Chapter 182
In his previous life, Chris had led the Hero’s Party to explosive growth.
If someone like him were to start teaching in earnest, even the stagnant forces of the Dark Demonic House could experience a dramatic surge in power.
Right now, they were the subject of ridicule among the prestigious families—but it wouldn’t be long before they shocked everyone.
“……”
The retainers’ gazes turned to Nordian.
The decision was now his to make.
Nordian let out a quiet sigh.
‘Just what is this guy…’
To be honest, he had doubts about whether Christian could truly pull this off.
This wasn’t something that could be achieved through cleverness or brute strength alone, like before.
He’d be going up against the Venomous Demonic House—those unmatched in all things poison—armed only with toxicology and medicine.
However…
The moment he met Christian’s eyes, curved into that familiar confident grin, a laugh involuntarily escaped his lips.
There wasn’t a trace of doubt in that gaze—he wasn’t even considering the possibility of failure.
“…Fine. We’ll go with the plan proposed by the Marquis and the Grand Duke’s heir.”
Nordian finally spoke.
“I’ll give the Grand Duke’s heir one week. Within that time, uncover the truth.”
* * *
Beyond the western borders of the Dark Demonic House.
Deep in a densely forested region stood a vast estate.
Its sheer scale was unthinkable for a place so remote and untouched by human steps.
This was Jinrok Castle—the ancestral seat of the Venomous Demonic House.
The estate was composed of luxurious gardens and residences for affiliated magic-wielders, and at its heart stood a massive mansion.
An especially grand and opulent building even among the sprawling grounds.
Lakeheart Pavilion.
This was where the head of the Venomous Demonic House resided.
But currently, the master of Lakeheart Pavilion was not Duke Huam, the official head of the House.
It was the Vice-Lord, Marquis Goras.
A tyrant who had reduced Duke Huam to a mere puppet and seized real control of the Venomous Demonic House.
“Vice-Lord, things are proceeding exactly as you instructed with the Dark Demonic House.”
At his subordinate’s report, Marquis Goras turned his gaze.
The snake-like stare made the subordinate gulp.
It wasn’t merely the presence of a magic-wielder at the peak of 8-star power that made him nervous.
There was something else in Goras’ eyes—a complete absence of humanity.
A terrifying nature that would sacrifice anything to satisfy his greed.
‘That’s why he caused this mess in the first place…’
The subordinate clenched his fists.
It was true—Marquis Goras was the one behind the incident that occurred in the Dark Demonic House.
Just as Chris had suspected, he was trying to completely bring down Duke Huam.
‘But even so… he tried to massacre civilians…’
Even among magic-wielders who lived surrounded by bloodshed, there were lines that could never be crossed.
And that line was the slaughter of powerless civilians.
Not just that.
If things continued as they were, both the Dark Demonic House and the Venomous Demonic House—entangled in this scheme—would suffer heavy casualties.
No one could tell how many lives would be lost, but even so, Marquis Goras had coldly committed this horrifying act for the sake of his own greed.
The aide hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“…Will that really be all right? If the Dark Demonic House somehow uncovers the truth behind all this, it could become quite a serious problem.”
He had attempted to massacre civilians. If this incident were exposed, even Marquis Goras—despite being the most powerful figure in the Venomous Demonic House—wouldn’t be able to sweep it under the rug.
“There’s no chance of that happening.”
Marquis Goras answered flatly.
His voice was parched and cracked.
“Marquis Langham just contacted me. Apparently, the Dark Demonic House has assigned this matter to Grand Duke Christian.”
“To that boy, Grand Duke Christian?”
The aide exclaimed in disbelief.
Of course, Christian’s talent was well-known even within the Venomous Demonic House.
Whether in magic or dark sorcery, he displayed monstrous potential—an undeniable genius.
He was certain to grow into a tremendous force in the future, but this incident wasn’t something mere talent could resolve.
‘The Dark Demonic House must be insane. This is the kind of situation where they should be mobilizing a member of a renowned healing family, not handing it over to a child.’
The only ones capable of uncovering the truth behind this incident were the disciples of the renowned Healing Family.
Even then, not just any disciple would do. It would take someone at the level of a fully-fledged medical scholar—someone with complete understanding of the Healing Family’s academic body of knowledge.
“You don’t need to worry about the Dark Demonic House getting to the bottom of this. Just proceed as planned—frame Lady Marisa and Duke Huam for the crime.”
“Yes, as you command.”
The aide bowed his head and vanished, and as Marquis Goras stood alone, the signal orb beside him chimed.
A message from the Demon King of Azure Flow.
—How is the operation progressing?
A shocking revelation.
This meant the Demon King of Azure Flow was the one backing this entire incident.
The reason Marquis Goras had committed such horrific acts without hesitation was because he had the Demon King's approval.
“You need not worry.”
Marquis Goras answered calmly.
“Your Majesty will have exactly what you desire.”
The signal orb flickered and then powered down, seemingly satisfied.
Marquis Goras looked out the window.
From there, he could see the full view of the massive estate.
Once this plan was completed, that estate would truly become his.
“It won’t be long now.”
* * *
Meanwhile, Christian had already begun preparations to resolve the incident.
Time was short.
‘It’s not just the one-week deadline that’s the problem. Even now, the number of patients is rising.’
Fortunately, so far, the number of deaths remained low.
But Chris knew—thanks to his memories from a previous life—exactly how this incident would unfold.
‘More than a thousand people died back then, and the two Houses nearly went to war over it…’
The real problem was that solving the case would be anything but easy.
‘Just figuring out what the poison is will be a nightmare.’
The Venomous Demonic House possessed an almost countless array of toxins—creating new poisons was practically their hobby. People joked that they had as many poisons as they had members.
For every rare symptom, there were dozens of compounds that could produce something similar.
No one—no matter how skilled—could identify them all one by one.
‘But I can. If I lean on what I know, it’s possible. My medical expertise surpasses even the “medical scholars” of the Healing Family.’
In his previous life, Chris had never mastered the Healing Family’s inner techniques, yet he’d still earned a reputation bordering on the divine, thanks purely to unparalleled medical knowledge.
Even in the Healing Family—the cradle of medicine—no one could outmatch him in theory.
‘The catch is nailing Marquis Goras. I need proof that he spread the poison.’
Knowing how meticulous Goras was, he would have scrubbed away every trace.
Unmasking the toxin and finding hard evidence in just one week would be difficult for anyone—even Chris.
‘But that’s fine. I have a plan for that, too.’
He smiled to himself with confidence.
‘Who says you always have to play by the book? Under‑handed tricks are my specialty.’
Marquis Goras would never see it coming; he had no idea what was about to hit him.
‘Time to get started.’
Just then, an unexpected visitor arrived.
Melin announced, “My lord, you have a guest.”
“Who is it?”
“Grand Duke Hubert of the Venomous Demonic House.”
A moment later, the man himself stepped inside.
“It’s an honor to see you again, Grand Duke Christian. We last met at your investiture.”
It really was Hubert—the notoriously ineffectual heir of the Venomous House.
‘He hasn’t gone home yet?’
Most of the envoys who attended the ceremony had long since returned to their own estates.
At any rate, this was unexpected.
“What brings you here? You must realize the Dark Demonic House is hardly a hospitable place for you right now,” Chris said, folding his arms.
“I could have you restrained and locked up.”
Hubert chuckled. “Frightening words. But I trust you won’t do that—there’s little value in me as a hostage anyway.”
He flashed a wry grin.
“As you know, I’m nothing more than a puppet grand duke.”
Chris’s eyebrow twitched.
Something about Hubert’s attitude rubbed him the wrong way.
‘He seems far too composed for the situation.’
Hubert was the son of Duke Huam, the head of the Venomous Demonic House.
And yet, despite his father's faction being in serious trouble, he didn’t show the slightest hint of concern.
It was difficult to understand.
Chris studied Hubert’s expression carefully and then asked,
“Why are you here?”
“I came because I have something to tell you about this incident.”
Hubert lowered his voice.
“The incident in the Dark Demonic House’s territory was indeed caused by my younger sister, Marisa’s, poison.”
“……”
“She was working on her new masterpiece—a poison called Blood of Malice. It was accidentally released into the Tenne River due to a lapse in oversight at the Poison Vault.”
For the record, the Poison Vault was under Marisa’s management.
In other words, Hubert was claiming that the entire incident was Marisa’s fault.
If this were true, even if Chris managed to uncover the truth, he wouldn’t be able to legally hold Marquis Goras responsible.
“And why are you telling me this? From the perspective of her brother, it would make more sense to hide this.”
If the blame fell on Marisa, whether it was a mistake or intentional, it would be impossible to let it slide.
At minimum, she would be sentenced to death.
And her brother, Grand Duke Hubert, along with their father Duke Huam, would also suffer severe consequences.
‘In my previous life, Marisa did end up taking the blame and died because of it.’
Thinking back, Marisa had lived a tragic life in that previous timeline.
During the “Devil’s Amulet” incident, she was falsely accused and subjected to a horrific punishment—both eyes gouged out, her tongue ripped out, and her limbs severed.
Even then, she didn’t give up. Despite being disabled, she climbed her way up and became the head of the Poison Vault… only to fall victim again to Marquis Goras’ scheme.
In the end, she died a terrible death, having been wrongfully blamed for everything.
“I’m telling you this because I want to save my sister.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Marisa is still denying any wrongdoing. She admits that a small amount of poison leaked due to negligence, but she says she quickly neutralized it and insists her poison had nothing to do with the current outbreak.”
Hubert’s voice grew heavy.
“That’s why I want you to reveal Marisa’s guilt before it’s too late. At the very least, I want to save her life.”
Chris went silent for a moment.
He already had a general understanding of how this incident unfolded.
But until now, he hadn’t known exactly how Marisa ended up being framed.
Then, listening to Hubert’s words, it all clicked.
‘Now that I think about it… this guy. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him.’
Chris narrowed his eyes and studied Hubert more closely.
The face was unfamiliar—but there was an undeniable sense of déjà vu.
Suddenly, a voice resurfaced in his memory.
— “Once this is over, I’ll never have to see that wretched girl Marisa’s face again.”
That voice came from the Devil’s Amulet incident—a conflict between exploration parties from the Venomous and Dark Demonic Houses over a powerful relic.
Back then, someone from the Venomous House had tried to frame Marisa.
He had worn a mask, so Chris couldn’t confirm his face, but the body type… was eerily similar to the man standing in front of him now.
Chris stared at him and asked directly.
"Are you really doing this out of concern for Marisa?"
For a brief moment, Hubert’s face stiffened.
He quickly returned to a gentle expression, but Chris didn’t miss the shift.
‘Sure, having a similar build alone isn’t enough to prove he’s the same man from back then…’
But there was one decisive reason for his suspicion.
It was the look in Hubert’s eyes.
“What do you mean by that? I care for Marisa deeply.”
“I’m aware you and Marisa get along well.”
Marisa had occasionally sent Chris frivolous letters, and she’d often mentioned her brother Hubert in them.
They seemed to share a rare sibling bond—unusual even among noble households steeped in dark magic.
“But then, why is it that I don’t see a trace of concern for her in your eyes?”
“!!”
“On the contrary… I see something much darker lurking there. And, well, detecting malice is something I happen to specialize in.”
At first glance, Hubert’s words sounded like he was worried for Marisa.
But that wasn’t his true intent.
He was trying to plant the idea in Chris’s mind—that Marisa was the cause of everything.
Hubert’s expression turned grim.
"How dare you say such a thing?! I shared that information with you because I trusted you, and now you insult me? I have nothing more to say—I’m leaving!"
“Not so fast.”
Fwish!
Christian’s sword was suddenly at Hubert’s throat.
‘When did he…?!’
Hubert swallowed hard, and Christian smiled leisurely.
“You may come and go as you please in most places—but not here. Not without my permission.”