I looked at the Duke with a blank face, and he lowered his black gloved hand and touched my cheek.
I felt a chill like ice, but I didn't avoid his touch.
Upon receiving his gaze, Duke Eustia gave a strange smile instead of being angry.
"I hope you pass the second exam, too."
You're not going to let me pass easily....
Even though I said it to myself, I spoke formally automatically.
This is a serious situation, right?
"All right, Duke Eustia."
Even with my formal words, the Duke did not smile like Sharkis.
He just looked at me with an interesting gaze.
The subject of the second test was beyond common sense.
Drink poison and survive.
When I heard the subject of the test, I thought this was not right, but I had no choice but to do it.
I didn't want to live as a child all my life, but I also didn't want to be reduced to a state of being chased by the imperial family and temples.
But what if I manage to become Duke Eustia's adopted daughter?
Even if I can't spend the rest of my life in the Duke's mansion, I'll be able to stay safe for a while.
It felt like entering the wolf's den to escape the tiger, but there was a promise between Ferze and the Visenna families.
Three years after I officially became an adopted daughter, I received a mine from the Grand Duke, and it was difficult for Visenna to speak with one word.
'Anyway, there's no harm in me joining Visenna, right?'
I had a strange conviction. Even if the situation is a little bad, it's worth a try.
"You can drink the poison that is in front of you."
Six long, thin glass tubes were placed on an ivory wooden board, and one metal tube was placed at the end.
Inside the transparent glass tube, there were different colored poison.
Unlike the glass tube which was transparent, I couldn't see the color of the poison inside the metal tube.
"You can give up if you want."
There's a saying.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, I am now in the Visenna family and I had to follow the rules to become a part of them.
I would have been surprised if anyone else had heard of what kind of test it was, but this was Visenna.
'In their common sense, it must be a test they must pass.'
Judging by the way she was smiling, the maid seemed to believe that I would give up.
This time no one was with me.
Duke Eustia left his place, and Sharkis was nowhere to be seen.
'There was some commotion a while ago.'
I didn't know what was going on in the Duke's house.
Thump. There was a dull sound of something bumping and the sound of a blade....
'Let's focus on the test.'
One thing is for sure, I was alone here.
It's a light disturbance. It happens all the time in Visenna. Forget it, Ciel.
"The poison in front of you is extracted from nature."
You can quit the test at any time of your own accord.
From mild hallucinogens to venom from black snakes that stiffened the limbs.
The most difficult thing was the poison extracted from the body of a monster, not from animals or plants.
An antidote was prepared right next to it.
You can quit the test at any time.
However, even if you take an antidote, you cannot guarantee that there will be no side effects.
'I don't want to live as a child or being chased until I die.'
I reached out and drank the first poison.
It was extracted from the hornbeam mushroom.
"It's bitter."
As the plant's characteristic bitter taste came up, I frowned.
"Oh, you did it."
The maid next to me smiled and put a candy in my mouth.
After that, the poison drinking test continues.
If you drink the antidote, you will be eliminated but if you endure, you will succeed.
As I drank the poison, I realized something strange.
'What is it? It's pretty good?'
Even though I coughed and felt stuffy from the burning throat, I didn't bleed once.
After tasting a total of six poison, it was time to take the last poison.
The body fluid collected from the Wyvern's tail was so poisonous that it made the hearts of the knights who could control mana stop in an instant.
"This is the last one, miss."
The smile vanished from the maid's lips, who had a mechanical smile on the second drinking.
'Will I die if I drink this?'
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid at all.
It occurred to me that the curse would be lifted when I died.
It reminded me of the duke's words that the curse would be lifted when I died.
Still, it was a worthwhile attempt if I could break the curse.
'If something happens, I can drink the antidote.'
Even if I fall down with foam in my mouth, the maid wouldn't pour the antidote into my mouth.
I reached out and grabbed the last metal tube.
"Chough......!"
I almost spit it out when I drank Wyvern's poison.
I'm not going to describe exactly what it tastes like.
It was a taste that shouldn't exist in this world to be sure.
The taste was so terrible that it was shocking to death.
It's poison, so you shouldn't drink it.
There was an unknown stain around my mouth after drinking all the poison.
According to the aristocratic etiquette I learned by nature, I had to wait for the maid to hand out the handkerchief, but I couldn't wait for it, so I immediately took the handkerchief from her hand.
I said, holding the empty metal tube in front of the maid.
"I'm done drinking."
What's wrong?
I looked up at the maid.
The young older sister in front of me must have gone through a poison test to join the Visenna family.
Even his successors, Sharkis Visenna and Shurei, must have been drinking poison, so the workers in Grandeur Castle must have been the same.
The maid looked at me with a dumbfounded face.
"Do you feel dizzy or burning inside?"
"I feel a bit queasy, but other than that I'm fine."
I answered positively and held out my hands to the maid.
Don't you think you forgot something important?
When I was brought to the test site, the maid, the maid with a meaningful smile was not sure what to do with it.
As if she had forgotten what she had to do, I looked up at the maid and said proudly.
"Candy, please."
The news that I had passed the test quickly spread throughout the Grandeur Castle.
Although I'm not officially a part of Visenna yet, most seemed to accept me as the youngest princess of Visenna.
– It's Ciel young lady.
– Hey, don't make eye contact. Even if she's young, she's Visenna!
Surprise spread across the faces of the knights I encountered while walking around the castle.
At first, I was surprised, I was like, 'Wha, what!' but now it has become quite boring.
'I haven't even become a real Visenna daughter yet.'
It was as if they had seen someone who had died.
Otherwise, they think that the devil is imitating a child.
– Oh my god, all that poison...
The maid in charge of my exam looked surprised.
I shook my head thinking of a maid who I didn't even know her name yet.
I'm currently waiting outside the Duke's office.
The knights guarding the office told me that Sharkis was also there.
As the wait became quite long, my toes became numb.
As I was counting the ripples on the door that sparkled as if it was made by grinding seashells, then the door opened.
"Come in."
Duke Eustia's voice was heard from not far away.
The tone was lower than usual and had a strange silence, so I went inside with a tighter tension.
The office was large and spacious enough to feel like the hall in the main building.
It was when I was unconsciously distracted by the sights.
"Did I call you to look around the office?"
I quickly came to my senses and shook my head.
Sharkis pushed me gently on the back. It meant to get closer to the Duke.
I was nervous when I stood right in front of the Duke's.
His blue eyes gave me chills.
It was definitely different from Sharkis's aura. It was then that I was able to recall a passage I read in the original novel.
[ Eustia Vissenna was a cursed man. It was when the boy was nine years old that he was cursed.
The curse that stops aging and prevents death has turned an ordinary boy into a monster.
In the fast-paced time, only his time stood still.
Like the waves hitting the rocks, the foam of emotion has long been piled up. Staying sane was like a job for him.
Eustia Visenna.
The reason the man who was granted the title of Duke by the emperor established a family was to break the curse that held him right, but no one knew about it.... ]
"I heard you swallowed Wyvern's poison."
I woke up from my thoughts when I heard the Duke's cold voice.
Would it feel like this if there was a black snake with venom?
It seemed that Callan, who was born as a natural ruler and Ferze, who is called the Dragon Knight, did not dare to look down on the Duke of Visenna.
Instead of answering, I nodded quietly.
Contrary to expectations that he would be angry for being rude, Eustia took off the black gloves that covered his hands.
When the gloves came off, the back of his white hand was revealed.
An unknown pattern was engraved on the back of the Duke's hand.
An ancient pattern that could not be read was drawn on the hand engraved with wounds.
The one on the right hand is contains with the dragon's magic.
On his left hand, there was a pattern to prevent the desires of killing and cannibalism.
Only his deceased wife knew his secret.
Duke Eustia was famous for wearing gloves in any situation.
He didn't show anyone the pattern on the back of his hand. Even to his son.