episode_0280

Heh…!

Antoine instantly recognized the burning obsession in Raonjena’s eyes.

He slightly raised the corner of his mouth at that obsession.

“So, I tried to find a way to improve Ulysses’s physical condition by searching high and low.”

Then, as if he had never had such an expression, he continued speaking with a serious face again.

“Did you find a way!”

Raonjena, her desire burning like a flame, asked almost impatiently.

“I found it.”

Antoine looked at Raonjena and nodded slowly.

“The Demonic race’s perpetual snow mountain range, there exists a rare medicinal herb that treats poison with poison there. If an ordinary person takes it, it will cause problems, but in the case of severe internal damage caused by magical energy, it is a medicinal herb that acts as a medicine.”

Then, he explained the solution he had obtained to Raonjena.

“A rare medicinal herb that grows in the Demonic race’s perpetual snow mountain range…”

At that moment, Raonjena trailed off slightly.

“That’s right. It’s illegal. Simply setting foot there and bringing in something dangerous like medicinal herbs are worlds apart.”

It is truly a perilous idea.

Tyrannos, who openly opposes the empire, or the deeds committed by fallen adventurers,

Raonjena could not believe that the influential aristocrat Duke Antoine was doing it.

“But what can I do? My dear friend, more precious than my own life, is in a dangerous situation. I cannot turn a blind eye to that method, which I learned with difficulty, worrying about my own safety.”

However, there was no wavering in Antoine’s eyes.

“I, I feel the same way. I will do anything to save my master in danger!”

It was Antoine’s conviction that instantly erased Raonjena’s momentary hesitation.

In a way, it was the life she wanted most.

What else could satisfy her need for recognition as much as dedicating herself to someone at the risk of danger?

“That’s right. That’s why I confided this fact to you, Raonjena. I thought you would share my intentions. I can’t do this alone.”

Smile…!

He skillfully laid the trap, and as soon as the prey stepped into it, the snake activated the trap as if it had been waiting.

“I’ve been talking around a few times, but Ulysses doesn’t seem to want to accept it because his nerves have become sharp due to the influence of magical energy. I think we should use an indirect method.”

Swish…!

Antoine, who had changed his face back to a serious expression, reached into his inner coat pocket with his right hand.

“I heard that you, Raonjena, are serving Ulysses the tea he drinks once a day?”

Then he mentioned the regular meeting between Ulysses and Raonjena.

Ulysses Schneider began to devote a lot of time to Eugene Schneider,

Every morning, he began to spend tea time with his disciple Raonjena, continuing to communicate and hearing all about the Sophist’s operating situation from her.

Based on the stories he heard in that way, Ulysses was visiting the Sophist Idea when necessary.

“That is correct.”

At Antoine’s words, Raonjena nodded with highly focused eyes.

“Then it’s simple. Just include this elixir in the tea that Ulysses drinks every day.”

Rustle…!

Antoine showed his right hand, which he had put in his inner pocket, again.

And in that right hand, he was holding a small pouch.

It was a pouch containing an elixir made from rare medicinal herbs from the perpetual snow mountain.

“Put this in the tea that Master drinks…”

Swish…!

Raonjena accepted the elixir pouch that Antoine handed over.

“You will have to take it for a long time. So, rather than administering a large amount at once, you should administer a small amount for a long time. That way, the effect can work deeply, and Ulysses, who has excellent senses, won’t notice the elixir ingredients in the tea.”

As Raonjena took the elixir pouch and made a nervous expression, Antoine gave more detailed instructions as if giving a warning.

“Don’t worry about that. If it will help Master, I will carry it out without a single error, even if it is something that must be done over several years.”

Squeeze…!

Raonjena looked at Antoine with eyes full of obsession and will, and strongly gripped the elixir pouch in her hand.

“The elixir you received back then, was it the elixir that made the Sophist, and now you, like this?”

Victoria, who had begun to hear about the elixir from Raonjena, asked as if confirming as the situation was being sorted out.

Raonjena said that the source of the elixir that turned Ulysses into a Sword Demon and created a remarkable awakening effect within the Sophist at this point in time was none other than Antoine Dessel Oblean.

[I had no reason to doubt… How could I doubt Antoine, that son of a bitch… Damn! Damn!]

Then Raonjena cursed Antoine with resentful eyes.

It wasn’t a direct answer to Victoria’s question, but the current frenzied reaction was enough to allow for an interpretation consistent with it.

“…..”

Perhaps that was why Victoria silently watched Raonjena, who was trembling with anger and resentment and screaming.

“Master’s condition is strange. He seems to be getting more and more sensitive. I think it’s because of the elixir!”

At a point when the elixir had been taken through tea for a considerable period of time,

Raonjena came to Antoine looking restless.

This was because Ulysses’s physical condition had noticeably deteriorated from some point on.

“The effect of the elixir is correct, Raonjena. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a side effect, but that it’s working properly.”

Before she knew it, Antoine had risen to become the second-in-command of the Imperial Knights.

Also, at a time when the next emperor was being discussed, he began to receive love calls from various places.

Therefore, Antoine, who had become overflowing with authority and dignity to an extent that could not be compared to several years ago,

Moreover, because he had more interactions with Raonjena, he treated her condescendingly, unlike before.

“Wha, what does that mean…”

Even so, Raonjena couldn’t resist much.

‘It’s not a side effect? Really? Is that really true?’

She had already committed the act, and now, being only in her early 20s, she couldn’t handle it.

Raonjena, who was judged as a Sword User Alpha at the age of 19, had already become a Sword Expert.

And she had also become an adult.

However, her psychological state remained the same as it had been in her childhood, lacking a close, dependent relationship.

That’s why she is trying to deny reality in any way possible, wanting to believe that her choice was not wrong.

“It’s only natural that some noise accompanies the creation of antibodies. Likewise, the power of the elixir is fighting against the magical energy that has taken root in Ulysses’s body for a long time. So, there’s no need to be so alarmed.”

Antoine, who was penetrating Raonjena’s psychological state, threw her a carrot that she would be craving.

‘That’s right? Yes, that’s right… That’s what Duke Antoine is saying. Master’s best friend. There’s no way that person would lie.’

Raonjena’s cognitive state was flowing almost schizophrenically. She had reached a point where she couldn’t even believe herself, and her anxiety was so extreme. Raonjena was relying on Antoine’s words to the point of being gaslighted.

“But it’s surprising. From what I see, Ulysses didn’t show any signs of that at all when he was with Eugene Schneider.”

Antoine began to scratch Raonjena’s anxiety and lowered self-esteem even further.

“Yes?”

Raonjena, who had been expressing a relieved expression, suddenly widened her eyes.

“That’s exactly what I mean. I theoretically anticipated what you said, but I’ve rarely seen it in reality. Perhaps it’s because his biological son, Eugene Schneider, was with him, so he controlled himself as much as possible.”

The object of Raonjena’s jealousy and envy is none other than Eugene Schneider.

The foundation of the current uncontrollable situation is that she thought that Eugene Schneider had stolen the heart of her master Ulysses.

That’s why Antoine used the expression “biological son” to instigate Ulysses to intentionally show a different attitude towards Raonjena.

‘I will definitely prove it…! That I’m not wrong! That I am a more helpful presence to Master!’

Someone whose self-esteem has been destroyed by jealousy, inferiority, and a sense of victimhood begins to look for something special.

This is because they want to consider themselves special and be felt to be special to the other person by having or doing something special.

As a result of Antoine’s instigation, Raonjena, whose eyes were turned to such stimulating achievement desires, had her common sense paralyzed and destroyed as time passed.

“Raonjena. This master has something to ask of our beloved disciple…”

And it eventually drove her master Ulysses Schneider to ruin.

‘Ah… Master’s current appearance…’

Master Ulysses is giving a kind smile to his beloved disciple,

But Raonjena’s heart sank.

‘He’s preparing to leave…’

His complexion and eyes were shadowed by death.

‘I… Master…’

Raonjena had repeatedly rationalized herself and brainwashed herself.

Her obsession and sense of victimhood were that great, and Antoine’s gaslighting was also enormous.

What eventually melted the ice castle of obsession that seemed impossible to melt was the master’s sincere appearance.

Ulysses, who had accepted his physical condition, began to prepare for death and began what was in effect his will to his beloved disciple.

Therefore, Raonjena came to face the fact that she herself had driven the master she had so followed and obsessed over to the path of death.

“I would like you to look into the condition of the Sophist brothers who are away in other regions for the time being, Raonjena. I want to do it, but it seems difficult…”

Ulysses asked Raonjena to take on a mission to leave the Sophist Idea and travel outside for a long time.

‘Master is trying to send me away. To prevent me from getting caught up in his death.’

Seeing Ulysses shadowed by death, Raonjena, who was able to make a clear judgment of the situation only at this moment, caught what Ulysses’s mission meant.

When Ulysses reaches a rampage and his surroundings become a scene of carnage, Ulysses does not want to keep Raonjena around him.

“Master, I’m…!!”

She wanted to say she didn’t want to. And Raonjena wanted to confess that it was her stupidity that had brought her master to this state.

“Do as I say, my beloved disciple Raonjena. This is the earnest request of this master who cherishes you.”

Rustle…!

Ulysses placed his hand on Raonjena’s shoulder, who seemed like her emotions were about to explode.

It was as if he knew everything.

[I knew it. That Master would die miserably and be branded with a shameful reputation.]

In that way, Raonjena left the Sophist Idea for a while.

Thud!

Raonjena, who had been gripped by madness, collapsed in front of Victoria.

[I made him die… My master… I turned the Sword Saint Ulysses into a Sword Demon…]

Thud thud thud…!

And from her magic-stained red eyes, tears of blood, even darker than that, poured out.