"Poisoned?!...Young master, you're poisoned?!"
Lucious jumped up on his feet and ran to his master's side to give him some assistance with a terrified look on his face.
"It's fine, Lucious; it was only an attempted poisoning but it somehow failed, so there's really no need to worry." Cassius said to calm down his butler, who was jumping up and down by his side like a restless little puppy. "You also can see how active I am at the moment, so you can really be reassured as the danger has already passed."
Lucious paused, his large, doe-like eyes scanning Cassius's face for any sign of weakness or lingering pain.
Seeing none, he hesitated, his fear warring with the confidence his master exuded. Cassius, as poised and unyielding as ever, stood tall, his gaze steady and reassuring. Yet, the butler's worry refused to fully subside.
'Damn...Who needs a wife when I've got a butler who looks at me with such concerned eyes?' Cassius couldn't help but think, even though he looked so confident on the outside, finding his butler's care to be a bit too overbearing.
"I believe you, young master." Lucious said softly. "But poison is no small matter. Even if the attempt failed, there could be lingering effects...Please, just to be safe, let the doctor examine you." He tugged on his master's sleeves to try and drag him to see the family doctor.
"I'm really fine, Lucious." Cassius pulled him back from going anywhere. He then continued saying to reassure the concerned butler, "Trust me when I say that I would be the first one to visit the doctor if I had any doubts that the poison was still inside of me at the moment, as after losing my life once, I absolutely have no intention of doing so again."
Lucious was still worried about his young master's well-being. But since he was so confident, more confident and lively than he had ever seen him in years, like the poison he had in his body injected him with some kind of revitalizer, he sighed and let go of the matter.
"By the way, why exactly did you try to kiss me earlier, Lucious?" Cassius couldn't help but ask. "You say that you're a guy, but you still tried to steal a kiss from me, which ended up with me bruising your handsome face?...What was that about?"
"No, young master...I think that you're misunderstanding." Lucious shook his head. He then continued explaining while having a shy look in his eyes, "I wasn't trying to kiss you or anything, even though I'm willing to do so if that's what you truly wish from this servant."
"Nope...Not in this life." Cassius immediately rejected his offer.
"But I was actually trying to check your temperature and also your breath to see if you had a cold, since you weren't responding to my calls no matter how much I tried to wake you up." Lucius concluded the misunderstanding that sent him flying away.
"That's probably because I was still fighting the poison at that time, and my body was on the borderline of death."
Cassius said even though the past Cassius had already died from the poison and had moved on from this world to what was hopefully to be with his late mother.
The man from another world who had taken Cassius's mantle didn't really know that he had actually died from poison when he first came to this world.
It was only after he gained his past memories and noticed how his body unnaturally started shutting before his death did he figure out that the Cassius of this world was a victim of poison as well...The only difference being he died of a lethal poison, while the transmigrator died of food poisoning.
"What do we do now, young master?...Should we report this matter to the family head?"
Lucious asked from the side, while wondering who was out for his young master's head when all he did his whole life was live his life in the corner of the estate, never causing problems to anyone even though trouble always sought his way.
"Haha...Report it to the same geezer who wanted to slaughter me with a sword when I was just a newborn baby and the same man who probably wishes for my death everyday?" Cassius laughed out loud with a wicked smile on his face. "He probably wouldn't stop smiling for a couple of months if he were to hear such good news."
Cassius's voice was laced with a chilling edge, his cold glint cutting through the brightly lit study like a blade.
"And who knows." He muttered, his tone as sharp as shattered glass. "He might very well be the one who tried to poison me....After all, I can't think of anyone else who harbours such hatred for me."
The words hung in the air, heavy and ominous, sending a shiver coursing through Lucius. The young attendant, who had served his master through years of quiet despair, suddenly found himself trembling.
Cassius's eyes—once dulled by sorrow and self-loathing—now burnt with an intensity that made Lucius feel as though he were staring into the gaze of a predator.
This was not the master he had known.
For as long as Lucius could remember, Cassius had been a man consumed by guilt and rejection.
Haunted by the scorn of his parents and burdened by the belief that his birth had cost his mother her life, he had sought solace in fleeting pleasures: the arms of women, the numbness of alcohol.
His anger had always been turned inward, never directed outward at the people who had wronged him.
But this...This was different.
The fury in Cassius's voice, the glacial calm in his expression—it was as if the near-death experience had awakened something dormant within him, a beast long buried under years of self-pity. Lucius had never seen him like this, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating.
His master, once meek and broken, seemed to have finally reached a breaking point.
Lucius swallowed hard, the trembling in his hands slowly giving way to a spark of anticipation.
Was this the moment he had been waiting for? The moment Cassius, the man he had long believed capable of greatness, would finally rise from the ashes of his despair?
A surge of excitement coursed through Lucius as he silently observed his master.
The household that had cast Cassius aside, the family that had reduced him to a shadow of his potential, would soon learn the consequences of their cruelty.
Lucius couldn't help but smile to himself. His master had the potential to rule not just this household but the entire country if he willed it. And for the first time, Lucius felt certain Cassius had finally realised that too.
Of course his thoughts were too far-reaching, as even though his young master had found some motivation to keep him going, it wasn't taking over the household or becoming the king of Eleanor like he thought...But it was too bang as many women as he could, including his own family, who resided in the main mansion next door, and carry out the teachings of the Goddess of Debauchery.
"Yes, young master." Lucius began, his tone light and melodic, like a child discussing a harmless secret. "If we were to let the household handle this matter, they would most likely drag the sinner to court for trial, even if they managed to catch him. But..." He paused, his sweet little voice dropping just enough to send a chill down Cassius's spine. "...Only if we catch him ourselves can we stain our hands with his wretched blood—the blood of the one who dared to harm the youngest son of the Holyfield family."
For a moment, Cassius froze.
His lovable, ever-smiling attendant, with his cherubic face and warm, adoring gaze, had just uttered words that sounded more fitting for a villain in a bloody revenge tale. The dissonance between Lucius's innocent appearance and the terrifying malice in his words left Cassius completely off guard.
He blinked, unsure if he had misheard.
'Was this truly the same Lucius who had fussed over him with gentle hands only hours ago, ensuring he had warm tea and enough blankets as he recovered?'
'The same boy who trailed after him like a loyal pup, full of unwavering devotion?'
"Lucius..." Cassius began hesitantly, his sharp composure momentarily faltering. "What exactly are you saying?"
Lucius tilted his head, his soft dark curls catching the light, and offered a bright, almost angelic smile.
"I'm saying, young master, that justice is best delivered by our own hands."
The sheer innocence in his expression contrasted so starkly with the dark edge of his words that Cassius couldn't suppress a shudder. Somewhere deep down, he knew Lucius's loyalty ran deeper than he'd ever realized—deeper and far more dangerous.
"W-Well, first we have to catch the one who poisoned me...Then only can we think about about how we can deal with him."
Cassius clapped his hands which made Lucious go back to his puppy like state, which was far better to see them when he was on a mission of vengeance.
"How exactly will we do that young master?...Do you want me to a hire a special group of private investigators to deal with this matter in silence?"
Lucious asked as he thought of the several mercenaries that would be at his beck and call, knowing that he was coming from the almighty Holyfield family.
"No...I don't want to drag others into such a simple matter." Cassius told it like it were no big deal at all, which made Lucious's eyes glow with more admiration than before. "For now let's figure out what type of poison they used against me by identifying the symptoms of the poison and then tracing it back."
"Huh?...But I really didn't see any significant changes in your health or behaviour, young master...What sort of symptoms are you talking about?" Cassius asked as he normally spent his entire day looking after his master and he genuinely didn't see anything wrong with him.
"Irregular cardiac activity, sudden rises in body temperature, chills that come every once in a while, dryness in the throat, and finally the stoppage of oxygen to the brain, which leads to death...All of these happened to me in small gaps of time over the past 4 days, so if we find the poison that has the same symptoms we can find out which one it is."
Cassius stated after scanning his memories for any irregular activities in his body over the past few days, concluding that someone had been giving him doses of poison every day until it had finally accumulated to an amount that could kill him.
Of course, the past Cassius or any other normal human out there wouldn't be able to notice the micro changes that happen in one's body, like blood that's moving slower than usual or a degree increase in temperature at certain parts in the body, which was why they would die without even knowing that they were poisoned.
But the transmigrator that came from another world wasn't exactly normal, so noting down such changes just by analysing the deep memories of someone else wasn't too much of a big issue for him.
"You also don't have to beat yourself up for not finding out these changes since all of them are internal and don't actually show up to anyone's unsuspecting eyes, Lucious."
Cassius patted his butler's back when he saw the frustrated look on his face for letting his master get poisoned and doing nothing to stop it because of his innocence.
"For now, prove your worth to me by bringing me a record or book that has all the world's poisons listed in it." Cassius said to distract Lucious from the fact that he actually let his master get killed right beneath his eyes.
"Yes, young master!"
Lucious nodded his head in a frantic manner, determined to find the bastard who poisoned his young master and feed him the same poison he used. He then started walking briskly towards the door and looked back and said,
"Follow me, young master...If there's anywhere in the Holyfield estate that has books regarding poisons in it, then it has to be our family's grand library that has over a hundred thousand books from all over the continent regarding every topic that exists...I'm sure we can find our answer there."
Cassius smiled at his butler, who was all fired up to find the culprit who poisoned him, and followed him out the door until finally they left the mansion they were in, which wasn't connected to the main building where the rest of the family resided.
Cassius's private mansion stood like a silent guardian on the edge of the Holyfield estate, its grandeur muted yet undeniably noble. Constructed of pale grey stone, its facade was adorned with intricate carvings—gargoyles perched atop the corners of the roof, their watchful eyes scanning the sprawling gardens below. Tall, arched windows lined the walls, their glass panes catching the faint morning light and refracting it in dazzling patterns across the cobblestone paths leading up to the entrance.
The main doorway, a pair of heavy oak doors reinforced with wrought iron, bore the Holyfield family crest—a proud eagle clutching a sword in its talons—etched into its surface. Ivy crept along the stone walls, its deep green tendrils softening the otherwise imposing structure, while flower beds of vibrant roses and hydrangeas framed the base of the building in bursts of color.
Inside, the mansion was no less impressive. The grand foyer opened into a space dominated by a sweeping marble staircase, its balustrades carved with delicate filigree. Chandeliers of crystal and gold hung from high vaulted ceilings, their soft glow illuminating the polished floors and tapestries that depicted the family's storied lineage.
Each room spoke of wealth and status: a library with towering bookshelves and leather-bound tomes, a dining hall with a long mahogany table that could seat twenty, and a sitting room with plush velvet furniture and gilded mirrors. Yet, for all its opulence, the mansion carried an air of isolation.
Separated from the main building where the rest of the Holyfield family resided, this house was both a symbol of Cassius's noble blood and a constant reminder of his distance from the family that cast him aside. Its beauty was undeniable, but its silence felt heavy, as if the walls themselves carried the weight of its inhabitant's solitude.
As Cassius and Lucius stepped out onto the front steps, the vast estate stretched before them—manicured gardens, marble fountains, and cobblestone paths that wound toward the imposing main building in the distance. The mansion, while grand, seemed a world apart from the bustling life of the estate's heart, and perhaps, Cassius thought, that was exactly how the Holyfield family had intended it to be.
Cassius strode through the opulent halls of the main mansion, his sharp eyes catching the not-so-subtle glances from the maids and servants bustling about.
Some whispered behind their hands, their eyes darting toward him with barely concealed pity. Others avoided his gaze altogether, their stiff bows and quick steps speaking volumes.
He knew the looks well—he'd grown up with them. Ot atleast had memories of growing up with them.
The Holyfield family's youngest son, the black sheep, the drunken wastrel. But today, those looks felt...different.
'Were they tinged with a hint of curiosity? Perhaps even confusion?'
Cassius smirked, leaning toward Lucius as they walked, his voice low but teasing. ''Lucius, do you think it's my devastatingly handsome face that has them staring so much? Or could it be that they've somehow realised that this young master is going to strike back with a bang?''
Lucius glanced up at his master, his innocent expression unchanged as he tilted his head. ''I'm sure it's both, young master.'' He replied sweetly, though there was a glint of mischief in his eye.
Cassius chuckled, but his gaze lingered on a pair of maids who quickly turned their heads, pretending to dust an already spotless vase. ''Or maybe...'' He continued, feigning a thoughtful tone. "...They're simply in awe of how I've managed to drink and charm my way through life without completely ruining myself.''
Lucius nodded solemnly, playing along. ''Yes, young master, your talent for creating chaos while avoiding complete disaster is truly admirable. A skill most couldn't hope to master.''
Cassius barked a laugh, his voice echoing through the grand hall, startling a butler who nearly dropped the tray he was carrying. "Perhaps I should teach a class." He said dryly. "How to survive as the family disappointment with style?"
But as they passed through the gilded archways, Cassius's smirk faded slightly, his eyes taking in the sprawling wealth around him.
He could feel the unspoken judgment, the whispers that followed him like shadows. They either pitied him for being an outsider in his own family or despised him for tarnishing their noble reputation.
Cassius already felt quite uncomfortable in this heavy atmosphere so one could only imagine what the original Cassius who had already passed on would've felt...Probably suffocated...So suffocated that he even hoped that someone would poison his food and let him end his enternal pain.
But to think that fantasy of his that emerged form his mind that was floating in the ocean of depression and despair would actually come true...What an absolute joke.