Chapter 26
26
At Eden's question, Khadien quietly stared at him.
My head naturally turned in that direction as well, and I suddenly realized he looked strange.
'His expression doesn't look good?'
At first glance, he seemed to have his usual blank expression, but I noticed a subtle crack in it.
'Could it be another headache?'
Knowing how severe Khadien's headaches were, I looked at him with worried eyes.
Showing signs of suffering in front of Eden would be fatal, especially now.
'Both personally and symbolically.'
Khadien is Mercedes itself.
For him to show signs of struggling would mean the Mercedes Ducal Family was faltering.
'They would become easy prey for the hyenas who are always ready to pounce.'
Moreover, Eden is like the face of the Temple.
Showing a disheveled appearance in front of such a man could tarnish the reputation of Mercedes.
More than anything.
'Khadien's own pride wouldn't allow it.'
He despises the Temple to an extreme degree.
Khadien is the one who belittles the Temple, which even the Imperial Family doesn't dare to touch, calling them "God's bitches."
Of course, that's only possible because he is the Duke of Mercedes.
'Why does Khadien hate the Temple so much?'
Of course, the Temple also despises Mercedes for not worshiping God, but that was an inevitable chain of hatred that stemmed from Khadien's lack of respect for the Temple.
The beginning was Khadien's "Temple hatred."
'The details weren't explained in the original story either.'
Suddenly curious, I found myself staring intently at Khadien.
Then, our eyes suddenly met.
He stopped trying to put the pipe in his mouth, his expression twisted, when he met my gaze.
His dry, violet eyes stared directly at me.
At that moment, I couldn't even breathe as if I had been put under a spell. I felt like my heart was being squeezed by his gaze.
Looking at me, he parted his lips.
"Do it."
It was an answer to Eden's question of whether he could get involved in this case.
Despite getting the answer he wanted, Eden looked back and forth between me and Khadien for a moment.
It wasn't just Eden.
Chelsea and Winston, and even Anna, noticed the strange air between me and Khadien and were making strange expressions.
It was Eden who broke the atmosphere.
As he opened his pouch, my gaze naturally shifted to him.
But inside, I was very confused.
'Why is Khadien looking at me like that?'
Of course, I had several encounters with him.
'Could he be holding a grudge about me trying to touch his body without permission in the library?'
But if he was holding a grudge, he wouldn't have caught me when I almost fell last night, would he?
The Khadien I know would never do that.
'Then what the hell is it!'
The lack of a plausible reason made me even more anxious.
First of all...
'Let's focus on that for now.'
Forcing myself to turn my attention away from Khadien, I glared at the pouch in Eden's hand.
Startled by my intense gaze, Eden opened the pouch and checked the contents.
He not only checked it but also smelled it, narrowing his brows and looking at me.
"From what I can see, it looks like ordinary tea leaves. I can't smell anything either."
Why did you ask me to check this?
Eden's eyes seemed to be saying.
"See! Even if that was mine, there's no problem!"
Anna shouted, laughing loudly, full of vigor.
I didn't even look at her, only staring at Eden.
However, Eden didn't seem to notice at all.
Hmm, I have to give him a hint.
I turned to Winston.
"Butler."
"Ah, yes."
Winston, who had been off guard, replied a beat late.
I smiled reassuringly at him and said.
"Don't tea leaves usually have no scent?"
"......?"
At my sudden question, Winston looked confused, but when Khadien's gaze, as if telling him to answer, reached him, he quickly parted his lips.
"It's not strong, but it usually has its own scent. There are no tea leaves that have no scent at all."
"But there are leaves that have no scent at all, right?"
As I said, looking at Eden, his eyes, which had been puzzled, gradually widened.
Then he quickly asked Chelsea to prepare hot water.
Chelsea glanced at Winston for a moment, and when permission was granted, she immediately filled the teapot with hot water.
She dropped a few leaves into it, brewed it, and poured it into a teacup.
Even after brewing the tea leaves, the brewed water was still transparent and clear.
Truly colorless and odorless.
Eden stared at the teacup for a moment before gulping down the water.
Anna's eyes widened at the sight.
And then.
Clang-
He dropped the teacup he was holding and lowered his head.
His neck and face, which were briefly visible, began to turn black.
"Ugh..."
"W, what is this!"
As Eden groaned in pain and bent over, a flustered Winston immediately told Chelsea to call a doctor.
But Eden raised his hand to stop him.
"I'm... fine."
Eden took a deep breath.
A blue aura began to ripple around his body.
I instinctively knew that it was Eden Aquillium's Holy Power.
A moment later.
When Eden raised his head, his skin had returned to its original color as if nothing had happened.
"What on earth... what happened?"
Winston looked at Eden with very confused eyes.
Khadien also looked surprised, though he didn't show it.
Eden looked down at the remaining tea leaves in the pouch and replied.
"Poisonous Akaban Herb."
"Akaban, the devil's weed that cannot be distinguished even with silver and has no antidote if ingested."
Eden's head turned to Khadien.
Khadien was wearing a cold smile.
'Come to think of it, the Sedation Herb that Khadien smokes is also a similar type of Poisonous Herb to Akaban.'
He was directly burning and smoking Poisonous Herbs to suppress his Insanity.
It was only natural that he knew a lot about Akaban.
Eden nodded slightly.
"Yes, but recently, the only method of detoxification has been discovered."
"A method of detoxification?"
"Holy Power."
He clenched the pouch tightly and turned to Anna.
Anna's face was as pale as if she had witnessed a grim reaper.
'She probably didn't know that the Poisonous Herb she secretly brought out was Akaban.'
That's why she confidently shouted.
Anyway.
Eden coldly muttered towards Anna.
"Miss Anna Lever, the daughter of Count Lever, whose circumstances of smuggling Akaban have been revealed, do you still intend to deny that you knew nothing about the fact that Akaban was in your possession?"
"N, no! I, I didn't know! I didn't know!"
"So you admit that this pouch is yours."
"......!!"
Anna's eyes widened.
She belatedly shook her head and denied it, but Eden was no longer listening to her.
"Since you tried to use Akaban, you will not be able to avoid punishment either."
"P, please save me! L, Livia! Please save me!"
Anna began to cling to me as if she had seen her future collapsing miserably.
However, Anna was soon dragged out by the Holy Knights who burst into the room.
"N, no! Kyaaa—!"
Bang-
Anna's desperate cries were cut off as the door closed.
Winston, shocked by the fact that the hired tutor had tried to commit suicide by poisoning, also left the room with Chelsea to help with the aftermath.
Before I knew it, only me, Eden, and Khadien were left in the room.
What is this combination?
If I were to put together the most uncomfortable combination in the world, this would be it.
I was about to slip away.
"Then I'll be going now..."
"Wait!"
At the urgent call, I turned the doorknob and turned my head.
Eden was urgently reaching out towards me.
However, his hand could only stop in mid-air without reaching me.
Eden's expression hardened as he discovered the black hand holding his arm.
"...Duke Mercedes."
Eden's blue eyes, filled with Khadien, were shaking violently.
I was as flustered as Eden was agitated.
'What's going on all of a sudden?'
It was understandable that Eden was trying to grab me, but I never expected Khadien to intervene in the meantime.
Compared to the agitated Eden, with his contrasting atmosphere, Khadien was still emotionless and dry.
By the way...
'Amazing.'
I inwardly admired Khadien, who had effortlessly blocked Eden's movement with one hand.
In fact, Eden Aquillium looks large when viewed from the outside, but he doesn't seem that strong because he is covered in armor and the impression he gives is soft.
But even so, he is the leader of The First Holy Knight Order belonging to the Temple.
In the Imperial Family, it is the same as the commander of the Emperor's Imperial Guard.
However, even if it was unexpected, stopping his movement with one hand is something that is impossible with the strength of an ordinary person.
'Well...'
I looked at Khadien with new eyes.
Although he was suffering from insomnia and headaches, side effects of Magical Overload, Khadien never neglected his training.
Rather, since he couldn't sleep, he trained his body even more during that time.
It's just that it wasn't highlighted because he didn't have to stir up the battlefield or go on subjugation.
In terms of force alone, he is by no means inferior to Eden.
So both of them are incredibly strong.
But why are those two incredibly strong people—
'Showing off their strength in front of me!'
I know very well that the two are like cats and dogs.
But can you please leave me out of it?
