Chapter 17
Raylenne stepped back in horror at Helis’s suggestion. “…What?”
“I’m thinking of you, sister. Since you are in charge of Aiden, it will be much easier to manage him if you establish some discipline,” Helis said with a devilish grin.
Raylenne’s heart was pounding uncontrollably. She squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again, brushing Helis’s hand off her shoulder. “I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t believe feeding Aiden that fruit will make him behave.”
Helis raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
“I told you before, you can’t make anyone submit through violence.”
Helis shook his head. “I’m not trying to make him submit. I’m punishing him. He dared to mess up my face, and I can’t just let that slide.”
“…”
“Father approved this too.”
At the mention of the Duke of Ergen, Raylenne could only move her lips without speaking.
“If you don’t want to feed Aiden the Hayashin fruit yourself, that’s fine,” Helis said, walking past her. “I’ll do the fun part myself.”
* * *
Raylenne’s palms were damp with sweat. Even after Helis left, she couldn’t move for a while.
‘Damn it,’ she thought. Was Aiden okay right now? She worried Helis might have retaliated against Aiden for hitting him.
Raylenne hurried to the underground prison. She could worry about the Hayashin fruit later.
When she arrived, she saw Haele sighing. “Haele.”
“Ra… Raylenne.”
Raylenne approached Haele. “Why did you let others in without my permission and cause this mess?”
“I’m sorry. He said he had your permission, so I believed him…”
Right, this wasn’t Haele’s fault. If Haele hadn’t let Helis in, who knows what chaos he would have caused outside the cell.
“Is Aiden… Is he alright?”
“Yes, Helis fell immediately after being hit… Aiden didn’t get hit at all.”
Raylenne clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking of Helis. “‘hat’s what happens when you pick a fight with Aiden.’
“I need to see Aiden right now. Give me the key.”
“Yes, here…”
Raylenne took the key from Haele and quickly walked to Aiden’s cell. As she approached the iron door, she heard the chains clinking inside.
Click— She unlocked and opened the door, immediately seeing Aiden. He was pacing by the door, looking anxious.
“Aiden?”
“…Raylenne,” he sighed in relief when she called his name. She approached him and examined his face.
“Why are you like this? Are you hurt?”
“It’s not that…” Aiden averted his eyes, his gaze dropping. “I thought the overseer had changed…”
So Helis made him think that in the morning.
“I am your overseer,” she said, her mood soured by the thought of Helis, and her tone was forceful.
“…That’s a relief.”
Huh? Aiden’s tone made it seem like he preferred her over Helis, which felt strange to Raylenne.
But she quickly shook her head. Even if she were Aiden, she would prefer herself over someone like Helis.
“I apologize for what Helis did.”
Aiden looked up, his eyes wide with surprise.
“I heard what happened.”
“…”
“He was supposed to come with me, but he came here on his own. If I had been here, he wouldn’t have acted that way.”
She remembered the gauze on Helis’s nose. She had been too tense to think about it earlier, but now the memory amused her.
“Are you not angry at me?” Aiden asked hesitantly.
“Why should I be angry?”
“Because I hit someone from the House of Ergen.”
Raylenne laughed. “I’ve always wanted to punch him, and you did it for me. It was quite satisfying.”
Aiden stared at her quietly.
‘Ah… Was I too honest?’
“Ahem. Anyway, I don’t intend to make an issue of it.”
More importantly, she needed to find a way to prevent Aiden from eating that damn Hayashin fruit.
Raylenne looked at Aiden intently. His gaze dropped, and his face turned red.
‘Is he prone to overheating?’ she wondered. She had noticed his face turning red frequently.
“The bruises on your face have healed a lot.”
“Yes. And my mouth doesn’t hurt anymore either.”
Aiden matched her gaze as he spoke. As the bruises faded, his fair complexion became more apparent, giving him an air of nobility. Though still somewhat thin…
“Are you eating the food provided to you?”
Aiden nodded. “Yes…”
“Good. You are a valuable prisoner, so you must take care of your health.”
The security around the estate was tight, and Aiden needed to be healthy to escape. But if he ate the Hayashin fruit, his body might suffer again, given it was known to cause severe pain.
Raylenne realized she needed to find more information about the Hayashin fruit.
* * *
Raylenne decided to ask the apothecary who supplied her with supplements if he knew about the Hayashin fruit.
“Hel…”
Her voice trailed off. ‘Ah, Helen is no longer here.’ It was extremely inconvenient without Helen, who had attended to her for five years. Raylenne thought it would be best to hire a new maid soon. Since she had no time to waste, she called Shana, one of her maids.
Later, she found out that Shana had worked for her the longest after Helen. Given the recent secret conversations regarding Helen, Shana was someone Raylenne felt relatively comfortable with.
“You called for me, my lady?” Shana asked.
“Do you know the apothecary who supplies my supplements?”
Shana nodded. “Yes, I know. He supplies not only your supplements but also other medicines for this household.”
“That’s good. Summon him immediately. I need to place an urgent order.”
Shana bowed and quickly left the room. The apothecary arrived very quickly.
About an hour later, a short man with a mustache appeared, carrying a bundle.
“Greetings, Lady Raylenne.”
He bowed politely, hands clasped.
“Have a seat,” Raylenne said, leading him to the table in the room. She had called him to her room for a private conversation.
“This is our first meeting. I am Tantaan from the Shangman Merchant Guild.”
Tantaan? The name sounded quite exotic.
“Nice to meet you, Tantaan. So you supply all the apothecary goods to the House of Ergen?”
“Yes, that’s correct. The Ergen family has been a long-standing customer of our guild,” Tantaan said with a thin smile.
“I have been taking the supplements you provided.”
“That’s good to hear. I was quite disappointed to hear that despite taking them for years, you hadn’t seen any improvement.”
In reality, it was Aiden who had been taking the supplements. Raylenne’s health issues were due to an herb called Sana grass applied to magnolia, so the supplements wouldn’t have helped. In fact, after removing the magnolia, she felt her health improving daily.
“Did you call me today to order different supplements?” Tantaan asked.
“Not exactly… I wanted to ask you about something.”
Though she knew no one was around, Raylenne looked around the room once more. Then she quietly spoke to Tantaan.
“Of course, you maintain customer confidentiality, right?”
“Absolutely,” Tantaan said, his expression becoming serious. “Our guild prides itself on 300 years of tradition in customer management. You can be assured that I wouldn’t divulge anything even if my life depended on it.”
“That’s reassuring,” Raylenne said, feeling more at ease. “…I want to know about the Hayashin fruit.”
“The Hayashin fruit? The one that causes intense pain throughout the body when consumed?”
Yes, that accursed fruit. Raylenne silently fumed at the explicit description of the Hayashin fruit.
“Hm… Hayashin fruit is very expensive. It’s often used to punish criminals who have committed serious offenses.”
“Does it have any lasting side effects?”
“No, it doesn’t harm the body. It’s just extremely painful for about an hour.”
Knowing it wouldn’t cause lasting harm was a bit of a relief.
“Is there a way to reduce the pain when consuming it?”
“A way to reduce the pain?” Tantaan seemed puzzled by the question, as if preparing for the pain beforehand.
“I have a reason for needing to know.”
Tantaan nodded, understanding that a smart merchant knows when to keep quiet. “There are pain relievers. If taken in advance, they can lessen the pain.”
“Can’t the pain be completely blocked?”
“No, that’s difficult. The pain reliever can reduce the pain by about half.”
It was disappointing, but it was the best she could hope for in this situation. Raylenne looked at Tantaan.
“Tantaan, bring me the pain reliever as soon as possible.”
* * *
The day of reckoning arrived.
Fortunately, the pain reliever arrived before the day Helis planned to make Aiden eat the Hayashin fruit.
“Sister, why did you suddenly decide to feed Aiden the Hayashin fruit yourself?”
“…Upon reflection, I think you’re right. Since I am in charge of Aiden, it would be easier if I established discipline.”
“I knew you’d come around,” Helis said with a satisfied smile.
Clang—
As the iron door opened, Aiden appeared.
Seeing Raylenne with Helis, Aiden seemed puzzled.
‘Aiden…’ Today, it was hard for Raylenne to look Aiden in the eye.
“Sister, here is the Hayashin fruit,” Helis said, handing her the glossy black fruit. The Hayashin fruit was round and dark, resembling a black apple.
Raylenne took the fruit, trying to keep her hand from trembling.
“I’ll watch from the door.”
“…Alright.”
Helis left the cell, peering through the window in the door to observe.
Raylenne stood in front of Aiden. Sensing something different about her, Aiden seemed to pick up on the unusual atmosphere.
‘I’m sorry, Aiden.’ She had considered other methods until yesterday, but even with the pain reliever, it would still be painful. However, no matter how much she thought about it, there was no other way.
Raylenne slowly lifted the Hayashin fruit. Aiden’s eyes followed its movement, his gaze filled with increasing unease. Not wanting to meet his eyes, Raylenne squeezed her eyes shut.
And then,
Crunch.
Raylenne bit into the Hayashin fruit.
