Chapter 143 : Chapter 143

Chapter 143: The Dark Dragon (2)

"It’s been a while."

I tried hard to sound calm.

Who knew even a simple greeting could be this difficult?

At the same time, I realized just how much I’d been thinking about this man.

Now that he stood before me, it felt like my thoughts had momentarily frozen.

"Yes, it’s been a while, Sir Bihen. Have you been well? To meet again here, of all places… What a coincidence. Truly surprising."

I quickly dismissed the dark thoughts that flickered in my mind.

‘It’s still just baseless suspicion.’

Your instincts aren’t always right, Bihen.

Prejudice only narrows your perspective.

I needed to consciously cool my head.

"So, you’ve been treating the Deputy Leader?"

Good.

My words were finally coming out naturally.

My expression must’ve softened too.

"Yes. At the lord’s request, I’ve been tending to her these past few days…"

"Oh! You two know each other?"

The Lord of Aldenfort cut in, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

He cautiously studied my face.

"Is it… true? Are you really Bihen Benkou?"

"…My apologies for the late introduction."

Bolero and I belatedly offered formal greetings.

It wasn’t exactly a breach of etiquette, since the lord himself had delayed introductions.

The lord suddenly slapped his bare forehead with a loud smack and burst into laughter like a madman.

"Hahahahaha…! I’m starting to believe in gods! They must be watching over me! Bihen Benkou himself has come!"

At that moment, Bolero let out a small cough before speaking.

"Then, Your Excellency, while Brother Bihen attends to his business, how about we discuss matters of faith?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! By the way… are you really the famous Fist King Bolero?"

"I’m a bit shy to confirm it myself. Ahem."

"Ooh…"

Bolero, with a sly grin, draped an arm around the lord’s shoulder and shot me a glance.

Once I confirmed they’d retreated far enough, I approached Karim.

The corridor fell silent in an instant.

"You’re acquainted with the Lord of Aldenfort too."

"Acquainted is a strong word. Wandering from place to place, I’ve just met many people. Well, I suppose that’s what you call connections. Haha."

That forced laugh… I almost let my prejudice slip again.

Tsk.

"By the way, Sir Bihen, what brings you here?"

"Would you believe me if I said I came because I took your last words about your destination to heart?"

"Haha, joking now, are we? It feels like we’ve grown quite close. But I’m really curious—how are you and the Lord of Aldenfort connected?"

"Let’s talk about that later. How’s the Deputy Leader? I heard her condition is serious."

Perhaps because I brought up the patient, Karim’s expression darkened noticeably.

"…To be honest, I don’t know."

"The diagnosis, you mean?"

"Yes. I’m treating her based on visible symptoms, but it’s just a temporary measure, not a fundamental solution. It’s hard to say she’s improving. It’s a miracle she’s still breathing."

I don’t doubt Karim’s medical skills.

For him to say this, just how grave is Jewel’s condition?

Creak.

As I opened the door and stepped in, a familiar figure caught my eye.

She sat with her back to me, gazing down at the bed, her slumped shoulders heavy with burden.

‘Maserin.’

My steps halted.

I swallowed hard without realizing it.

Maserin sat between the bed, where a gaunt face and legs protruded, looking frail beyond measure.

Even at a glance, the condition was dire.

Did she finally sense my presence?

Maserin slowly turned her head, her eyes widening as if they’d pop out.

"The… Imperial…?"

"…It’s been a while, kid."

"How did you end up here…?"

"It just happened."

Jewel or Maserin—I never once wished to see either again, but I didn’t want a reunion like this either.

The one silver lining was that Maserin wasn’t the talkative type.

Thanks to that, I could steady my heavy heart and approach Jewel.

***

Up close, Jewel’s appearance was even more wretched.

Her bloodless face was so emaciated it looked like only bones remained.

With her eyes tightly shut, she seemed like a corpse barely clinging to life.

"How did this happen?"

No response.

Maserin was looking elsewhere.

Following her gaze, I saw Karim sorting medicine bottles.

He held a small vial to the light or busied himself packing herbs into a pouch.

"Hey."

"…Huh? Oh, sorry."

Only then did Maserin take a small breath and answer.

"I don’t know. A few days ago, she suddenly collapsed unconscious, and it’s gotten worse since."

"Any pre-existing conditions?"

"None that I know of."

When I thought of Jewel, all that came to mind was her reckless, brash demeanor.

Seeing her lie here so lifelessly brought back forgotten memories, making me feel strangely uneasy.

"I didn’t know you were connected to the Gunbel Trading Company, Sir Bihen."

"…"

"Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility and do everything to restore Miss Jewel."

Karim’s words of reassurance buzzed in my ears before fading.

Before I knew it, my vision was filled with nothing but Jewel’s ghastly state.

I don’t know when it started.

It felt like I’d unknowingly stepped into a trap and sunk beneath the earth, drawn by an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

‘Something feels familiar.’

I narrowed my eyes.

Old memories crept up slowly.

‘I’m certain…’

When I came to, I was already peeling back Jewel’s eyelids.

…!

Her sclera was tinged with a murky gray.

The other eye was the same.

"Sir Bihen?"

I ignored the voice and turned Jewel’s body over.

My hands moved swiftly, as if guided by their own will.

‘Black spots.’

Tiny black dots, smaller than a pinky nail, were scattered across her bony, emaciated back.

‘…It’s the same.’

The plague that ravaged Aldenfort in my past life was particularly vicious because its symptoms varied.

Some burned to death with fever, others bled out endlessly, and some succumbed to hallucinations before their breath stopped.

The afflicted Imperial soldiers died in different agonies, one by one.

But the outward symptoms were consistent.

Murky gray sclera and black spots on the skin.

"What’s… what’s wrong?"

I wasn’t done yet.

I laid Jewel back down and placed my fingers on her wrist.

It was time to use the Blood Points I’d acquired it before.

‘Ghost Eye.’

It was always like this.

This newfound sight had helped me overcome obstacles from my past life in this one.

So, it would surely guide me now.

Tststst.

A warmth spread across my face as my vision began to invert from the edges.

The sight that emerged made me catch my breath.

Ssssss.

A massive serpent coiled around Jewel’s body.

Its black scales clung like shadows, as if swallowing her whole.

Between them, Jewel’s form was barely visible.

Her bloodless face floated in the darkness.

The serpent’s eyes met mine.

Its slit pupils quivered eerily.

‘So it was you.’

Could it be that my comrades in my past life were bitten or devoured by these creatures, big and small?

Swish.

I reached for the serpent’s mouth.

It flicked its tongue as if spotting prey, then swiftly pulled its head back.

‘Why?’

I tried several times, but it was the same.

Its body remained coiled around Jewel, dodging my hand until it completely ignored my touch.

Whoosh—

A pale mist sprayed from between its scales, spreading languidly and soon enveloping the area in a thick haze.

***

I stared at the scene.

Interpreting what Ghost Eye revealed relied entirely on my intuition.

‘Poisonous mist.’

I was certain.

Experience backed it up this time.

This poisonous fog…

It was similar to the Human Gu I’d seen mine before.

"Sir Bihen?"

As I withdrew Ghost EyeKarim's voice rang clearly, pulling me back to reality.

I touched my forehead, easing the slight dizziness.

"Did you… see something?"

See something?

I could brush it off, but the more I thought about it, the stranger the question.

But now wasn’t the time to press him.

"Doctor Karim."

"Yes, speak."

"You said you didn’t know the diagnosis."

"Yes, that’s right."

"No guesses at all?"

According to Linda, Karim had revived Roberto on the spot after he’d followed me into the poisonous mist of the Human Gu.

‘Saying he knows nothing doesn’t add up.’

At the very least, he should know Jewel’s collapse is tied to some form of poisoning.

"You can’t approach a disease with mere guesses. You need to consider the patient’s constitution, symptoms, and the onset of the illness to pinpoint the cause accurately. Judging by external symptoms alone is dangerous. However, based on the current presentation…"

Karim adjusted his glasses.

"…I can’t rule out the possibility of poisoning."

He sure knows how to talk in circles.

Still, he narrowly dodged again.

I glared at him briefly but decided pursuing it further was pointless.

The suspicion remained, but I set it aside for now.

* * *

Using our reunion as an excuse, I sent Karim out and listened to Maserin’s account of the past.

That day, after parting at the beach behind the Litania Order, the two had returned straight to Aldenfort.

"As you said, the Deputy Leader planned to pause her business in the Kingdom and return to the Empire."

The one who stopped her was Administrator Max Gunbel.

The owner of the Gunbel Trading Company and in my past life, the brother of Pascal Gunbel, who was favored by His Majesty the Emperor.

Jewel’s uncle.

"The company had been showing signs of division for a while. That’s why the Deputy Leader focused on Conwell."

"…"

"The indiscriminate human sacrifices you suspected her of… They were all orchestrated by the Administrator."

If only she’d confessed this earlier.

Well, knowing it back then wouldn’t have changed much.

In short, the brothers of the Gunbel Trading Company were among the culprits behind the calamity that would befall this land.

‘Max Gunbel.’

No matter how I racked my brain, it was a name I’d never heard.

Someone of that status would’ve been drilled into the officers’ heads by command, a name we’d be forced to memorize.

‘Come to think of it, it’s strange that Jewel isn’t in my past life’s memories either.’

Pascal Gunbel, the hero who led the Imperial army to victory and a tycoon.

The master of the Gunbel Trading Company, holding both honor and wealth.

If he had an only daughter, wouldn’t her name have reached my ears?

Moreover, to be blunt, Jewel’s beauty stands out.

Hungry soldiers would’ve revered her name, like a goddess of the front lines.

‘Neither of them existed in my past life.’

That’s my conclusion.

Well, maybe one survived.

If Jewel dies like this, and Pascal, learning the truth, was too enraged to kill his brother but kept him alive, locked away in the Empire…

"If this continues, Jewel was destined to die."

"…What?"

"Jewel’s been poisoned. You wouldn’t understand, but it’s a type of deadly poison called High Poison."

The pieces were mostly in place now.

I continued firmly.

"This isn’t bad luck. Someone deliberately tried to kill Jewel. Who do you think it is?"

"The Administrator…?"

Maserin furrowed her brow, half-doubting.

Her expression suggested disbelief that blood kin could commit such a heinous act.

As expected of a kid.

In politics, blood ties are the most convenient pretext, for better or worse.

Look at the Conwell civil war.

I’ve seen countless similar scenes.

"Lead the way, Maserin."

"W-where…?"

"To that Administrator."

First, I’ll deal with Max Gunbel.

That should naturally reveal the source of this poison.

This isn’t about avenging Jewel.

It’s a chance to end the Poison Demon of this life and avenge my fallen comrades from the last.

There’s no reason not to take it.

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