Chapter 197: Curing Sophie [2]

Arthur Dimitri— An Immortal who could fight the Sovereigns head-on and even win such battles… Why would an individual like that be incapable of curing his own daughter, if her disease was related to foreign mana in one’s core?

After all, an Immortal like Arthur should have tremendous control over the mana in his body as well as the surroundings, so why couldn’t he just expel the atmospheric mana from Sophie’s core using his interdependence, co-existence, and relationship of mutual benefit with the mana in nature?

The reason was pretty simple.

When mana enters an individual’s core, it becomes a part of the given person’s body… It doesn’t matter whether it had been converted into the mana that the individual in question possessed or if the mana wasn’t converted at all and had tainted the individual’s mana core.

Once the ownership of mana is shifted to an individual from its natural state in nature… No one can safely control the said mana in another person’s body.

The mana could be controlled… Yes— But not safely.

If Arthur had indeed tried to expel the mana from Sophie’s core on his own, then… It would have been like Arthur directly touching the girl’s heart with his own hands.

Now one could just imagine the risk involved in such an endeavour, along with the immense pain that it would bring.

Describing it as risk would have been an understatement, as trying to control the mana in another person’s body would result in pain greater than infinite deaths for the individual in question…

The pain in question would be far greater than someone actively trying to touch your organs while you are conscious and without giving any drugs to numb the pain that would follow.

So if Arthur had indeed tried such a reckless attempt, then Sophie’s death would have been far more painful than her natural slow death.

The pain could be ignored if there was even the tiniest chance of saving Sophie using such a method… But the chance wasn’t even close to zero.

It was zero.

Sophie’s death would have been far too cruel for the little girl, who hadn’t even suffered a small cut on her hands since being born.

That was why Arthur was helpless, and so were the family members of countless individuals who suffered from mana poisoning.

Knock… Knock.

“Sophie… It’s me. Are you awake, dear?”

Arthur’s warm voice brought me out of my thoughts as I looked at the door before me, as well as Arthur, who had a very soft expression on his face.

“Dad?”

After a short pause, a soft feminine voice came from behind the door.

I could hear Arthur’s relieved breath as he moved his hand towards the door handle.

Just before opening the door, Arthur gave me a glance, as if confirming with me for the last time.

The moment I nodded my head, the door was opened, and my eyes were greeted by a small yet decently built room.

The furniture was limited, as every item placed in the room was one of necessity.

Arthur entered the room, followed by Julien, who gave me a look of satisfaction out of nowhere.

I was the last one to step in.

The moment I walked through the door, a cold evening breeze swept across my face.

“Did you eat?”

Turning my head to the right, I could see Arthur sitting on a bed that looked too luxurious for the room it was kept in.

My eyes then shifted as I looked at the girl who was sitting beside Arthur, her back leaning against the headboard of the bed.

She had blood-red hair similar to Arthur’s, the only difference being her hair was longer, flowing just below her shoulders.

It was currently open, so her entire back was covered by it, giving her a feminine look beyond her age.

The moment I stared at her, Sophie slightly turned her head to look in my direction, as the small smile on her face stiffened for a second.

“Dad?”

Noticing me and Julien in the room, Sophie looked at Arthur, her voice as low as a whisper.

She might have been confused by the sudden visit, as neither of us ever visited her… Maybe we had, but the visits were stretched thin across such a long time that the girl might have even forgotten about them.

“A cure has been found for your disease, and maybe… You will soon be able to live like others of your age.”

Arthur’s voice broke at the end as Sophie observed him with concern in her eyes. Even I could feel the hesitation in Arthur’s voice.

Arthur might have wanted to keep Sophie in the dark until she was fully cured, but… Just looking at her state, he wasn’t able to hold back.

Now that the words were out, there was no turning back… Though Arthur had complete trust in me— believing in someone and actually seeing the results were entirely different.

“Was it e-expensive?”

Sophie asked softly while looking in my direction.

“N-No… Not at all. It was Kael who discovered the cure, and I trust him, so you should too.”

Arthur spoke with a raised voice, as he wanted his daughter to feel at ease.

Despite her condition, Sophie knew the hardships Arthur must have been through, as it was clearly visible in her eyes.

They kept switching between me and Arthur as the girl processed the words.

Arthur had already informed his daughter about his decision to work for me, and the first thing she had asked was whether I was forcing him to do bad things by using her condition as leverage.

The girl had asked the question without the slightest hint of hesitation, when I was having dinner at Arthur’s house for the first time.

Not even for a moment did Sophie consider my presence, or the impact her words could have on my impression of her.

For the girl, her father’s wellbeing was of utmost importance.

It was thanks to Arthur’s instant reply that Sophie’s worries had been dispelled… Though I knew that the girl still suspected me of being some evil guy who was using her father for his own goals and pressuring him using the reason to cure her—

Maybe I was, but she didn’t have to know that.

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