TVBUC 49

CHAPTER 49……………………………………………

I hurried to prepare to leave.

Using the excuse that I needed to have my magic lesson outside the estate, I went out with Kaouts, Britta, and—unavoidably—two escort knights.

Once we arrived at a quiet field, Britta worked wonders and managed to distract the knights for a while.

Kaouts even handed Britta a pouch of magic powder, just in case.

“If you use this, they’ll fall asleep as if unconscious for at least two hours.”

“Wow, you’re giving me something so precious? Thank you!”

Britta clasped her hands and bowed deeply.

While Britta was diligently doing her part, Kaouts gave me the magic powder again, just like last time, and once more I acquired the face of a handsome young boy.

“I guess I’ve done this enough times—I’m less nervous now.”

“I’m still worried you may have side effects, my lady…”

“Kaouts. I’m fine.”

“Honestly, you’re too stubborn sometimes.”

He shrugged as I responded, then continued:

“Right, the name you chose was Ren, wasn’t it? Young master Ren.”

“Oh, right. My name.”

It was a name that had come about by chance.

But it suited the handsome boy with brown hair and sturdy features.

I cleared my throat and purposefully deepened my voice to sound husky.

“Ahem, shall we go?”

Wrapping myself in a large cloak big enough to cover my face, the boy clenched his small fist.

Riding the horse Kaouts had prepared beforehand, we quickly arrived at the home of the mine owner.

He was said to be taking a nap, so one of his servants came out and eyed us suspiciously.

“Who are you, and where have you come from?”

“This young master is Ren, all the way from the South.”

“The South? You’re saying someone traveled from that far?”

Kaouts lifted his chin proudly and frowned.

In his completely black outfit, with messy curly hair and striking features, the servant instinctively shrank back a step.

“A-at any rate, come back later. The master isn’t meeting anyone right now.”

With that, the door suddenly slammed shut.

Kaouts tried to open it, but it was already locked.

“Why that—!”

Standing a bit behind him, I quickly gestured for him to stop before he smashed the door while cursing.

“Retreat for now. Kaouts, come on.”

If we forced our way in, we would only make the owner hostile.

I needed a strategy to convince him, not brute force.

How could I get the mine owner to sell his land?

Given his personality, he would only sell it for something equal to the price of a life.

“My lady, have some water.”

We had not yet left the property and were sitting under a tree while I thought.

Kaouts approached, handing me a waterskin he’d gotten from somewhere.

“Thanks. Who gave it to you?”

“That rude servant from earlier. He snapped that we were still here and shoved this at me—told us to drink it and hurry off. Tch.”

I pressed the waterskin to my dry lips—

—and paused.

“Hm? What’s this smell?”

I wiped the dampness from my lips with the back of my hand.

It looked like clear water.

But the smell was strange.

“What’s wrong, my lady?”

“Smell this. Doesn’t it seem off?”

Kaouts leaned in and sniffed.

“My lady… it smells fishy.”

“Right?”

It was definitely different from the water I drank at the western Kereis estate.

Of course, the estate in the West had the best fertile land and pristine water, so my senses had grown accustomed to cleanliness.

Drip.

Water trickled from the waterskin into the grass.

Even after emptying it, nothing suspicious appeared.

But Kaouts, who had performed poison experiments many times during his days at the magic academy, said it seemed to contain a very small amount of toxin.

“That insolent fool! How dare he give poisoned water to my lady!”

Kaouts rolled up his sleeves in fury, eyes blazing.

“We came to buy land, and they try to kill us? These bastards—!”

“Wait, Kaouts. We’re not certain yet.”

A mere servant had no reason to poison visiting guests.

And it didn’t seem like the mine owner had ordered this.

Besides, the toxin was extremely diluted—drinking it alone wouldn’t kill someone.

“Just mild poisoning at best, if consumed over time.”

I looked at the grass where the water had dried, then shifted my gaze toward the estate.

“Kaouts, can you tell what kind of poison it is?”

“I’m not sure. It’s been so long since I left the academy. But one thing is certain—this isn’t man-made poison.”

“Then what is it?”

“A natural toxin.”

His expression was unsettling, making chills run down my spine.

“Kaouts… do you know where this estate draws its water from?”

“I can find out quickly. But why?”

“Because we might be mistaken. I want to check.”

Kaouts soon located the water source.

A small stream diverted into a well near the estate.

Splash—
A servant standing by the well threw a small bucket into it.

When he pulled the rope up, the bucket was more than half full.

“We drove you lot out already, khrgh—Why are you still here? Take the water and go, kehk.”

The servant rasped, each word sounding painful.

His voice was rough and strained.

With my hood still up, I accepted the bucket.

“…!”

Again—an unmistakably fishy smell.

I couldn’t bring myself to drink it.

I handed it back.

“Where does this water come from?”

“Why are you asking, khrgh…”

His voice clearly came from poor health, unlike my intentionally deepened tone.

Kaouts frowned as if unable to bear hearing the servant’s sickly voice any longer and pointed.

“My la— I mean, Young Master Ren. The stream seems to be that way.”

“Where do you think you’re going, kehk!”

“We’ve seen enough. Don’t concern yourself.”

We walked past him toward the stream.

The suspicious servant tried to stop us, then quickly ran back toward the estate, huffing as he went.

“He’ll probably bring people.”

“Yes. He’ll say suspicious strangers went to the water source.”

“But his throat—and maybe his lungs—seem bad. He won’t reach them quickly.”

“As expected of my la— I mean, Young Master Ren. Brilliant as always.”

Kaouts grinned.

We followed the water’s path for a while.

Soon, the stream came into view—

And then:

“Ugh…”

“Ugh, what is that smell?!”

The humid air mixed with the fishy stench—thicker than before.

It was the same smell.

“My lady—no, look there!”

Following Kaouts’s gaze, I turned my head—

—and froze.

“Tangled vines…?”

Dark-colored vines, like knotted masses of hair, covered one side of the stream, thick and dense.

It was larger than three or four trees combined.

And a strange liquid was seeping from it into the flowing water.

In his former days as a skilled mage, Kaouts had researched all kinds of creatures, plants, and magical beasts.

I stopped him when he tried to approach the vines.

“Don’t get close, my lady. This is… a Drencia plant.”

“Drencia?”

“Yes. When a magical beast called a Drent dies, sometimes its remains sink deep into the ground and fail to decompose. Occasionally, they sprout instead.”

My eyes widened, and Kaouts continued:

“That’s what this vine is.”

“Is it poisonous?”

“Possibly. A tiny amount is fine, but if it keeps accumulating in our bodies, eventually…”

He hesitated, then looked at the boyish face I wore and said quietly:

“…eventually the lungs weaken—and it can be fatal.”

“…!”

The servant at the well flashed through my mind.

His rough voice, the strained breathing…

He might have been drinking this water daily, slowly poisoning himself.

“There they are!”

A sharp shout echoed.