Chapter 42: A Man Worthy of Respect

There are three families in the Western Continent long before any of the other forces came to be.

They are known as the Three Great Families.

First of the Three Great Families is the Ancient Warrior Family, the Hellbane Family. Specializing in the way of every known weapon, Chakram, Spear, Halberd, Sword, Scimitar, Estoc, and many more weapons that came to be.

They are an overpowered family that stood at the forefront of the war that will happen in three years’ time. They are situated up north near the Dragon Blood Warrior Coalition.

The second of the Three Great Families is the Ancient Illusionist Family, the Phantasmagoria Family. Specializing in Illusion, it is said that the current Family Head can put anyone and anything in an Illusory World and that includes an entire army.

According to a wiki, they are in the West of the Continent, where everything is covered in fog and if Colt remembered it right, they should have fought with the Dragonic Cavalry of the Eastern Continent to a standstill for three days before getting decimated after three more armies came as reinforcement letting the armies of the Eastern Continent create a base.

The third of the Three Great Families is the Ancient Mage Family, the Genesis Family. Having a Grand Sorcerer to lead them, this family’s firepower is enough to wipe out any power they wish with ease, other than the other two of the Great Families, that is.

The Genesis Family is the one that Colt has a lot of dirt on. It is a Family of an Elven Race known as the Ancient Elves. They are the ancestors of the current Dark and Forest Elves that is spread throughout the lands.

And other than that, they are the families who will go to war with the Phantasmagoria Family and cause their demise. And then create two kinds of descents a righteous descent who became a part of the Hero’s party who cleaned up the dirty Genesis Family and a villain named Vyra.

Colt has a cheat in this world, he can remember clearly the side of the villain compared to the other part of the story which is necessary for survival. Yes, it is kind of shitty as it gives him no power, but it is also a pretty good power considering how he can make use of this knowledge to divert the plot to something more that will ensure a happy ending.

In that happy ending, Colt is a part of it.

‘Or at least he better be or I’ll throw everything into the air and become some edgy character and destroy this world. Nah, it is but a jest…or is it?’

Colt joked around with his insane, cringe-worthy but also realistic thoughts. He doubts he’ll become someone who will kill millions for his own gains, but he doesn’t know the future so he might as well solve the problems and profit off of it.

He was thinking that saving Jin and Vyra from their destiny is going to be rather fun because he can use Jin’s research to fill in the blanks with the medicinal recipe.

But at the moment, Colt was thinking if he should just blackmail him and forcefully take the formula away.

Jin looked at Colt who was holding onto his temple and slammed the table with enough force to take back his attention.

“Are you listening to me? S-she’s not the kind of woman you say she is…Vyra is.”

“Okay, enough, I know your point so spare me with it. I only wanted you to admit your relationship with the Miss of the Genesis Family, you don’t have to say anything else. Sigh, you’re a handful.”

The pain of having been betrayed remains. Leo looked at Jin and felt the need the smack him on the face, but he didn’t. His self-control was astonishingly good.

But he did have the urge to hit him just a couple of seconds ago when Jin cupped his mouth when he tried shutting himself up.

“Okay, I know where you’re going with your words, and now that I want to rip my ears off. Listen to me, what I’m about to tell you is something you must decide as soon as possible, okay?”

Jin was put into deep thought and lowered his head. He tried thinking as much as possible before raising his head to look at Colt once more, “If this has anything to do with Vyra, I want to decide it with her. I don’t hold her life.”

Colt agreed with his words.

“Yes, that’s true, that’s why I’m giving you the chance to think about it with her when you meet. Okay, tell me if I’m wrong but you have yet to eject the Red Rose Poison out of your system, right?”

At first, Jin was surprised, but Colt gave him the sign that to not asks too much question or else.

“Yes, because of my actions, the Red Rose Poison mutated, and to this day, it is still stuck to our chest and we have to do it every month or else we will die in an hour.”

Gently, Jin disrobed his upper half and showed Colt the rose patter than had appeared. He nodded his head in satisfaction because he had ascertained that this part still remains in the plot.

“Okay, is it true that you have been trying to create a cure for it so that Vyra will not have to suffer having to be with you? Yes or no?”

“…Yes, I’ve always been guilty of…”

“Ah-ah-ah, don’t try to lengthen this conversation, I just want you to answer my questions.”

After that, Colt finished giving Jin ten more questions and ascertained that he was indeed getting close to perfecting his medicine.

Jin listened to Colt’s words more and more and then his eyes as he revealed his goals.

“My research as the basis for the cure for a disease nobody knows of?”

“Yes, that’s my plan.”

“But…my research is exclusive for the cure of the Red Rose Poison, not something for any kind of epidemic. Sir Colt, I must warn you that medicines can also be poison if misused.” Jin was incensed at the thought of Colt trying to use his research to cure a disease he had never even heard of.

Medicines are used to heal, but if used in a way it was not meant to be, then the only thing waiting is death. Jin could not stomach this thought.

“Burning feeling on the veins feel like it was getting smoldered, their breathings would feel like they are inhaling fire in their lungs, and their flesh will slowly feel like it is burning; do these symptoms ring a bell?”

Jin’s expression changed, “It’s close to the Red Rose Poison…but brought to the extreme.”

“That’s right, this is the Red Vein disease I spoke of. I can’t tell you exactly how I got to know of it because my contact says it’s something the people of the Fairy Forest is keeping silent and he only got a glimpse of it, but I fear that if this poison is just like the Red Rose Forest, he says that it can be contagious and it might become something close to an epidemic.”

“Epidemic!? T-that can’t happen! The number of people who will die, i-it’s simply unthinkable.”

“That’s right, and I want to make sure that we will be prepared when such a thing happens. Though this information is still vague, I fear that if it happens and we are unprepared, we will be at a loss on how to properly handle the situation and that is to happen, then…many people will surely die just like you said.”

Jin looked at Colt with suspicions under his eyes. He even remembers the words he had uttered before.

“You say you are unsure, but when you asked me if I want to become the “Hero of the Kingdom” you sounded rather sure on that something will happen.”

Colt raised his brows as he laughed, “You’re correct but also wrong, what I am sure about is not the upcoming epidemic but your success. You can become a hero on your own, even without my presence, but there’s one problem…to become a hero, your cure must first come to fruition but in order to do that, you must stay alive.”

“What do you mean? Are you threatening me that you’ll kill me?”

“I won’t kill you, but the Genesis Family will. After all, according to my contact, they already know about your relationship with Miss Vyra. What do you think they will do to you?”

Colt’s words speak the truth, but it was not something that Jin wanted to believe.

“I don’t believe you! Miss Vyra and I have been going about our relationship secretly, there’s no way they’ll know.”

“Oh, but they did. Even I know about your relationship, what do you think about the Genesis Family?”

Having realized this point, Jin was in a state of panic. He was worried that Vyra would be in trouble because of him as such, he slowly entered a state of paranoia.

And seeing this, Colt used this to his advantage and asked, “Jin, I want to ask you something that may sound rather inappropriate, but this is crucial to the decision of the Genesis Family and Miss Vyra’s safety. But, is she pregnant with a child?”

Jin’s eyes shrunk as he heard Colt’s worried tone of voice as he asked that question. Staggering to him, he went around the table and knelt down before Colt as he asked,

“Why? What do you mean by that?”

Colt tightly closed his eyes shut as he saw Jin’s face.

Jin furiously shook Colt as if he did so, the answers would come out of him. He was desperate, the fire under his eyes are now gone and now, he is merely pleading for answers.

“Because if she is then, I fear that they are going to kill you and then dispose of your child with Vyra by using the child as a husk to transfer out the poison from her. With that, they’ll be able to dispose of you and…the child.”

At that moment, Jin’s eyes showed nothing other than despair. Vyra was indeed pregnant, it was the secret she told him weeks ago.

He was a man whose stature is not something to be desired. A man who thought he was nothing other than a medicinal plant seller.

However, everything changed when Vyra appeared before him. He saved her without much thought as his innate kindness took over before he can think things through.

But then, when things went wrong, Vyra in turn took the chance to save him rather than condemn him.

She offered her body to him when she could have taken him somewhere and have him be cured there, she was a child of high birth, she could have paid someone to do it for her or even leave him in the woods for dead.

But, she didn’t. Vyra did the unthinkable and offered him her body to save him from the vile poison.

Jin and Vyra were cured instead, instead of curing it, the poison mutated; in order to calm and suppress it and secure their lives.

Slowly, the two became closer to each other. The time they spent no longer became something they HAD to do but something they wished to do instead. Vyra taught Jin how to read and enabled him to become an Apothecary and Jin taught Vyra the joy of life outside her responsibilities.

The two fell in love with each other and when Jin gathered his courage to confess his love, she listened to him and cried.

She did not laugh, she only cried for she knew that their love could never be. Jin saw this and he promised her one thing…

“I-I will make sure to become a enown apothecary and once I do, I will sweep you off your feet and marry you.” It was a promise he made to make her stop crying.

From then on, they fell deeper and deeper in love, and Jin became more and more renowned as a prolific researcher who has shown results after result.

Their love even bore fruit and they were blessed by a child.

But now, all was beginning to crumble as Jin listened to Colt, he asked him time and time again if what he speaks of is indeed true.

The future they envisioned, the fruit of their love they wish to raise and nurture, and the happiness they sought together were slowly burning.

And as Jin looked at Colt’s eyes, his tears began to flow and moved away before prostrating before Colt.

As his cries softened and his will exploded, he banged his head to the ground to show his determination as he cried aloud…

“Please! Help Miss Vyra and my child live.”

The burning determination of Jin was showed and his wish was not to save himself but to save the life of the one he loves and the unborn child.

And as his cries pierced Colt’s heart, he too knelt down as he whispered, “Do not worry, I will save you all.”

At that moment, Colt saw how manly the one he calls to be feminine.

The original tried his best to hide his child and Jin is trying his best to announce his and Vyra’s love. And as Jin raised his head and showed Colt a weeping face with blood trickling down the cut on his forehead, Colt was certain that Jin before him was a man worthy of respect.