpse of his weak self, losing the composure he maintained with reason.

“Givnen?”

Riley, who had just entered the room, approached Givnen in surprise.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong? Are you in a lot of pain?”

At her flustered voice, Givnen slowly lowered his hands that were covering his face. He showed her the face he didn’t want to show anyone.

A face that wanted to cry.

“It hurts a little.”

As Givnen murmured weakly, Riley embraced him. She pulled his face to her chest and ran her hand through his silky hair, caressing it. Then she said nothing. She just gently stroked his head.

Feeling her touch, Givnen buried his face in Riley’s chest and closed his eyes.