Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 172 (Part 1)

The reason Rodin took an interest in this request was because the destination was the Kingdom of Luvain.

Since he was headed that way anyway, he figured he might as well take care of it while he was at it.

He had suggested meeting the client, though it wasn’t out of any particular intent.

He simply wondered: ‘Just how bad must their condition be to send only a five-year-old daughter?’

However, upon entering the room to meet the client, Rodin ended up furrowing his brow.

It was fortunate that the face was hidden by a hood. If it hadn’t been, he might have been accused of rudeness.

‘Poison.’

He sensed a strong presence of poison from the woman in her mid-twenties seated before him.

It was clearly a case of chronic poisoning.

‘Seems like magical poison.’

Rodin could feel the faint magical energy circulating through Regina Hesword’s body.

He immediately recognized that the mana was traveling through her system, gradually destroying her body.

‘True Eye.’

By using magic, he could confirm it without doubt.

The client—a young woman in her twenties and queen of the Kingdom of Luvain—was suffering from magical poisoning.

‘Vision.’

To identify the exact poison, he used another spell.

In the meantime, Larry and Bianca took seats in front of the client. Rodin, aligning with the mood, also took a seat.

“Pleased to meet you. Are you truly Mage Rodin, Platinum badge mercenary?”

“I am.”

“I heard you requested to meet the client before accepting the job. May I ask why?”

Duke Lientas’s attitude was respectful.

It was because Rodin was a Master Mage.

There were many kings and nobles in the Central Continent, but only four Master Mages.

A Master Mage was a rarer and more precious being than a king.

“There was no special reason. I just wondered—how bad must things be to send only a five-year-old child… Hmm, is this the client sitting before us?”

“She is. This is Her Majesty the Queen of Luvain, the one who commissioned this request.”

“Pleased… to meet you. Master Ma…ge Rodin. I am Regina Heswa…rd. My condition is not… well… so I greet you while… seated. I am this child’s mother.”

Rodin returned the greeting lightly and examined Queen Regina more closely.

Various poisons and symptoms floated through his mind.

“Shall I address you as Queen Regina?”

“Call me… as you wish. I only wish… huff, huff… for my daughter to reach… her father… safely.”

“Queen Regina, may I obtain a drop of your blood?”

“W-What are you saying? What is the meaning of this, Mercenary Rodin?!”

Duke Lientas flared up at Rodin’s request and shouted.

It took him less than a second to leap up and stand between Queen Regina and Rodin.

“D-Don’t think… he means harm… haa, haa… Please… calm…”

“Her condition is severe to the point she cannot even breathe properly. I will use a spell. Just relax and remain seated.”

“What kind of spell do you intend to use?! At least let me verify—”

“…Pure healing power. Absolute restoration.”

Rodin ignored Duke Lientas and began reciting a long rune incantation.

He completed the chant and cast his most powerful healing spell—one he had developed himself.

From Rodin’s fingertips, a light so brilliant it was almost blinding bloomed forth.

The light, rising like mist, began to swirl around Queen Regina’s body and slowly seeped into her.

“Ah!”

“This isn’t a complete cure. I only suppressed the symptoms.”

“Thank you. I feel so much better.”

Regina’s previously gaunt face now showed signs of vitality.

Her flushed cheeks now bloomed like a freshly opened flower.

“Big Brother Rodin, you can’t completely cure it?”

“We’ll have to see. Queen Regina, I must ask again. May I obtain a drop of your blood?”

“Haah, if you’re suspecting poisoning, then there’s no need to confirm. I am poisoned. I’ve been ingesting poison unknowingly for a very long time.”

Queen Regina Hesword had yet to identify who had poisoned her.

She didn’t even know whether she was poisoned inside or outside the royal palace of Luvain.

However, her condition had been confirmed through multiple healers.

It was a poison that nearly no one could even use anymore—and one that could not be treated with antidote potions.

“Your Majesty, you were poisoned…?”

“I’m sorry, Duke Lientas. I hadn’t told you. It wasn’t because I suspected you. It’s just that the poison can’t be cured, so there was no point in speaking of it… That’s why I said nothing.”

“But the antidote potion—”

“This poison cannot be cured with an antidote potion. It’s already far too late.”

“Ah!”

Rodin simply listened quietly to Queen Regina and Duke Lientas’s conversation.

He had no intention of getting involved in their melodrama.

“Big Brother Rodin, what kind of poison can’t be cured?”

“I need to confirm.”

“You said you were a Mage Rodin, yes? I know my own body best. I doubt I will live past this year. So at the very least… I wish to send my daughter… to her father’s side.”

“I’ll ask one more time. May I obtain a drop of your blood?”

It was now Rodin’s third time repeating the same question.

Who likes repeating themselves?

If this weren’t a special situation, even Rodin would have given up and lost interest by now.

But since she was the client—and a royal figure at that—he decided to endure it once more.

If she said something odd again this time, he was prepared to decline the request altogether.

“Ah! Please wait a moment.”

“Your Majesty, why would you harm your own body?!”

“The Master Mage is requesting to examine my poison. There’s no reason I cannot comply.”

Queen Regina produced a needle from somewhere and lightly pricked her fingertip. A round drop of crimson blood formed.

Rodin used his mana to lift the blood from her fingertip. The floating droplet hovered in the air before his eyes.

“Heal.”

Rodin kept his eyes fixed on the blood while casting a basic healing spell.

A white light from his fingertip lingered on the Queen’s injured finger and soon vanished.

The small wound that had bled was now completely healed.

“Big Brother Rodin, why the blood?”

“Hmm.”

Rodin brought the droplet to his tongue. A strong sourness was evident—but the bitterness was lacking.

“What—What are you doing?!”

“Big Brother! What are you doing?!”

“Just as I thought. The poison wasn’t properly formulated.”

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