"How much time?" Locke asked calmly, but his insides were anything but calm.
"Two years at best." Beluriel replied. "This poison is actually alive. It is like a parasite that is gnawing at your soul. Eventually it will take over your body and your identity will disappear. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Then how do you know it's functions?" Locke asked.
"I'm a world class healing mage. I can at least diagnose something, even if I can't cure it." Beluriel replied.
"Is there no way?" Locke asked.
"Not any I know off. Matters of the soul are not something we mages are good at. The one you need to seek for help are Soulseekers. However, the Sun Temple considers them evil among all the other undead, vampires and dark mana users as evil. Soulseekers don't use magic thought." Beluriel rambled.
"Soulseekers..." Locke repeated.
"Sorry kid. There's little I can do for you, but I'll keep it a secret. If those Templars find out you are searching for Soulseekers, they'll excommunicate you."
Locke sighed before leaving the room. Interaction with the mage had left him exhausted. He found out things he probably didn't even want to know.
"Locke, am I a curse?" Ghost suddenly asked. "Aren't curses bad? I don't want to be bad."
Locke stopped in the corridor. He had completely forgotten that Ghost would hear what had been said and hadn't considered her feelings at all.
"Not all curses are bad. Didn't you hear that mage say it? If you want to be good, you can always do good." Locke replied mentally.
"But you do bad things all the time?" Ghost asked.
"I'm not a good person." Locke replied sadly. "It is hard to be a good person in this world. But if you want to become a good person, you can do it!"
"I don't want to hurt you, Locke." Ghost said quietly.
"I know. I believe in you." Locke replied before walking back to his room.
---
That night Cassi and Beluriel,led by Locke went to visit Jain. Seeing Jain's condition, Cassi was almost brought to tears. Beluriel observed Jain's condition and used a few bright white colored magics.
"Okay, time for my magic to shine!" Beluriel spoke like a hero, before waving his hand in complicated movements and muttering peculiar words.
A curtain of white light fell over Jain's wheelchair for a whole minute, before finally dissipating. Jain's body completely healed. He got up silently and moved his body. He felt fine. "I can speak again." He said calmly.
He then bowed to the mage. "Thank you for healing me." Then he turned to Cassi. "Thank you for calling Sir Mage's help. I'm sure it must not have been easy."
Finally, he turned to Locke. "You were the only one who didn't give up on me, even though I never treated you like a brother. I'm sorry, brother." He then forcefully hugged Locke.
When all was said and done, the four left the room and entered the dining area. A servant entered and whispered in Locke's ear.
"Master Trive and his cohorts are arriving. I will go welcome them." Locke said with a sigh.
The other three did not object. They sat down quietly, waiting for the big battle that would ensue. Beluriel was already aware of the internal rifts in this family. All Noble families were similar, though the schisms in this one were particularly deep. The Baron had even executed his own wife in a fit of rage. However, having seen Locke's body, he wasn't particularly shocked. It was the poison which shocked him.
Such a terrifying poison was one he had never seen before. It made him suspect the boy Locke's origins. Cassi had said that his mother had 'disappeared' at a young age. Whatever the soul Poison was, it probably had something to do with the mother. However, this boy was really pitiful. Not only did he have a most terrible poison threatening to kill him, he was even cursed by Dragon's magic?
And a dragon which played around with dead mana? Which dragon had such a disgusting taste in mana? And it actually passed through this tiny Barony? Beluriel found Locke more and more interesting, however he knew how curiosity kills.
Outside, Locke informed the group of Trive and the visitors about the arrival of Cassi and the Mage Beluriel. On hearing the news, Trive's face immediately paled while the others had amusing expressions on their face, as if they were ready to watch a show.
The group, led actively by August Bilary entered the Mansion, to find Jain already healed and sitting on the dining table calmly scrutinizing the guests.
Before Trive could even say anything, Cassi got up. "Ah, is this Grand Knight August Bilary? Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm Cassi Mith, and this is my master, Grandmaster Mage Beluriel, who specialises in Light Magic. And this ofcourse, is my brother, the eldest in our family, Jain Mith."
That she ignored Trive was not something the others missed. She then proceeded to acknowledge the presence of other Barons. Locke observed this and nodded quietly. As a Baron's daughter, her status was lower than them. But as the apprentice of a Grandmaster Mage, her status was equal to a Count's! Beluriel simply smiled as he observed the play.
Finally, she turned towards Trive. "Hello brother Trive. Have you had fun being at the helm of the Barony since father left?"
"You? Is this the way you should talk to the next Baron of Mith?" Trive gained courage and retorted. He had been working hard building a friendly rapport with other Barons and the next Viscount. That support, to him was already in his bag. So he felt he had the confidence to be so authoritative.
"Oh?" Jain suddenly got up. "And when was that declared again?" He countered with a glare.
Trive did not falter though. "You probably just healed. Take a visit out of the Mansion and observe the Barony a bit. Do you think your stupid head could have come up with the achievements I have accomplished in a mere two months?"
"Oh? Those are your achievements?" Cassi asked with a smirk. "Why don't you explain the details of how you achieved them?"
"Well, I had the foresight to rebuild Herish Village into a tax free center and everything else fell into place. I had to rebuild it because of this man's stupidity of course!" Trive declared.
"I'd like a point by point explanation please. Not some hand waving." Cassi pressed on.
"Oh? All I see is you coming to aim for the Baron title to fund your magic research? Am I right?" Trive pushed back. "Why should I explain my work to you? My abilities are demonstrated by the current thriving state of the Barony."
