Chapter 12: Chapter 11 – The lord’s daughter

Adan and Isabella were about to arrive at the city's gate. Nothing interesting had happened on their way, as they arrived in about three days on horseback with very little breaks. Isabella was quite disappointed; she had really wanted to play with some bandits.

The capital's city gate was a towering structure made of ancient stone, intricately carved with images of legendary heroes and fearsome beasts. The gates are guarded by heavily armored soldiers, their weapons at the ready. The guards stand stoically, their expressions serious as they keep watch over the comings and goings of travelers and merchants.

"Halt, state your business," one of the guards yelled as Adan and his daughter arrived. Adan simply took out his document. "I've been sent here on a mission by the Saintes." The guard's expression changed a little bit, intimidated by the seal of the letter.

"We are going to have to run this through the church in the capital. I hope you can understand and wait here," the guard said. Adan nodded; he was using Godfried's clothes, face, and voice, and he was displaying a warm and calm attitude towards the guard. They waited there for some time. His daughter, Isabella, started talking with the other guard that remained. He was certainly a lot more friendly now that he knew the identity of these two.

The guard returned with a priest and an old-looking butler. "We welcome the doctor with the Saintes' blessing, and his assistant," the priest told them cordially. He was younger than the priest Adan met in the first city he arrived at. Although, he still had a gorgeous red beard, he was bold, and his eyes told Adan that he was an experienced man.

"This is the butler for the lord's family. He couldn't come in person as he wanted to stay by his daughter's side. We are hopeful that you understand," the priest presented the man behind him. He was around Adan's age, a little bit shorter, wearing formal attire. 'Typical,' Adan thought about his clothing. The butler himself wasn't human, from what Adan could see. His eyes slithered, like that of a cat when there is excessive lightning. He had growing hair all over his face and hands, his fingers were long and thin, and his nails overextended. He took a bow after the priest finished his introduction and didn't say a word.

"Please, there is no need to be so formal," Adan told the others in a somewhat embarrassed and flustered manner. "This right here is my daughter, Isabella. She will be assisting me during today's examination."

As they finished their introduction, the priest decided that it was time to start heading towards the lord's mansion. After they passed through the city gate, the streets were bustling with activity. Vendors were selling their goods, people were going about their daily business, and guards were patrolling the streets. The streets were made of cobblestone and lined with tall buildings made of stone and timber. The architecture was grand and ornate, with intricate carvings and statues adorning the buildings. As they continued deeper into the city, the streets became wider, leading towards the heart of the city where the city lord's mansion could be found. The mansion was an imposing structure, with high walls made of stone and iron gates that stand tall. The gates were guarded by soldiers who stand at attention, checking those who enter and exit. The mansion's exterior was made of marble and adorned with intricate sculptures and carvings that depict scenes from the city's history and legends. The garden surrounding the mansion was well-manicured and filled with exotic flowers, bushes and trees.

The butler and the priest went ahead to the guards, talking to them and presenting the documents, pointing towards Adan and Isabella. They did not say a single word and bowed as they allowed the group to pass through. The butler went ahead, leading the way to the lord's daughter's room. As they walked, they were greeted by a  foyer with a marble floor and high ceilings adorned with chandeliers. The walls were adorned with paintings and tapestries depicting the lord's ancestors. The foyer led to a big staircase, made of marble and gold, which led to the upper levels of the mansion. As one climbed the stairs, they passed by several doors, each leading to a different room, such as the lab, the maids' and butlers' rooms, library, dining hall, and so on.

As they continued to walk through the mansion, they passed by several halls that were lined with marble statues, vases, and other ornate decorations. The halls were illuminated by large windows that cast a warm glow over the space.

Arriving at the daughter's room door, they noticed it to be a big and ornate door, made of dark wood, with golden handles and a lock. The door was guarded by two soldiers who stood at attention, ready to open the door for authorized personnel. The door was adorned with the lord's family crest. The crest featured a lion, representing strength and bravery, on a shield, representing the city’s defense capability. The lion held a sword hilt in its mouth, symbolizing the family's military prowess. Above the shield, there was a crown, the symbol of high nobility.

Adan wasn't a fan of such designs, he preferred a much simpler style. However, the same couldn't be said about Isabella as she was looking around and running over the place as she examined the beautiful mansion.

Once again, the priest and the butler talked to the guards, bowing and opening the door shortly after. The daughter's room was a grand and spacious chamber, adorned with luxurious furnishings and decorative elements. The walls were painted in a pale color and adorned with paintings and tapestries depicting landscapes and scenes from around the world. The room had large windows that allowed for natural light and provided a view of the garden outside.

The center of the room was dominated by a large four-poster bed, made of dark wood. The bed was dressed with fine linens and plush pillows. Laying on the bed was the lord's daughter, unconscious due to her illness. She was surrounded by medical equipment and potions, indicating that the lord had tried a bunch of cures, all failing.

The lord's daughter was a young woman, she appeared to be in her early twenties, with long, dark hair that fell in loose waves around her shoulders. Her skin was pale, indicating her recent illness. She had delicate and refined features, with high cheekbones and a small nose. Her eyes were closed, giving no indication of their color. She was dressed in a fine nightgown and covered with a soft blanket.

The lord was a man of middle age, with a strong jawline, a sharp nose, and deep-set eyes. He had short, graying hair, and a well-groomed beard. He was dressed in a fine tunic and pants, adorned with gold and jewels, indicating his high status. He had a stern expression on his face, his attention focused on his daughter, deep wrinkles on his forehead indicating his worry and concern. He was standing beside his daughter's side, holding her hand.

"My lord," the priest said in a deep voice, bowing to the ground. Adan and Isabella followed his gesture. The lord slowly turned his head towards the group and, with a pain in his voice, said, "I thank you for your presence, doctor. And I thank the Saintes as well for her kind actions. But there is no hope. I've brought the best doctors the kingdom has to offer. The church sent multiple high-ranking priests my way, and even the best and renowned alchemists came to help. But to no avail," in a deep voice that could shake the core of a normal person. His face did not display much emotion, but his eyes gave away the pain he felt.

"I understand your sentiment, My Lord," Godfried looked straight into the lord's eyes. "But I believe there will be no harm done if I give it a try," he said. The lord was not angry at the comment and simply stepped away, giving Adan his chair. Isabella followed and stood up behind her father. Her expression was more serious than normal. 'She is getting better, nowhere near me though,' Adan thought as he stole a glance towards his daughter.

He held onto the lady's hand. It felt soft and delicate. His gaze fixated on her face as his left eye started to turn golden in color, golden tears trickled down his face. However, the tears never fell off his face and instead were absorbed back into his skin. Everyone in the room could feel warmth surrounding them. The hopeless and negative feelings seemingly left them as they looked in awe at the doctor who seemed to use some sort of magic on the woman.

"I'm going to need everyone to take a step outside, please," Adan's eye turned normal, and the tears stopped flowing. "What did you find, doctor?" the lord asked, his face still stoic. But the pain in his eyes was no more. Instead, it looked like his eyes were hiding a glimpse of hope behind them.

Adan wanted to laugh and smile so hard. He was going to save this daughter of his, but seeing what plagued her and her condition, a more sinister plan flowed inside his mind. "I need to discuss with my daughter here. I have a few theories and I do not wish to scare you, My Lord," Adan put on a caring expression, and the lord simply nodded and signaled to the rest of the group.

Everyone in the room left quickly, leaving Adan and Isabella alone in the room. This surprised Adan. He was certain that it would take more convincing. 'Probably the Saintes's letter and the demonstration earlier helped a lot,' although this did not ease Adan's worries as he signaled something to Isabella discretely.

She understood the assignment and quickly used some strange spells to check the room, finding nothing wrong. After that, she took a bottle from one of her pockets containing a white powder, which she spread in a circle around their location. A spell took action as soon as the circle connected, blocking any kind of sound from leaving them and preventing others from seeing them. The powder would dissolve itself, leaving nothing behind if the circle was broken now.

Adan returned to his usual clothing, but keeping the doctor's face. He reached deep inside his coat and retrieved his book, as he needed to check for something. The book began to glow blue and purple, and the pages flipped. Adan reached the page he was looking for, and a big smile appeared on his face.

"What is it, Father?" Isabella asked, curious.

"She is cursed...quite a potent curse at that," Adan told his daughter, taking a moment to think about his next course of action.

 

Skill: Devil and Angel

Description: You can now gain certain bonuses by sacrificing your body's resources. In angel form, your left eye will turn golden and it will leak holy tears which cannot leave your body and they emit a glow that removes negative emotions from allies strengthening their hearths. In this form your mind will get tired much faster. In this form all of your other skills and magic are boosted. You are able to see the past actions that happened around the area that you are in, the further back the bigger the exhaustion. You are able to see surface level thoughts of your enemies, you can also tell when they are lying.

You can choose to use up your eye, going blind in your left eye and being unable to use this form for 24-hours, by cancelling all the magic and removing the ability of mages to use magic for 1-hour in the area that is seen by your left eye. Your mind will be severely exhausted.

 

Adan retrieved another bottle from inside his coat, this one pale yellow. ‘This is not the coffee I'm used to, but...’ He was already feeling very tired just by taking a quick peek into the past. The potion was something akin to an energy drink, but its effects were limited by his skill, Johnson's special mind protection. At the very least, it wasn't completely negated like alcohol.

"Right, I'll change my clothes back. You break the circle and get the others. We've got someone to hunt later," Isabella didn't ask about the curse that plagued the lady. She would hear about it soon enough.

"How is it, Doctor?" The lord was the first to enter the room.

"Good news, My Lord. It's a rare disease, and luckily, I know the cure," Adan said in a relaxed and relieved manner.

"You better not lie to me. I am not someone you want as your enemy," He tried to intimidate Adan, who simply smiled. ‘Oh, it should be the other way around, dear Lord,’ Adan wasn't mad because of the threat. After all, many probably tried to trick him because of his misfortune. But Adan was going to get a much bigger prize in return, so he didn't have a problem curing his daughter.

"I'm going to need to use your lab. I assume you have plenty of ingredients, yes?" The lord didn't talk much more after that and told the butler to lead the way.

Adan successfully concocted two different potions, under the watchful gaze of the lord's alchemist, who took quite a liking to Adan. The potions he brewed were unique, and he didn't know their effects. But Adan managed to lie to the alchemist about how the interaction between those items and the process achieved unusual reactions.

Adan knew the person that cursed the lord’s daughter. She was meant to be a vessel for a demon, that's the reason she couldn't wake up. Although, the process was going to take more than a year. All Adan had to do was purify the demon. He once again requested for everyone to leave the room, “Why do we need to leave if you’re going to administer the medicine” but the lord didn’t want to leave this time, there certainly wasn’t a reason for that.

"My Lord, I have no ill intentions. I'll need to administer the potion over a long period of time and in measured quantities based on her body's reaction. I'm going to be able to concentrate better alone, and I do not wish to be rude, but everyone's gazes, especially My Lord's, will make me nervous," Adan used a defeated and sad expression as he lied through his teeth.

The lord was still reluctant, but decided to trust the doctor, and he left, along with everyone, even Isabella. Adan was now all alone, as he got up, lit a candle, then went to the window and closed the curtains. He placed the two bottles on the table. One was for the demon; one was for something else.

He took the bottle that was meant for the demon. It was black in color and the contents were thicker than normal water. He needed to make sure that she wasn't going to choke on the contents, so he lifted her up, holding her back with his right hand, and with his left, he started slowly dripping the liquid on her tongue until the bottle’s contents were completely gone.

Her body started shivering a little and started to create a very faint black fog. She, or the demon, didn't make any sounds. Adan knew from the book that this was going to be mostly silent, but he was still afraid that something might go wrong, and he prepared for it. Thankfully, there was no need.

He waited for the shivers and black fog to stop, signaling that the demon had completely left her body. 'I'm going to have to be quick now,' he thought as he reverted to his normal face. He continued to hold her and took the other bottle from the counter. This one was azure, and he downed the contents down her throat.

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Soon, the lord's daughter started to open her eyes and looked at Adan. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared deeply at Adan's face. Her mind seemed to be a little bit fuzzy. She finally truly woke up this time, after her eyes focused, as she tried to move around and speak, but Adan simply put his finger on her mouth, shutting her up. Her face blushed a little. He went over to her ear and whispered, "Keep my face a secret, will you?" After she took another good look at the man, Adan started to change his face again into the doctor's. She simply looked surprised, but she didn't say anything. Something seemed wrong with her, too obedient, but Adan knew why.

"My Lord, she has woken up!" Adan shouted and the door flung open, the lord rushing inside the room, seeing her daughter standing up and with her eyes opened, looking back at him. The man was speechless as he simply stared at her daughter. Adan could see a tear forming in his eye. He simply got up and opened the curtains and was about to leave the room. "Thank you..." Adan heard a voice from behind, seeing that the lord turned his face around to look at him. "I am just doing my job," Adan said with a caring smile and left the room.

 

‘There seems to be a recurring theme here, father’ Isabella thought as she looked at the man she had just captured, tied to a chair. She was in a dark, unknown room that looked like an ordinary basement. The man was not unconscious and was struggling in his chair. He had a black sack over his face and it sounded like there was something stuffed in his mouth.

"Very good hunt, my dear, dear daughter," Adan's voice could be heard from above as he walked down the stairs. "The residents of this house aren't going to wake up anytime soon," he said as he walked over to the tied-up man and pulled the sack off his face. It was the priest.

"Saintes's doctor? What is the meaning of this?!" The priest was revolted and very angry upon seeing Godfried.

"Oh... oh... oh... The priest is trying to play the innocent card, hmm?" Adan said as he changed his face back to his original. The priest looked surprised, but that quickly changed back to fury. "Who do you think you are? I am going to have you beheaded," he exclaimed, getting on Adan's nerves.

Adan took a step back and put his hand on his chin, looking calm and collected. This made the priest a little bit confident, but then a blood tear fell on the floor. Adan suddenly latched onto the man's face, catching his cheeks between his hands and putting his face right in front of him. His expression was terrifying.

"Oh... Do you think I don't know... Do you think I can't see the truth... Oh... Do you think you can fool me?" Adan exclaimed right in his face. The fog in the room started to get denser and denser, and the priest breathed in some of it, starting to feel unimaginable fear spreading across his body. But he did not yield.

"W...what do you m...mean?" He stumbled on a few words, but he didn't lose his demeanor. Adan enjoyed this, not as much as he enjoyed it with Elise, but it had only just begun.

"What do I mean... Hmm... I wonder..." Adan said as he backed away slightly from him. He went around the man, touching his right shoulder with his fingers, then trickling them down his hand until he reached his nails. He grabbed his index finger's nail and ripped it from his finger. The priest screamed, sweat started to form around his face as he looked at Adan with even more fear in his eyes.

"I saw you," he ripped another nail, and the priest screamed again, "In that room," and another nail, "Poisoning the lady," and another nail, "Putting her to sleep," and another nail, "And doing the demon summoning ritual on her." There were no more nails to rip from his right hand.

"Tell me... who are you?" Adan asked the priest, tears running down his face. But he kept silent. Adan was very pleased, "Good, I wouldn't have liked it if you gave up early," he said and went to Isabella, who gave him a few nails and a hammer.

 

Isabella also came closer to the man, keeping his middle finger extended. Adan placed a nail over the place where he had just ripped a nail from and raised his hammer. The priest looked terrified, knowing what was about to happen, and tried to speak. "Wait! I'll talk! I'll tell yo..."

 

*Smash*

The priest screamed in agony as Adan hit the hammer again and again, driving the nail deeper. "Do you think you can just talk when you want? No, you talk when I allow you to do it," Adan said as he nailed another, and another, and another, until all of the priest's fingers were now nailed to the chair's arm. The priest continuously begged for mercy as the pain was too much for him. The fog was also starting to get stronger as he continued to breathe it in.

"Now, tell me, who are you?" Adan was behind the man, who was now keeping his head down, tears falling down his face. "I...I am...part of an evil cult," the priest responded, crying and choking while he talked.

"Yeah, no shit. Who else is in that cult of yours?" Adan pressed on, still behind the chair as he overlooked the hunching man.

"T...There's no one else f...from this city," the priest responded to Adan's question, but Adan started laughing out loud as he went in front of the priest, his right eye glowing red but this time, his left eye, was also glowing.

"You dare lie to me. Hmm..." Adan simply said as he walked back in front of the priest, squatting down before him, staring at his hand. He put his hand behind his back, where Isabella stood, like he was waiting for something. Isabella didn't say anything and handed him a small knife.

Adan got to work then, slowly chipping away the skin off his fingers with the knife, then the muscles, leaving the bone clean. The priest was screaming beyond what Adan thought was humanly possible. He was squirming around in his seat, trying to get away from the man, but Isabella stood behind the man, making sure he didn't tip the chair over. When Adan got to the bone he struck the knife between the joints in his fingers to inflict as much damage as possible.

This proved to be more than the priest could tolerate as he fell unconscious. Of course, Adan knew this would happen and prepared a special bottle. He unscrewed the cap and put it under the priest's nose, waking him up again, who started screaming. Adan used another potion, this time a healing one, as the priest's finger was bleeding quite badly and he still hadn't finished his business.

"Here, a grace period, you could talk to make life easier... Or..." Adan was smiling with blood all over his face and clothes, but that started slowly gathering down to his feet leaving his face and clothes clean.

"Archan...gel Osric, High...priest Maurin. And a b...unch of other sm...all fries." This time, Adan could not detect any lies spoken from the man, for some reason, he was starting to get honest.

"Good...good. Final question... What is your cult's goal?" Adan was now walking in circles around the man.

"Spr...ead the lord's in...fluence... we are loc...ated in Kilop city's main cathe...dral under...ground." The priest was having more and more difficulty breathing and his eyes started to slowly droop down.

"Very good! Very good! Was that so hard?" Adan walked behind the man, his knife still in his hand. He raised his arm and stabbed the man in the shoulder area, careful as to not cut into a major artery. After he took out the knife, he inserted two fingers and spread the wound apart. Adan then retrieved a bottle from his outer pockets, a clear liquid, smelled like... alcohol.

Adan smiled behind the man, turned his skill off and poured the contents of the bottle inside the wound. The man was again in agony and he stumbled until the chair tipped over, he tried moving around. Adan let him be, he knew he would just bleed out eventually.

"Why were you so cruel to that man? He did nothing wrong to you," Isabella asked Adan, her eyes filled with confusion. Her expression was neutral, with a small grin on her face, as if she was trying to mask her amusement.

"Did you hate it?" Adan replied with a question, his voice calm and collected. He came closer to his daughter, taking her hand and pulling her closer, as if he was trying to reassure her.

"I very much enjoyed it. I am simply curious!" Isabella stated, her voice steady and her expression unchanging.

"You need to remember one thing, my dear daughter. Those who go against me will pay, oh so very dearly," Adan said, his voice now taking on a menacing tone. He glared at Isabella as if to emphasize his point.

"You didn't go so hard on Elise though," Isabella asked in confusion.

"Oh...no. Elise's fate is one so much crueler than what you just saw. It just takes time," Adan continued, a small smirk appearing on his face at the thought of Elise's impending downfall.

"You've told me you showed your face to the lord's daughter. Why is that?" Isabella asked another question, her curiosity piqued.

"You remember the two bottles I used on her?" Isabella nodded. "One was for the demon. One was for something more special."

"What exactly?" she asked, her voice filled with eagerness.

"Her mind has been weakened by the demon. What I've used there was a love potion, an extremely potent one, and I also added elements that will break her mind further. I will administer the potion every 2 weeks. She is going to become...a doll...a broken doll...that wishes nothing more than to serve me," he responded, a sense of satisfaction evident in his voice.

"I don't think she did anything to you," Isabella said, her voice filled with a playful tone.

"She didn't, but she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Adan said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

They didn’t stay long after that and left for the lord’s mansion again.

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