Not only the resting knights but everyone in the training ground followed my movements with their eyes. Savoring their attention, I settled into an empty spot in the middle.
"They're all staring at you, young master."
"Seems so."
[Creator's Eye activated.]
[Affection: -90 (Hatred)]
[Affection: -92 (Murderous Intent)]
[Affection: -91 (Violent Intent)]
[Affection: -87 (Hatred)]
Unlike the servants, the knights' affection hadn't budged. Most—no, all—of them despised me.
Even if Yuren was a total scoundrel, he couldn't have crossed every single knight here. Their universal hatred felt off.
"Arin."
"Yes?"
"Feels like every knight here hates me."
"You'd know why better than anyone, young master."
"I get that, but I couldn't have messed with all of them."
"True."
Arin closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Knights have strong camaraderie. If one of their own is wronged, they'll seek revenge, even at the cost of their lives. Honor is a word made for knights."
I caught her meaning instantly.
"They hate you because of the knights you wronged. Plus, a young master who bullies people with his inherited status, showing no skill or effort, is the kind of scum knights can't stand."
"Ugh…"
It wasn't my doing, but her words hit like a boulder on my chest.
How long would Yuren's shadow haunt me?
"But that's the past. You're a different person now. People will start to see that, bit by bit."
Arin's voice carried a rare hint of concern and care.
"Hope so."
I'm human too—constantly facing hatred and malice would wear anyone down.
"Aren't you training today?"
"You told me to think about learning swordsmanship, so I came to observe how the knights train."
"Oh! Good thinking."
Arin nodded, seemingly pleased I was interested in knights.
Sorry, but I had no intention of becoming one. I was here to test some abilities.
Scanning the training ground, I noticed the knights glancing at me while continuing their drills.
They're not approaching.
Maybe because I was close, they'd stopped chatting like before. They didn't come near, just trained warily, probably anxious I'd start trouble.
"That's the basic form."
"Basic form?"
Arin pointed to a knight slashing at the air in a corner.
"Yes, the Rox family's basic swordsmanship. Looks like a trainee knight."
"Trainee knight, huh."
Now that I thought about it, Yuren targeted trainee knights since regular knights were tougher to mess with. What a coward, picking on the weak.
"He's mastered the basics. His form is nearly perfect—better than most knights. Just a bit too forceful."
Following Arin's words, I focused on the trainee knight. His movements appeared in slow motion.
Must be my inner energy at work.
"He'll be a knight soon."
"Really?"
"Yes. He's already skilled enough."
Intrigued by Arin's praise, I checked him out.
[Creator's Eye activated.]
[Name: Cryde]
[Traits: Berserker, Herculean Strength Lv1]
[Affection: -30 (Dislike)]
"What!"
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I'd misread. But no.
[Trait: Berserker] stared back at me.
Why's he here?
Cryde was a key figure in my novel. I hadn't set up his backstory before meeting the protagonist, so finding him here was surreal.
"Hmm…"
I wanted to talk to him, but with his dislike toward me, approaching rashly would only make him wary. I held back.
I wasn't here for Cryde anyway. Knowing he's with the Rox family, I'd have chances before he leaves.
Time to start with the guy who called me a "walking lump."
I'd already memorized him—a towering figure, about 190cm, warming up cautiously in the middle.
[Camillo]
[Traits: Aura Detection Lv1, Endurance Lv1]
[Affection: -87 (Hatred)]
Two traits—not bad. Endurance, especially, made him perfect for my experiment.
I targeted Camillo with Gut-Linked Poison's arrow. I felt inner energy leave my dantian, heading toward him. He seemed oblivious, still swinging his sword.
I counted silently. Knowing when the poison takes effect was critical for this test.
At 60 seconds, Camillo's calm expression shifted. He clutched his stomach, his face contorting as if holding in a desperate need.
"Hey, Camillo, what's wrong? Gotta go? Haha."
"It's nothing."
"Nothing? Go take a dump."
Another knight approached Camillo, who was gripping his stomach.
"Dude, holding it in causes constipation."
"It's not that! Urgh…"
Gut-Linked Poison spreads to other organs over time, amplifying pain. Thanks to his Endurance trait or knightly pride, Camillo held on, but he wouldn't last long.
His resilience was impressive—he endured for 10 minutes, acting unfazed.
"Urgh!"
"Camillo, you okay?"
"Camillo?"
"Hey!"
After about 15 minutes, he collapsed, clutching his stomach, face red, tearing at himself in agony.
"Argh!"
"Hey!"
"What's happening?"
"My stomach hurt, but now my whole body… Argh! Damn it!"
"Get his armor off!"
It took about 20 minutes to incapacitate a low-ranking knight.
Snap.
I snapped my fingers, detoxifying the Gut-Linked Poison on Camillo.
"Carry him to the priest!"
"I'll take him!"
As knights moved to carry him, Camillo suddenly shoved the one holding him.
"What's wrong?"
"It… stopped hurting."
"What?"
"What's that mean?"
"You pulled that stunt?"
"No!"
Camillo, disbelieving, touched his body all over.
"You scared us!"
"That's not a joke to pull, Camillo."
Thwack!
"Ow! I'm serious!"
Thinking he'd pranked them, a knight smacked the back of his head.
"Told you to hit the bathroom on time."
"It wasn't that! It was real!"
But the knights didn't buy it, playfully smacking him and laughing.
I felt a bit guilty, but now was perfect.
About 10 knights were gathered in the center of the training ground, unarmed after rushing to Camillo—ideal for my next test.
Soul-Killing Mist was an area-effect poison. I set the knights' area as the target and activated it.
As inner energy drained from my dantian, a faint mist formed around them. Unlike a smoke bomb, it allowed enough visibility to distinguish people.
"What's this?"
"No idea!"
"Feels bad. Let's get out."
"Camillo, you okay? Can you move?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Even in their panic, the knights tried to help Camillo escape together.
"What!"
"Who are you!"
"Argh! Spiders! Spiders!"
"Damn it, why's a Black Axe here?"
"You bastards!"
About 30 seconds after the mist appeared, the knights who inhaled it started hallucinating, cursing and swinging fists at each other.
"Monsters!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Die!"
Thankfully, they fought barehanded instead of grabbing weapons.
"What's going on! Stop!"
"Cut it out!"
"Everyone, stop!"
Higher-ranking knights tried to intervene, but to those poisoned by Soul-Killing Mist, everyone looked like monsters.
"Argh!"
"Kill the Blainzer!"
"What's happening!"
Even the intervening knights got poisoned, turning the scene into chaos. If they'd had weapons, some would've died.
Seeing more knights approach, I deactivated Soul-Killing Mist.
It lasts about an hour on average, varying by person.
Since I could see who was poisoned and how long it lasted, I detoxified everyone affected.
"What just happened?"
"You looked like a Blainzer."
"You were a Black Axe."
"What was that mist?"
They were still disoriented from the poisoning.
"No idea what happened, but that was dangerous."
"Yeah. What was that?"
Arin didn't answer, just stared at me.
Did she figure it out? No, unless she's an idiot, she'd know I did something.
Given my recent suspicious behavior, I'd need to sit down and explain things to her soon.
"Is this the young master's doing?"
"Him? How could he pull this off?"
"If not him, why'd this happen right when he showed up? His sudden visit's fishy."
The recovered knights shot me openly suspicious glares.
"No way."
"What?"
"I was beside him the whole time. He didn't scatter anything—just watched and talked with his butler."
"I was nearby too. He seemed to be observing."
Thankfully, knights who'd been watching from the sides vouched for me.
"Hm…"
"He couldn't have that kind of ability."
"Then who did this?"
"Let's report it. The injuries aren't severe, but they need treatment."
"Yeah."
Some knights carried the injured away, while the highest-ranking one moved to report to the Marquis.
"This isn't a good place to train. Arin, let's go where we were headed."
"Yes, that's best."
I'd learned what I needed from the experiment and detoxified everyone, so there was no reason to stay.
Leaving the chattering knights behind, I exited the third training ground for the fourth.
As expected, the fourth was empty. I immediately started practicing movement techniques and throwing hidden weapons.
"My inner energy's grown a ton. I could throw weapons and train movement all day without tiring."
Sweating and training happily, someone rushed into the fourth training ground.
Wait, isn't that…
Not a knight, but a maid who stood like a doll on the mansion's first floor.
"Why's she here?"
"Mita's here means a guest has arrived."
"A guest?"
Spotting me, Mita ran straight over.
"Huff, huff! Young master."
"Calm down first."
"Huff, yes."
"Take slow breaths."
"Oh! S-Sorry! I forgot to greet you."
Realizing she hadn't bowed, she bent at a 90-degree angle, trembling.
Even with her affection raised, she still feared me.
"It's fine. What's the matter?"
My calm tone seemed to ease her, and she spoke slowly.
"Lady Ilia has arrived."
The fiancée who once beat up the old Yuren—a woman who could throw a punch—had come to visit.