Chapter 199
Just as that covetous gaze returned to Chris again—
Christian spoke up with an unexpected remark.
“Now that things seem to be wrapping up, perhaps it's time the Venomous Demonic House discussed how it intends to compensate the Dark Demonic House.”
“…Compensate?”
“After all, His Majesty the Demon King’s verdict was merely the punishment for Marquis Goras, who committed the crime. The Venomous Demonic House ought to offer separate compensation to the Dark Demonic House. You’re not planning to just sweep this under the rug, are you?”
Chris added with a mocking tone:
“Especially since your Lord Patriarch seems to feel a strong sense of responsibility over this incident, I’m sure he’ll provide the proper restitution.”
The implication was clear—he took something, now it’s time to cough it up.
Duke Huam let out a dry chuckle.
“Not a single opening… Impressive. Truly someone I can’t afford to lose…”
“Very well. Since this was clearly the main house’s fault, we will offer the appropriate compensation to the Dark Demonic House.”
At that, a wicked smirk curled on Chris’s lips.
It was a chilling smile—brutal, even.
And the moment he heard what followed from Chris’s mouth, Duke Huam’s eyes began to widen.
Demands so outrageous, they made him forget all the admiration he had just felt.
Demands that could only be called thievery.
After the agreement had concluded, Chris had a private meeting with Duke Huam.
“…Thank you for everything. I truly owe you a great debt.”
“You’re too kind.”
“…But don’t you think you went a bit overboard? That compensation was daylight robbery.”
Chris merely shrugged.
“You have to take what you can, while you can.”
Duke Huam sighed and offered him a teacup.
“Here, have some.”
“Thank you. There’s no poison in this, right?”
“…To be honest, I wouldn’t mind slipping in a few drops right about now.”
Even Duke Huam, who had been nothing but cordial toward Christian, was utterly exasperated by how thoroughly he had wrung out compensation.
First of all—an enormous sum of money.
Didn’t they already fine Marquis Goras?
That was just the penalty. This, from the Venomous Demonic House, was a claim for emotional damages.
And that wasn’t all. Christian had also seized a hoard of ancient artifacts owned by the Venomous Demonic House.
On top of that, out of the four territories that had been occupied, he had negotiated for the Dark Demonic House to retain three of them.
The only exception was the Kalia region, which held the primary water source.
For the Venomous Demonic House, handing over ownership of three territories was a devastating blow.
“But please, don’t see it all too negatively. This may not be such a bad outcome for His Majesty either.”
“Not a bad outcome?”
“Yes. Doesn’t this help highlight Marquis Goras’s crimes even further?”
He had a point.
It was clear to everyone that this entire incident had stemmed from Marquis Goras.
And the reason the Venomous Demonic House had been forced to accept such unfavorable terms was because Christian had demanded this compensation in exchange for handing down only a light punishment to Marquis Goras.
Marquis Goras's position would only grow weaker from here on out.
“You’ll still honor the treaty to supply all poisonous herbs from the Cessia territory exclusively to the Venomous Demonic House, correct? If you don't uphold that treaty, there’s no way we can transfer the land to you.”
“Of course. As long as you’re willing to pay enough.”
For reference, the transaction was to be conducted through Ruina’s Rudolph Merchant Company.
This served both as compensation for Ruina’s efforts—and also as a means for Chris to secure a private cut from the profits.
“I’m the one who did all the work—if only the Dark Demonic House benefits from this, it’d leave a bitter taste. I’ll have Ruina handle it so I can pocket half the profit myself.”
Of course, once Chris had full control of the Dark Demonic House, all of its money would essentially be his anyway—but having a well-stuffed personal stash was never a bad thing.
As Duke Huam still couldn’t shake off his unease, Chris said with a grin:
“Besides, the Venomous Demonic House and our Dark Demonic House will soon be one family, won’t we?”
“!!”
Duke Huam flinched at that.
He was referring to the revival of the Dark Alliance.
“I’ve heard rumors that you intend to rebuild the Dark Alliance. Are you serious about it?”
“Of course I am.”
“And you think our Venomous Demonic House will fall in line?”
Duke Huam did hold a deep goodwill toward Christian.
Especially now, after having received a favor so great that it could never be repaid.
But even so, accepting that the Venomous Demonic House would fall under the Dark Demonic House was something he could not easily agree to.
“You’ll have to. Otherwise, the Venomous Demonic House won’t survive the storm that’s coming.”
“…What storm?”
“Of course, I have no intention of forcing anything. I won’t harm or act against your house, so you don’t need to be on guard. But I believe… in the near future, the Venomous Demonic House will choose to submit to the Dark Demonic House.”
Duke Huam’s brow furrowed.
Submit willingly? That was absurd.
But Chris merely smiled calmly.
“Duke Huam has no idea what’s about to hit the Venomous Demonic House.”
Although the so-called “Poison-Dark Conflict” had been resolved without incident…
The calamity awaiting the Venomous Demonic House was far from over.
The ‘Jinnok Incident’ was real.
“It will shake the Venomous Demonic House to its foundations.”
Christian intended to resolve that Jinnok Incident himself—and in doing so, secure the full loyalty of the Venomous Demonic House.
“We can talk about the Dark Alliance later. For now, there’s another matter to finalize.”
“You mean the Poison Well?”
The very heart of the Venomous Demonic House’s power.
“Yes. As agreed, please grant me the opportunity to challenge the Poison Well.”
“You’re really going to attempt the Poison Well? Do you understand how dangerous that is?”
“Yes. And you don’t need to worry—I’ll handle that part myself.”
Duke Huam shook his head.
“To be honest, it won’t be easy for you to attempt the Poison Well. You’re still an outsider. There will be a lot of opposition. There’s only one way around it.”
“And that is?”
“Become one of us. Join the Venomous Demonic House.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Simple. You should get back together with Marisa.”
“!!”
“Even a son-in-law who’s not of our bloodline is granted the right to challenge the Poison Well. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to become a son-in-law in name, but I’ll use my authority to secure your eligibility one way or another.”
Duke Huam spoke in a deliberately casual tone.
“Weren’t you and Marisa originally engaged? Even if it’s not for the sake of the Poison Well, rekindling that relationship wouldn’t be a bad thing for either the Venomous Demonic House or the Dark Demonic House.”
But Chris flatly shook his head.
“I refuse.”
“…Why?”
“I have no intention of getting married. Not now, at least.”
He still had a long journey ahead of him—marriage was the last thing on his mind.
“Marriage can wait until everything’s over and I finally have some peace.”
More than anything, Chris was a low-key romantic. He had no interest in a political marriage.
“Why do you think I’m going through hell and risking my life to stop the end of the world? It’s so I can live well and happily ever after—not for some cold-blooded arranged marriage!”
“Even if it’s not through engagement, there must be another way, right? Then allow me to become a disciple of the Venomous Demonic House.”
“…Become a disciple?”
“Yes. As long as I become a disciple, I’ll be eligible to challenge the Poison Well, even if I’m not of your bloodline.”
Duke Huam’s eyes widened.
The Venomous Demonic House did allow non-bloodline individuals to attempt the Poison Well—as long as they were competent enough.
So Chris’s proposal was to enter as a disciple and earn his right that way.
“You, the Archduke of the Dark Demonic House, want to become a disciple of the Venomous Demonic House? Do you even hear yourself?”
“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll join the Venomous Demonic House permanently. Just as a temporary disciple—for a few months.”
Chris shrugged as he continued.
“There’s no precedent, sure—but it’s not impossible either, right? Just dress it up with the right justification. Say it’s a friendly exchange between the houses, a gesture to strengthen relations. I’ll leave the formalities to you, Duke.”
Duke Huam looked as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Even if you do become a disciple, how will you qualify to challenge the Poison Well? You do know that a disciple has to pass the test, right?”
For bloodline members, it wasn’t too difficult to obtain the right to challenge it.
All that was needed was the approval of the Patriarch and the elders.
That’s why Duke Huam had initially proposed the engagement to Marisa.
But it was a different story for regular disciples.
Naturally, the requirements were far more demanding.
They had to pass the trial known as The Path of Poison.
And the problem was—it wasn’t just hard.
Even those who had studied poison arts for decades often failed to pass.
At minimum, one needed to be a 5-star Poison User, though in most cases, only 6-star experts had any real shot at success.
“Even if you apply for the next test in two years, you won’t stand a chance of passing the Path of Poison.”
“I don’t plan on waiting two years.”
“Then what… You mean the one after that? In four years? Still impossible. In six years, maybe—as a once-in-a-generation genius, you might have a chance.”
But then Chris said something so outrageous, Duke Huam thought he must’ve misheard.
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m taking on this trial now—in this upcoming test.”
“…What?”
“The Path of Poison is scheduled to open soon, isn’t it? I’ll qualify then.”
“!!”
Duke Huam looked completely dumbfounded.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly mastering the poison arts all this time?”
“I only know the basics of poison techniques.”
“Then how…?”
“Because I’m a genius.”
“…….”
Duke Huam was at a complete loss for words.
Christian simply grinned and said,
“Don’t worry. Passing that silly test is nothing for me. Your Grace just needs to ensure I can become a temporary disciple of the Venomous Demonic House.”
* * *
Duke Huam had clearly thought it was impossible, but eventually nodded, worn down by Christian’s sheer persistence.
It seemed he figured that since there was no way Christian would actually succeed, he might as well let him do as he pleased.
“You’ll arrive at the main house as a temporary disciple in a month. I’ll need time to persuade the people who’ll oppose this.”
Christian nodded in agreement.
He could use the remaining month to wrap up business inside the Dark Demonic House.
“Since you won’t be an official disciple, we’ll need to set a time limit for your stay. How long do you want it to be?”
“Let’s say two months.”
“…Two months?”
“Yes. Two months is plenty.”
Duke Huam stared at him in disbelief.
Two months wasn’t even enough time to properly grasp the basics of poison arts.
Yet Christian declared such nonsense with a straight face.
“For a genius like me, that’s more than enough. I’ll have the Poison Well in my hands with time to spare.”
“…Right.”
Duke Huam could only nod, dazed and speechless by the sheer absurdity.
“But… will you be okay?”
Duke Huam asked, a note of concern in his voice.
“Even if it’s only temporary, if you enter the main house as a disciple, you might find yourself in some dangerous situations.”
Christian understood his concern.
He was the Archduke of the Dark Demonic House—an enemy faction.
And on top of that, he had humiliated Marquis Goras, the most powerful figure within the Venomous Demonic House.
It was only natural there would be many who bore him hatred.
“I’ll be fine.”
Christian bared his teeth in a feral grin.
“If anyone comes at me without knowing their place, I’ll crush them all.”
“!!”
He meant every word of it.
“After all, I’m not becoming a disciple just for the Poison Well.”
In truth, if the Poison Well had been his sole objective, he wouldn’t have needed to go through the trouble of becoming a disciple.
His real goal was something else entirely—something more ambitious.
What he wanted was a a traditional "dojo-smashing" tour.
To be precise, he intended to make the entire Venomous Demonic House recognize his greatness.
Because Christian’s ultimate aim… was to make the Venomous Demonic House submit to him.