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Chapter 4
Poison? No way… right?
Humans must let go of the foolish notion that they are always right.
Maybe I’m only thinking this because of the habits and instincts ingrained in me from the Tang Clan?
The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems.
This is Pador, a house that despises poison above all else. And yet, poison… here?
And not just anywhere—on the steak of the count’s youngest son, the one known for his frailty?
No. Impossible.
I must be mistaken.
…No. No matter how I look at it, I’m not mistaken.
Just like before, there’s that faint, strange scent—something that’s not just the smell of meat.
Well, there’s no harm in checking, right?
Alright then… shall I test it with the five gates of poison detection? It’s been a while.
I pressed down on the steak—hard.
Soft. But no juices come out…
Does that mean this steak is just well-cooked?
No.
This happens when poison has sucked out all the blood.
The dark, clotted color of the blood inside is proof enough.
I’ve felt the texture of meat thousands of times before. The Tang Clan trained me that way.
They made me touch every kind of meat imaginable, even corpses poisoned to death.
Only then can you distinguish the feel of normal flesh from flesh tainted by poison.
Ah… the Tang Clan really is full of lunatics.
No—wait.
I was the prime example of those lunatics, wasn’t I?
Anyway, that’s enough testing with the meat.
Shall we try the other dishes?
I scooped up some soup with a silver spoon.
No reaction on the silver.
Of course, if poison could be detected that easily, I’d have noticed long ago.
What about… other methods?
I deliberately spilled a drop of soup onto my sleeve and then mixed some into plain water.
There—subtle, but clear—the soup separated in layers.
Poison here too.
Was it because of my odd behavior?
Nerlin carefully asked.
“Young Master, what… what are you doing?”
I ignored her and kept going.
Next—sight.
I cut a piece of roasted duck and dropped it into a vase of flowers.
And then… tiny beads of purple-tinted dew formed on the leaves.
“Young Master?”
Another failure.
Every dish on this table failed.
They didn’t pass any of the five senses’ tests.
There’s no doubt now.
All of this food is poisoned.
Fine. Let’s be generous and say I’m just imagining things.
Then why not… eat it and see?
Taste—the most dangerous yet unmistakable way to detect poison.
Slice—
The knife cut through the meat.
Why am I laughing?
“Ha…”
Marianne, who’d been watching my face for a while, asked nervously,
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
I speared a piece of steak with my fork and ate it.
Yes, the quality is good.
Tender. Juicy. Delicious.
And within that juice… I felt the poison.
A defective product—beyond a doubt.
How bold. Someone dared to tamper with the steak—on my very first dinner here?
In the Tang Clan, a poison that kills instantly is called Ho-dok (Lethal Poison), while one that destroys you slowly, giving you endless pain, is called Ak-dok (Cruel Poison).
This table…
It’s a perfect display of Ak-dok.
Whoever did this—I’ll smash their skull and give them a proper “compliment.”
This isn’t just any poison.
It’s a minuscule dose—so subtle the culprit wouldn’t even realize it’s detectable.
Even the bloodline heirs of the Sichuan Tang Clan might fail to notice, unless they were deeply skilled in poison arts.
This kind of poison…
It seeps into you unnoticed, slowly rotting your body and turning you into an empty shell of a human.
Instantly fatal poison is terrifying, yes—
But this kind?
This is far worse.
This… was inside the steak?
I calmly brought the meat to my lips, pretending nothing was wrong.
Marianne and Nerlin stood by, watching me expectantly, their faces full of hope.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
I glanced at their expressions out of the corner of my eye.
Pure. Honest. Not a trace of deception.
Do they… really not know?
Of course. How could they?
I smiled sweetly at the two clueless maids.
“Mmm… yeah. It’s delicious. Really delicious.”
But the moment the meat slid down my throat, the tiniest trace of poison began to spread through my body.
This is it.
That same faint toxin—the one that’s been accumulating inside me.
It’s the exact same as the one in this meat.
Still, for someone training in the Myriad Poison Monarch Art, could there be a better tonic than this?
How thoughtful.
Giving me such nutritious meat.
“Is there any more?”
“We’ll bring you another serving right away!”
Even the butler seemed delighted to see me eating, rushing to the kitchen to push the chefs harder.
The corners of my lips kept curling up.
So this is why my body had become such a wreck.
Why it was full of all sorts of poison.
The answer was right in front of me.
“It was real… It really was. This is what turned me into a damn cripple.”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
Marianne, Nerlin, and the other servants were slowly growing stiff with worry…
But the laughter just wouldn’t stop.
These bastards.
They were the ones who destroyed me.
Before I even realized it, my fingers gripped the knife in a reverse hold—like a dagger—then slowly relaxed again.
The mysterious organization that brought down our family.
The Evil Society.
This was their doing.
And one of them… is hiding within our household.
I’ll know who it is soon enough.
Even if I don’t want to, I’ll have no choice but to find out.
Because that person—they’re someone I can’t not recognize.
But this… this part I didn’t know.
That everything they did—started with me.
Chomp. Chew. Crunch.
I sank my teeth into the steak again.
And again.
I accepted the poison they gave me.
Every. Last. Bite.
I wonder if they realize…
That the poison they slipped me… has become the very thing helping me build my internal energy.
“That was excellent. I don’t know who prepared it, but truly—well done. I hope I get to eat more of it.”
“Really?!”
Marianne and Nerlin, visibly tense until now, grabbed each other’s hands and jumped with joy.
They were always like that—worrying about my health, day in and day out.
Unaware that, by trying to help me, they were unknowingly helping to kill me.
And that’s what made it even crueler.
Turning the innocent… into accomplices.
After finishing the steak, I started on the other dishes.
Not a single one was free from poison…
Each one unique.
A collection so diverse, even the Tang Clan’s private stores would be envious.
Should I call this… a gourmet spread?
Like a good little child who never picks at their food,
I diligently chewed every bite and praised the chef’s incredible skill.
Honestly, this is good food for me.
Thanks.
I’d been wondering how I’d get my hands on some poison—was even considering wrangling up a venomous snake or two.
But here I am, being served this high-grade poison on a silver platter.
If they’re going to feed me poison, the least I can do is chew it thoroughly and savor every bite.
I rubbed my stomach and muttered,
“Still hungry. Is there any more?”
The chef, hearing this, bolted toward the kitchen.
“Just a moment, Young Master!”
Before long, he returned with another dish.
For something made in a rush, the dessert was surprisingly refined.
A sweet lemon tart.
A satisfying end to the meal.
Of course, it was poisoned too.
“Now that was satisfying.”
Creeeak—
I stood from my chair and stretched.
Now then… what should I do?
Should I announce right now that all the food was poisoned?
Ridiculous.
In everyone’s eyes, I’m just a weak, sickly young master who faints at the drop of a hat.
If I act rashly now, I’ll be dead before I even begin to take my revenge.
My enemies must believe that I have no idea what they’re doing.
When I finally reveal the poison in the food, I need to at least be strong enough to protect myself.
Until then, I’ll keep up the act.
The fragile youngest son of House Pador.
Just a little toy for them to mess with.
…But honestly?
I just want to eat real food.
When night fell and the darkness settled in,
I made my way quietly to the servants’ kitchen.
If there were anywhere I could find untainted food, it’d be there.
Nerlin was stuffing her face with potato salad when she spotted me and froze, spoon mid-air.
“Huh…? Y-Young Master?”
Potato was smeared across her cheeks.
She’d really gone in.
Marianne was preparing some fish. She turned her head, puzzled.
“Is there something you need, Young Master? What brings you all the way here…?”
“Mmm, yeah.”
“What would you like?”
I pointed toward the bowl of potato salad Nerlin had been eating.
Nerlin, startled, instinctively clutched the bowl closer and cleared her throat awkwardly.
That glutton… so predictable.
“Could I… try some of that? And the fish too?”
Marianne tilted her head.
“You want to eat this, Young Master?”
“I’m just hungry, that’s all.”
“Ah! In that case, let me prepare something proper for you instead! Just give me a moment—I’ll find some ingredients—”
“No need. I want to eat what you two are eating.”
I pulled out a chair and sat down.
Nerlin, stunned, scrambled to her feet.
“Um? You… you’re not sitting?”
“Well, you can’t possibly eat beside a maid like me!”
“Ah…”
Though House Pador is known for being kind, class distinctions in the Empire are strict.
Nobles don’t sit and eat with commoners.
“Just sit down and eat. You too, Marianne. Let’s eat together—the three of us.”
“But, Young Master…”
Marianne hesitated.
Guess it’s time to put my noble status to good use.
“That’s an order. Understood?”
She nodded, reluctantly.
The moment she did, Nerlin plopped back down into her seat like the wind.
“Well, if it’s an order, then I have to, right?!”
And then she started drooling.
What a transparent little glutton.
And so, our meal began.
The potato salad and warm soup immediately soothed my stomach…
The fish was seasoned with lemon and Eneris’ signature blend of spices, giving it a bright, tangy flavor as it melted in my mouth.
This… this is it.
No poison.
Just because I’m cultivating the Myriad Poison Monarch Art doesn’t mean I like poison.
That’s a common misconception.
I mean, what kind of lunatic enjoys eating food soaked in venom?
Every day life should feel normal to be enjoyable.
“It’s delicious. Truly.”
“Really? I thought the lunch you had earlier would’ve tasted better…”
“No. This is far better.”
Marianne flushed slightly, but her smile crept in—genuine and pleased.
As I continued eating, the two girls followed my lead, and before we knew it, the plates were wiped clean.
Marianne, clearly encouraged, stood up with a spark of pride.
“Then, would you like to try this next, Young Master?”
In her hands was a chocolate muffin.
I remember that one.
It really was a masterpiece.
Nerlin’s eyes lit up as she saw it too, licking her lips.
“You have to try it, Young Master. It’s seriously amazing.”
She didn’t wait.
Grabbing a muffin, she shoved it into her mouth in one big bite.
“Marianne, how did you get so good at baking? Maybe I should learn too!”
Nerlin? Learn to cook?
Absolutely not.
Even back when I was Tang Cheol-woo, I never forgot Nerlin’s cooking.
That nightmare still haunts me.
Her cooking was more toxic than anything the Tang Clan ever concocted.
In other words, Nerlin must be stopped at all costs.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“…Okay.”
Nerlin’s lips puckered like a sulky duck.
After calming her down, I stared at the chocolate muffin in my hand.
The muffin I’d loved so much…
I finally get to taste it again.
I carefully took a bite.
Sweet.
Maybe a little rough around the edges, but the familiar flavor made me smile without even realizing it.
And more than the taste itself, it was Marianne and Nerlin being here beside me that truly warmed my chest.
After my family’s downfall, these two girls were the ones I always sat beside at the table.
Those were dark days.
But in the midst of that darkness, it was moments with them that lingered, bright and soft like candlelight.
Now I understand…
This is the flavor I’ve been longing for.
Sitting around a table with people I thought I’d never see again.
This is the kind of ordinary life… that I missed most of all.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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