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She couldn’t just leave someone who couldn’t even walk properly on his own.

“I’m fine. I’ll get better soon… Cough! Urgh!”

As expected, Ghislain was still spewing nonsense while coughing up blood.

Belinda sighed heavily and wiped away the blood.

“Get better? How? Do you think that potent poison will just disappear easily? You’re dying even now!”

Despite her constant scolding, Ghislain simply smiled.

To others, he might have looked like a patient, but he could clearly feel the energy coursing through his body.

As he had expected, his broken body fully recovered in just two days.

Belinda, who had been waiting outside Ghislain’s room since dawn, was startled to see him walking out as if nothing had happened.

“Huh? You really got better? What on earth happened?”

Ghislain merely shrugged.

Although his body was still thin and skeletal, his eyes were bright, and his movements were lighter, so she couldn’t help but believe he was fine.

“As I thought, I was right.”

The amount of mana in his body had increased, and his recovery rate had improved to an astounding degree compared to before he drank the poison.

Having seen the effects, he couldn’t stop himself from drinking the poison.

The stock of poison kept decreasing as time went on.

It was obvious that Ghislain was taking it to drink.

He was found a few times collapsed in the training grounds after drinking the poison alone.

Eventually, rumors began to spread that the Lord was acting out of anger because Claude wasn’t properly surrendering.

“Why is the Chief Overseer being so stubborn? Why is he pressuring our Lord over something as trivial as a bet?”

“Why would someone who was so eager to develop the estate suddenly want to die? It’s all because of the Chief Overseer!”

“We can’t lose our Lord! We absolutely can’t lose him!”

The estate’s residents, having somehow gotten their hands on portraits of Claude and Alfoi, jabbed them with spikes out of anger.

Whether it was because of the residents’ curses or the workload Ghislain had offloaded onto him, dark circles had grown even more pronounced under Claude’s eyes.

Every day, he would come to Ghislain, trying to dissuade him.

“Ah, my Lord, please just stop! I’ll call it a draw, okay? Do you even realize what you look like right now? Even a skeleton would call you ‘brother’!”

“What, are you scared? Think you’ll lose? Cough!”

“Wow, this is driving me nuts! You’re the one who’s scared, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you’re acting like this?”

“Scared? Who’s scared? Ah, whatever. Cough! Anyway, you’re here just in time. Check this and handle it. Ugh…”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and handed over some documents. Claude’s face contorted.

“Ugh, damn… I shouldn’t have come. I’m telling you, I’m letting this slide because I’m about to leave.”

After a few more instances of coming by only to be handed more work, Claude stopped visiting Ghislain altogether.

Pleased that the annoying nagging had lessened, Ghislain began dumping more tasks on others, just as he had done with Claude.

While Ghislain’s subordinates were too busy with their tasks to pay attention, the number of times he collapsed noticeably decreased.

“To think I’d end up using it all like this.”

Ghislain let out a bitter laugh as he held up the last remaining vial of poison.

The poison from the Blood Python had run out within a few days.

Originally, it was meant to be diluted with water for military use, but all of it ended up inside Ghislain’s stomach.

“Since it’s hard to use anyway, it’s better to use it this way. It’s all an investment, an investment.”

Ghislain downed the poison straight from the vial.

It was a completely different scene from when he had cautiously taken just a few drops at a time.

Now, even if he drank an entire vial, all he felt was a slight tingle on his tongue, with no other adverse effects.

From now on, most poisons would have no effect on him whatsoever.

That also meant he could no longer rely on this shortcut of using poison to increase his mana.

“This ends today.”

Ghislain sat down and slowly began to circulate his mana.

The poison he ingested quickly blended with his mana and spread throughout his body.

After spending hours absorbed in a state of intense concentration, Ghislain finally opened his eyes.

For a moment, his pupils flickered with a dark crimson hue.

“I’m really sick of poison… but I’m going to miss it a bit.”

Having absorbed all the poison, his total mana had increased to an unimaginable level.

In terms of pure volume, it seemed to have more than doubled compared to before.

“I was really lucky.”

No matter how skilled Ghislain was at handling mana, amassing a large quantity would typically require a long time.

However, because the poison’s energy was potent and meshed well with his mana, he had managed to save a lot of time.

‘There’s almost no elixir that can deliver results like this.’

Ghislain slowly got up and made a shallow cut on his palm with a dagger.

The long cut on his palm healed instantly, leaving no trace of a wound.

Only a few drops of blood that had leaked out hinted that there had been an injury.

“I’m quite satisfied.”

Ghislain clenched and unclenched his hand a few times, a satisfied smile on his face.

* * *

Once his training with poison ended, Ghislain’s body began to fill out quickly.

His skin improved, and a certain vitality shone in his eyes.

Even to someone who knew nothing about physical fitness, the difference was instantly noticeable.

“Young Lord, why do you look so healthy all of a sudden? Are you just having a brief burst of energy before dying?”

“Why do you keep trying to kill off a perfectly fine person? It’s just because I’ve been eating well.”

“Eating well? You say that after drinking poison?”

However, since the improvement in his health was visible, she couldn’t argue against it.

“Are you really feeling better? Should I try some too?”

Belinda looked him up and down with a meaningful glint in her eyes.

Ghislain avoided her gaze and muttered quietly.

“I’m not going to drink any more poison, so don’t worry.”

Claude, who was standing nearby, shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s not that you won’t drink it. You can’t drink it because there’s nothing left. The storage is empty.”

He had taken every last drop of the poison, and now he was saying he wouldn’t drink it anymore. What was the point of that?

Still, hearing that those bizarre antics would cease was a relief for Claude. Even someone as shameless as him found it burdensome to be under the judgmental gaze of everyone in the estate.

“You checked the storage? Then you must’ve seen the condition of the wheat seeds too.”

“Yeah, I saw them. They look like they’re about to sprout into monsters or something.”

Claude had been astonished when he saw the wheat seeds that Ghislain had infused with mana.

They had grown to the size of a grown man’s thumbnail, and each grain emitted a faint blue glow.

Just for a bunch of wheat seeds!

They certainly had an unusual, rather suspicious appearance.

“They seem to have grown well. Now, it’s time to prepare for the next step.”

“Are you really going to plant those weird things? There’s only half a month left, so what’s the point? Just stop being stubborn.”

Claude eyed Ghislain skeptically, looking him up and down.

“Wait, are you raising some kind of monster because you think you can’t win, and you want to take revenge?”

Ghislain snorted and stood up.

“We’re starting the second phase of the reclamation project. Get the laborers ready.”

‘Ugh, this guy will never change unless he’s thoroughly humiliated. He drank poison because he was too ashamed to lose, and now he’s acting all confident. Fine, do whatever you want; if it fails, it’s on you, Lord!’

Claude steeled himself once more, his momentary softening vanishing.

While he was busy gathering laborers, Ghislain called for the mages.

“Ugh, what is it this time?”

Alfoi, his face full of irritation, spoke curtly the moment he arrived.

Since Ghislain’s whole poison-drinking act, people had been pressuring Alfoi to forfeit the bet as well.

Lately, he even felt a constant, dull ache in his heart, as if someone was cursing him.

And on top of that, there was just so much work.

The Lord frequently summoned the mages to handle tasks that would have taken the laborers far too long.

At this point, Alfoi himself was unsure whether he was a laborer or a mage.

“I need some spells inscribed on the runestones. They’re not complicated, but I’ll need a lot of them.”

“What kind of spells?”

“Spells to keep the surroundings warm, alter the mana flow, and maintain a consistent humidity… things like that.”

None of these spells were particularly difficult.

With a mana condensation array, drawing a large amount of mana to a fixed point could cause the runestones to wear out quickly. But if it was just to redirect the mana flow, they could last almost indefinitely.

“You’re going to waste those expensive runestones on those cheap spells… I mean, fine. What do you plan to use them for?”

“I’m going to plant them in the reclaimed land. It’s about time to sow the wheat seeds.”

Ghislain answered casually, and Alfoi’s face instinctively twisted into a frown.

“I’m going to alter the nature of the land.”

“Sigh…”

Alfoi let out a baffled laugh, then rubbed his face in exasperation.

It was difficult to watch someone who knew nothing about magic pretending to use it.

‘It would be better for my sanity if I just didn’t ask this guy what he’s doing.’

At that moment, Alfoi recalled a piece of wisdom left by an ancient sage.

“How can one attain peace of mind and happiness?”

“You must avoid arguing with fools.”

“I don’t think that’s right.”

“Yes, you’re absolutely correct.”

Alfoi felt a sense of enlightenment.

Without realizing it, he closed his eyes and sat down.

Mana began to gently swirl around him, slowly enveloping his surroundings.

The other mages nearby were startled and quickly stepped back.

Even Ghislain looked at him with a perplexed expression.

“What the hell? Why is he suddenly acting enlightened?”

No matter how sudden enlightenment might be, getting it while discussing maintaining temperatures was absurd.

He was clearly having some strange thoughts in his head.

After a moment, Alfoi opened his eyes, a faint glimmer passing through them.

It was a tiny bit of enlightenment, and his level barely increased by a fraction, but his mind felt more at ease than ever.

‘Right, what’s the point of arguing with a fool? There was nothing wrong with the old sage’s words. Just agree with them, ignore it, and move on. There’s no need to get worked up when freedom is so close.’

Everything Ghislain said was just nonsense anyway.

Why waste energy trying to correct someone who couldn’t even realize they were wrong?

If left alone, he’d fail and calm down on his own.

The runestones were a bit of a waste, but it wasn’t like it was his money, after all.

With a gentle smile, Alfoi said, “As you’ve instructed, I’ll proceed with the task. I’ll prepare the necessary quantity to match the size of the reclaimed land.”

Ghislain frowned slightly, unsettled by Alfoi’s sudden compliance.

It was great that one of the estate’s laborers—essentially an unpaid slave—had raised his level, but…

Considering who it was, he couldn’t feel entirely positive about it.

Yet, it would be strange to demand why he was suddenly being so cooperative. With a bit of hesitation, Ghislain nodded.

“Well… yeah, do it as quickly as you can.”

“Of course.”

After assigning the runestone work to the mages, Ghislain assembled a hundred mercenaries, with Gillian at the forefront.

The mercenaries, fully armed and mounted as ordered, couldn’t hide their excitement.

It had been a while since there was a chance for a fight, and their bodies were already itching in anticipation.

As the laborers approached, they began hitching large carts, one each, to the mercenaries’ horses.

Each cart had a shovel made of iron strapped to it.

Feeling a sense of unease, one of the mercenaries asked, “Uh, why are we bringing carts and shovels?”

Ghislain responded with a look that said it should have been obvious.

“To dig, of course.”

“Where… are we going?”

Mounted on the lead horse, Ghislain grinned.

“We’re heading to the Forest of Beasts.”