Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 80

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 80
The spoon submerged in the teacup was turning black—as if bearing witness to something sinister mixed within.
“Wait.”
“Everyone, stop!”
Serpina Rosena, who had noticed the spoon, let out a convulsive cry.
Only then did Minabell’s warning echo through my mind once more. I lifted my head and looked frantically around.
My eyes fell upon Father, who had tilted his teacup to his lips as if parched, and my blood ran cold.
Seconds passed.
With a sickening cough, blood poured from Father’s mouth.
“Father!”
“Dad!”
I had been careless.
I could not think of what to do in that moment, only watching as Serpina Rosena shot to her feet.
Without hesitation, she caught Father’s collapsing form and poured her magic into him—something she had never revealed to anyone save the Master of the Magic Tower.
“Summon a physician and a carriage at once. And bring me everyone who served this tea. Every last one of them!”
Mother’s face had gone ashen, yet she issued commands with swift precision. Elian and Haeston vanished in an instant to carry out her orders.
“It is not a grave poisoning. He only took a single sip.”
Serpina Rosena’s hands trembled as she spoke, forcing composure into her voice. She insisted it was manageable, that she had taken the minimum necessary measures, and that once the physician arrived, Father would regain consciousness soon enough.
As she murmured these reassurances, it seemed less like she was comforting Mother and more like she was trying to convince herself.
“Seri, compose yourself. Father will be fine.”
Mother patted Serpina Rosena’s back soothingly instead. So Father was not in such dire straits after all. Yes, that had to be it.
The poison was meant for someone else, not me? That should not have happened.
I should have been more alert. Why had my mind grown so sluggish lately? I could not fathom it. Truly…
It felt as though someone had slipped something into my very thoughts.
“Where should we summon a physician from?”
I managed to ask the question.
“We shall call our personal physician. He is well-versed in poisons, so it should be manageable. Jade.”
“Yes.”
At Lucian Advein’s words, Jade Delpoi disappeared swiftly as well. What poison was it? When had it been administered?
Could it have been Aubrey Violet? Had she betrayed us? No, she had betrayed Aden, not us.
“There must be someone behind this… I should… think of something. No, do something. Or rather… what…?”
Why? Why was my mind so muddled? Flotie, focus. Why did I feel as though I had not slept in days, unable to think of anything at all?
Unable to think of anything at all…
“Flotie!”
The moment I rose from my seat, driven by the need to do something—anything—the world tilted.
Lucian Advein reached for me faster than anyone else, and with his voice, everything else faded to black.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I was in my own room.
The servants attending me let out sighs of relief as they continued wiping my body with cloths and massaging my limbs.
“Miss, are you awake?”
Elian’s face had grown pale as she examined me carefully from every angle.
I grasped the situation instantly, and the shame of my own weakness was unbearable.
“Father—where is Father?”
I had simply been so shocked that I fainted. Collapsing wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence for me. There was no need to make such a fuss about it.
“My lady, this is not the time to inquire about the master’s condition. You’ve been unconscious for four days. During several of those hours, you weren’t breathing at all.”
“What…?”
What on earth was she talking about? I wasn’t breathing?
I certainly hadn’t touched tea to my lips, nor had I eaten any refreshments. So there was no way I could have been poisoned.
I blinked blankly, trying to make sense of her words, but my mind felt foggy and I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant.
What was happening? So four days had passed since I collapsed at the Tea House?
“I suppose the shock was far greater than I realized. I’m fine now. I’d prefer everyone except Elian to leave.”
Simply having people around me felt exhausting.
Even breathing felt laborious, and though my limbs lacked strength, I could still manage to sit up.
“I understand my condition was that serious. So please, explain what’s happened with Father and everything else. Surely I can at least listen.”
“Your poisoning wasn’t severe, so you’re stable now. They say you’ll need rest for a while, but it shouldn’t be prolonged. The Tea House is currently closed. The entire Violet Family and everyone connected to the Tea House are under investigation, so rumors are spreading. I heard the poison was made from a toxic plant easily obtainable in the Empire.”
“No one will confess, of course.”
Elian nodded heavily. Aubrey must be enduring considerable hardship.
After dismissing the servants, I took only a spoonful or two of the soup Elian brought me before setting it aside. I had no appetite whatsoever.
Sitting still, I sank into thought. My behavior at the Tea House at the end had been decidedly abnormal. Hadn’t I stumbled about like someone intoxicated by some unknown drug, only to suddenly collapse?
“Elian, what did the physician say about my condition?”
“The physician said you simply fainted, but the eldest lady kept insisting that couldn’t be right. She said if you had merely fainted, you wouldn’t have shown such symptoms. His Highness also said he sensed something strange about your condition.”
“Something strange? Do you feel it too?”
Elian shook her head apologetically.
There was something strange that Lucian and Serpina could sense—something that had taken root within me. And it felt as though something was controlling me.
I slowly clenched and unclenched my fist. Could it be a curse?
“Could you bring me the necklace I received as a gift?”
“The sacred object? Of course.”
Elian brought it to me without asking why. She trusted that my actions had proper reason behind them and asked nothing—and I was deeply grateful for that faith.
The moment I touched the sacred object, a sensation so vivid it was almost physical washed over me—as though black energy was being torn from my heart.
My heartbeat accelerated so violently that the pain was unbearable, and without thinking, I thrust the necklace away.
“This can’t be…”
Had I truly become a cursed person? At the incomprehensible conclusion, a hollow laugh escaped me.
The moment Serpina and Lucian heard of my condition, they rushed to my side. Serpina, her eyes still red from crying and worry, pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Sister, I’m weakened right now—you might break my bones.”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry…”
“And don’t be alarmed when you hear this. I think I’ve been cursed.”
Unfortunately, at those words, my sister fainted outright. Calieo assured me not to worry, saying he often cared for her in such states, and carried her away.
Lucian sat beside me, his face drained of all color, and took my hand.
“When I hold the sacred object, it feels like something is being pulled from my heart. Holding something holy shouldn’t cause this. I don’t know what curse has afflicted me…”
If it was indeed a curse, it must be connected to that strange gaze I felt at the Tea House. As I furrowed my brow trying to piece together what had happened, Lucian’s expression darkened in mirror of my own.
“That’s different from the curse that has plagued the Imperial Family for generations. Though it’s true that there have been nobles who died suddenly of heart attacks in the past.”
“Which nobles typically died suddenly like that?”
Lucian Advein tilted his head, looking distinctly uneasy.
“From what I remember, I believe those who were close to Vincent Crown Prince all died that way. His tutor was no exception. But you have no real connection to Vincent Crown Prince, do you?”
That’s true.
I have no relationship with Vincent whatsoever. And I have no desire to grow closer to him either.
What is this? What’s the problem?
The only connections I have with Vincent are that he’s Lucian’s older brother, and that he’s a target I need to bring down, and…
“Or perhaps those who hold leverage over him?”
“If I knew the Crown Prince’s weaknesses, I would have seized them long ago and manipulated—”
Weaknesses?
Both Lucian Advein’s and my gaze turned instinctively in one direction.
There stood Elian, holding a damp towel, listening to our conversation with the color drained from her face.
The Imperial Household would have learned of Elian’s existence the day Vincent fled, and they likely discovered that I had taken her in at Rosena as well.
The one thing that might have escaped their notice was.
“Your Highness, it’s finally time I told you the truth. Please don’t be angry with me.”
“There’s no way I could ever be angry with you, no matter what you say.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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