Chapter 59
“I should have killed him the first time I saw him.”
Even if Sienna had stopped him, even if she had hated him for it, he should have gotten rid of Frank.
If he had done that, none of this would be happening now.
“It’s late, but even now…”
The one who stopped Heraith from killing Frank on the spot was Noah.
Noah, sensing something ominous, had followed Heraith—only to find himself in front of a scene that was no mere insubordination, but one that could very well turn into murder. He quickly grabbed Heraith’s arm.
“Heraith! Explain yourself—what are you doing all of a sudden?!”
But Heraith ignored Noah, tightening his grip around Frank’s throat.
“You’d better hand over the rest of the medicine. If you already ate it all, then I’ll split open your stomach and take it out myself.”
His half-mad eyes and chilling voice made not only Frank, but Alfred and Jeneka pale with terror.
This wasn’t just a threat.
He truly meant to kill.
“Stop! Don’t you dare lay a hand on my son!”
“Wait! Just wait a moment!”
Finally realizing just how dangerous the situation was, Jeneka hurriedly pulled out the medicine and thrust it toward Heraith.
“Here! Here it is! Just let go of him!”
“…This is…”
Noah let out a heavy sigh.
“Don’t tell me—you stole Sienna’s medicine?”
Jeneka averted her gaze.
“Well, that is to say…”
“Shut up. One more excuse, and I’ll kill you where you stand.”
“….”
At Heraith’s deadly warning, Jeneka trembled and fell silent.
After confirming the medicine was genuine, Heraith tossed Frank away without hesitation.
“Urgh—! Cough, cough!”
“Your useless neck can wait for later.”
Without another word, Heraith snatched up the medicine and rushed to Sienna’s room.
As much as he wanted to slaughter them here and now, saving Sienna came first.
Noah did not stop him. Instead, he stayed behind, glaring coldly at Frank and his grandparents.
“Tell me truthfully. Did you steal Sienna’s medicine? And did you feed it to my uncle?”
“Well, Frank was ill, so we just thought it might restore his strength… All of Sienna’s medicine is a tonic, isn’t it?”
“Cough, cough!”
At first, Jeneka looked wary of Noah, but once Heraith disappeared, her confidence returned and she snapped.
“Medicine is overflowing in this house, yet you begrudge us using just a little? And who does he think he is, grabbing my son by the throat?!”
“…What did you just say? Overflowing medicine? Just medicine?”
In that instant, rage surged inside Noah.
“Do you have any idea what that medicine is?! It’s Sienna’s only cure! Do you have any idea how much that sick child suffered to make it?!”
“A… cure?”
“Yes! The only cure she has! And because your son took it, do you know how much pain Sienna is in right now? Do you?!”
“Well, that’s…”
Jeneka faltered. All three of their faces turned ashen.
They had thought it was just another precious elixir Sienna kept for herself… But a cure?
So that’s why she hid it in the safe…
It had seemed strange that she guarded that medicine so much more carefully than the others.
Shame spread across Alfred and Jeneka’s faces.
“You really wanted it so badly you had to break into her safe?”
Noah’s voice was ice. None of them could respond.
It wasn’t that they had craved the medicine itself. It was that they resented Sienna for treating them like thieves, for ignoring them. They had wanted to put her in her place.
So, when they realized she hadn’t changed the safe’s code, they stole it.
They had never expected their petty malice to explode like this.
The three of them exchanged uneasy glances.
What do we do now?
I told you not to touch her medicine!
How were we supposed to know?!
As Jeneka and Frank whimpered, Alfred—taking the lead—snapped back defiantly.
“Fine! We were wrong to steal it. But is Sienna being sick really our fault?!”
Noah could hardly believe his ears.
“What… did you just say?”
“We know she’s been given a death sentence. She didn’t have long to live anyway! Isn’t now simply that time? How is that our fault?!”
How could a human say such a thing?
Something inside Noah crumbled.
The last bit of familial affection he’d held onto.
“…Is that all you have to say? Not even an ounce of remorse for Sienna?”
“Of course we’re sorry! But we deserve an apology too! How dare someone not even a noble lay hands on my son?!”
Only then did Noah realize his mistake.
He should have driven them out from the start. He should never have taken them in at all.
Because they were his mother’s family, he had shown them courtesy. And that courtesy had come back to poison them.
Raking a hand through his hair, Noah forced himself to breathe. Otherwise, he’d draw his sword right here.
“…You three will not take a single step out of this house.”
“What are you saying, Noah?!”
“You would imprison us?!”
“By what right?!”
Their angry protests only made Noah’s gaze colder.
“Be thankful it isn’t the dungeon.”
Turning his back on them, Noah added one last warning.
“If anything happens to Sienna…”
His eyes turned toward the direction Heraith had run.
“…you won’t even need to face his hands.”
His grip tightened on his sword hilt.
“You’ll die by mine.”
“Heraith! Why are you only coming now?!”
As Heraith entered the bedchamber, Ban jumped up, tears streaming down his face.
“What do we do… Sienna’s breathing is getting weaker and weaker.”
He was a demon—he could see it better than anyone.
The aura of death clinging to Sienna.
Ban waved his hands desperately, as though he could shoo away the shadows of death.
He knew it wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t just stand there.
“Heraith! Say something!”
Ban cried out, voice breaking, as Heraith simply stared at Sienna.
Slowly kneeling at her side, Heraith handed Ban the medicine.
“Hold this.”
“Huh?”
Before Ban could react, Heraith shoved it into his hands.
“Rina!”
“Y-yes!”
Startled, Rina, who had only been weeping, jumped up.
“Bring a large basin. Now!”
“Yes!”
She quickly returned with a washbasin, setting it before him.
Ban, still confused, asked, “Heraith… what are you going to do?”
“Purge it all.”
Heraith lifted Sienna’s limp body and pressed hard on her back.
“Khak!”
Forcing her into consciousness, he dug his hand into the pit of her stomach and pushed upward.
“Sienna, spit it all out.”
“Urgh—! Ugh!”
Blood poured into the basin.
But could that even be called blood?
It was so dark it looked more like black water. Rina clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Of course… that’s right. We need to draw the poison out first.”
A corrupted medicine was no better than poison. First, he had to purge the poison before giving her the true cure.
Ban crouched by her side, patting her arm.
“Sienna, spit it out. All of it—get everything out!”
A talking doll, a half-dead young lady forced to vomit blood by a sorcerer.
It was madness.
But no one dared stop him.
They could only stare blankly—
Until Noah returned.
“What are you doing?!”
Noah rushed in, reaching to stop Heraith, but Ban slapped his hand away.
“Don’t interfere!”
Rina dropped to her knees before Noah.
“Please, Young Lord, wait!”
“If Heraith doesn’t do this, Sienna will die. Leave him be!”
“She’s vomiting blood—how is this a treatment?! That’s insanity!”
Rina and Ban pleaded desperately, but Noah shoved them aside coldly.
Nothing about this seemed like a legitimate cure.
“That poison will kill her the longer it stays in her body. It has to be drawn out.”
And then Noah saw the basin.
Saw the black blood filling it.
His breath caught.
