#39
Recalling the atmosphere from that time, I remembered even the air in the ballroom had changed. The current young lady was the same.
‘I remember she slapped Sercil right after that.’
At the end of the ball, at the end of a corridor where no one was watching, her hand struck Sercil’s cheek. With minimized sound and emotion. Her hand that moved before words. It was almost the only physical action taken by her, who didn’t reveal emotions.
Having elevated the 2nd Prince’s position from bastard royalty to the level of the Crown Prince’s cherished younger brother, she probably couldn’t move like that immediately.
The quick-calculating young lady understood the situation. Hyung-nim had swept away with a single smile the density of fear she had raised to shake his position within the imperial family just moments before.
I hadn’t expected his position to rise this much.
At least, the young lady hadn’t. She wouldn’t have known the Crown Prince’s interest would be expressed so clearly.
The young lady—she needs to get excited enough to use black magic as I want.
I subtly turned my gaze to check her fingertips. Her carefully moving hands, tense jaw muscles. She was still holding onto the thread of reason.
I pondered a bit while picking up wine.
Strength entered my fingertips gripping the glass. The wine’s surface rippled gently, and green light created thin waves on the glass.
“A noble who hasn’t even held their twenty-second awakening ceremony drinking alcohol.”
Hyung-nim’s voice flowed in again. It was a tone even lower and more flexible than usual.
“…You’re joking, hyung-nim?”
I widened my eyes and protested. Putting light grievance in my voice, tilting my head just slightly.
“It’s a joke.”
Hyung-nim shrugged. His shoulder line swayed softly, and his smile remained.
When I protested playfully, pretending to be dismayed, Theodore hyung-nim shrugged and backed down.
His movements were always restrained, but now felt somewhat relaxed. It was movement that made sense without words.
Really, who would have known this hyung-nim could act so well?
The person who was usually a thorough Crown Prince was now moving like an older brother caring for his younger sibling. That dramatic transition was so skillful that even I was impressed.
The Archduke’s expression was gradually becoming strange too, clearly surprised by Theodore hyung-nim’s new side today.
Archduke Skyle Rodias. His consistently expressionless eyes changed just a little. His jawline relaxed, and the muscles around his lips trembled very minutely.
Marcus hyung-nim already had a disgusted expression.
He lowered his eyes as if unable to bear this entire situation, and tilted the glass in his hand for no reason.
That’s when it happened.
The moment I swallowed a sip of wine, in the young lady’s eyes that I met fleetingly, I caught a trace of amusement.
‘She’s laughing right now? Lady Marsien?’
Before the wine’s flavor could touch my tongue, tension spread through my gaze first.
The wine that went down my throat caused a violent reaction in my stomach.
I knew enough to recognize that wasn’t ordinary alcohol’s effect.
The wine’s flavor spreading in my mouth was somewhat there, but what spread through my body wasn’t that. Something strangely cold, different from alcohol’s characteristic heat, was spreading from my heart outward. The unpleasant energy that began rising bit by bit from my stomach seemed to gradually climb up my esophagus.
‘But what is this?’
Suspicion immediately followed. I tried to organize my thoughts while licking my lips, but my tongue tip was already tingling slightly.
What I suddenly recalled wasn’t from before my regression, but one of the threats Sercil faced in the original work.
That scene was from the latter part of the original, when Sercil, having his emotions unintentionally triggered, collapsed unconscious. His heart rate dropped drastically due to poison, and eventually uncast healing magic barely saved his life.
A poison that works on those with significantly less mana than normal—Logi.
The name that surfaced from memory struck my head with a thud. That name was deeply embedded in my mind like ink on old paper.
A poison whose effect increases the more lacking one’s mana is, it could be called extremely toxic even in small amounts for me, suffering from mana depletion syndrome.
Right now I seem fine on the outside, but inside I’m gradually crumbling. Mana depletion syndrome isn’t a common disease, and symptoms worsen immediately when exposed to black magic or specific curses.
‘I remember this was definitely magic that had penalties for the young lady too.’
My vision gradually blurred. Like light bleeding, the surrounding colors were strangely distorting. The table’s edge where the glass sat curved, and people’s voices trembled thinly.
Was it my imagination?
I tried moving my body slightly, but my joints felt duller than usual. The moment I saw my fingertips trembling slightly, I could finally be certain.
Fleetingly, I thought I saw the Archduke, who had been watching this way, stop.
His gaze wavered slightly. It was a face that would normally never crumble. But now, it definitely stopped. Or perhaps it looked that way because my vision was shaking.
* * *
Among the several black magics Lady Marsien could handle was magic that changed small amounts of liquid into Logi.
That magic was difficult to detect from outside, and was a rare type that produced powerful effects with just small amounts. It required no special patterns or refinement, using purified emotions as material, making it perfectly suited for the young lady, who was especially skilled at emotional control.
For those who appeared to have mana levels inferior to ordinary people due to sealed mana like the original’s Sercil, or those known to possess little mana without even being born with unique magic like Ersen Mayer, this poison could kill by making them vomit blood from every orifice if consumed in large quantities.
That description wasn’t just a fictional device, but something Sercil had actually experienced in the main story. The scene where fresh blood flowed from his nose, mouth, and ears, and his skin turned blue—it was vividly depicted. I could now be in such a state.
‘Already using that.’
My lips dried. My hand holding the glass almost tensed up before stopping. I could still endure, but the reaction was faster than expected.
Using that here in this place couldn’t be just because of mood.
She’s doing this even accepting that she won’t be able to use black magic for the next four days?
That magic had side effects that blocked the young lady’s own mana recovery for a certain period after use. She couldn’t not know that.
Moreover, this was the middle of an important ballroom.
It was somewhat incomprehensible.
My head was dizzy, but my thoughts didn’t break off. The young lady had impulsive aspects, but as the Marsien family’s daughter, she didn’t do things that caused losses. But her current actions deviated from that principle.
No matter what, since I’m Theodore hyung-nim’s blood relative, there’s no way I’d take the Crown Princess position.
Even if I got close to hyung-nim, the young lady would know that wouldn’t lead to engagement. So her current actions were unnecessarily extreme.
Even if the young lady had strong possessiveness, wasn’t this somewhat unreasonable behavior?
Her emotions were crossing the line. This was closer to obsession than simple jealousy or competitiveness.
I’d prefer if the young lady would show black magic more clearly here.
Just the fact that I drank Logi wasn’t enough evidence. But if she revealed traces of magic even by mistake—that moment could be an opportunity.
I could pretend to be fine with fear magic, but pretending not to have consumed Logi while having consumed it was nearly impossible.
That magic gives feedback to ‘the drinker.’ The reaction boiling up from the stomach couldn’t be hidden. If I endured just a little longer, the reaction would definitely show.
Even though the amount of poison the young lady could impulsively change now wouldn’t be lethal.
With the mana she could currently use, only very small amounts of Logi would be producible. However, given my current condition, even that small amount was dangerous.
Right, she probably didn’t intend to kill me in front of the Crown Prince.
Even so, using such poison had strong warning meaning. A kind of declaration that ‘this is your limit.’ Public warning in the ballroom.
‘But young lady. I am.’
My chin began trembling. As I set down the glass, the sensation brushing between my fingers became dull. My gaze tilted slightly downward, and my breathing shortened a bit.
‘The situation is a bit special.’
Because mana depletion syndrome inevitably suffers particularly fatal harm from this type of poison.
That was a different problem from simple physical decline or emotional instability. When the mana circulating in the body hits rock bottom, magic resistance becomes powerless, and recovery responses to external stimuli barely occur.
Especially for poisons like Logi that work based on the very existence of mana, they were essentially ‘execution tools’ for mana depletion syndrome patients.
‘Maybe my lifespan will be a bit short.’
Dealing with black magic and curses.
My mouth was bitter. Sweat beaded slightly on my philtrum, and sweat flowing down my spine dampened the inside of my shirt.
My chest ached slightly each time I inhaled.
Mental and physical fatigue had already accumulated several times, and my mana would crack bit by bit each time.
It wasn’t a big problem.
As long as I didn’t die, I could somehow endure. If I had enough energy to grasp the situation and prepare before losing consciousness, that would be sufficient.
‘However, the key is how long I can endure.’
The moment I tried to gauge future developments, I suddenly froze.
A slow, cold wind came down my nape. My pupils trembled slightly, and sensation in my fingertips momentarily cut off.
Because I could see groups in the distance who appeared to have just arrived at the ballroom.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
