Chapter 187
“How can you even say that?! I mean, even if you’re a genius, how is this even possible?!”
That’s how shocked Marisa was. And rightfully so.
Chris’s performance over the past two days had been nothing short of extraordinary.
First, his emergency interventions—treatments that pulled patients back from the brink of death.
They weren’t just on par with renowned doctors.
No, he surpassed them.
‘Even the elders of the Venomous Demonic House couldn’t pull off treatments like that. That’s on the level of a Divine Healer.’
And more unbelievable still—
‘How is he treating the Bloodstream of Malice? There’s no antidote!’
Chris just shrugged casually.
“Well, even without an antidote, as long as you understand how the symptoms are triggered, you can treat accordingly, right?”
“……”
“Your poison causes fluid buildup in the brain. So I adjusted the pressure to counteract that.”
“W-What kind of absurd…”
Chris explained it like it was nothing—but it was completely absurd.
He had, essentially, developed a treatment drug on the spot.
A compound that acted on the kidneys to regulate the body’s fluid concentration.
‘According to the House of Medical Saints, fluid build-up in the brain can be drained by adjusting the body's fluid concentration.’
That was exactly how the House of Medical Saints dealt with poisons.
Rather than trying to create a unique antidote for every toxin, they treated the symptoms the poisons caused.
And thanks to Ruina, who quickly sent over expensive medicinal herbs, Chris was able to synthesize the medication and produce it in bulk.
On top of that, he used his clan’s medical knowledge to precisely adjust IV fluid administration.
As a result, the patients began to recover rapidly.
But that wasn’t even the most impressive thing Chris had accomplished.
“I’ve figured it out. The identity of the poison.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marisa—it is your poison.”
“!!”
Marisa’s eyes shook.
“Th-That’s impossible…!”
“Using alchemy, I confirmed the presence of crystallized traces of your ‘Bloodstream of Malice’ in every patient’s bloodstream.”
“But it was only trace amounts! That concentration would never cause symptoms this severe!”
Marisa refuted it.
“That would be true… if it were just your poison.”
“…What are you saying?”
“It’s a composite poison.”
“…What? No… don’t tell me—”
Marisa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Of course she knew the term.
A composite poison—harmless or mild on its own, but when combined with another specific toxin, it amplifies the effects to a deadly degree.
“Exactly. Someone spread a composite poison throughout this territory. Once it combined with your poison, it triggered this entire catastrophe.”
“Who would even do something like that…?”
“We’ll find out—once we go and confront them.”
Chris spoke in a low, cold voice.
“I’ve figured out how the poison was spread.”
He hadn’t just been treating patients these past two days.
He’d gathered and compiled detailed information on each one—and from that, identified a common factor shared by all.
“It was the Maho Tea.”
“Maho Tea?”
A type of tea cultivated in the territory of the Venomous Demonic House, and commonly consumed even here in the western lands.
Upon investigation, it was confirmed that only those who had consumed a particular batch of Maho Tea—distributed by a certain merchant group—developed symptoms.
That tea had been grown in the territory controlled by the faction loyal to Marquis Goras.
Chris moved without hesitation and stormed into the merchant company.
“Wh-Who are you? Huh? Grand Duke Christian?!”
“Are you looking to die?”
“Wh-What?! I—what?!”
“You dare to distribute poisoned tea to the people of the main house?”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
The merchant master dropped to the ground, trembling.
“The Maho Tea your company distributed was laced with poison. That tea was cultivated in the Seccia region of the Venomous Demonic House. Were you ordered to do this by the lord of Seccia?”
The lord of Seccia was a well-known supporter of Marquis Goras.
“W-What?! I-I swear I had no idea!! I’ve been framed! Please, you must believe me!!”
The merchant grovelled, shaking in fear.
“You claim you didn’t know?”
“Yes! I swear! I had no idea!!”
“Then prove it.”
“Wh-What?”
“Swear that you’ll speak the truth. And then, say again that you’re innocent.”
Something must’ve felt off—the merchant’s throat bobbed nervously as he swallowed.
“T-That’s…”
“What’s wrong? If you’re truly innocent, a little oath shouldn’t trouble you.”
Srrrk—
Christian’s sword slid out and pressed coldly against the man’s throat.
The merchant cried out in terror.
“F-Fine! I swear I’ll speak the truth!! I—I don’t kno—”
And then, he suddenly choked.
“I—I don’t kno… I do kno… not… not unknown…”
His voice trembled uncontrollably.
Chris let out a quiet chuckle.
In his hand, a dark magical sigil had appeared.
It was the Mark of Binding—a black curse spell he’d used many times before. A powerful magic that compelled the target to act according to set conditions.
“You swore you’d speak the truth, didn’t you? Go on—say it.”
“I… I—”
The merchant’s tongue began to move on its own, against his will.
At the moment he was about to reveal the truth under the Seal of Binding—
Something horrific happened.
“G-Gk?!”
The merchant’s face turned ghostly pale.
“GYAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
With a bloodcurdling scream, the merchant’s body began to melt alive.
It was poison.
“A Forbidden Poison from our family,” Marisa said, her voice stiff and grim.
“One that kills the moment someone attempts to speak the truth.”
“…Now what?”
With the man dead, there was no longer anyone who could testify that the lord of Seccia had laced the tea with poison.
The trail had been cut.
But then Chris said something unexpected.
“It’s fine. Actually, this is better.”
“…Better?”
“At this point, isn’t it obvious who’s behind it?”
“…I guess that’s true.”
The Maho Tea originated from lands under Marquis Goras’s faction, and the merchant died from a Forbidden Poison—one that only the Venomous Demonic House could manufacture.
There was no definitive proof, but the culprit was as good as revealed.
“Since we already know who did it, there’s no need to waste time gathering hard evidence, is there?”
The implication was clear.
Chris wore a villainous grin.
“Now that we’ve uncovered this much, we can just fabricate the rest to fit.”
That’s right.
From the beginning, Chris had no intention of collecting every piece of real evidence.
‘We’re short on time—why bother with that?’
It would only give the enemy more time to prepare.
‘It’s time to move on to the next phase of the plan.’
Because in truth, revealing the facts had never been his true objective.
His real goal—was to use this incident as a pretext to cause a massive stir.
“Bring it in.”
Clap—he snapped his fingers, and someone entered the room.
A composed beauty with a face like she’d just swallowed something rotten.
It was Ruina.
“You’re all set, right?”
“…Yes.”
Ruina’s expression twisted even more.
How could it not?
After all, Chris had ordered her to forge evidence.
Using her merchant network, she’d fabricated documents and records proving that the poison had been spread from territories under Marquis Goras’s faction.
For the record, the forged materials also included none other than Seccia itself.
‘Ugh! You bastard! What do you think I am, a criminal?! Sure, I’ve run a few shady businesses, but I’m still a legitimate merchant at heart!’
“Are you really sure this is okay?!”
Ruina asked with a face full of anxiety, and Chris simply shrugged.
“Maybe?”
“Eek! What kind of answer is that?!”
“Well, no one knows how the world will turn out. How can I give a definite answer? I’m not someone who makes blind promises.”
“You sound even less trustworthy saying that!”
“Don’t worry too much. Once we raid those territories, real evidence will turn up anyway. In the end, it means you won’t have really lied.”
“…Raid them?”
Ruina flinched at the strange word. And so did Marisa.
“Oh right, I haven’t told you what my real goal is yet, have I?”
Just then, the door creaked open, and someone entered.
It was Melin—the one Chris had sent away with a certain mission.
“I’ve returned after carrying out your orders.”
“Good. What’s the status?”
“As instructed, the Dark Army’s elite Black Banner Unit has covertly positioned themselves within the Venomous Demonic House’s territory and are standing by.”
Ruina and Marisa’s eyes went wide as if about to tear.
They finally realized what Chris was after.
“Seccia, Balmont, Lodrak, Kalia.”
Chris began naming them one by one.
These were the names of territories within the Venomous Demonic House.
All of them were under lords loyal to Marquis Goras.
“As the Grand Duke of the Dark Demonic House and Vice Commander of the Dark Army, I hereby declare—”
His voice was ice-cold.
“—that as punishment for deceiving the Dark Demonic House, I will purge these four territories.”
That’s right.
Chris’s real objective was to subjugate these territories by force.
‘Because simply revealing the truth won’t change anything.’
Even if he managed to prove that Marquis Goras was the one behind all this…
Would that be enough to make him pay?
Unlikely.
Sure, even in the Magus Empire, poisoning civilians en masse was a tremendous crime.
But Marquis Goras would never willingly admit his guilt.
Naturally, he would deny all evidence, and with Marquis Langham being in league with him, there’d be no way justice would be served.
‘In the end, the only way to exact justice is through force—but even that won’t be easy with someone like Marquis Goras.’
It wasn’t like when the Duke Huam was the suspect.
The Duke Huam, though a head of house, led only a minor faction within the Venomous Demonic House.
Fighting him had far fewer consequences.
But attacking Marquis Goras was essentially a declaration of full-scale war against the Venomous Demonic House.
So there was only one viable method.
‘We have to strike first and crush them in a single, overwhelming surprise attack before it escalates into a war.’
And that—was why Chris had orchestrated all of this.
‘No one would ever expect that I’d mobilize the Dark Army while they're still stationed to guard the Demon King's Castle.’
That was the key to the plan’s success—complete unpredictability.
And Chris had one more important ally.
‘The Duke Huam agreed to delay Marquis Goras’s movements.’
He had discreetly requested it during their last communication.
‘If I subjugate these four territories, Marquis Goras’s power will take a massive hit.’
Chris hadn’t chosen the four territories at random.
He had specifically picked regions whose loss would cause severe damage to Marquis Goras’s influence.
‘No time to waste.’
With Melin, Chris spurred his horse toward the rendezvous point where the Black Banner Unit was waiting.
Before long, a squad came into view.
Warriors clad in jet-black armor.
They were the Black Banner Unit, the most elite cavalry of the Dark Army.
Their numbers were small—around 300.
But every single one radiated power and sharp discipline that couldn’t be compared to regular Dark Army soldiers.
Each member appeared to be at least 2-star to 3-star rank in combat capability.
‘With soldiers like this, they’d be elite even in a royal knight order.’
Three hundred such individuals.
It was a terrifying force.
And they didn’t ride ordinary horses either—they rode magibeasts, granting them vastly superior speed and stamina.
But the most striking thing wasn’t the army itself.
It was the two standing at the front.
“Oh ho! Vice Commander! It’s been a while! First time seeing you since that drinking night. Gotten any better at holding your liquor?”
A man with a playful grin and roguish charm.
It was Leon, the third of the Dark Army’s Five Captains.
A formidable 6-star mid-tier powerhouse.
But he wasn’t alone.
“…Greetings, Grand Duke.”
A stiff tone and clearly displeased face.
It was Baron Sanin, the youngest of the Five Captains—who had once knelt before Chris.
Two of the Five Captains were here.
“I’ve heard the full briefing from Dame Melin. Ah, truly—you are our young lord… no, Grand Duke now, aren’t you?”
Leon smirked and raised the corner of his lips.
“The moment I heard your plan, a thrill ran through me.”