Chapter 42
Luckily, I’m not dead.
Black blood continues to pour from my body, and the potion creates new blood.
I was still coughing up blood now, realizing that it was a natural part of the process.
“You’re no ordinary person, you’re a scion of Corleone. There’s no way you’re going to die just because you ate a little poison pill.”
“Feel the poison being absorbed into your body. Use your energy to circulate the poison throughout your body.”
“Master can do it.”
I feel cold, as if I’ve poured ice water over my body.
Then it’s as hot as if I’ve been in a fire.
My whole body tingles like I’ve been thrown into a field of needles, and then I can’t feel anything, as if my senses have been erased.
Just like that, I wonder how much time has passed.
When I realize that the rampaging energy within me has subsided, I quietly open my eyes and see Parnello, who had a faint smile on his face.
“Good work, Master.”
The black blood that had soaked the floor just moments ago had long since disappeared.
“……How long has it been?”
Upon hearing my question, Parnello pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time.
“It’s been about nine hours since ingestion, which means it’s well past breakfast time.”
“It’s been nine……hours?”
I thought it had only been an hour or so, but nine hours was pretty amazing.
As if reading my expression, Parnello smiled.
“I’m surprised you’re so surprised, Master. I was the one who was surprised.”
“Huh?”
Parnello was surprised, why?
“I’ve never seen someone in my decades of living who has taken elixirs lose so much blood. A few more minutes and the whole room would have been a pool of blood, though I’ve cleaned it up now.”
……I didn’t remember spitting that much blood.
“On top of all that……usually elixirs that make you immune to poison just increase your tolerance, but Master……seemed to be a little different.”
“Like it increased my natural healing powers?”
“……Did you know that?”
It was a no-brainer since that’s what I had in mind in the first place.
“I felt it halfway through. I realized that my body was no longer being healed by the potion’s effects, but that it was healing itself.”
“Hahaha, I’m sure the scars will fade quickly at this rate. As much as I’d like to experiment with that combination, I’m not sure if the elixir you brought and the one I obtained……are exactly the same, so I’d be wary of trying it out.”
At his age, if he made a mistake, he might die.
“Hahahaha!”
Parnello bursts out laughing, apparently thinking his joke was funny.
I can’t imagine him dying from the elixir.
A hitman of Parnello’s stature would have a pretty high tolerance to poison by now.
“By the way, would you like to take a test to see if you’ve really developed a tolerance?”
“Test?”
Parnello pulled two small vials out of his pocket.
“The one in the red cap is the venom of the African black mamba, and the blue one next to it is the antidote.”
“Try……one. Is this it?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to test it inside the mansion, where we can act immediately in case of an emergency?”
I wondered why the mansion would have black mamba venom, but then I remembered what my house was like and it made sense.
Oh well, there’s an antidote.
“……Not bad. Did you say the red ones are poisonous?”
Parnello nodded and without hesitation, I picked up the bottle and am about to gulp it down.
“Wait.”
Parnello stops me as I unscrew the cap.
“……Why?”
I ask, thinking, is he worried about me?
“The Black Mamba’s venom is best injected into the blood rather than swallowed. Let me help you.”
……It turns out he wasn’t worried.
As if in preparation, Parnello pulls a syringe from his pocket and injects the venom.
“If anything happens to you, I’ll inject the antidote right away.”
I feel a tingling sensation as the black mamba’s venom enters my body.
“……How are you feeling?”
“Mmm……I don’t feel anything. Did the elixir work?”
I really didn’t feel anything.
He just injected me with something, right?
I’m pretty powerful…….But then Parnello looked at the vial in alarm.
“Oh, no, I think I’ve got the antidote in there.”
“……what?”
“Just kidding. You look pretty nervous.”
A joke with poison……was obviously a joke no one but Parnello would make.
“You don’t have any symptoms, like soreness where you were injected, tightness in your chest, or anything like that?”
“I feel fine.”
“Well, we’ve got some time before dinner, so let’s wait a little longer.”
Half an hour passed.
“……It must have been the elixir.”
According to Parnello, the Black Mamba’s venom usually causes a reaction within 30 minutes but so far, I’ve been fine, which means the elixir is working.
In fact, the elixir must have been working because I got a notification that I obtained new traits.
The new traits are [Immune to Poison] and [Natural Healing]
[Immune to Poison]
[1. Immune to Poison – You become immune to most poisons. Your resistance to poison is greatly increased]
[Natural Healing (C)]
[1. Natural Healing (C) – Your body’s natural healing abilities are increased]
With this, I have gained a total of six traits:
[Heir to the Underworld]
[Evil Man]
[Hitman]
[Enforcer]
[Immune to Poison]
[Natural Healing]
It was a list of traits worthy of the head of any assassin’s guild.
“Thank you for your help, Parnello. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
I stand up and thank Parnello but he throws up his hands and opens his mouth.
“All I did was nag you from the sidelines. The credit belongs to you.”
That’s what he said, but it wasn’t true.
With Parnello in front of me, I was reassured, and with his voice in my ear, I could focus.
Part of me wanted to repay him in some way, but I knew that I could never expect him so I simply smiled.
“By the way, while you were concentrating, Alessia came to see me. She said Miss Jiyun was looking for you…….”
“Oh.”
Alessia was Jiyun’s maid, practically her nanny.
Is there a reason for such a person to come looking for me?
Hmm…….
……Crazy.
I remembered.
“……I guess I’ll just have to go see Jiyun. Thanks for keeping an eye on me while I absorbed the elixir Parnello.”
“I was only doing what I had to do.”
Parnello smiles at my words and says so before leaving the room.
After he left, I hurried to the room where Jiyun would be.
Yesterday evening, I was supposed to hang out with her, but I unintentionally broke my promise.
As I hurried upstairs, I saw Alessia waiting in front of Jiyun’s room.
“Master.”
“Sorry, Alessia, where’s Jiyun?”
“She hasn’t come out, she’s still inside.”
“Okay. I’ll go in.”
On the door of Jiyun’s room was a colorful crayon sign that read [♡Jiyun’s room♡ Knock!]
Cautiously standing in front of it, I knocked softly and opened my mouth.
“Jiyun?”
[Big brother……? Eh? Eh, eh, eh…… neh…….]
At first, Jiyun seems very happy to see me, but then she answers in a shaky voice.
First, I cautiously try to speak to her.
“Can I come in?”
[……eh]
After hearing the answer, I push the doorknob inward and enter the room to find Jiyun on the bed, hugging a doll larger than her, hiding her face.
“…….”
Jiyun was hugging the doll tightly to hide her face and wouldn’t look at me.
Naturally, I walked over to her, sat down on the bed, and stroked her hair.
“Are you really upset that we were supposed to play together yesterday and you didn’t?”
“……No. I’m not mad.”
Jiyun’s voice, muffled from burying her face in the doll, still sounded weak.
“I’m sorry, so let’s talk face to face. Okay?”
I spoke carefully, using the gentlest tone possible, and slowly Jiyun removed her face from the doll and looked at me.
Her eyes still looked moist and her cheeks were red. I could also see tear marks on the back of the doll’s head. It looks like she was so sad that she couldn’t play yesterday that she shed a few tears.
“Were you sad because brother forgot to play with you yesterday?”
“……eh.”
Jiyun replied with a shaky voice, as if she was holding back tears.
“My brother is……busy, so……Jiyun will……just have to wait, so…… will……wait…….”
Was she holding back because she was afraid I’d get busy in the meantime…….?
I sighed and slowly stroked Jiyun’s hair.
“Were you holding back because you were afraid your brother would get tired?”
“Heh…… neh…….”
For some reason, when I look at Jiyun, I can’t help but be reminded of the past, and I don’t know what to do.
I feel like I’ve unknowingly committed a huge sin.
Then, when I thought about what would be best for Jiyun now, I came up with a good idea.
“Brother is really sorry, so why don’t we go out to play together?”
“Outside?”
At the word “outside,” Jiyun slowly raised her head and looked into my eyes.
“Yes, let’s go out today, eat a lot of delicious food, go to fun places, and have a lot of fun. How about that?”
“Fun places……delicious things……!”
Jiyun nodded eagerly as she wiped her tears to remove the sadness from her face.
“Okay?”
“Yes……I want to go outside!”
“Okay, it’s hard for you to leave right away, so stop crying, okay?”
“Okay……! Hmph……! I won’t cry……! Hehehe!”
I can’t help but smile at how cute she is trying to hold back her tears.
“Okay, good girl, then I’m going to go talk to your papa and you need to listen to Alessia, okay?”
“Yes!”
With that, I walked out of the room after soothing Jiyun.
As I spoke in a mood to appease Jiyun, I had promised her that we would play outside instead of inside the mansion.
“Now that I gave her hope……what am I going to do?”
Jiyun doesn’t go out with anyone.
She’s not going out with father, there’s no special event, and I have to tell him that she’s going outside just to play?
In the original story, Vito Corleone was a man who was reluctant to let his children outside for their safety.
Of course, that’s why he built a huge mansion that was like a big park and invited outside lecturers to teach K-12 education, but it also meant that he was very strict about his children’s safety…….
But what the heck, I have to take responsibility.
“I’ll tell you what, it’s not like there isn’t a way to …….”
What if he says no when I ask him?
With that in mind, I headed to my dad’s study and ran into him as he was coming out.
“Oh, good,” he said, “I had a favor to ask you.”
“A favor……?”
“Yes, and since you’re here, do you have something to tell me?”
It was a good time to bring up Jiyun’s issue.
I nodded and replied.
“Yes.”
“Haha! Well, then, come on in, there’s no point in standing around talking.”
I stumbled into my father’s study.
“So, what brings you to see your father?”
Naturally, he asks me first, sitting in his chair, cigar in mouth.
I steeled myself and looked at him.
“Father, I want to go to the downtown area with Jiyun.”
“……what?”
My father’s cigar fell from his mouth.
Uh-oh……?
What the hell, am I in trouble?
