Leon and Reina stood silently in front of a large, ornate door.
“So,” Reina began, glancing at him with her usual cold expression, “do you understand everything expected of you throughout the day when serving Master Justin ?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Leon replied, offering her a fake smile.
“Good.” She handed him a polished silver plate covered with a lid. “He’s waiting for you inside. This is his afternoon meal. Go and serve.”
Leon gave a short nod, opened the door, and stepped inside, carefully closing it behind him.
“Hello, sir,” he said, holding the plate. “I’ve brought your food.”
Reina, without another word, turned around and walked away.
—
Inside the room…
Justin looked up from the bed, startled. The book he was reading slipped from his hands.
“Leon,” he said with a serious look in his eyes.
“Justin,” Leon greeted him casually, placing the food on a nearby table before taking a seat in front of it.
“How are you doing?”
Justin hesitated for a moment, then asked, “How did your duel go at the academy?”
Leon raised a brow and smirked. “So, you did a little digging on me, huh?”
“I-I have to be careful about who I work with,” Justin said quickly. “You’re not angry, right?”
“Angry? No,” Leon replied smoothly. “I don’t want to work with idiots either.” He picked up the utensils and began cutting into the steak.
“But I am a little sad.” Leon spoke with a neutral expression as stabbed the fork into the steak.
Justin tilted his head. “Sad? Is something wrong with the food?”
Leon smiled faintly, placing a bite into his mouth. “No… I’m just sad you guys are five star Nobles, you deal with crucial information exchange and don’t realize there are elf spies in your house that are supplying information from your house.”
Justin froze.
“W-What!?” he shouted, his eyes widened in shock.
“Don’t—” Leon started, but his voice cut off as a glowing notification flashed in front of his eyes.
—
[Warning: You have been poisoned with ‘Blue Bain’. Mana flow will be disturbed. Spells may not cast correctly for the next 48 hours.]
<Adaptive Body>
[Adjusting mana flow…]
[Adapting to Blue Bain poison…]
[Successfully Adapted to the poison.]
[Congratulations ! You have successfully learned the skill {Poison Resistance}]
Leon only readed the first notification and ignored the others.
—
He immediately spat the half-chewed steak onto the plate. “Hwak… thua.”
Justin stepped forward, visibly panicking. “W-What are you talking about, Mr. Leon? A spy? In this house ?”
Leon wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at him dead-on. “How often are you eating this ?”
“What…? I-I eat it daily. It’s my usual—”
“When you try to cast a skill,” Leon interrupted, “does your mana feel… unstable? Do the spells come out wrong like really unstable ?”
Justin’s eyes widened. “Y-Yes! That’s exactly what I’ve been saying to the Royal Physician! But… how do you…?”
He trailed off, confused, frightened.
Justin stumbled backward, visibly shaken. “M-Mr. Leon… I-I don’t understand… Please, explain to me what’s happening.”
Leon’s smile returned, slow and predatory as he understood everything that was going on.
“Oh, I’ll explain everything,” he said, voice low.
“You’re being used like a pawn by your maid, Reina,” Leon said with a calm smile as he looked at Justin.
“W-What? Reina?” Justin asked, his face a mix of confusion and shock.
“She’s an elf spy. And you’re being poisoned with a herb called Blue Bain. It causes your mana to go unstable—you won’t be able to cast spells properly for the next 48 hours.”
Leon leaned forward slightly. “She’s doing it to keep you from getting into Velthorne Academy. If you got selected, you’d have to move into the dorms… and she’d have no excuse to stay here in the house and that would fail her mission to collect information.”
He continued, “But since you were admitted to Phoenix Academy—”
“I stayed home… and she stayed with me,” Justin muttered, the realization hitting him hard.
“Exactly,” Leon nodded. “She’s been gathering information and passing it to her little brother. He’s been feeding it to the Elf Kingdom.”
“If the Royal Palace finds out your family is responsible for the loss of so many soldiers in the war… they’ll crush you. Your noble status could be stripped in an instant.” Leon spoke with a serious and dark expression as he looked at Justin.
“I-I have to tell my father! That bitch ruined my life! I’ll kill her and her brother with my own hands!” Justin roared, fury overtaking his expression as he turned to storm out.
“Open that door,” Leon said casually, “and this information will be in the Royal Palace before you even take a step.”
“W-What?!” Justin stopped dead in his tracks, turning back with wide eyes.
“B-But… you’re on my side, right?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“I am,” Leon said with a smirk. “That’s why I’ll handle this myself. I’ll turn her into my little sex doll. As for her brother—you can do whatever you want with him.”
“B-But… I want my revenge, Sir Leon. She destroyed everything! I could’ve been a great mage at Velthorne. I could’ve made my father proud…” Tears welled in Justin’s eyes.
Leon walked toward the table. “She was serving you the food, but I suspect her brother was the one who laced it with Blue Bain.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I still need to confirm everything. If you lash out in rage now, you’ll ruin everything. And I don’t like anyone messing with my plans.”
Leon’s voice dropped. “You need to understand—we’re holding information that could bring your entire five-star noble family to ruin.”
He paused, then said calmly, “I’ll take care of this. From now on, don’t eat anything Reina prepares. I’ll bring you an antidote tomorrow. Start training your magic again.”
Leon turned to leave. “And say nothing about Reina to anyone. Unless you want to see your family on the streets.”
Justin stood straight, nodding. “Mr. Leon… from this moment on, you’re my friend. I trust you more than anyone now. Please save my family”
‘And you’re my insurance,’ Leon thought with a smile. ‘If I’m going to blackmail them, I need someone else to know the truth. You’ll be my ticket out if things go wrong.’
“I’ll be off now,” Leon said, heading for the door. “There’s someone I need to find.”