Chapter 183
“…I’m the Grand Duke of the Venomous Demonic House. After doing something like this to me….”
“So what?” Chris interrupted. “Our Houses are already on the verge of war anyway. If I were to chop off your head and mount it on a spike during our House’s darkest hour, wouldn’t that be a good morale boost?”
Hubert trembled as he looked into Chris’s cold, sunken eyes.
Then Chris suddenly chuckled.
“Relax. I don’t actually plan on killing you. You’re shaking just because I pointed a sword at you? Don’t be so pathetic.”
“…W-What did you say?”
“I’m just going to keep you locked up for now. So behave. You look like you could be a useful card to play.”
“You…! You coward…!”
“What, you didn’t know I was a bad guy?” Chris sneered. “Seriously, what were you thinking, coming here without a plan?”
He turned to Melin standing nearby.
“Take him. Make sure he’s comfortable—but also make sure the restraints are nice and tight so he doesn’t try anything funny.”
But Chris didn’t stop there.
“Marie. Since he’ll have a hard time moving around with the restraints on, I want you to personally attend to him.”
He didn’t have enough hard evidence yet to justify torture.
But direct, physical torture wasn’t the only way to extract information.
‘Mental pressure works even better when it’s subtle and leaves no marks.’
And Marie was an expert in that field.
“If you look after him gently enough, who knows? Maybe our dear Grand Duke Hubert will be so moved by your care that he starts talking.”
Chris was, of course, telling her to mentally break Hubert until he confessed something.
[Understood, young master. This Marie shall devote herself wholeheartedly to serving this man with all her love and sincerity.]
“W-What the—! Let go of me!”
Hubert shouted, only for Marie to smile sweetly and say:
[Ohoho… how adorable. Would you rather die? Or should I start by pulling out that noisy tongue of yours?]
“!!”
A cold chill ran down Hubert’s spine at Marie’s serene yet terrifying aura. His face turned pale.
[Now then, come along. By the young master’s orders, I shall ‘devote myself’ to you, so let’s spend lots of precious time together, shall we?]
And just like that, Hubert was dragged away.
For the rest of his confinement, he’d be under constant mental assault from Marie.
‘He doesn’t seem particularly strong-willed. He’ll crack eventually.’
An unexpected windfall.
And there was even more.
“What’s this?”
“Items we confiscated from him, sir.”
There were rows of toxin samples and antidotes.
But what caught Chris’s attention was something else—a communication orb.
‘A direct-link orb from his House?’
Chris examined it closely.
It was protected by a high-level security barrier, but with some effort, he managed to bypass it.
He sent a signal through.
—Hubert? What’s going on? Things are urgent here. Why haven’t you returned to the House yet?
It was a voice he recognized—one he’d heard before.
It belonged to none other than Duke Huam, head of the Venomous Demonic House.
“This is not Grand Duke Hubert. This is Christian. I greet Your Grace.”
—Christian? How did you get access to this communicator?
The duke’s voice rang with clear surprise.
For now, Christian chose not to reveal that Hubert was being detained.
“Grand Duke Hubert is currently resting in my chambers. I borrowed the communicator because I have something important to discuss with Your Grace regarding the recent unpleasant incident between your House and mine.”
As soon as Christian mentioned the current incident, a heavy silence came through the line.
—Let me be clear. This was not orchestrated by me or my faction, but by Marquis Goras. I have no desire for a conflict with the Dark Demonic House.
“I believe that as well. In this situation, only Marquis Goras stands to gain.”
—...I'm grateful to hear you say that. But the situation is still dire. If things go on like this, we won’t be able to avoid clashing with your House.
Indeed, it was a dangerous standoff.
Marquis Goras had pinned the blame on Marisa.
If nothing was done, over a thousand lives could be lost. The Dark Demonic House would hold Duke Huam’s side responsible, and it would spiral into a bloodbath between the two Houses.
Only Marquis Goras would benefit from such a disaster.
“Please don’t worry. I will take care of it. I have a plan.”
—You have a plan?
The duke’s voice rose with surprise.
“Yes. But before that, I wanted to say something in advance.”
—What is it?
Christian lowered his voice.
“Do you remember what I told you before, Your Grace?”
—What you said before…
Duke Huam suddenly fell silent.
He remembered what Christian had said.
“I asked you to forgive me if I ever needed to spill blood in the Venomous Demonic House.”
—...Yes, I remember.
“I’ll ask again. Will you still permit it, if I must spill blood within your House?”
This was something that had to be confirmed.
Because contrary to what some might think, Christian wasn’t aiming to resolve this peacefully.
There would be bloodshed.
—...I will permit it.
The duke’s reply came, heavy and deliberate.
—To cut out rot, pain is unavoidable. As the head of the Venomous Demonic House, I ask you to help remove the decay within our main family.
Christian gave a small nod.
“There is one more thing I’d like to ask.”
—What is it?
“If I resolve this matter completely…”
Christian finally spoke of his true objective in this whole affair.
“…I want you to help me obtain the Poison Well, the very core of the Venomous Demonic House.”
Poison Well.
It was the source of the Venomous Demonic House’s power.
Not just a wellspring for poison techniques—but a force capable of elevating Chris to an entirely new realm of existence.
A long silence followed over the communicator.
The Duke was clearly stunned by Chris’s demand.
—You mean... the refined byproduct of the Poison Well, don’t you?
“No. I’m talking about the origin itself.”
—...Do you even know what the Poison Well is?
“Of course I do.”
Simply put—
The Poison Well was akin to the Sacred Black of the Dark Demonic House.
It was the ultimate power source that turned the Venomous Demonic House’s members into true poison wielders.
Even among their own, only the most exceptional were ever granted access to it.
“Unlike the Dark Demonic House’s Sacred Black, the Poison Well isn’t restricted solely to blood relatives. As long as I can prove my worth, I’m sure we can find the proper justification.”
—You’re saying that like it’s so simple…!
Duke Huam raised his voice in outrage.
—Are you unaware that if someone who hasn’t mastered the peak of our venom arts so much as touches the Poison Well, they’ll be reduced to a puddle of blood on the spot?!
This was precisely why, unlike the Sacred Black, the Poison Well wasn’t exclusively limited to bloodline members.
The process of absorbing the Poison Well was incredibly dangerous.
Only those with the highest mastery—who had developed a complete, personal philosophy of poison—could endure its essence without being devoured by it.
Such individuals were rare, even once in several years. Hence, the allowance for non-bloodline candidates—if they were truly qualified.
—Absolutely not. This has nothing to do with others in the House objecting—you attempting to access the Poison Well is suicide.
But Chris calmly offered something shocking in return.
“Then what if I prove myself worthy?”
—...What?
“I don’t think it’ll take very long.”
The duke’s silence was almost incredulous.
—You don’t think it’ll take long? Even a lifetime of training in venom arts can’t guarantee success!
A perfectly reasonable reaction.
Even among those who had spent decades honing their craft in the Venomous Demonic House, few dared to approach the Poison Well.
“That’s nothing to worry about. I’ll only make my move once I’m fully prepared. But when the time comes and I’ve proven myself, I ask that you cooperate in granting me access to the Poison Well.”
—Ha.
A dry laugh trickled through the communicator.
The duke clearly saw it as impossible.
But Chris didn’t waver.
“The Poison Well is essential for what lies ahead.”
His goals weren’t to become just another strong Demon King.
No—he aimed to possess the power to stand over the entire Magus Empire, alone.
Just like the founder of the Dark Demonic House, the Demon King of Shadow’s End.
No—he aimed to surpass even him.
But no matter how much of a genius he was, talent alone wouldn’t be enough to reach that level.
From now on, he needed to claim everything he could get his hands on.
‘Especially the Poison Well… it’s not just something that helps with poison arts.’
Just as the Sacred Black had fundamentally transformed him, the Poison Well too would reshape Chris into something entirely different.
Above all, it was absolutely essential to achieving his first major objective: the State of Painted Reflection.
—...You’re that serious about it? Fine. I’ll cooperate with you in obtaining the Poison Well.
The duke’s voice sounded bitter.
—But only if you actually resolve this situation. If things keep going as they are, there won’t be a Poison Well or anything else left.
If Chris couldn’t dismantle Marquis Goras’ conspiracy, Marisa would be executed, and Duke Huam would fall from power.
Marisa would be condemned as the one responsible for the disaster, and the duke would lose everything.
“Don’t worry. It’s Marquis Goras who will be brought to his knees.”
Chris responded with cold resolve.
“As the Grand Duke of the Dark Demonic House, I say this—Marquis Goras dared to manipulate our family for his own gain. He will pay the price.”
* * *
With that, he began preparing in earnest to resolve the crisis.
But he didn’t head straight for the western territories.
There was somewhere he had to stop by first.
Ruina’s gambling hall.
“Go.”
“All in!”
“Hey! Are you messing around? You’re not cheating, are you?”
As usual, Chris thoroughly emptied the gambling house, purely as a way to draw Ruina out.
‘Lately, I’ve been so stressed. Seriously—how long do I have to keep putting up with this crap?’
Chris frowned internally.
He’d been enduring all this with the mindset of “it can’t be helped,” but the resentment kept building.
‘All I ever wanted was to live a carefree, spoiled noble life!’
Maybe it was that frustration that made him go a bit overboard. Either way, he cleaned the place out, and soon enough, Ruina rushed over—her face pale after hearing rumors that a devil had appeared at her establishment.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Y-Yes… it has. Ahaha…”
“How’s Evan doing?”
“Y-Yes, he talks about you from time to time. Lord Evan, honestly… I don’t know what he sees in someone like yo—I mean, please, forget what I just said.”
Ruina, the beautiful woman with a composed appearance, forced a smile that looked like she’d just swallowed a bug.
‘Aaargh! When will I finally be free of this guy?!’
She reacted like she’d seen death itself.
And it wasn’t just because he cleaned out her gambling den again.
There was another reason.
‘He’s giving me another one of these absurd jobs!!’
Just remembering the task Chris had assigned made her want to rip her hair out.
‘Lord Evan must be blind! Saying this devil is secretly kind-hearted? Do you know how much hair I’ve lost from stress because of him? I’m practically going bald!’
Meanwhile, Chris tilted his head curiously.
“You don’t look very happy to see me. I brought you a golden opportunity to make a fortune, you know.”
“Y-You call this a favor?! You never told me it’d involve something like this!“
“What? It’s not like it’s as hard as the Gold Cross job, is it?”
Ruina looked like something had gotten stuck in her chest.
“That’s true, but it’s way more dangerous! You’re basically turning the entire Venomous Demonic House into your enemy!!”
She hadn’t known at first.
When Chris first mentioned “taking from the Venomous Demonic House,” she thought he was planning some sly little con.
‘But this… this is too much! If I’d known it’d be something like this, I’d never have agreed!’