A hush fell over the room, as if a sudden gust of wind had swept through, silencing everyone. Eyes, holding a mixture of wonder and uncertainty, followed the tall, lanky man as he entered Ingrid's chamber. There were huge dark circles under the man's eyes, and when he smiled, a set of yellowish teeth revealed themselves to everyone. A nauseating odor permeated the room as he got closer—whether it came from his lab coat that has not been washed for days or from his body or both remains unknown.

  Prince Aleric looked at Raven with displeasure. He should have told him to at least shower before coming here. Alana who could no longer endure the oppressive stench stealthily opened one of the windows.

  The refreshing scent of morning air coming from Ingrid's garden entered the room and battled with Raven's odor. But Alas! Raven's repugnant stench reigned victor. A single opened window could not produce enough fresh air to combat his fetor.

  Scrunching his nose, Prince Aleric shifted his gaze to Vernon and said, "You have five minutes."

  Within seconds after issuing his command Vernon vanished into smoke with the foul smelling human in tow.

  Exactly 5 minutes later, Vernon returned with a decent-looking Raven. His teeth have been brushed, his clothes are now changed into newly washed ones, and he no longer smells like a dead rat—at least as long as you don't intentionally try to sniff the air around him. That was the best Vernon could do given the limited time. In those five minutes, Vernon also managed to brief Raven on the most important facts.

  Without wasting any time, Raven quickly did what Prince Aleric called him to do. The first thing he did was check Ingrid's pulse. Then he inspected the bowl on the bedside table which thanks to yesterday's hectic event, was not disposed of.

  They watched as Raven sniffed the bowl like a dog then licked the remnant of the concoction with his tongue. His action was seen as careless by the people of the grand duke. If the concoction was indeed that so-called 'paradise' then wouldn't he be affected too?

  The instant thought of that, Raven's green eyes suddenly turned pitch black. His body shook like he was having a seizure, inaudible words spouting from his mouth.

  "What...what's happening?" Alana asked, frightened.

  Meanwhile, Vernon was warming up his fist, ready to smack the life out of Raven for being dramatic. Ever since watching that opera, The Great Village Doctor, Raven has been mimicking the main character's quirks, thinking it was cool. Vernon thought the latter was long over that phase, but it seems he just lacks the stage to perform it.

  "Wow!!" Raven exclaimed, startling everyone (that was another quirk of the village doctor that he mimicked). His eyes, now back to their original green color, darted around the room as though searching for something until they landed on Alana.

  Raven stood like nothing happened and walked towards Alana with unsteady steps. His pale face and sunken eyes, made him look like a corpse that rose from the grave. Alana swallowed nervously and instinctively stepped back. However, there was only the wall behind her.

  Raven's steps halted when he was a few inches away from Alana and began sniffing the air. He then nodded and said, "You smell like it. Old woman, hand over the prescription for the decoction."

  "Old woman?" Alana repeated indignantly. Although she's already over 40 years old, an age that can be considered old, but which woman likes being called old?

  "Bah! Your young lady is currently suffering and that's your concern? You're old get over it." Raven said and brazenly searched Alana's pockets.

  "Hey! Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Alana turned red from shame. Who would have thought that at her age she would be groped by an audacious youth.

  Raven's hands were quick and precise. Before Elias and Grandpa Roan could reach Alana, he'd already found what he was looking for and moved a short distance.

  "Found it!" Raven waved the slightly creased paper in his hand. He began reading the content of the paper, ignoring the fuming older woman behind him.

  "You crazy...!!!" Alana blatted as she straightened her clothes with a face full of anger.

  "Your highness, your w—er..." Raven choked on his words when he sensed Vernon's murderous glare. He swallowed nervously as he continued, "Ehem—whoever made this concoction must have a strong grudge against the young lady."

  "What do you mean?" Grand Duke Rasmus asked with narrowed eyes.

  Any normal person subjected to the grand duke's sharp gaze would have already peed his pants. But it seems that his intimidation isn't that effective against Prince Aleric's men. There was Iris, who did not even flinch in the face of the grand duke; Vernon, who was as calm as deep waters. Now this twig. Just what kind of monsters is this barbaric prince raising?

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  "Originally the recipe of Paradise consists of 10 drops of Thorn Apple nectar, a bud of Jasmine flower, 3 dried Salvia leaves, 2 Lemon Balm leaves, a 10 cm vine of Ayahuasca, and a leaf of Passion Flower. However, whoever wrote this recipe multiplied the amount of hallucinogenic ingredients by three while the stabilizing ingredient remained constant."

  "Let me see," said Prince Aleric and Grand Duke Rasmus in unison. Their eyes clashed, the air between them thick with unspoken challenge.

  Just when they thought a fight would break between the two, Vernon proved himself as Prince Aleric's best strategist. He took the paper from Raven, placed it on a mana tablet and converted it into a giant hologram for everyone to see.

  Their eyes flitted nervously between Prince Aleric and Grand Duke Rasmus. It was scary when the two most dangerous people in the room reveals their fury. But it is even more scarier when they revealed none. Both the grand duke and the prince were terribly calm as they read the content of the paper, it was unsettling.

  Raven being so bad at reading the room, went on blabbering, "Seriously, did none of you ever question why a concoction needed so many Thorn Apple nectar and Salvia leaves or Ayahuasca?"

  "You there!" Raven pointed at Alana. "Aren't you a physician? At your age, shouldn't you know how dangerous this set of ingredients is? These aren't rare plants. These are common plants that even illiterate commoners knew not to recklessly mess with!"

  "I-I...I didn't..." Alana stammered. She looked at the grand duke and groveled on the ground. "My lord, please believe me. I would never do anything to harm the young lady!"

  Alana was filled with despair. She was normally a very cautious person. Whenever she brewed medicine for Ingrid, she would always carefully check each and every ingredient. However, when Lady Joan asked her to brew those things, she momentarily forgot to do the usual inspection and went right into brewing. But how could she explain that to the grand duke? In the end, it was her carelessness that caused everything.

  "Take Alana out." Grand Duke Rasmus' voice was neither low nor loud, but it created a cold resonance that echoed within the four corners of the room.

  A pair of soldiers clad in silver armor entered the room and held Alana on each arm. Alana did not fought against the soldiers hold and allowed them to escort her out with her head bowed.

  "My lord, there must be a mistake! Alana would never..." Elias patted Grandpa Roan on the shoulder, causing him to pause. Grandpa Roan's eyes settled on the calm-looking face of the grand duke, and with a sigh, he kept silent.

  To them, a calm Rasmus is the scariest. But the grand duke being calm also means he is in his most rational state. That means whatever decision he makes is well-calculated and sound.

  But Raven, still unaware of the storm his words had caused, continued, "This concoction is highly poisonous to normal people. They don't even offer this much of a dose to the most heinous of criminals. With all honesty, I'm surprised that the young lady is still..." His words hang in mid-air when he felt the sharp stares directed at him. Finally he realized that he's talking too much.

  Raven smiled sheepishly revealing his still slightly yellow teeth.

  "Well, uhm, first thing first," he muttered his eyes moving about.

  Raven ran towards Ingrid's bedside table and opened the first drawer. There he found a thick sheet of paper and a pen. He grabbed one and began writing.

  After writing, he looked back and forth between Prince Aleric and Grand Duke Rasmus, unsure who to give the paper to. By logic he should give it to the grand duke as it concerns his daughter. But Ingrid is also his master's future wife, so he is in a fix. In the end, he gave it to Vernon, the safest amongst the options.

  Vernon smartly showed everyone the content of the paper through a hologram.

  Subsequent frowns appeared on everyone's forehead when they saw the wiggly words on the paper. It looked like it was written by a child rather than an adult. Thankfully, it was readable.

  "That is the recipe for Dream," explained Raven, unbothered by their scrutinizing gaze. "Dream is commonly used hundreds of years ago to treat psychosis and hysteria thanks to its extreme calming effect. Naturally, it can be used to counter the effect of Paradise. It was banned alongside Paradise as Paradise and Dream have the same ingredients. The only difference is that the main ingredients are flipped. With Paradise the hallucenogenic plants are the main ingredient, while in Dream they are the stabilizer."

  "And how do we know that what you're saying is true?" Elias interjected. "How can we trust you aren't trying to poison our young lady as well?"

  Raven shrugged. "I have the lost copy of Paradise and Dream in my study in Aradhya, including several journals that proved its effects. If you don't mind waiting a month before giving the young lady the antidote, then suit yourselves. Although I don't think the young lady can wait that long. If not for his highness constantly guiding her out of whatever she is seeing in her hallucination, her funeral would have been set for this afterno~"

  A sharp knife flew past Raven's face and lodged into the concrete wall. Crimson blood flowed from the shallow wound on his cheek.

  "Watch your mouth," Elias warned while glaring menacingly at Raven.

  Raven however, was not at all frightened. He even had the gall to squeeze his wound, causing more blood to flow. The blood flowed down his chin where he had a wide-brimmed vial prepared to collect it. Seeing the amount of blood sitting at the bottom of the vial, he smiled, pleased.

  Raven was surprised when he looked up and found that the people in the room hasn't moved yet. They were all looking at him with strange expressions instead.

  "Are you really guys going to wait until the documents from Aradhya arrive?" he asked innocently.

  "Elias, go prepare the ingredients," commanded Grand Duke Rasmus. "And you," he pointed at Raven. "You will brew the ingredients yourself in this room. I will be watching you very closely. If I ever see you doing something out of the ordinary, know that your head will roll in this very room."

  Raven simply smiled at Grand Duke Rasmus' threat. "Worry not, your highness. I too have a daughter. I would never do to another man's daughter what I do not want anyone to do to my own daughter."

  For a fleeting moment, Vernon had an illusion that Raven's thin shoulders had become unusually wider.