Chapter 26

Yuwon and Renania.

A strange atmosphere drifted between the two sitting across from each other.

Hastings, having sensed the uneasy mood, had long since excused himself. It was Yuwon who broke the awkward silence first.

“Thank you for coming. As for what happened on the way… I won’t ask.”

“Ah… thank you.”

“Would you like some tea?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine.”

Renania’s hands clutched at the mud-stained hem of her dress. Her tension was obvious.

“Viscount Bartlett’s taste in tea isn’t bad for what he seems, but… well, forcing it on you would be rude.”

Yuwon filled only his own empty teacup with hot water again.

After taking a small sip to moisten his throat, he resumed speaking.

“Then… I doubt the Lady of Valaris came all this way to the Imperial Palace just for sightseeing. What brings you here?”

At Yuwon’s question, the pale nape of Renania’s neck quivered. She had something to say, but the words wouldn’t come out as easily as she wished.

You have to do it. Renania, you’ve been wearing clothes that never suited you for ten years, all for this day.

She wanted to shut her eyes tight and shout it out, but instead, Renania clenched the hem of her dress even tighter and gathered her courage.

“Your Highness and I… please annul this engagement.”

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

There wasn’t even a 0.1-second hesitation in Yuwon’s reply.

He’d taken longer to decide what tea to drink when Viscount Bartlett had asked him earlier.

It was Renania, the one who had spoken first, who was more taken aback.

“P-pardon? What… what did you say?”

“Why so surprised? Just what you heard. Let’s annul the engagement. Since the Lady of Valaris has already made up her mind, how could I possibly change a person’s heart?”

“So easily…?”

“Ah, was that not what you wanted? Shall I make it more difficult, then?”

Yuwon gave a light, teasing smile. His playful words made Renania hurriedly shake her head.

“N-no, that’s fine. Thank you, Your Highness.”

Yuwon acted as though he had already known that Renania had come to break off the engagement.

Well, I did know, actually.

After meeting her earlier and witnessing her restlessness, it was obvious why she had traveled so far to see him.

For the Lady of Valaris to come all this way herself… there’s only one reason.

The Valaris family is not a poor background, but she’s clearly already made up her mind. I might as well let her go.

In truth, Yuwon had nothing to lose from this annulment.

The rumor about the duel between the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince that had shaken the palace had been confirmed true.

Soon enough, it would spread beyond the palace walls, beyond the capital, and across the Empire.

From now on, the Fifth Prince’s standing would only continue to rise—Yuwon would make sure of it.

A month ago, things might have been different, but now, Yuwon had no reason to feel any regret.

“I’ll tell His Majesty that I’ve grown too picky and broke off the engagement with the Lady of Valaris on my own accord. Not that anyone will believe I wasn’t the one rejected, anyway.”

Just as Yuwon said, the Imperial Family would spin the story to protect its dignity, pretending that the decision came from them. But it was a hollow act.

To anyone looking, it was obvious—the infamous wastrel had been rejected by the precious daughter of the Valaris family.

That such an imperial engagement had ended this way was an unprecedented humiliation.

Yet Yuwon smiled leisurely, as if it were nothing.

Somehow, that smile eased Renania’s heart.

“Then… is that it?”

“If by that you mean the annulment, then yes, it’s settled. You must have suffered a great deal being bound to a wastrel’s engagement. You’ve done well. I’ll take care of what comes next.”

“N-no, Your Highness. Though this happened because of my lack of virtue, I have always felt proud that I was, even once, connected to the Imperial Family.”

Those words were the pure truth from Renania’s heart. Though this engagement had ended in disaster once the Fifth Prince became known as a wastrel, in her childhood—so long ago she could barely remember—she had been proud to be his fiancée.

“Thank you for saying that. Though such words won’t undo the years of distress… I apologize. You’ve suffered much.”

“…Yes. Thank you for your kindness.”

And that was that.

Renania had waited years for this day, but it didn’t feel as refreshing as she expected.

That contradictory feeling—bittersweet—fit her heart perfectly.

The man before her was far different from the wastrel she had heard about for ten long years.

After seeing Renania off kindly, Yuwon walked deeper into the library and descended toward the underground chamber.

Upon arriving, the first thing he did was search for the egg of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent.

He hadn’t had the chance to check earlier when changing clothes in a hurry, but these days, whenever Yuwon came to the underground chamber, the first thing he always did was check on the egg’s condition.

“Huh…? What’s this?”

The egg of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent, which Yuwon had carefully kept warm, was gone from its place.

He thought maybe it had hatched, but there wasn’t even a fragment of a shell left—only the empty nest where the egg had been laid.

“Where did it go… Ah!”

Yuwon’s confusion quickly turned into surprise.

“It’s hatched!”

At his feet, a small snake, as thin as a thread, was wriggling about.

The long wish of Tang Seogyeom was now fulfilled by his son’s hands.

Just yesterday, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent had been still and silent within its egg.

Now, the newborn serpent, no larger than a small worm or snakelet, was coiled up proudly—as if declaring itself a real serpent. The sight was unexpectedly adorable.

“Haha, this is cuter than I thought.”

Yuwon crouched down to take a closer look.

From head to tail, the serpent’s scales shimmered with a deep indigo hue, living up to its name with extraordinary brilliance.

Even though it’s just been born, it’s clearly different.

A serpent with dragon scales—its name isn’t just for show. If it’s like this now, it’ll truly look like a dragon’s scales when it’s grown.

As Yuwon observed closely, the coiled serpent met his gaze.

“They say every baby, human or beast, is cute… and you’re no exception.”

“Pii—”

The serpent opened its mouth and cried softly, like a kitten. It wasn’t the hissing sound Yuwon had expected at all.

“What’s this? Are you answering me? Even that’s cute.”

“Pii—”

The serpent cried again, as if it truly understood him.

“Hm…?”

At first, Yuwon thought it was just coincidence, but at the second response, curiosity stirred in him. He decided to test it.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Again, there came a prompt “Pii—” in reply.

“So you respond whenever I speak?”

This time, there was silence.

The serpent simply stared at Yuwon, unblinking.

“What, do you really understand me or not?”

Still no response.

“I thought so…”

Just as Yuwon was feeling a little disappointed, the tiny serpent, which had been quietly coiled at his feet, began to move—slowly crawling up onto his shoe.

“Hey, no, you can’t.”

The moment the words “No, you can’t” left Yuwon’s mouth, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent froze on the spot.

Then, it turned its tiny head toward Yuwon and blinked those small eyes adorably.

“You understand me, don’t you?”

This time, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent gave a small, cute nod. At last, they seemed to understand each other.

“Hah, a serpent that understands human speech… no wonder it’s called legendary.”

This wasn’t the image of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent Yuwon had imagined.

If anything, I expected something more like a great and mighty serpent-king… or a creature of unmatched venom. This is… unexpected.

“Well… this is refreshing in its own way.”

After a moment of thought, Yuwon carefully reached out his hand. The Dragon-Scaled Serpent obediently slithered onto his palm, as if it thought of Yuwon as its parent.

“I thought you were just cute, but you’re clever too. Good little one.”

It was enough to make him understand why people kept pets.

Well, it’s about time to feed the black serpent. Letting it try a bite might not be a bad idea.

Over the past few days, Yuwon had personally experienced nearly every kind of natural poison known to exist. Yet none of them had managed to harm him; all had ended up as mere meals for the serpent dwelling in his heart.

He had practically reached the state of “immunity to all poisons.” Now, curiosity stirred as he faced a new venomous creature before him.

“Little one, bite me just once.”

Yuwon extended his arm to the Dragon-Scaled Serpent resting in his hand.

As soon as it heard him, the serpent moved instantly—it was so quick that Yuwon wondered how it had resisted biting until now.

But its method was not what he expected.

He had thought it would simply bite his arm, but instead, the serpent wriggled into the opening of his clothes.

“Ugh, hey! What are you—ugh, hah, stop that! That tickles, you little brat!”

He had kept calling it cute, and now the serpent took advantage of that.

Fortunately, Yuwon wasn’t overly ticklish. Before he could even react, the serpent swiftly made its way to his left chest.

By then, Yuwon realized what it was doing.

“Ha! So it truly is a spirit beast…!”

The Dragon-Scaled Serpent was heading straight for his heart. Somehow, it must have sensed the black serpent residing there.

Crunch—!

The Dragon-Scaled Serpent—so legendary that one might doubt its existence if not for its name—released its venom into Yuwon’s bloodstream.

The moment the venom entered his body, the black serpent within his heart stirred, licking its lips as it poked its head out.

Well, I guess I’ll leave the rest to you—

Bang—!

A burst of pain struck his chest so hard it rang like an explosion in his ears.

Yuwon’s assumption was wrong.

He thought the black serpent would simply devour the poison and end it there—but things went completely beyond expectation.

From Yuwon’s heart, the black miasma of the serpent’s venom clashed violently with the yellowish venom flowing from the Dragon-Scaled Serpent.

Never before, in all his experiments with poison, had Yuwon experienced anything like this.

The Dragon-Scaled Serpent sank its tiny, still-growing fangs deep into his left chest, pouring its venom in with terrifying force.

Two serpents tangled within Yuwon’s chest—the black serpent and the Dragon-Scaled Serpent, locked in a fierce, merciless struggle.

Damn…! You damned creatures…!

The one suffering most was Yuwon himself. His own body had become a battlefield, and the pain was unbearable.

The long-forgotten agony in his chest returned, fiercer than ever, sweeping through his heart and rattling his mind.

It had been a long time since he’d done something this foolish.

He had thought poisons no longer frightened him thanks to the black serpent—but that arrogance shattered completely.

His overconfidence in conquering venom had led him to needless suffering.

“Urgh…! I won’t faint this time…!”

The pain felt like his heart was being shredded to pieces.

It would have been easier to lose consciousness—but this time, he refused to give in.

Gritting his teeth, Yuwon endured the agony with sheer willpower.

Before long, the victor and the vanquished were decided.

After a fierce struggle, the black serpent managed to devour the Dragon-Scaled Serpent’s venom.

The defeated Dragon-Scaled Serpent, its strength spent, slowly slithered out from Yuwon’s clothes—its movements sluggish like a tired worm.

It had lasted only about three minutes, but to Yuwon, it felt like three hours.

“It’s over… I didn’t faint this time, damn it…!”

If the battle inside his heart was the black serpent’s victory, then the battle against pain outside was Yuwon’s own triumph.

Since coming to this world, he had fainted more times from pain than he could count.

But this time, through sheer grit and endurance, he had overcome it.

After that exhausting struggle that left him drenched in sweat,

Yuwon felt a dull ache in his left chest.

Hm…?

Compared to what he had just endured, it barely counted as pain, but it was still there.

He thought it was just lingering aftereffects—until he felt a faint warmth spreading beneath his skin.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Yuwon quickly unbuttoned his shirt to check his chest.

“What is this?”

On his left chest, where the Dragon-Scaled Serpent had bitten him, the mark of its fangs had turned completely black.

It looked almost like a magic circle engraved upon the chest of a magician.

Wait, could this be…?

The thought struck him suddenly, and Yuwon quickly sat down cross-legged to circulate his energy. He had something to confirm.

Ah…!

His assumption was correct.

The venom and his inner energy—once incompatible like water and oil—were now merging naturally, as though they had always been one.

The black miasma of the serpent’s venom had grown even larger than before—and its nature had transformed as well.

Venom had met venom… and birthed an entirely new kind of poison.