Chương 20: Chapter 19: Shattered Sword

After the funeral of the lord of the house, Yuto had returned to Velkyne. He had been seeking to meet the head of the family who had died from disease, not his children. While in Velkyne, he heard rumors about the house. It quickly lost its past glory after the son came to power and raced toward ruin. After her brother, Kaien, became the head of the family, Rivian, the daughter of the richest family in Merchant City, voluntarily left her home and opened a shabby apothecary's shop in the backstreets of the city.

Her behavior piqued his interest after he returned to Velkyne, and so he returned to the city while hiding his identity again. The person that had been most promising as the successor to the father had been Rivian, not her brother. The father's talent in trade had manifested in the daughter, not the son. And yet she had abandoned the privileges that she could enjoy as a noble and opened a nondescript shop in the back streets where the poor could be found.

She had not utilized the talent in trade that she had been born with and instead applied herself to healing the poor with whom she had probably never spent a day in her life before. That was more than enough to make Yuto wonder. And so he found himself some clothes that made him look like a resident of the slums and visited her shop. He wanted to know why she had chosen such a drastic change in her way of life and what kind of person she was.

Her hands were rough, which was unusual for a nobleman's daughter, and her expression was always dark, as if she was repressing something. Her eyes gleamed with obsessive determination. That was his first impression of her, and that alone was enough to tell him that there was something unusual about her. This woman had a story; of that he was sure. In a sense, Yuto was greatly impressed with her. He revealed his identity and spoke in private with her about why she had left her house and opened the shop.

"My father's death wasn't natural. He was poisoned." After learning who Yuto was, Rivian revealed the resentment that clung to her and refused to let her go.

"My brother Kaien was behind this. He poisoned my father to take his place. He slowly made sure of my father's death." She had realized it too late. In the end, her father had struggled against the poison and eventually passed away. She had been powerless to expose the truth and accuse her brother of what he had done. Even though she was the most promising person to succeed her father, the eldest son had been Kaien.

He had used his position to take over the house and claim the seat of the head of the family as soon as the funeral was over. Besides, she didn't even have any evidence. She believed that he had done it, but had no proof to back it up. If she claimed that he had been behind it, she would be treated as if she were out of her mind and executed. And so she had chosen to leave, deciding that staying was dangerous. Her brother had killed even his own father in order to take control of the family.

There was no reason to assume that he would hesitate to kill his sister if she got in his way. Even after she left, she was unable to abandon her sadness over her father's death. Her father was already dead, but it filled her with deep regret. She used her body for experimentation, swallowing various poisons so that she could figure out what exactly had killed her father, and based on that, applied herself to the development of an antidote.

She also healed the poor so that she could increase her skills in healing magic. Yuto didn't believe everything Rivian said right away, of course. She was desperate, and desperate people could lie about a great many things. And so Yuto summoned his men from Velkyne and had them secretly investigate House Marigold. In the end, it turned out that Rivian had been telling the truth. Kaien's men were interrogated by Yuto, and threats and persuasion eventually forced them to speak of the poisoning led by Kaien.

It had been the Dark Death Toxin, a new kind of vicious venom that combined dozens of kinds of deadly venoms. Yuto provided the evidence which forced Kaien off his seat as head of the family, and he was thrown into a cell. Rivian returned to the house. House Marigold prospered again after she returned, but she continued to obsess over making an antidote, even though it was too late. She knew that succeeding would not bring her father back, but that didn't stop her.

Rivian Marigold. The thought of her name brought back a bitter memory for him. He had many memories about her in particular. In the past life, he had helped her become the head of the family, and their connection had continued after he had left the city, since her house had become the greatest supporter of Velkyne.

At the current point in time, the lord of the house is still alive. Yuto looked at the antidote to the Dark Death Toxin that he had created himself. This antidote did not exist at the moment, and it was the same one that Rivian had eventually successfully created through her obsession after she became the head of the family. Currently, the head of the family was bedridden. Using the antidote would quickly free him from the poison and restore his health.

His son's plot would be exposed to the entire world, and Rivian would be slated as the successor for certain. It would correct the single biggest regret of Rivian's life. That would not be the only thing it accomplished. Unlike in the past life, Yuto was no longer Velkyne's king, and so he had no background or resources to support him.

By stopping the poisoning of the head of the family, I will make him owe me his life. That would make the richest house in Merchant City his sponsor. If he could save the head of the family and expose the nefarious plot of the eldest son, the house would be permanently indebted to him.

"Come on, Flokiro." He put the antidote inside the folds of his clothing and continued walking, his eyes on the center of the city, where the mansion of House Marigold stood, the biggest and most luxurious of them all. * Inside the mansion of House Marigold, a silence heavy as lead filled the air.

"How is he doing?" In front of the bedroom of the head of the family, which was firmly sealed shut, a tall young man wearing fancy epaulettes broke his silence. It was the eldest son of the family, Kaien Marigold. His handsome face was full of worry, but his eyes were cold.

"I'm sorry, sir. He continues to worsen," said the doctor, who was considered the greatest medical professional in Merchant City. He broke into a sweat and bowed toward Kaien.

"This is no ordinary fever. His life force is leaving him, and there is seemingly nothing we can do to stop it. No medication seems to make him better, and at this rate..."

"Are you suggesting that he might die?" Kaien asked with a scowl. The doctor hesitated.

"We are doing everything we can, but I do not think he will last more than a month..."

"Ahh..." Kaien said with a sigh. The servants and knights lined up in the corridor watched him sadly. He was the picture of a devoted son worried about his father. Nobody knew that he was actually covering his face to hide a smile.

So he is leaving us. Finally. I am sick of this old man. Kaien glanced at the closed door. The Dark Death Toxin had been created by Kaien, through people he had hired. It was the first of its kind. Naturally, there was no cure, and the symptoms were not known. Not even a talented doctor would know how to fight it.

A month. After a month, I will become the new head of the family.

Kaien was elated. Then he heard urgent footsteps at the other end of the hallway. A girl was running this way, her orange-gold hair tangled. It was Rivian Marigold, her dress stained by herbs and old books precariously clutched in her arms.

"Rivian," Kaien said, taking a stern look and getting in her way.

"Don't make so much noise. You know our father is in critical condition. You will only cause him more pain—" Before he could finish, she put down her books, panting loudly, and opened one of them.

"His symptoms aren't merely those of a fever. These books say that he might be suffering from ether poisoning, or a special kind of poison," she said.

"We might be able to neutralize the effects with an herbal mix I have prepared. And then—""Enough!" Kaien yelled. Rivian flinched and backed away.

"You are old enough to know better than to tinker with herbs, as you did when you were a child!" he hollered. His damn sister had been talented since she was little. Not only was she smart enough to run the house and the merchant guild, but she was also born with a genius talent for combining herbs and healing magic. If she hadn't been born a Marigold, she would have made a name for herself as a magic healer.

His younger sister was unlikely to successfully combat the effects of his expensive poison, but Kaien was still wary of the possibility.

"I cannot entrust our father's life to your folk remedies. What do you think you know? Not even the greatest doctor in Merchant City has been able to figure out what's wrong with our father. Not only do you engage in this foolishness with your medicinal herbs and whatnot, you now want to experiment on our father?"

"B-but at this rate, he—""Back off," Kaien said coldly.

"And what if something goes wrong and his condition worsens? How will you take responsibility for that? Rivian, the most you can do is to lock yourself up in your room and pray for him. The healing must be done by a doctor, so back away."

"Kaien...!"

"What are you doing, Neil? Show her to her room!" A large-bodied knight who had been behind him walked to her and grabbed her. She frowned and shook him off.

"Let go of me! I can leave on my own." She couldn't understand her brother's behavior. It had been over a month since their father fell ill. They had spoken with multiple doctors, but none of them had made any progress, much less figured out what exactly was wrong with him. To her mind, the only thing that made sense was to try everything they could out of desperation. But her brother did no such thing. It was almost as if he wanted their father dead.

Father... Rivian bit her lip and stared at the bedroom door, which was firmly shut. Despair washed over her like a wave. Ever since their father had fallen ill, Rivian's influence in the house had dwindled to almost nothing, while her brother remained an absolute power. Helplessness took the fight out of her. She fought tears as she left the mansion and headed to a courtyard where there was a herb garden that she had tended since she was young.

Ever since her father had fallen ill, she had gathered all kinds of rare herbs from all over the world and planted them in her garden so that she could heal him somehow. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Huh?" She paused mid-walk. There was some commotion outside the gate. The guards looked troubled by a young boy wearing a dark hood and accompanied by an Evomon.

"I'm telling you, I can't let you through," said one of the guards. This guest had come unannounced, and he didn't have any impressive background. From the way he was dressed, he was just a common adventurer. The guards were not able to treat him with the usual disrespect that they showed toward most people, however. They could not explain why, but they didn't want to aim their spears at him. Oddly enough, they got the impression that it would be a very bad idea. This was because of Yuto's Charm stat.

Charm did not simply mean a more favorable first impression. It amplified the mood with which he carried himself and sometimes intimidated those around him. That was why the guards were unable to shout or swear at him or even threaten him with their weapons.

"What is it?" The gate opened from the inside and the guards turned their heads.

"My lady!" The guards bowed politely in her direction.

"Apologies, my lady. Some child adventurer is demanding to meet your father..."

"My father?" Rivian asked, confused. He looked like an ordinary adventurer, but there was something about him that held her gaze. Her heart skipped a beat. The eyes underneath his hood were watching her. The eyes were deep and fathomless like the abyss, and the moment she saw them, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Who... are you?" she asked in a trembling voice. Instead of answering her, he slowly took off his hood, and his hair fluttered in the sea wind.

"Yuto," he said briefly. He stared at Rivian, whom he had met for the first time since he had returned to the past. Her face was younger, less damaged by time, but the obstinacy and determination in the eyes were still there. In fact, she seemed more desperate now than he remembered. Her father was still alive after all. She wanted to do anything she could to save him.

"I have to speak to you, Rivian Marigold."

"Me...?" Rivian asked, her eyes wide. She was surprised that this stranger had recognized her and was taken aback by the odd certainty in his voice.

"What do you want with me? I'm not in a position to meet anyone right now—""Don't you want to save your father?" The air seemed to freeze over. She paled, and even the guards stopped breathing and stared at him.

"What...?"

"You must be aware that your father's illness isn't just a fever." He took a step forward, and her heart began to race.

"H-how did you know about that?" Her voice trembled faintly. She was the only person who suspected that her father's illness had to do with poison. In fact, the sickness that had taken her father, Rufus Marigold, wasn't even public knowledge. Her house ruled the commercial world of Merchant City, and such a severe illness that affected the head of the family would be shocking news for the merchant circles. The house naturally had every reason to hide it.

But this ordinary-looking adventurer boy was talking about her father's illness so casually, it was enough to surprise her and make her tense.

"High fever, black splotches on the skin," Yuto said.

"Continual reduction of ether. Raspy breathing, and a nasty, burning smell that comes from the victim." Yuto was describing the symptoms perfectly. Rivian had seen them through the nights in which she stayed by his bedside. The doctors had dismissed the unusual symptoms as being caused by the fever.

"How... how do you know all this? You've never even met my father..." she said.

"How I know isn't important." The guards were surprised to see Rivian come out to the gate, and some of them were clearly starting to look unhappy. There was no need to even think about this. The lord of the house was alive, but he might as well already be dead. Kaien, who had poisoned his father, had probably spread his tendrils through the house to claim its power. Those who looked at Yuto with malice right now had been bribed by the eldest son. Not all of them, however, had turned on their master.

As such, Yuto used a ploy to encourage a bigger reaction.

"What matters is that I have the answer to curing the poison," he said. He produced a small vial containing a purple liquid.

"What's this...?" she asked.

"The antidote." His voice was calm. Her eyes were fixed on the glass vial.

"An antidote? B-but how...?"

"You have too many questions. Don't you want to save your father?" Her eyes trembled.

"It's time for you to make a decision," Yuto said strongly, sensing that she was swayed.

"Will you trust me and open the gate to guide me to your father, or will you simply refuse to act on your suspicion and watch your father die?" It was a cruel choice. Rivian hesitated, but eventually came to a decision. She had no idea who this boy was, or even if the antidote that he claimed was the answer to her father's illness was real. But her instinct whispered to her that she should trust him. It was the sort of instinct that her brother had never been born with, and when it was necessary, she could be bold.

"Open the gate," she said, biting her lip.

"I will receive him as my guest."

"M-my lady! You must first have permission from your brother—""My father is in critical condition. Everything that happens from now on, I will personally be responsible for. So open the gate!" she yelled at them. The guards flinched and did as they were told, taken aback by the contrast to her usual calm behavior. The intimidating atmosphere that Yuto and Rivian gave off was also part of the reason the guards acted.

"Come with me." Rivian took the lead while Yuto followed behind. Flokiro watched his surroundings carefully with gleaming eyes. * The bedroom of the head of the house was on the third floor of the mansion. A group got in their way as they walked through a hallway.

"Please stop, my lady. You cannot go any further." It was Neil, Kaien's personal knight. Rivian raised her eyebrows. Even though he had her brother's full favor, she was still the daughter of the house, and his behavior was currently too arrogant and rude.

"Sir Neil, I want you to step aside."

"I can't do that," he said, completely refusing to budge. The knights around him did the same thing. In fact, their attitude was even worse than that of Neil. A few of them had their hands at their waists as if they were about to draw their swords.

"What is all this noise?" said a voice from behind the knights. The knights who had refused to step aside even at Rivian's request made way for the newcomer. It was her brother who walked out with an annoyed look on his face. He frowned at Rivian, then grinned sarcastically when he saw Yuto standing beside her. From the way he was dressed, he looked like a pauper from some back-street alley.

"Who is this sewer rat? You must have lost your mind. How dare you bring some slum dweller to our house?"

"Don't insult him. He's come here to heal our father," she shouted back.

"He understands our father's illness completely. He isn't suffering from a simple fever. He has been poisoned!"

"Ha!" Kaien said mockingly.

"You really have lost your mind. Poison? Rivian, you take it too far with your flights of fancy. Who would be remotely capable of poisoning our father?" There was deep hatred and anger in his voice. He amplified his emotions so that he could hide his confusion about the fact that she had figured it out.

"Let's assume, purely for the sake of argument, that he has been poisoned. Then, a proper doctor should look at him and find a cure. Some slum rat from who knows where shouldn't be entrusted with his health!"

"But Kaien—""As my father's son and the future lord of the house, I cannot accept this nonsense," he said, his eyes flashing.

"I will consider the possibility that he is not suffering from a simple fever. I will bring in new experts. So get that beggar out—""Money is a fine thing," Yuto said, breaking his silence.

"With it, you can do most things, can't you?"

"What is this rat talking about?" Kaien demanded.

"Even doctors whose duty is to heal and save their patients will turn a blind eye if they're paid enough." Kaien gaped.

"It must be nice having so much money as the son of a noble house. But the funny thing is, all your money came from your father. You're using his money to poison him with the Dark Death Toxin, and bringing in blind doctors to put up an act of treating him," Yuto said. Rivian glared at her brother. Her suspicions suddenly were amplified by Yuto's words.

"Kaien... Y-you harmed our father!"

"This is nonsense!" Kaien yelled. He screamed and pointed his finger at Yuto, the veins standing out on his neck.

"How dare a beggar insult me like this?" His angry gaze now moved to Rivian.

"Rivian Marigold! I see it now. I was wondering where you'd brought such a beggar from. This is all part of your plot, isn't it?"

"I don't understand what you're saying—""Don't play dumb. You're using his absurd accusations against me so that you can take my place as the successor!" He did not try to engage in any more unnecessary conversation. He didn't know if this beggar really knew how to treat his father, but the rat had mentioned the name of the poison. That had to mean the boy had proper proof of the fact that Rufus had been poisoned.

"Neil!" Kaien shouted.

"This rat has insulted your master. What will you do as my knight?"

"I must cut him down," Neil said coolly. Rivian was taken aback and stepped in front of Yuto. Kaien pointed at her now as if he was glad to see this.

"Look at you, protecting him. You really are plotting against me!"

"Please, you're not making any sense. Are you really the one who poisoned—""Neil!" Kaien shouted again. Neil drew his sword with an intimidating metallic noise and began to approach. Rivian paled.

"H-he's here to treat our father! Why would you harm him?"

"You conspired with a rat against me," Kaien said with bloodshot eyes.

"You think the stuff he brought is an antidote? Do you really believe our father has been poisoned, and that I was the one to do it? I am the eldest son in the family. What reason would I have to do such a thing?"

"Because you will never be the head of the family otherwise," Yuto said, pushing past Rivian.

"Rufus Marigold has decided that Rivian, not the eldest son, will be his successor. You noticed this and fed your father the Dark Death Toxin."

"Son of a b*tch!" Neil yelled. He charged, the footsteps of the large knight making the corridor shake. His sword was wrapped in vicious ether, and his eyes were still calm and ice-cold.

"Yuto," Flokiro whispered.

"Let me handle this," Yuto said. Neil attacked before Rivian could stop him.

This rude little creature, Neil thought. The boy hadn't even produced a weapon and just stood there with his bare hands, and Neil thought he was a fool. It was clear he was terrified and unable to move, but Neil would show no mercy. Not only had the boy insulted his master, but he had figured out the plot. The boy had to die.

But something doesn't feel right... His ether-empowered body raced down the hallway. He could easily have caught up to the boy and cut him down, but something was odd. It was as though the boy's cold eyes were somehow distorting his senses. It was Yuto's Charm stat, intimidating him, but Neil did not realize this. Feeling a strange sensation that he could not explain, he failed to get a proper gauge on the distance between him and the boy, and his mind was overwhelmed. It made Neil's attacks unsteady.

He swung his sword out of desperation, but it was far from accurate. Yuto didn't even have to move away to avoid the attack, but he responded anyway.

Void Hand.

Dark tendrils that floated into the air around him formed a massive hand and grabbed Neil's sword. The ether around the blade was crushed by the hand, and the hard metal shattered like glass.

"What...?" Neil said, confused. Void Hand was currently at level 4. Yuto could produce only two, just as he had at the beginning, but their power had massively increased. They had even blocked Floknight's blade, which meant Neil's blade presented no challenge. Before Neil could try anything further, another hand appeared and smacked his body. His hard chest piece crumpled, and blood spurted from his mouth. He was sent flying backward and tumbled across the hallway until he hit the wall.

"Huh...?" Kaien's eyes went wide. He was gaping like an idiot and trying to understand what he had just seen. The fragments of the broken sword fell onto the hallway floor from the Void Hand.

"N-Neil...? I... I don't get it..." Kaien finally pulled himself together. He watched Neil, who was spasming on the floor, his body a tangled mess, and backed away in terror.

"Wh-what are you waiting for? Go and kill that boy!" Neil had been defeated, but there were still ten knights remaining. They had all sworn loyalty to Kaien and participated in his plot. They rushed forward at once. Flokiro moved forward, growling, and Yuto did not stop him. Yuto could easily take those ten knights by himself, but he didn't want to steal Flokiro's fun. Flokiro charged. His body was small, but his movements carried an explosive energy. He reached the knights in no time at all and swung his paw.

The knight at the front was slammed into the wall without even being able to swing his weapon. The knights screamed and swung their weapons, but none of them touched Flokiro. Flokiro used the advantage that his small form factor gave him and moved rapidly. Soon he took down another knight.

"Goddamn it...!" Kaien panicked and turned away. He had decided to run away for now from this absurd situation, but Flokiro did not allow it. His paw was suddenly wrapped in flames. He tossed the fire, and it traveled over Kaien's shoulder, forming a red wall of fire that blocked the corridor Kaien had been trying to take. The flames burned furiously, and Kaien balked before sinking to the floor. In the meantime, Yuto joined in.

He swung his Void Hands violently, and with Flokiro's help, every knight was soon taken down. Kaien sat on the floor, turning his head. Yuto was calmly approaching him, and the look in his eyes was anything but that of a sewer rat. They were the eyes of a superior predator, and Kaien's eyes filled with terror.

"No... No...!" He worked up what little courage he had, but it was more akin to desperation than courage. At this rate, all the truth would come out. He drew on his ether, and the mark of an Evomon contract appeared on the back of his glove. Space rippled close to him, and a large snake with three heads manifested in front of him. Rivian was taken aback.

"A-an Evomon? When did you get an Evomon, Kaien?"

"Shut it!" Kaien screamed, his mind overtaken by fear.

"How dare you accuse me of treachery and harm my knights? You've also set fire to the mansion. I will not forgive you! I-I am the future lord of House Marigold!" He prayed that the other knights and soldiers in the mansion would hear his voice and come and help him as he put up disgusting resistance.