Please Click the [ ❤️ ] Button on the chapters! Thank You! ⤊

The Councilor's mention of the poison caught him off guard. 'Why would you bring that up now?' Asher felt his eyebrow twitching hearing that. 

"Of course I do. Don't worry, I'm not going to consume more of it." he said, then paused, "But, I still don't understand how it can affect me, even with Locket's protection?"

The Councilor explained, as if it was the most obvious thing. "Hmm, that's actually easy. It's actually used in the training regimen for members of your family branch. But you were never told to use it properly, so it becomes poison."

'Is this why the Locket didn't stop its spread before? Those people have put too much thought into this…'

"It should be your monthly stipend to strengthen you, not harm you. Even though you are more or less thrown out, you are still under training. The Family doesn't discard potential soldiers." 

Remembering the time he spent on mending his Meridians, Asher felt some frustration welling up, "Why didn't you inform me?" he asked, though more curious about her logic than truly angered.

"You weren't ready—lacking in strength or cunning. Mostly cunning." the Councilor said, "Those memories sure made you grow up fast."

Asher internally scoffed. 'Not really. Would you believe that I lost millennia of memories and my personality got regressed to my eighteen-year-old self?' 

Asher grumbled in his mind, but aloud, he conceded, "It seems they have. So why bring it up?"

The Councilor's mouth curved into a sly smile. "Because I have a stash of the stuff here that I was given to Poison you," she said, her grin wide and somewhat menacing.

"And why do you have it?" Asher asked.

"Well, it was mostly cause of Alissa. She refused to feed you more than once a week and was starting to get a little, so the Elder decided to have me do it…"

'So Alissa really helped the original dodge a bullet,' Asher thought, feeling strange in his heart.

"Don't he check if I have consumed it or not?" Asher asked, wanting to know about that.

"Who do you think is in charge of this Orphanage?" the Councilor asked, her voice carrying pride and challenge. "He may use this place for his missions, but remember, it's merely on loan. My family, the Rosewoods, remain the true rulers here."

Asher couldn't help but wonder, 'Is she boasting or what?' He was unsure if he wanted to hear about someone Lineage, but thankfully, the Councilor got back to the topic.

"As for why I didn't give you… It's simple. These items fetch a good price on the black market. It's free money for me. It's not like the Elder can show up in person to verify the poison's progress. And he certainly won't be around forever."

'That… I guess I can't exactly deny capitalism." Asher thought with a sigh. He didn't know if he should cry or laugh that he was saved from death because someone decided to be a little greedy.

"Could you cut to the chase? Why bother telling me about your financial exploits?" Asher's patience was wearing thin. 'Can't she just get to the point?'

"Tch. You're no fun. You used to be more amusing, easily flustered," the Councilor said, but seeing the annoyed look on his face, he said. 

"Or, I could help you now in exchange for a favor later. I'm certain you've discovered some technique to utilize these training herbs," she said, a smug smile on her lips.

He felt his face twitch, hearing that. "This woman knows how to squeeze every ounce of profit from a situation. I may not have a special technique, but could the Aether from earlier solve my mana issues...?'

After thinking about it, he focused on her and caught a glimpse of the calculating glint she tried to hide in her eyes. It made him question, 'Is she testing me, or is this her way of subtly probing about my memories?'

'Is this some test she is trying, or is she asking about my memories indirectly?' he thought.

"I guess then I will repay this favor in the future," he said with a little dip of his head, showing his gratitude.

"Hmm~ Good, good. You still have some of that humble nature with you." the Councilor observed with a nod of approval, her smile widening.

Asher's eyebrow twitched at her words, but he held his tongue, choosing silence over confrontation.

"Let me fetch one for you... then you're free to go. Just make sure to come back for the rest without drawing any attention," she said, leaning sideways to pull open a drawer.

Asher watched her retrieve a packet that looked remarkably like the cheap instant soup powder he had seen in Alissa's kitchen. He accepted the packet from her hands without much fanfare.

"Off you go, then. And think up some believable excuse or punishment. Consider it part of the test…" the Councilor casually remarked, gesturing for him to leave now that she had accomplished her goal.

Asher felt almost like déjà vu. Neither of them gave any face to the other. Each focused solely on their respective objectives until those were met.

"Then I will take my leave," he said, as he had nothing more to discuss. 

Asher walked back into the antechamber, feeling weird after his talk didn't end how he thought it would. Without thinking, his fingers quickly touched the bottle he was hiding in his pants.

'My way to the first stage of Qi Condensation.' Thinking about it almost made him smile, but he controlled himself to appear nonchalant. 

It was the first half of the multi-stage training regimen, the one that had Aetherblossom in it.

After the reveal, the Councilor has given the first half of the poison. He only got a single bottle right now, as the Councilor didn't want to raise suspicion.

Putting the conversation he just had out of his mind, Asher looked around the room. His eyes quickly found Alissa.

He noticed Livia wasn't at her usual spot, which made him a bit relieved because he didn't really want to deal with her craziness right now.

Alissa was leaning against the wall casually, but Asher could sense the tension in her posture. She was looking down the hallway, and Asher could almost feel the sharp intensity of her glare.

'Is she looking out for Livia, or did something happen while he was gone?' Asher thought.

Please Click the [ ❤️ ] Button on the chapters! Thank You! ⟱