Chapter : 09
“I heard you were looking for me.”
The moment he stepped into the reception room, he saw the face of a woman he had never met before.
“…Sorry to have kept you waiting. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
At his formal greeting, the woman sitting in her seat slowly rose.
“Not at all. I was just looking around while I waited.”
She had black hair and sharp, catlike eyes.
The instant Heon saw her, he instinctively sensed that she wasn’t someone to be underestimated.
He gestured for her to sit, and she gave a small nod before taking her seat again.
“Hello. You are Young Master Heon Leonar, correct?”
Heon sat down across from her.
“That’s right. And you are?”
“My name is Adel Catherine. I used to be a researcher at the Mage Tower.”
“Used to?”
He asked in surprise, and the woman answered calmly.
“Ah, I’m no longer affiliated with the Mage Tower. I came today because I have a personal proposal for you, Young Master.”
Heon’s gaze sharpened.
“…A proposal? Didn’t my father send you?”
“The Duke? No, nothing like that.”
“Then I think you should first explain exactly why you’ve come to see me.”
Despite the suspicion in his eyes, Adel merely shrugged.
“Well… I’m an engineering stud— I mean, a researcher, so I’m not very good at beating around the bush. Would it be alright if I got straight to the point?”
“…Go ahead.”
Heon replied flatly.
Usually, when he lowered his voice to intimidate people, they shrank back in fear.
This woman, however, wasn’t frightened in the slightest.
If anything, she looked far too composed.
“Young Master, have you recently experienced sudden weakness or numbness in your knees or legs?”
A brief silence followed.
Having been struck right where it hurt, Heon’s expression became noticeably stiffer.
“When you’re resting, you’re mostly fine. But the moment you overexert yourself, you start feeling tingling sensations. Sometimes you’re walking perfectly normally, and then all of a sudden your legs give out beneath you. Isn’t that right?”
Adel continued before he even had a chance to interrupt.
“At first it started in your left hand. Then it spread to your right leg… And now, even standing up or sitting down has become uncomfortable.”
“…How do you know that?”
Heon’s voice cracked helplessly.
It wasn’t particularly surprising that someone knew about his illness.
The ducal household had searched everywhere for treatments, so it wasn’t strange if word had spread.
But I never told anyone about the symptoms I’ve been experiencing recently.
Yet this woman wasn’t making vague guesses.
She described the progression of his illness with uncanny precision, as though she were a fortune teller who had seen straight through him.
Just who is she?
He had sought help from countless physicians and mages over the years, but very few truly understood his condition.
After all, it was an extremely rare illness whose cause and progression remained unknown.
Even his own family had gradually begun hiding his existence from public view.
And yet this complete stranger had accurately grasped his condition.
Without realizing it, Heon held his breath.
Adel cleared her throat before continuing.
“The truth is, while I was working at the Mage Tower, I once treated a patient with symptoms very similar to yours. Back then, I conducted research on ways to improve the patient’s condition.”
“And?”
“To put it simply—I found both the cause of the disease and the cure.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“Why shouldn’t you? I’m an exceptionally talented genius.”
“…What?”
She had just called herself a genius.
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh.
But Adel remained completely shameless.
“If you don’t believe me, grab anyone from the Mage Tower and ask if they’ve heard of Adel Catherine. I’m actually pretty well known over there.”
By this point, Heon was beginning to realize that her visit was no ordinary matter.
At the same time, it was becoming clear that she was far from an ordinary researcher.
“…Go on, Miss Adel Catherine.”
Now thoroughly drawn into her story, Heon gave a serious nod.
“So… the reason you’re in this condition is actually very simple.”
His eyes wavered.
“And what is it?”
“It’s because your body contains far too much mana.”
Adel spoke each word clearly.
“When mana accumulates beyond what the body can handle, it disrupts your internal flow. That disrupted flow irritates your nervous system. As time passes, your senses grow dull, and pain begins to appear.”
She looked directly at him.
“Exactly the symptoms you’re experiencing.”
Heon couldn’t say a word.
Not a single person had ever explained his illness this clearly.
So she really was the brilliant genius she claimed to be.
Perhaps calling herself a genius hadn’t been mere arrogance after all.
“So I’ve given the condition a name.”
She declared confidently.
“Mana Overload Neuropathy.“
Mana Overload Neuropathy.
It was the first proper diagnosis Heon had ever heard.
Until now, everyone had simply dismissed it as stress-induced paralysis, admitted they had no idea what caused it, or told him to get more sleep and eat better.
“So if we can simply eliminate the excess mana in your body, your illness can be cured.”
“…I see.”
Heon narrowed his eyes.
“So you came all the way here just to tell me that?”
“No.”
Adel answered without the slightest hesitation.
“My real purpose is something else.”
She met his gaze.
“I’ll completely cure you.”
Then she smiled.
“But I have one condition.”
“…A condition?”
His tone was markedly different from before.
For the first time since entering the room, Adel looked just a little embarrassed.
“Ahem! Well… I’ve been planning a business venture. The problem is that I need quite a bit of startup capital.”
“Startup capital?”
From her bag, Adel pulled out an old notebook.
Inside were pages filled with intricate blueprints.
Afterward, she launched into a lengthy explanation full of concepts Heon couldn’t make heads or tails of.
“…In exchange for curing your illness, I’d like you to invest in this business.”
Unlike the confidence she’d shown earlier, she now looked slightly nervous.
It was obvious she wasn’t sure whether this deal would actually go through.
“An investment…”
Heon silently glanced at the research documents she had brought.
A dimensional storage pouch spacious enough to fit an entire house.
And under the right conditions, the storage space could supposedly be duplicated infinitely.
…Absurd.
To be honest, he had believed about half of what she’d said before she revealed these blueprints.
Her explanation about nerve damage caused by excess mana had sounded perfectly reasonable.
But after seeing this…
There was no point in listening any further.
Heon clicked his tongue softly.
Every so often, people appeared claiming to possess immortality elixirs or priceless treasures from distant lands, selling worthless junk at outrageous prices.
It seemed one of those swindlers had finally found her way to him.
She must’ve heard somewhere that I’m desperate because of my illness.
What made it worse was that she looked so young… and so harmless.
Though, then again, con artists rarely looked like criminals.
Heon let out a faint, mocking chuckle, as though he had never taken her seriously in the first place.
“Interesting. A complete stranger claims she can cure my illness and then asks me to invest in her business. Doesn’t that sound like the work of a scam artist, even to you?”
“I know it’s difficult to trust me. That’s why I’m not asking you to believe me right away.”
“…”
Seeing that he remained silent, Adel reached into her bag and produced a small vial.
“When your symptoms flare up, try drinking this.”
She set it gently on the table.
“It’s free.”
Inside the translucent glass bottle was a clear liquid that shimmered with a faint blue glow.
“…What’s this?”
“It looks like ordinary water, but it’s actually a mana absorbent brewed from refined mana ore.”
She pushed the bottle toward him as she continued.
“It will gradually absorb the excess mana inside your body, slowly restoring your disrupted mana flow.”
