Reincarnated as the third son of the Duke-Chapter 127 - From Captive to Colleague

127 From Captive to Colleague

The sharp words sent Heide into full-blown terror. With a loud thud, he slammed his forehead against the floor.

"P-please! Please, forgive me! I was out of line!"

"Oh, no doubt about that," William replied, his voice laced with cold amusement. "A worthless leech feeding off the Imperial Court, and yet you strutted around like the Emperor’s personal envoy. I imagine His Majesty would be delighted to hear about this."

"…!"

"In fact, why don’t we tell him?" William continued smoothly. "You seem quite proud of your research. Why don’t you accompany me to the palace? His Majesty did mention he’d like to speak with me again. I’m sure he’d be very interested in hearing about this."

A fresh wave of sweat poured down Heide’s forehead, soaking the floor beneath him.

The Alchemy Guild was already regarded as little more than glorified parasites by the Imperial Court. If word got out that a member of the guild had invoked the Emperor’s name to threaten a Hern prince—a noble who had literally fought in the same battles as the Imperial Princes—then Heide wouldn’t have to worry about the Emperor’s displeasure.

Because the Alchemy Guild would kill him first.

They would offer his head on a silver platter before the Emperor even had to lift a finger.

William’s golden eyes gleamed as he leaned forward.

"Any last words before we pay His Majesty a visit?"

Heide visibly trembled.

The weight of his impending doom crashed down upon him all at once.

Lowering his forehead to the floor, he barely managed to choke out the words.

"I’ll give you anything you want. Just… spare my life."

After putting Heide in his place, William leisurely waited for Ian to regain consciousness.

The alchemist himself remained slumped in the corner, too afraid to move without permission.

"…Would you care for some tea?" Heide offered hesitantly.

"Shut up and sit still," William replied without looking up. "You probably don’t even know how to brew proper tea."

"…."

Heide shrank back, clearly having no argument against that statement.

Truthfully, William didn’t want him out of sight just yet.

’I need to make sure he doesn’t accidentally stumble upon any research notes related to Nectar. Most of them should be upstairs, but there’s always the possibility that some got left elsewhere.’

For all his failings, Heide was still an alchemist.

If he laid his hands on Ian’s research materials, he would undoubtedly realize their significance.

William intended to retrieve everything related to Nectar before allowing Heide to breathe freely again.

At last, the door to Ian’s room creaked open.

Raymond stepped out, nodding in confirmation.

"He’s awake."

"How’s his condition?"

"A bit tired, but otherwise fine. He’s in good enough shape to talk."

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"Good. Keep an eye on this thing while I speak with him." William tilted his head toward Heide.

"I understand."

"W-wait! This is my house!" Heide protested weakly.

William ignored him and stepped into the room.

Ian was sitting upright in bed when William entered, his gaze filled with wariness.

William leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"You’re probably still a little out of it, so let’s start with an explanation."

"I already know."

"…What?"

"I wasn’t completely unconscious," Ian admitted. "I couldn’t move, but I woke up a few times. And… well, let’s just say this house isn’t great at soundproofing."

William blinked.

He hadn’t expected that. But if it saved him the trouble of explaining—well, that was fine too.

Lowering his gaze, Ian hesitated before finally voicing the question that had been gnawing at him.

"…So I’m being taken to House Hern?"

"That’s right," William confirmed. "Your master already agreed to it. And you have no other guardians, correct?"

"I see," Ian murmured. He took a deep breath, his hands curling into fists.

Then, with an air of resignation, he spoke.

"You just want my invention, don’t you?"

"…What?"

Ian lifted his gaze.

"I understand," he said quietly. "I created something world-changing. A treasure unlike anything before it. Of course, someone like you would want to claim it. There’s no way anyone would just let me keep knowledge like this to myself."

William stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

Technically… that wasn’t wrong.

But the way Ian phrased it sounded as though he were personally narrating his own legend.

Ian clenched his fists even tighter.

"I’ll give you the formula," he said firmly. "All of it. Just… let me keep working."

William tilted his head.

"What are you even talking about?"

Ian’s voice shook slightly.

"I know how these things work. A nobody like me—an orphan with knowledge he shouldn’t have—what happens when someone powerful finds out? They’ll take what they want, then dispose of me before I can become a problem."

His shoulders trembled.

"I… I won’t even fight back. Just—please don’t kill me. Let me work. I’ll give you everything, so just—"

"Hold on. Wait. Stop."

William raised a hand, cutting Ian off before the rambling got any worse.

At first, he had been relieved that Ian had already understood his position.

But somehow, things had spiraled into absurd territory.

"…Why the hell would I torture you for information?" William asked, incredulous.

Ian blinked in confusion.

"Weren’t you planning to take the formula?"

"I mean, yeah," William admitted. "But why the hell would I kill you afterward? That would be stupid."

Ian hesitated.

"…Wouldn’t I be useless once you had the knowledge?"

William sighed.

"Listen, you’re not some random idiot who just stumbled across classified information. You’re the creator of this formula. And that means you can refine it, improve it, maybe even discover something better."

Ian stared at him, his face slowly turning red.

…Oh.

…Oh.

So the paranoid conspiracy theories were a bit much, huh?

William smirked.

"Seriously. Where did you even get that idea?"

Ian muttered something under his breath.

"…A novel."

William barely contained his laughter.

’Yeah. This kid needs some real-world experience. And fast.

"Just so we’re clear, hiring you doesn’t mean you’ll be jumping straight into research," William warned. "For the next few years, you’ll be doing nothing but reproducing the potion you made today."

"I don’t mind," Ian replied readily. "I’ve only conducted a single successful trial so far. If anything, being forced to replicate it repeatedly will provide me with far more data."