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~Chapter 3~
Seeing all the potion bottles scattered on the floor made Shariette dizzy. Had they really used all of that?
The brainwashing potion is one thing… but why did they use the truth serum too?
While she was distracted, Blanche’s fan struck her cheek.
“Did you not hear me?!”
Smack!
“I’m asking why the potion isn’t working!”
Smack!
“I told you, if you don’t do it right, I’ll send you to Matthias!”
Smack!
Great memory, isn’t it? Shariette opened her mouth and pointed to her throat—reminding her she couldn’t talk.
“…Oh, right. You’re mute right now, aren’t you?”
Blanche smiled sweetly again and patted Shariette’s head.
“Good girl, Shasha. Now make a stronger potion.”
Shariette glanced at Noxian, who was tied up.
He didn’t look like a fiancé—more like a captured beast.
Sweat dripped down his jaw as he breathed heavily, gritting his teeth so hard they trembled. He was resisting the drugs meant to break his will, enduring the humiliation with sheer force.
He was conscious but unable to speak or move at will.
The brainwashing wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to keep him trapped.
Considering today’s dose, and assuming they’d been giving him smaller amounts for the past month…
No. If they use any more, he might die.
Or his brain could be permanently damaged. Shariette swallowed dryly after finishing her assessment.
“You’re slow to answer, Shasha, you little rat. Hm? You can do it, right?”
Blanche grabbed her chin hard.
Shariette took a slow, steady breath.
This was far riskier than secretly stealing discarded test subjects like she had in the past.
If Blanche caught her interfering again, it wouldn’t end with just a beating…
But I can’t let him die.
She nodded calmly.
“How long will it take?”
In her mind, Shariette’s clock hands began spinning quickly.
She’d need time to steal the ingredients, make an antidote, wait for it to work, convince this dangerous man—who would likely try to strangle her the moment he recovered—and secure an escape route while arranging contact with Rubellot…
She held up four fingers. Blanche released her face like she was throwing it away.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Finish in under two months, or I’ll cut off your useless hands first!”
That was enough time.
As expected, Shariette had deliberately raised two extra fingers earlier just to have them cut down.
Did I miscalculate? This might be tight.
She was now in the small locked room where Noxian was being kept, using the excuse of making him a custom potion.
When she freed one of his bound hands to lower his guard, Noxian lunged at her—for the third time already.
Bang!
If his condition had been normal, she wouldn’t have been able to overpower him. But right now, she could manage it.
[An. Ti. Dote.]
Getting up, she held a note to him and mouthed the words slowly, over and over.
Every time she took out a potion bottle, he attacked like a wild animal, making it impossible to do anything.
If she’d freed both hands, he probably would have snapped her neck by now.
His pale face was soaked in sweat, but his eyes still blazed sharply.
Of course—he was like this because of the drugs, so no wonder potion bottles made him furious.
It’s annoying not being able to speak.
Before, she hadn’t needed to talk much. But since she started taking the Silen poison, this was the first time she truly felt the inconvenience.
Still, looking at the situation, Blanche’s decision to silence her had been smart.
Shasha, if you tell Noxian anything unnecessary, everything will fall apart.
But just because she couldn’t talk didn’t mean she couldn’t disrupt things.
Shariette shook the potion bottle in front of Noxian so he could see it clearly, then took two swallows herself.
“…!”
[Safe.]
She pointed to herself and made an “OK” sign.
Noxian, who’d been glaring and breathing heavily, froze.
She took the chance to sit right in front of him and remove his gag.
[Antidote.]
“….”
Then she took his free hand and placed it on her neck.
His large, strong hand covered her thin neck entirely, her pulse thudding under his warm palm.
[If it feels strange, attack me.]
Ah, too many words—he wouldn’t catch it all from her lips.
While she tried to shorten it, he blinked slowly and parted his lips.
Seeing his cracked lips with a bead of blood, Shariette hesitated.
Can he even swallow?
Maybe she should have made it in injection form.
But her worry was pointless.
Noxian leaned toward her hand, bit the bottle’s mouth, and tipped it back in one motion.
His black hair brushed her hand as he drank.
[…]
He grabbed the bottle from her, tilted his head back, and drained it completely.
The empty bottle clinked to the floor.
She was impressed—he could barely move by willpower, yet he had the strength to do that.
Clearly, he’d rather die than obediently open his mouth to be fed.
At this stage, the antidote will give him about three minutes of clarity.
It wouldn’t be nearly enough to fully recover his mind and body after being soaked in drugs for so long, but…
For her plans, she needed to make those three minutes count.
His fierce, wounded-beast glare began to soften.
[Are you thinking clearly?]
Instead of an answer, his first reaction was unexpected.
The hand on her neck twitched and withdrew, as if he’d touched something forbidden.
“…You.”
His voice was rough and hoarse.
“Do you have a death wish?”
[?]
“So fearless.”
His frown was directed at her neck.
He clenched his hand, as if trying to erase the feel of her skin.
Not what she expected as a first line. Shariette scratched her head.
She started rummaging in her coat for a notebook.
“Just talk. I can see… ugh… what you’re saying.”
He rubbed his neck, smelling faintly of blood.
If he could read lips, even better. Shariette mouthed the words again.
[If you stay like this, you’ll die from drug poisoning—or lose your mind first.]
“…Hah.”
Noxian gave a short, sarcastic laugh, then gestured for her to go on.
[If you drink the antidote regularly, you could recover in about a month.]
“That was the antidote I just drank?”
[Yes. Right now you’ll only get three minutes, but the clear time will increase bit by bit.]
“….”
[But in front of Blanche, you have to pretend the brainwashing is working, or she’ll get suspicious.]
“….”
The pause before his answer made Shariette feel the seconds ticking in her head.
Finally, he spoke.
“That’s only if you regularly bring me real antidote.”
[Yes.]
“Why should I trust you?”
[You don’t have to.]
“….”
She hadn’t expected him to trust her anyway.
After what he’d been through here, it would be strange if he trusted anyone from this place.
[But I will save you.]
She said it plainly.
[If you don’t cooperate, I’ll still do it by force. I don’t like letting someone die from my potion.]
Noxian stared at her for a moment before asking:
“That woman called you Shasha.”
So he noticed. Shariette nodded. It didn’t seem like he suspected they were half-sisters.
“You can go against your master?”
[I’ll get punished, but it’s not a big deal. I’ve smuggled away other—people—before.]
Her first lie.
“Alright, Shasha. Tell me what you want from me.”
[What I want?]
“I don’t accept favors without payment.”
Having seen Blanche live off endless favors, Shariette found this attitude strange.
She didn’t really want anything.
But if she didn’t say something, he wouldn’t be convinced.
After thinking for a while, something she thought she’d forgotten came to mind.
[Latium.]
“The Life Forest of Argen?”
[Destroy Latium.]
