Ch.3333. I just want to go out and get some fresh air.

“Thanks for coming so early in the morning. Have you eaten?”

“I grabbed a quick bite nearby.”

“It may not be as good as Hongwaru, but the food here is quite tasty too. Let’s have lunch together a little later.”

Perhaps I’d welcomed her too casually, as the Poison Lady looked somewhat flustered as she gripped her teacup.

“…Alright.”

Padericks was standing there with an expression that clearly asked, ‘Who on earth are these people?’ while Rio Sergang’s face was filled with tension.

“Hey, Theo, was it? Like I said before, could you tone down that killing intent? You’re making our Rio uncomfortable.”

The Poison Lady glanced at Theo.

Their eyes met, and Theo bowed respectfully.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine. Our knight isn’t so pathetic that he can’t accept an apology.”

I winked at Rio, and his tension seemed to ease a bit.

I naturally shifted my gaze to Ariella, the Poison Lady’s younger sister.

With her clean attire, slightly curly golden hair, and large eyes resembling her sister’s, she was quite charming.

“Hello, little miss?”

“…I’m not little.”

“Oh, sorry… Let me greet you again. Hello, miss?”

“Hello.”

Ariella greeted me politely but shyly hid behind the Poison Lady.

Perhaps because I didn’t have a younger sister myself, even her shyness seemed incredibly endearing.

In the original story, Ariella dies before she even appears.

At first, I thought the Poison Lady had always lived alone, but in a flashback scene, I learned that she had a sister.

And.

After her sister’s death, the Poison Lady truly became “poisonous.”

Despite losing her primary purpose in life, she did whatever it took to make money so she wouldn’t lose the people under her care.

This eventually led her down a path of evil, and ultimately, she was sacrificed by the protagonist, Serion Raikeus.

Come to think of it, she’s a different kind of madwoman compared to Luna Brillhart and Seri Familia.

The Poison Lady who craves “poison” and is obsessed with “money.”

If I save her sister, I can’t even guarantee what kind of butterfly effect it might trigger.

Perhaps eager to continue our conversation, the Poison Lady set down her teacup and turned toward me.

“Can you really cure her?”

“Why would I lie to the infamous Poison Lady? What would I gain?”

At the mention of “Poison Lady,” Padericks and Rio Sergang flinched.

Their expressions suggested they had much to say.

I figured I’d be getting an earful from them later.

“Honestly, I still can’t believe you can cure Ariella’s poisoning.”

“She’s fine during the day, but the symptoms appear when she tries to sleep, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. How did you possibly…”

“I told you, I can cure her.”

“…Please help us.”

After I described the symptoms, she seemed to trust me a bit more, and tears welled up in her eyes.

To think the infamous Poison Lady would shed tears—being reincarnated as Selden Alphonse was certainly giving me many new experiences.

“Of course, but what about our agreement?”

At my question, Theo, who was standing behind the Poison Lady, placed a prepared box on the table.

An elegant box made of jade.

Inside were the mercenary badge and contract I had requested.

“It’s a contract infused with magic. It explicitly states that we will never lay a hand on Riden for the rest of our lives.”

So this is the magical contract I’ve only heard about?

The one that activates magic if the terms are broken?

I’d seen it used several times by the protagonist Serion Raikeus in the original story, but this was my first time seeing it in person, though it felt familiar.

“Hmm, you’ve staked your life on this promise. That’s reassuring.”

“In return, you must stake your life as well, Lord Selden.”

“I will.”

Before Padericks and Rio Sergang could stop me, I took out a pen from my front pocket and scribbled on it.

The magical contract then floated in the air, bathing the reception room in white light.

‘To think the day would come when I’d use this…’

And then.

Everything proceeded smoothly.

I guided Ariella to a room and had her drink medicine made from Cheoneoncho [Heavenly Herb].

“Cough, cough!!”

Perhaps because it was literally a poisonous herb, Ariella coughed up blood immediately after drinking it.

It was fortunate that I had asked the Poison Lady to wait outside; if she had seen this, she would have shot poison needles at me without hesitation.

Nevertheless, I offered her the bowl again.

“Ariella, try to hold back the vomit if you can.”

“…It’s too painful.”

It was painful for me to watch as well.

If I had learned healing skills, I could have eased her pain a little…

It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

“You did well.”

“Thank you, Lord Selden.”

“You’re thanking me already? You haven’t even recovered yet.”

“Haha… My sister is a good person. Please don’t hate her too much…”

After saying these words with a plaintive look, Ariella fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from the treatment.

Strangely, my heart felt warm.

“Alright, rest now.”

I left the room to let Ariella rest comfortably and headed to the reception room.

As expected, the Poison Lady, who seemed to doubt the treatment, rose from her chair with anxious eyes when she saw me enter.

“How did the treatment go?”

“The treatment is done. However, she needs to stay here and rest for a few days.”

“Can I go see Ariella…?”

“Yes, but just check on her condition. As I just said, she needs rest.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Theo and the Poison Lady rushed out to see Ariella.

They returned to the reception room shortly after.

“You’re back?”

Even Theo, whose eyes had been full of wariness, bowed to me with reddened eyes, and the Poison Lady sat across from me with a face full of mixed emotions.

“How can I ever repay this debt…”

“Debt? We made a deal, didn’t we?”

“…Still, thank you. But could you tell me how you cured Ariella? I just checked on her, and she’s sleeping peacefully without any symptoms.”

Ironically, the cure using Cheoneoncho [Heavenly Herb] would later be discovered by the Poison Lady herself.

Suffering from the same symptoms as her sister, the Poison Lady, writhing in agony, chews on Cheoneoncho to end her life.

But.

The poison in her body clashes with the toxicity of Cheoneoncho, eliminating the symptoms, and the remaining poison transforms into immunity.

She survives, but it’s an episode that shows how cruel timing can be.

Indeed.

I may have flipped the story as easily as turning over my palm.

It was also time to stop, as we had both gotten what we needed.

“Sorry, but that’s another family secret.”

“…That’s disappointing, but I understand. Information is life and money.”

After treating Ariella, I noticed the clock already showed 2 PM.

Having completed my task, I rose from my chair and gestured toward the Poison Lady and Theo while patting my stomach.

“Let’s go. As I said earlier, I’ll treat you to the food here.”

*

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“How can you even ask that?! Baron Byron is out there watching with bloodshot eyes, and that Poison Lady person is still in the mansion!!”

“It’s fine. I’ll be back soon anyway.”

Padericks was so angry because I had once again mentioned going outside the territory with Jawill Wilson.

Despite trying to persuade him for days, he wouldn’t budge.

“Ha!!! I said no!! You got caught last time!! And now you won’t even tell me where you’re going properly!!!”

“Wait, I just want to get some fresh air outside the territory.”

“Fresh air?? Do you expect me to believe that?”

The strongest monster we’ve discovered within this territory is the hobgoblin.

And that was something Jawill Wilson and I found recently.

Now there’s a limit to how much my stats can improve by hunting goblins and hobgoblins.

It was time to look beyond the territory.

“Did you get Jawill Wilson ready?”

“I did. I had no choice but to prepare him since it was an order!!! But this is truly unacceptable. Young master, you are currently in exile!!!”

“You’ll lose your voice if you keep shouting like that.”

“I’d rather lose my voice than worry myself sick!”

Padericks’ nagging had intensified over the past few days.

Starting with why I brought the “Poison Lady” into the mansion, to how I would explain my trip to Cheonsonji to Baron Byron, and so on…

With the expedition time approaching, this was getting ridiculous.

After listening patiently, I waved my hand hastily, fearing I might end up attacking Padericks instead of monsters.

“I’ll be back soon, so just bring Jawill Wilson first.”

After a few more complaints, seeing that I wasn’t even pretending to listen, Padericks left the study with a pout.

I was also busy preparing, gathering travel money and my sword.

But then.

Padericks burst back into the study.

With an ambiguous expression that made it hard to tell if he was smiling or angry.

“Y-young master!!”

“What is it now? You’re making me nervous.”

“Jawill Wilson injured his leg while sparring with Luna!”