ch 10: Illness and the Request for Silence
Elias returned to the academy
He walked to his room with steady steps; as soon as he entered and closed the door, he vomited some dark blood.
Elias felt very tired; it was difficult to maintain his firm stance in front of others.
Elias crawled to his bed, then fainted from exhaustion.
Elias woke up in his room at the Academy, but waking up wasn't as easy as usual.
He felt as though gravity had doubled. His body was heavy, and his chest tightened with every breath.
He coughed violently into his handkerchief, and when he pulled it away, he saw a dark, wet stain.
"Tsk..." Elias muttered, looking at the blood coldly. "It seems the side effects will linger for a while."
The three years he had lost weren't just a number; they had taken with them a part of his fundamental vitality.
He rose slowly, splashed his face with cold water to try and hide his pallor, and got ready to go to his classes.
Elias arrived at the lecture hall in the S-Class (Elite) building.
He opened the door and entered. The students were chattering as usual, but the moment their eyes caught his figure, a dead silence fell.
The twenty students, the elite of the elite, stopped talking. Their gazes no longer held the old mockery, but a mixture of fear, anticipation, and caution.
Elias ignored them completely, walking like a ghost toward his usual seat in the back and sitting down.
Professor Valerie entered and began her lecture on "Advanced Magical Defense Theories."
Time passed slowly. Elias tried to focus, but his vision was blurring.
Suddenly, a severe coughing fit seized him.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Professor Valerie's voice stopped, and all eyes turned toward him.
Elias placed his hand over his mouth, trying to suppress the sound, but his body was screaming in pain.
"Apologies..." he said in a hoarse voice after he calmed down a little. "Unintentional cough."
Valerie looked at him with suspicion but nodded. "Take care of your health, Mr. Reinhardt. Let us continue."
The class returned to quiet, but Elias's mind was elsewhere.
Under normal circumstances, using a few years of life wouldn't cause this rapid collapse.
But my body... my body is "empty," and my condition is far from normal.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand without noticing.
If I hadn't used the corpses of those monsters to absorb the curse, it might have required 10 years of my life... or my entire life. The deal was profitable, but the price is painful.
Professor Valerie announced the end of the lecture.
Elias stood up immediately. He had no energy for pleasantries or provocations.
He left the hall with artificially steady steps, leaving behind something he hadn't noticed.
On the edge of his seat, there was a small spot of sticky black blood, and another drop had fallen onto the floor.
As the students were leaving, Princess Celine was packing her things slowly, her eyes still fixed on the door Elias had exited through.
A female student entered, having forgotten something. Upon seeing the Princess, she bowed nervously.
"Ah, Your Highness! I... just forgot my bag, sorry to disturb you!"
Celine ignored her, settling for a cold nod.
The student moved toward the back seat, and as she pulled her bag, she gasped audibly.
"Huh? Blood? Why is there blood here?"
Celine's hand stopped moving.
She turned slowly. "What did you just say?"
The girl flustered. "Oh, Your Highness... there is blood on this seat. Elias's seat."
Celine approached with quick, regal steps.
She looked at the seat. It wasn't normal red blood.
It was black blood, dark and heavy, as if carrying poison or a curse.
Celine narrowed her violet eyes.
Elias Reinhardt...
She remembered his pale entrance. His sudden cough that he tried to suppress. And now this.
Her analytical mind began connecting the threads rapidly: He wasn't sick last week. He disappeared over the weekend and returned like this. This isn't a health ailment; this is a serious internal injury. Black blood means damage to the core or exposure to black magic.
He is dying... or fighting death while standing.
She raised her head and said sternly to the girl, "You may go. I will inform the administration myself."
"Y-Yes!" The girl fled quickly.
Once the room was empty, Celine took an embroidered handkerchief from her pocket.
She wiped the spot of black blood carefully, then folded the handkerchief and placed it in her pocket.
She had no intention of informing anyone. This information, and this blood... were her new weapon to solve the mystery of this boy.
She walked out of the hall, an unreadable expression on her face.
In Wing S, Elias reached his room.
He didn't bother taking off his shoes. He collapsed onto the bed like a corpse.
(Deal?)
I want deep sleep that stops the pain and repairs tissues until sunset.
(Price: 3 Gold Coins.)
Elias paused for a moment, finding the amount excessive, but the pain in his lungs left him no choice.
(Agreed.)
Consciousness was pulled from him instantly, and he drowned in comfortable darkness.
Evening came.
Elias woke up feeling that the sharpness of the pain had subsided, though the heaviness remained.
He bathed in hot water, then dressed in simple black clothes.
He placed a "Perception Distortion" mask on his face and slipped out of the Academy under the cover of darkness.
He headed to the lower districts of the capital.
He stopped at a dark alley reeking of dampness, in front of a rusty iron door that looked like it hadn't been opened in decades.
He knocked on the door in a specific pattern.
A small window opened, and two cautious eyes appeared. "What do you want?"
Elias didn't speak. He produced a black metal ID card bearing a strange symbol and showed it through the window.
The guard's eyes widened, and he opened the door immediately, bowing with extreme respect that differed entirely from his previous arrogance.
"Welcome, Agent. Please enter."
Elias entered the long corridor. at the end, he faced a dead end.
He tapped his foot on the stone floor three times in succession.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The ground shook, and the wall slid away, revealing a long, endless staircase diving deep into the earth.
Elias descended. He felt the air ripple around him—a powerful illusion barrier isolating sound and light.
Once through the barrier, the scene changed.
From a gloomy staircase to a bustling underground city.
The Black Market.
Dim magical lights, sounds of bargaining, smells of forbidden herbs and poisonous potions. Everything illegal in the Empire found a home here.
Elias walked coldly, ignoring the stares, whispers, and vendors, until he reached a relatively quiet corner.
An old, dilapidated leather sofa facing the market.
He sat on it silently, watching the movement in front of him, waiting.
Minutes later, a man approached and sat beside him without looking at him.
"The market seems lively today, doesn't it?" the man asked, using the identification code.
Elias replied, his eyes fixed on the crowd, "I prefer it if it were quieter."
The man nodded. "Who do you think is the right person to bring quiet?"
"The Shadow of the Moon calls for silence."
The man smiled faintly. "It seems quiet won't be late in reaching you."
The man stood up and left. Identity verified.
Moments later, another person came. His physique was different, wearing a cloak that covered his face completely, and sat in the first man's place.
This person's aura was sharp, the aura of a professional assassin.
He said in a calm, husky voice, "Target? Location?"
Elias replied in a tone devoid of emotion:
"Jakov Lariska. Son of Marquis Lariska."
He paused for a moment, then dropped the bomb:
"At Marquis Bernadio's estate."
A short silence prevailed. The assassin immediately understood the weight of the request. Killing a noble's son in another noble's house... this wasn't just an assassination; this was a declaration of war between two families.
"Price: 10 Platinum Coins."
Elias nodded. He took out a small but heavy bag and handed it to the person beside him from under his coat.
The assassin verified the amount with a single touch, then hid it.
"Silence will fall in three days."
Elias nodded and rose to return the way he came.
He exited the Black Market, climbed the stairs, and returned to the cold air of the capital.
He walked back to the Academy under the moonlight.
He knew exactly what he had just done.
The death of "Jakov" in "Bernadio's" house would ignite the fuse of suspicion and accusations. Accusations would turn into conflict, and conflict would turn into a miniature civil war distracting the great nobles.
And in the midst of this chaos, Elias would build his empire.
"Let the pieces fall where they may," Elias muttered, and disappeared into the darkness.
