Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 246: Chapter 241: That Night, Everyone Drank Too Much

Midnight, beneath the great oak.

Mia retrieved a heavy, oilcloth-wrapped bundle from the cold hollow of the tree.

Inside the bundle were two items.

One was a coarse earthenware bottle, its mouth sealed tight with a cork and beeswax. When she shook it gently, she could hear the soft rustle of fine powder shifting within.

The other was a small crystal vial that shimmered with a brilliant luster.

It was half-full of a golden liquid that refracted the moonlight with a dreamlike glow.

This was the power her master had bestowed upon her, and it was the final trump card for her high-stakes gamble.

Mia uncorked the crystal vial. An intense aroma of nectar and strong spirits instantly assailed her nostrils, making every cell in her body sing with delight.

She had no intention of drinking it now.

She simply took a deep breath of the intoxicating scent, a glint of cunning flashing in her violet eyes.

’The effect only lasts for an hour.’

’Something this precious must be saved for the most critical moment.’

She carefully stoppered the crystal vial again and tucked it into her tunic alongside the earthenware bottle.

With a flicker of movement, she vanished silently into the deep shadows of the church.

...

Late afternoon, approaching dusk.

There was still over an hour until dinnertime at the church. It was a lull in the day’s preparations, the moment when the entire camp was at its most lax.

The kitchen chimney had yet to begin smoking. The laborers, finished with their day’s work, had not yet returned, and most of the clergy were in their rooms, praying or resting.

Mia found an unnoticed corner and pretended to gnaw on a piece of hard, dry black bread.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the perfect moment, when no one was around.

Finally, the last nun who had been hanging laundry in the courtyard departed, leaving the clearing around the well in complete silence.

’Now.’

Mia moved.

Hugging the shadows along the base of the wall, she glided silently toward the well in the center of the courtyard.

She pulled the coarse earthenware bottle from her tunic, deftly removed the cork, and, aiming for the deep mouth of the well, poured the entire contents—a colorless, odorless powder—straight in.

The white powder fell soundlessly into the water and dissolved instantly, leaving no trace.

Her task complete, Mia retreated just as quietly, returned to her corner, and picked up the now-cold black bread, nibbling on it in small bites.

’She knew it wouldn’t be long before the kitchen hands came to draw water—water for tonight’s soup, for cooking the food, and for the clergy to drink. Every person who used it would be adding fuel to the fire of the grand "performance" to come.’

「Dusk.」

It was time for dinner at the church.

Smoke billowed from the kitchen chimney, carrying the aroma of porridge and roasted meat. The scent drifted across the cold construction site, tempting every hungry soul.

The laborers, finished with their day’s work, formed a long queue, waiting for the church’s charity.

The clergy, however, dined in their own small refectory.

Mia sat in a corner, watching it all unfold like a cat stalking its prey, calmly observing everything within.

Dinner began.

Inside the small refectory, Father Fabian sat at the head of the table.

To his left was Deacon Philip, and to his right, Prelate Elmsworth.

The Holy Knight Connor and another of his order sat at the far end of the long table, wolfing down their food.

Philip’s dining etiquette was as meticulous as ever. He used a small knife to cut his bread into perfectly uniform cubes, dipping each piece into the exact same amount of gravy.

Prelate Elmsworth, meanwhile, was complaining softly about the soup. "Too much salt. It’s ruined the natural sweetness of the turnips. The cook should be flogged."

Connor and his companion paid this no mind.

They were Warriors; food was merely fuel to replenish their strength.

The wooden cups before them were filled with water, and in a flash, they had already drained two of them.

Everything seemed normal.

’When is this stuff going to take effect?’

Mia suppressed her anxiety and waited patiently.

Dinner concluded.

The clergymen dispersed, each returning to his own room.

Mia remained huddled in her corner, her gaze locked on the one figure who had yet to leave his seat at the head of the table—Father Fabian.

Unlike the others, he showed no signs of being affected.

He was even still working, picking up a parish report and beginning to review it right there in the refectory by candlelight.

His expression was as tranquil as ever.

Mia’s heart sank. ’Could the drug be ineffective on him?’

She pushed down her frustration and continued to wait.

The minutes ticked by, but Father Fabian’s breathing remained steady.

But Mia spotted a crack in his composure—a single detail. He had been staring at the same page of the report for a full fifteen minutes without reading a single word further.

’He’s fighting the drug’s effects with sheer willpower.’

Finally, it seemed Father Fabian could no longer maintain his composure.

He snapped the report shut, rose, and headed for his room. His pace was much faster than usual, and he even staggered slightly.

’There’s my chance!’

As Fabian left the refectory and headed toward his quarters, Mia didn’t rush to follow.

She produced a Magic Scroll. With a twitch of her fingertips, a faint glimmer of light shot out the window.

Far away, in the shadow of an archery tower, a dark figure lowered a spyglass.

"The plan is a success."

Kael turned around.

"Move out!"

Behind him, dozens of black-clad, masked figures melted silently into the night.

Meanwhile, Mia slipped into the clergy’s quarters, a place normally forbidden to her.

Fabian stumbled as he pushed open his door, then slammed it shut with a BANG.

Mia waited a moment before gliding out like a shadow and entering the corridor.

The hallway was far from quiet.

A cacophony of sounds emanated from the rooms on either side, turning the path to the priest’s quarters into a bizarre exhibition.

As she passed Deacon Philip’s door, she could hear a scraping sound from within.

"Not clean... still not clean enough!"

Philip’s voice was distorted with mania.

Next door, the room of Prelate Elmsworth was ajar.

With just a glance from the corner of her eye, Mia saw him standing in the middle of a chaotic pile of books, his cheeks flushed and his arms spread wide, shouting in a voice like an operatic aria.

"Chaos! This is the supreme beauty that precedes order!"

His expression was one of rapturous ecstasy.

Mia continued on. Next to Fabian’s bedroom were the rooms of the two Holy Knights.

One door was shut tight, while the other was wide open.

Mia paused briefly, wanting to see if the church’s two strongest combatants were still on guard.

Pressing her ear to the closed door, she caught snippets of their conversation.

"Connor... don’t... we’re Holy Knights..."

The younger voice trembled.

"I’ve waited too long."

It was Connor’s voice, rough and hoarse.

"I’m sick of watching you fight alongside other people! Sick of you smiling at other men!"

"But... this is a sin..."

"Then we’ll atone for it together in hell!"

A startled cry followed, accompanied by the sound of fabric being violently torn.

Mia curled her lip in disgust and quickened her pace.

’Tch. A thousand years, and the church is still so fond of keeping things in-house.’

Mia crept to Fabian’s door and deftly pulled a long, thin metal wire from her hair, inserting it into the keyhole.

CLICK.

The lock gave way.

She pushed the door open a crack and slipped inside, her movements as light as a wisp of smoke.

The room was empty.

Fabian was gone.

The bed was neat, the table and chairs meticulously arranged. If not for an open chest on the floor, Mia would have thought Fabian had never returned at all.

’Where did he go?’

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