Chapter 26: A Very Awkward Breakfast (Magic Castle Bonus)

Chapter 26. A Very Awkward Breakfast (Magic Castle Bonus)

Half an hour passed.

Which, considering my history with research, was practically a miracle of self-restraint.

The last batch of ingredients hovered above my worktable, surrounded by thin circles of pale mana.

Rey had a lot of materials.

Rare herbs. Refined monster essence. Concentrated mana water. Powdered elemental crystals. Ingredients that would’ve made half the researchers from my era start foaming at the mouth while the other half murdered each other for publication rights.

So naturally...

I experimented.

Just a little.

For science.

[Arcane Potion Crafting activated.]

My hands glowed.

The ingredients rose.

Instead of using traditional equipment, mana itself separated, purified, measured, and recombined them. Powder dissolved into liquid. Essence twisted around crystalline fragments. Impurities burned away in tiny sparks.

Then...

A bottle descended gently onto the table.

Blue liquid shimmered inside.

[High-Grade Mana Potion created.]

[Quality: Exceptional]

[Mana Recovery Efficiency: Significantly increased.]

I picked it up.

Normal.

Completely normal.

No Forbidden Energy.

No corruption.

Yet substantially more effective than the standard high-grade mana potions sitting on Rey’s shelves.

My eyebrow rose. "Oh."

That was...

Dangerous information.

Dangerous in the ’I could accidentally destroy an entire pharmaceutical economy if I got bored on a Tuesday’ sense.

I smiled.

Then pain stabbed through my chest.

"—gh."

My smile disappeared.

Black veins crawled beneath the skin of my wrist.

A burning sensation spread through my mana channels, reaching my shoulder before stabbing toward my core.

[Warning.]

[Dark Lord’s Curse reacting.]

[Curse Stability: 70%]

I stared at the notification and placed the potion down.

The pain wasn’t pleasant.

Actually, it felt rather like someone had shoved burning wires through my veins.

But now that I wasn’t terrified of dying from it...

My researcher brain immediately took over.

"Oh."

I understood.

The curse didn’t merely calculate the strength of a spell.

It calculated frequency.

Accumulation.

Rey’s historical problem suddenly became painfully obvious.

The first spell wasn’t necessarily dangerous.

Suppose one ordinary spell reduced stability by approximately one percent.

Fine.

Cast it again too soon?

The curse was already agitated.

Perhaps two percent.

Again?

Three.

Again?

Four.

The numbers wouldn’t necessarily be perfectly linear, but the principle was obvious.

Repeated mana circulation irritated the corruption faster than Rey’s body could stabilize it.

Like reopening the same wound before it could close.

And higher-ranked spells?

Those simply started the cycle with a much larger hammer.

Meaning Rey could cast a powerful spell once and survive.

But prolonged combat?

Disaster.

Each spell fed the next curse reaction.

Each reaction lowered stability.

Lower stability meant stronger symptoms.

Pain.

Black veins.

Emotional instability.

Loss of control.

Eventually... Madness.

"So that’s why you couldn’t fight for long."

My voice became quieter.

Rey hadn’t become weaker in the conventional sense.

His mana pool was still monstrous.

His body still remembered SSS-rank combat.

The problem was that every time he used that power, the curse tightened the rope around his throat.

How cruel.

I looked at the black veins crawling toward my elbow.

Then smiled.

Unfortunately for the Dark Lord... The bastard hadn’t accounted for me.

"Curse Conversion."

[Curse Conversion activated.]

The pain vanished.

The black veins stopped.

Then reversed.

Darkness peeled away beneath my skin like ink being pulled backward through invisible channels.

Warmth flooded my core.

[Corruption detected.]

[Conversion initiated.]

[Forbidden Energy replenished.]

[Forbidden Energy: 100%]

[Curse Stability restored.]

I flexed my fingers.

Perfectly steady.

A laugh escaped me.

Soft.

Probably concerning.

If anyone had been watching, I imagined the sight would’ve been fairly disturbing.

Rey Valen standing alone in a laboratory, black veins disappearing beneath his skin while smiling like he’d just discovered the curse ruining his life was actually a rechargeable battery.

Which...

Technically...

I had.

The system chimed.

[Congratulations!]

[You have successfully crafted 10 Normal Potions.]

[You have successfully crafted 50 Forbidden Elixirs.]

[Arcane Potion Crafting proficiency increased.]

[Arcana Evolution Progress: 3%.]

My eyebrows rose.

"Three percent?"

Excellent.

So crafting forbidden consumables contributed toward evolution too.

I immediately looked toward the remaining ingredients.

They looked back at me.

Metaphorically.

Temptingly.

I could make another fifty.

Perhaps test healing elixirs.

Maybe corrupted antidotes.

What if I injected Abyssal Water properties into a regeneration potion?

What if...

"No."

I slapped both hands onto the table.

Stop.

Somehow... Somehow, I managed to stop myself.

A historic achievement.

Someone should build me a tomb.

I had breakfast waiting.

More importantly, I had a date.

With my wife.

My first actual date.

And Ariel’s first actual date with Rey.

I was not going to keep her waiting because I accidentally discovered seventeen new branches of potion theory.

I collected the last bottle.

The dimensional ring responded.

The potion disappeared. "Convenient."

I left the study.

The first servant I passed saw me.

Stopped.

Went pale.

Then bowed so quickly I worried about her spine.

"G-Good morning, my lord."

"Morning."

She hurried away.

Another servant appeared.

Same reaction.

Then another.

This one practically flattened himself against the wall to give me room.

I slowed.

Hm.

Apparently my reputation had somehow gotten worse overnight.

Then I remembered.

Blood-covered monster corpse.

Mad Magus performance.

Ariel entering my chamber.

The servants apparently hearing enough afterward to create conclusions.

And stained bedsheets this morning.

Ah.

Right.

From their perspective, Rey Valen had spent yesterday turning an A-rank monster into neatly categorized inventory, walked through the mansion soaked in blood, summoned his first wife into his chamber with a villainous promise...

And then the mansion had experienced a rather eventful night.

I rubbed my chin. "Fair."

I’d be terrified of me too.

By the time I entered the dining room, breakfast had already been arranged.

Seris sat near the window.

Lily was there too.

Both looked at me.

Then at each other.

Something passed between them.

Suspicious. Very suspicious.

I narrowed my eyes.

They smiled.

Even more suspicious.

Then Ariel entered.

Our eyes met.

She stopped.

Just for half a second.

Her cheeks turned pink.

Ah... Cute.

My gaze automatically dropped toward her wrists.

Covered.

Long sleeves.

Then my gaze shifted to the necklace she was using to hide the hickey on her neck.

Interesting.

She immediately noticed where I was looking and became approximately twenty percent redder.

Seris coughed into her hand.

Lily suddenly became fascinated by her tea.

Oh.

They knew.

Wonderful.

Apparently my household’s information network was more efficient than the Light Temple’s spies.

I sat down.

Then paused.

My plate was...

Normal.

A normal amount of food.

Not three leaves or medicinal porridge that tasted like someone had boiled disappointment.

Actual breakfast.

Eggs. Bread. Meat. Fruit.

Civilization had returned.

Then Ariel sat beside me.

Her gaze landed on the dishes placed near her.

She blinked.

Honey-glazed riverfish.

Moonberry pancakes.

She looked at one.

Then the other.

Then slowly looked at me.

Confusion crossed her face.

"These are..."

"Your favorites."

Silence.

They stared at me.

I calmly picked up my fork. "What?"

Ariel’s lips parted.

Apparently, remembering your wife’s favorite breakfast was considered groundbreaking behavior around here.

Which said horrifying things about Rey’s recent husband performance.

"I thought..." Ariel glanced at the dishes again. "Was there some occasion?"

"Yes."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What occasion?"

I took another bite.

"You worked hard last night, so you need nutritious food to recover."

Ariel looked at me like I’d just summoned the Dark Lord onto the breakfast table.

Lily choked violently on her tea. "Kh—!"

Seris closed her eyes and slowly shook her head from side to side.

Ariel’s face turned crimson.

"I-I get it," she whispered. "But... should we tone it down a little?"

I frowned. "Why? We’re married already. That’s normal."

Lily made another dying sound behind her cup.

Seris pinched the bridge of her nose.

Ariel stared at me in complete disbelief.

I stared back.

I wasn’t describing anything.

I was simply stating biological facts.

Recovery required proper nutrition.

Apparently ancient society had invented magical teleportation before learning how to discuss marriage without spontaneously combusting.

Strange civilization.

"Anyway."

I calmly reached into my dimensional ring.

Two envelopes appeared between my fingers.

That killed the atmosphere immediately.

Ariel recognized the royal seal first. "The king?"

"King Aldric Valcrest’s birthday banquet. One week from now."

Seris straightened.

Lily lowered her cup.

"And this one..." I tapped the second envelope against the table. "Is from Elia."

The warmth vanished from Ariel’s expression.

I smiled faintly. "She hopes I’m feeling better. Apparently everyone misses me terribly."

Seris narrowed her eyes. "And?"

"She wants me at the banquet so she can check my condition if anything happens."I buttered another piece of bread. "So thoughtful."

Ariel knew that smile.

Unfortunately for Elia...

So did my wives.