Levian Marigold.

Yuto smiled bitterly as he recalled her name.

After the funeral for the head of House Marigold, Yuto had returned to the Kingdom of Belkain. The person he had come to Merchant City to meet was the family head who had died of illness, not his children.

Back in Belkain, he heard rumors about House Marigold. Under its new head, the house was rapidly losing its former glory and sinking into decline.

Levian, the young lady of Merchant City’s wealthiest house, had reportedly left of her own accord after her brother Cayenne became its head and opened a shabby apothecary in the city’s back alleys.

Her actions piqued Yuto’s interest after his return to Belkain. So he concealed his identity once again and visited Merchant City.

Levian, not her brother Cayenne, had been the favored candidate to succeed their father. It was the daughter, not the son, who had inherited his gift for business.

Yet that same young lady of House Marigold had abandoned the privileges of nobility to open a shabby apothecary in the back alleys where the poor lived. Instead of using her natural business acumen, she was treating paupers she could never have mingled with before. It was more than enough to arouse his curiosity.

Yuto acquired a poor man’s clothes and went to her apothecary. He wanted to know why she had changed the course of her life, and what sort of person she was.

Hands far too rough for a noblewoman. A dark expression that always seemed weighed down by something. Eyes gleaming with fierce, almost venomous obsession.

Even his first impression of her was extraordinary. He felt certain there was a story behind her unwavering resolve. In a way, Levian overwhelmed him.

Yuto revealed his identity and spoke with Levian alone. Why had she left House Marigold? Why had she opened an apothecary afterward?

["My father didn’t die of an illness. He was poisoned."]

Knowing his rank, Levian poured out the bitter anguish that clung stubbornly to her heart.

["My brother... Cayenne did it. He poisoned Father to take over the house. He slowly drained the life out of him."]

Levian had realized the truth too late, long after the chance to act had passed. In the end, her father had wasted away and died.

She lacked the power to expose the truth and bring Cayenne to justice. Though she had been the favored successor, Cayenne was the eldest son. He had used that legitimacy to seize control of the family, then taken the family head’s throne as soon as the funeral was over.

Besides, Levian had not even secured evidence. Poisoning was only her suspicion. If she alleged a conspiracy without proof, she would surely be branded a madwoman and lose her head instead.

So Levian had left the family. She had decided that even remaining there was dangerous. A brother vicious enough to poison his own father for the headship would never hesitate to kill a younger sister who might stand in his way.

Even after leaving, she could not let go of her grief over her father’s death. Though he was already gone, his death remained a source of profound, unresolved regret. To identify the unknown poison, she used her own body as a test subject, swallowing poisons of many kinds. She devoted herself to developing a cure based on those experiments, and treated the poor to further improve her healing magic.

Of course, Yuto had not simply taken her word for everything. There was every chance that Levian, driven into a corner, was talking nonsense. So he summoned his subordinates from Belkain and had them investigate House Marigold in secret.

In the end, her claims proved true. Through threats and persuasion, Cayenne’s trusted men, caught by Yuto, confessed to the poisoning Cayenne had orchestrated.

Black Death Venom. A new, deadly poison created by combining dozens of potent toxins. With that as evidence, Cayenne was stripped of his headship and imprisoned. Levian returned to House Marigold.

House Marigold prospered again under Levian’s leadership. Yet even as she fulfilled her duties as its head, she remained obsessed with an antidote. Even though it was far too late. Even though she knew that developing a cure would never bring her dead father back.

'Levian Marigold.'

Whenever Yuto recalled her name, bitter memories stirred within him. She was someone with whom he shared many memories, in many ways. In his previous life, he had helped her become the head of her house, and their connection had endured after he left Merchant City. Under her leadership, House Marigold had become Belkain’s greatest patron.

'Now that I’ve returned to the past, the head of House Marigold is still alive.'

Yuto gazed at the cure for Black Death Venom he had made himself. An antidote that had yet to be developed in this era. It was the antidote Levian had obsessed over and finally created even after becoming head of House Marigold.

The current head lay bedridden. With this cure, he would soon recover from the poisoning and regain his health. His son Cayenne’s plot would be exposed for all to see, and Levian would be confirmed as his successor.

The event that had left Levian with a lifetime of regret in his previous life would be set right.

That was not its only significance. Unlike before his return, Yuto no longer had the status of Belkain’s king. He had neither backing nor support.

'By preventing the head of House Marigold from being poisoned to death, I’ll become the man who saved his life.'

That would allow Yuto to secure Merchant City’s wealthiest house as his patron. If he saved the family head and exposed the eldest son’s monstrous betrayal, House Marigold would owe him a debt it could never repay.

“Let’s go, Flokiro.”

Yuto tucked the Black Death Venom antidote inside his clothes and set off. His gaze rested on the largest, most magnificent mansion at the heart of Merchant City: the Marigold estate.

* * *

The Marigold mansion.

A silence as heavy as lead hung within its walls.

“How is he?”

Outside the firmly closed door to the family head’s bedroom, a tall young man with ornate epaulets broke the silence. Cayenne Marigold, House Marigold’s eldest son. His handsome face was filled with worry, but his eyes were cold and still.

“My apologies, young master. The master’s condition... continues to worsen.”

The chief physician, reputed to be the finest doctor in Merchant City, bowed his head, breaking into a cold sweat.

“This is no ordinary fever. His vitality is draining away like water from a bottomless jar. No medicine has helped. At this rate...”

“Are you saying the head of our house might die?”

Cayenne’s face twisted as he asked. At his expression, the physician hesitated before answering.

“We are doing everything we can, but... I fear he has no more than a month at best...”

“Ah...”

Cayenne let out a long sigh and pressed a hand to his forehead. The servants and knights lined up along the corridor watched him sympathetically. He was the very picture of a dutiful heir worried about his father.

None of them knew that, behind the hand concealing his face, the corners of Cayenne’s mouth were twitching into a smile.

'Finally dying, are you?'

That tiresome old man. Cayenne glanced at the closed door. Black Death Venom was a new poison he had commissioned, one still unknown to the world. Naturally, it had no antidote. With even its symptoms unknown, no physician, however renowned, could recognize it.

'One more month. In one month, I’ll be the head of House Marigold.'

Just as Cayenne was inwardly rejoicing, hurried footsteps sounded from the end of the corridor.

A girl came running with her orange-tinged blond hair disheveled. Levian Marigold. Her dress was dirty with herbal stains, and a precarious stack of old books filled her arms.

“Levian.”

Assuming a stern expression, Cayenne blocked his younger sister’s path.

“Don’t make a scene. Father is critically ill. If you make so much noise, you’ll only cause him more suffer—”

Before Cayenne could finish, Levian set down her armful of old books, panting, then opened one for him to see.

“Father’s symptoms aren’t those of an ordinary fever. According to this book, they resemble aether poisoning or exposure to a special toxin.”

“...”

“The herbal mixture I made might neutralize the poison. Then—”

“Enough!”

Cayenne roared. Levian flinched at his shout.

“How old are you? Are you still picking weeds to play with like a little child?”

His damned sister had been talented at everything since childhood. Not only did she have a knack for managing the family and its trading business, she also possessed a natural gift for herbal mixtures and healing magic.

Had she not been born into House Marigold, she could have made a name for herself as a healing mage. There was no way his little sister could counteract Black Death Venom, developed at such enormous expense, but Cayenne was taking no chances.

“I will not entrust Father to your superstitious folk remedies. Even Merchant City’s finest physician cannot identify his illness. What do you know to be meddling in this? Isn’t it enough that you go around engaging in such vulgar pursuits with your herbs? Now you want to use Father as a test subject?”

“B-but... at this rate, Father will...”

“Stand aside.”

Cayenne’s voice was cold.

“If your treatment goes wrong and Father’s condition becomes even more critical, will you take responsibility?”

“...”

“Levian Marigold. All you can do is stay shut in your room and pray for Father. Treatment is a physician’s work. Now leave.”

“Brother...!”

“Nail! What are you doing? Escort the young lady to her room!”

At his words, the enormous knight standing behind Cayenne moved. Levian grimaced and shook off the trusted retainer’s grip.

“Let go! I’ll go myself.”

Levian could not understand her brother’s behavior. It had already been more than a month since Father collapsed and began wasting away. They had summoned several physicians, but none had brought any improvement. They could not even clearly diagnose his illness.

Surely they should try anything they could, even if it meant grasping at straws. Yet her brother refused. It was almost as though he wanted Father to die.

'Father...'

Biting her lip, Levian looked at the firmly closed bedroom door. Despair washed over her like a wave. Since Father’s collapse, her standing within the family had dwindled to almost nothing, while Cayenne’s authority had become absolute. The helplessness of being unable to do anything crushed her.

Holding back her tears, Levian left the mansion and headed toward the courtyard. There lay the herb garden she had tended since childhood. After Father collapsed, she had acquired rare medicinal herbs from all over Callisto and planted them there. Everything she had done was to cure him.

“...?”

Levian stopped on her way to the courtyard. There was a commotion outside the front gate.

At the Marigold estate’s front gate, a boy in a black hood stood with an Evomon before a group of troubled-looking guards.

“I’m telling you, I can’t let you in!”

The guard blocking the gate snapped. This visitor had simply shown up unannounced. Nor was he anyone of high standing. From his clothes, he looked like an ordinary adventurer one might find anywhere.

And yet the guard could not treat him as harshly as he treated others. Strangely, he did not want to point the spear in his hand at this boy. It was odd, but he felt that he must not.

It was because of the points Yuto had invested in his Charm stat. Charm did more than make others like him at first sight. It amplified his distinctive presence and could also make others feel intimidated. That was why the guard could neither shout abuse at Yuto nor level his spear at him.

“What’s going on?”

The front gate opened from within. At the voice, the guards turned.

“My lady!”

They bowed respectfully.

“Our apologies. Some young adventurer came asking to see the master...”

“My father?”

Levian looked at the boy in puzzlement. He was dressed like an ordinary enough adventurer, but... for some reason, she could not tear her gaze away from him.

Her heart gave a thump.

It skipped out of rhythm. The eyes beneath his hood were looking straight at her. Fathomless eyes, like an abyss that might swallow even light. The instant she met his gaze, Levian felt her breath catch.

“Who... are you?”

Levian’s voice trembled. Rather than answer immediately, the boy slowly lowered his hood. The sea breeze stirred his hair.

“Yuto.”

The boy gave his name without elaboration. Yuto stared intently at Levian, whom he was meeting for the first time since his return. Her face was younger and more innocent than he remembered, but the distinctive stubbornness and fierce determination in her eyes remained unchanged.

No, she looked even more desperate. Unlike then, the head of House Marigold was still alive. Levian wanted to save her father, whatever it took.

“I came to see you, Levian Marigold.”

“Me...?”

Levian’s eyes widened. She was startled that this stranger knew exactly who she was, and unsettled by the strange certainty in his voice.

“What business do you have with me? I’m not in a position to meet anyone right—”

“Don’t you want to save your father?”

The air around them froze. All color drained from Levian’s face. Even the guards held their breath as they stared at Yuto.

“What do you...”

“You must know. Your father’s illness is no ordinary fever.”

Yuto took a step forward.

Levian’s heart pounded violently.

“H-how did you know that?”

Her voice quivered faintly. The idea that her father’s condition might involve poison was her own private suspicion.

In fact, the precise nature of her father Rufus Marigold’s condition was not even public knowledge. House Marigold was a powerful family that dominated Merchant City’s commerce. If word spread that its head was critically ill, the city’s business world would face upheaval. It was only natural for the family to conceal it.

Yet this ordinary-looking adventurer boy was openly discussing her father’s condition. That was more than enough to alarm her and put her on edge.

“High fever and black blotches on his skin,” Yuto said.

“A steady decline in aether. A metallic rasp with every breath, accompanied by a foul, burning smell.”

Every symptom he named was correct. They were the very things Levian had observed through the nights at her father’s bedside, only for the physicians to dismiss them as symptoms of an unusual fever.

“How... do you know all that? You’ve never even seen Father...”

“How I know isn’t important.”

Levian’s appearance had stirred unease among the guards, and some were now showing unmistakable hostility.

The reason was obvious. At this point, the family head was still alive, but he was little more than a breathing corpse. Cayenne, the man behind the poisoning, would already have spread his influence to seize control of the family’s fighting forces. Those showing hostility toward Yuto had been won over by him.

But not everyone had. To win support from those around him, Yuto revealed his hand first.

“What matters is that I have the answer to that poison.”

Yuto took out a small glass vial filled with purple liquid.

“Is that...?”

“An antidote.”

His reply was matter-of-fact. Levian’s gaze locked onto the vial.

“An antidote...! H-how...”

“So many questions. Don’t you want to save your father?”

Her eyes wavered.

“Choose.”

Sensing her uncertainty, Yuto spoke forcefully.

“Will you trust me, open the mansion doors, and take me to your father? Or will you cling to your doubts and watch him die?”

It was a cruel choice. Levian hesitated briefly, then made her decision. She did not know who this boy was. There was no proof that the glass vial in his hand truly held an antidote.

Even so, her instincts whispered that she should trust him. They were instincts she had been born with, ones her brother Cayenne lacked. And Levian knew how to be bold when boldness was needed.

“Open the gate.”

Biting her lip, Levian turned to the guards.

“He is my guest.”

“M-my lady! We must first obtain Young Master Cayenne’s permission...”

“My father is critically ill. I will take responsibility for everything that happens. Now open the gate!”

The normally quiet Levian’s shout made the guards flinch and clear the way. The strange pressure radiating from Yuto helped spur them on.

“Follow me.”

Levian led the way, with Yuto behind her. Flokiro kept a sharp-eyed watch on their surroundings.

* * *

On the mansion’s third floor, where the family head’s bedroom was located, a group blocked Levian, Yuto, and Flokiro as they walked down the corridor.

“Stop, my lady. You cannot go any farther.”

Cayenne’s bodyguard, Nail, spoke with a resolute expression. Levian’s eyebrows shot up. However favored Nail might be by Cayenne, she was a daughter of House Marigold. His manner was outrageously overbearing and rude.

“Sir Nail. Step aside.”

“I cannot.”

Nail remained as immovable as a rock. So did the knights arrayed around him. In fact, their attitude was worse than his. Some fingered the swords at their waists as though ready to draw at any moment.

“What a racket.”

A voice came from behind the knights. The men who had refused to move at Levian’s request stepped aside to clear a path.

Cayenne Marigold emerged, irritation on his face. He frowned at Levian in displeasure, then twisted his mouth when he saw Yuto beside her. From the way the boy was dressed, he looked like some pauper who had crawled out of a back alley.

“What is that filthy rat? You’ve finally lost your mind. Now you’re dragging lowborn beggars into the mansion?”

“Do not insult him. He came here to treat Father.”

Levian stood her ground and raised her voice.

“He knows Father’s exact symptoms. Father doesn’t have an ordinary fever. He’s been poisoned...!”

“Ha!”

Cayenne gave a scornful laugh.

“You really have gone mad. Poison? Poison, you say? Levian Marigold, there are limits even to delusion. Who could possibly poison the head of House Marigold?”

Disgust and anger saturated Cayenne’s voice. To conceal his alarm at having the truth struck so precisely, he worked himself into an even greater fury.

“Suppose Father truly has been poisoned. Then a proper physician should examine him again and seek a cure. How does it make sense to entrust him to some beggar rat who came from who knows where?”

“But, Brother...!”

“As Father’s son and the next head of House Marigold, I will not be led around by your nonsense.”

Cayenne’s eyes flashed.

“I will allow for the possibility that Father has been poisoned rather than struck by a fever. I shall summon a new specialist. Now take that rat and—”

“Money really is wonderful.”

Yuto, who had been quietly listening to their exchange, spoke up.

“There’s nothing money can’t do. Isn’t that right?”

“What is this rat suddenly babbling—”

“Even physicians who are supposed to treat patients and save lives will turn a blind eye once they’ve stuffed themselves with enough money.”

Cayenne’s mouth worked soundlessly.

“It must be nice having so much money, rich boy. Funny thing, though. Every coin you have came from your father, yet his bastard of a son used it to create Black Death Venom to kill him, then hired blind doctors to pretend to treat him.”

Levian stared at Cayenne, her eyes wide. The faint suspicion that perhaps, just perhaps, he might be responsible caught fire at Yuto’s words.

“B-Brother, you did this to Father...!”

“What utter nonsense are you spouting?!”

Cayenne roared, pointing at Yuto as veins stood out in his neck.

“How dare you! How dare a beggar rat mock me with that lunatic tongue?!”

His murderous gaze snapped toward Levian.

“Levian! Levian Marigold! Yes, now I understand. I wondered where you found this beggar rat. It was all your plot!”

“Brother, what are you talking—”

“Don’t play innocent! Do you think I cannot see your scheme to use his nonsense to frame me and become head of House Marigold?!”

Cayenne no longer intended to waste time talking. He did not know whether this pauper truly knew how to cure the family head, but the rat had mentioned Black Death Venom. That meant he possessed definite confirmation of the poisoning.

“Nail!” Cayenne shouted.

“A rat has insulted your master. What will you do as his knight?”

“I must cut the rat down.”

Nail’s reply was icy. Alarmed, Levian stepped in front of Yuto. As though that suited him perfectly, Cayenne widened his eyes and turned his pointing finger toward her.

“Levian Marigold! Defending that rat proves you really did conspire with him to frame me!”

“Brother! Stop talking nonsense. More importantly, did you really do this to Father—”

“Nail!”

Cayenne shouted again. With a chilling metallic rasp, Nail drew his sword. Levian paled as he strode toward them.

“H-he came here to cure Father! And you still intend to have him cut down?!”

“You conspired with that rat to frame me.”

Cayenne glared at her with bloodshot eyes.

“You claim the medicine he brought is an antidote? Do you really believe Father was poisoned, and that I poisoned him? Why would I do that when I’m the eldest son?!”

“Because you wouldn’t become the family head.”

Yuto stepped past Levian, who stood in his way.

“Rufus Marigold chose Levian Marigold as his successor, not you, his eldest son. You realized that and fed your father Black Death Venom.”

“You rat!”

With a shout, Nail planted his foot.

THUD!

The corridor shook beneath the enormous man’s step, and a vicious aura of aether coiled around his drawn sword. Yuto’s eyes remained calm and cold as he watched.

“Yuto.”

“I’ll handle him.”

Yuto answered Flokiro’s whisper. Before Levian could intervene, Nail charged.

'Arrogant rat.'

Nail thought him pathetic, standing there empty-handed without even drawing a weapon. He must have frozen in terror, but Nail had no intention of showing mercy. The boy had not only insulted his master, but also discovered the plot. He had to die here.

'But... something’s...'

His aether-enhanced body sped down the corridor. At his speed, he should have been able to close to sword range and cut Yuto down in an instant. Yet something was wrong. Merely being watched by those cold eyes seemed to throw his bodily senses awry.

Yuto’s Charm stat was bearing down on him as an intimidating pressure, but Nail did not realize it. He felt only an inexplicable wrongness. His sense of distance tangled, and Yuto’s gaze weighed upon his mind.

His sword wavered as a result. Feeling cornered, he swung, but his aim was abysmal. The blade would not have reached Yuto even if he had stood still. Yet Yuto did not merely watch.

Void Touch.

Black haze rose around Yuto’s body, took the shape of a gigantic hand, and seized Nail’s sword.

CRACK!

Void Touch crushed the aether surrounding it, and the sturdy blade shattered like glass.

“What...?”

Nail made a bewildered sound. Void Touch was currently LV3. As before, Yuto could create only two hands, but their power was incomparable to when he had first acquired it. In truth, a Void Touch that had blocked even a Plock Knight’s sword had no reason to fail against someone like Nail.

CRUNCH!

Before Nail could do anything else, a second Void Touch appeared and struck his body. His solid breastplate crumpled horribly, and blood sprayed from his mouth.

CRASH!

Flung backward, Nail tumbled down the corridor and slammed into a wall.

“Huh...?”

Cayenne’s eyes went wide. His mouth hung open stupidly, unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.

CLATTER!

The fragments of the sword caught in Void Touch fell onto the corridor floor.

“N-Nail? No... what in the world...?”

Only then did Cayenne come to his senses. He looked at Nail twitching on the floor, his entire body twisted, then recoiled in horror.

“W-what are you doing? Kill that rat!”

Nail had fallen, but ten knights remained. All had sworn loyalty to Cayenne and joined his conspiracy. At his shrill command, they charged together.

“Grrr...”

Yuto did not stop Flokiro from stepping forward. He could handle ten such knights by himself, but he could not rob Flokiro of his role.

Flokiro kicked off the floor. Small though he was, his charge was explosive. Reaching the knights in an instant, he swung his hand.

BAM!

Before the knight could even swing his sword, Flokiro struck him and sent him crashing into a wall.

“W-waaaah!”

The knights swung their swords with cries that verged on screams, but none of their blows reached Flokiro. He moved swiftly, taking full advantage of his small body.

THWACK!

Another knight fell to him.

“This is fucking insane...!”

Horrified, Cayenne turned. He meant to flee this absurd situation, but Flokiro would not allow it.

WHOOSH!

Flames enveloped Flokiro’s hand.

BOOM!

The fire he hurled passed over Cayenne’s shoulder. A wall of crimson flames rose across the corridor where Cayenne had intended to flee. Faced with the ferociously blazing fire, he collapsed to the floor in terror.

Meanwhile, Yuto joined the battle.

BAM! BAM!

Between the savage swings of Void Touch and Flokiro’s efforts, every knight fell.

Seated on the floor, Cayenne looked back. Yuto was approaching him with a tranquil expression. Those were not the eyes of the “beggar rat” Cayenne had called him again and again. Before the gaze of an utterly superior predator, Cayenne’s eyes filled with fear.

“Ugh... uhhh...!”

Cayenne scraped together a paltry measure of courage. In truth, it was closer to a desperate struggle. At this rate, the entire truth would come out. As he drew up his aether, an Evomon contract sigil appeared on the back of his gloved hand.

Space rippled, and a gigantic three-headed snake materialized in front of him. Levian cried out in surprise.

“A-an Evomon?! Brother, when did you form a contract with an Evomon—”

“Shut up!”

With his reason paralyzed by fear, Cayenne roared.

“You dare frame me! Strike down m-my knights! Set fire to the mansion! As the n-next head of House Marigold, I will not forgive you!”

Hoping desperately that his shouts would bring the mansion’s other knights and soldiers running, Cayenne continued his contemptible display.