In the second-floor hall of the small building, only two people remained, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Selina didn’t like being stared at like this, especially by her daughter’s fiancé.
“What do you want to ask?”
Ivan asked a seemingly unrelated question, “Aren’t you worried that Justine will be bullied in Mulberry Valley after I leave?”
Selina chuckled lightly, “She has written about the situation in Mulberry Valley. I believe no one will bully her.”
However, Ivan stared at her and said, “Is it because staying at Glatton Manor is dangerous?”
“What?”
“You may have concealed your injuries from Justine, but you can’t hide them from me. Weren’t you poisoned more than once? Did the ermine reappear after someone treated you? Then, just as the wound was healing, it deteriorated again. You were afraid that Justine would be in danger and chose to hide it from everyone—”
Ignoring Selina’s angered and astonished gaze, Ivan voiced his speculations.
The moment he saw the wound, he could be certain that Old Orio was capable of healing Selina’s injury, which puzzled him—why hadn’t Old Orio treated it? From what he knew of Old Orio, he imagined that Old Orio probably didn’t want to get involved in more troubles.
Upon observing the wound more carefully, he detected clues that the wound had been poisoned more than once. But Madam Selina hadn’t told Justine this, presumably, nor had she informed Baron Glatton, leading him to speculate that it probably involved strife between the ladies of the manor.
Madam Selina interrupted him, “Please stop talking. I don’t want to listen to your nonsense. Leave, I will not be treated.”
Ivan stopped speaking as she requested, but he did not rise to leave.
Madam Selina glared at him, then sighed dejectedly and pleaded, “Mr. Ivan, I hope you can pretend that nothing has happened. Please don’t tell anyone.”
Ivan shook his head, “I don’t agree with what you’re doing. I’d rather eliminate the danger than continue to leave this calamity hanging over us, exposing Justine to the same risk without knowing when it might happen again. You should know, help won’t always arrive in time.
To put it bluntly, I am capable of dealing with this threat, and I must.”
His final, decisive words, combined with what Justine had said before, were undeniably convincing.
After a silence lasting several seconds, Madam Selina requested again, “Regardless, I hope this doesn’t affect Glatton Manor’s reputation. This is the plea of Justine’s mother.”
Ivan looked at her in surprise. He didn’t expect her to make such a request, knowing that the Baron had replaced her with a new Mrs. Glatton not long after her disfigurement. Shouldn’t she be filled with resentment and thoughts of revenge?
Her thoughts overturned his previous conceptions.
Madam Selina met his gaze with determination, signaling her stance and resolve.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Mr. Ivan, please also refrain from telling Justine.”
Only then did Ivan nod, thinking it was best not to tell Justine, who was faint-hearted. However, he asked Madam Selina several questions about Glatton Manor, to which Madam Selina truthfully replied.
“Well, let’s call Justine up and start the treatment then.”
“Can you really heal it?”
“We can try, it might not be a very difficult issue.”
Justine, anxiously waiting for a long time, burst into tears again upon hearing Ivan was confident in treating the condition when she returned to the second-floor hall.
In fact, mental power could not only extract impurities from medicinal materials but also separate certain toxins from the human body. Plant-type energy particles contained vitality, and Water-type energy particles could nourish the skin—benefits Old Orio did not possess.
After Ivan’s preliminary treatment, Madam Selina’s face showed significant improvement, which thrilled both mother and daughter, though multiple treatments were still needed.
Justine initially wanted to stay, but Madam Selina didn’t allow it.
After coming out of the small building, they left Glatton Manor and returned to the Marichadon family’s original residence.
Deep into the night.
A purple-light butterfly flew out from the rear courtyard of the Marichadon family, followed by a dark figure leaping out. The purple-light butterfly led the way, with the dark figure trailing behind, both heading towards the northern part of the city.
Flying Fish Port, North City, here was where the poor lived and the most chaotic part of the city.
“Keeping a venomous beast in such a place is indeed a wise choice,” he mused.
Mr. Ivan followed the purple butterfly that had led him here—it was the result of a Tracking Technique using poison as a medium, taken from the wound of Madam Selina. He had not expected to be led to the unfamiliar North City.
The butterfly’s wings flickered, covering a distance in a flash. As he stepped forward to follow, no sound was made. Discover hidden content at empire
After passing through several streets and alleys, they arrived at a small courtyard within a lane. Man and butterfly effortlessly scaled the courtyard wall, landing softly inside. The purple butterfly transformed into a streak of light and darted into the house.
He sensed where his target was.
“Go on,” he whispered, and without any other noticeable action from him, several moths, transformed from rapid wood silkworms, flew out from his person.
Upon receiving the command, the rapid wood silkworms squeezed in through the gaps beneath the eaves and into the house. In a matter of seconds, two cries of agony echoed from inside, followed by an abrupt silence.
“Who’s there, what is this thing?—Ah!” The commotion caught the attention of someone inside, their voice laden with clear panic. Just as the light flickered on, it was extinguished, along with the individual’s screams of pain.
Ivan stepped forward, pausing his hand in front of the door momentarily. His mental power reached out, and the door bolt unlatched as if by itself; he pushed the door open and entered.
Inside, there was only a gaunt middle-aged man with a goatee.
The man lay wounded on the floor, looking up in horror at Ivan who had just entered. The whole ordeal had caught him completely by surprise.
In one corner of the room was a cage, within which lay a skunk-like creature, lifeless. Ivan noticed a tuft of purple fur on the creature’s forehead, which must have been the culprit behind Madam Selina’s injuries.
“Please, let’s talk this out. Don’t kill me, I am willing to serve you,” the man begged.
“I have a few questions.”
“Ask away, I will tell you everything I know,” the man promised.
“Are you alone in this house?”
“There is nobody else in my family.”
Originally intending to use some persuasive methods, Ivan found his task made easier as the man had already been frightened into compliance by the rapid wood silkworm’s attack, readily answering every question.
The information he obtained from the middle-aged man confirmed his suspicions.
Before long, he left the silent house and after departing from North City, he went to West City.
The Marichadon family had been waiting for a long while before Justine finally saw Ivan’s return.
“Is it taken care of?”
“It’s taken care of.”
Ivan nodded.
Justine thought he had dealt with his own old grievances, unaware that it was a matter of her own.
The next day, Madam Selina came to the Marichadon family; she needed to undergo the second treatment. Seeing Ivan again, she had a complex expression on her face because Madam Nancy had died the night before.
“The thing that injured you is dead.”
“Thank you.”
Madam Selina was in a hurry both in coming and going. Before she left, she asked the two to keep a secret for her, not to tell anyone about her impending recovery, including her husband, Baron Glatton.
Justine thought she wanted to surprise others and assured them with certainty.
Ivan didn’t want to get involved with the Glatton family matters anymore and didn’t refuse her request.
