The sweet venom Chapter 6: 5

Read chapter 6 of The sweet venom by aspa201 on NovelPedia.

The memory was as vivid as painful. Helia relived the moment when she was nine years old, the day her mother was buried. The sky was a mournful gray, reflecting the heavy atmosphere. They were all there, standing around the coffin, dressed in black. The dark wood of the coffin glistened under the faint light of the day as it was slowly lowered into the earth. The marquis, her father, remained stoic, his features impassive, frozen in an unusual coldness. His eyes, usually sharp, did not blink, staring intently at the coffin as if refusing to accept reality. By his side, her brother Lucian, then fourteen years old, struggled not to cry. His face was tense, his fists clenched, betraying his efforts to stay strong, to resemble their father. Helia, on the other hand, did not possess this strength. She cried bitterly, curled in the arms of her nurse. It was too much for her, this pain she did not yet fully understand. Then, she felt another embrace enveloping her. Elysia had gently pulled her from the nurse's arms to take her into her own. In a soft, almost whispered voice, she murmured, "I am here, Helia," trembling but reassuring. "You are not alone." In that moment, Elysia seemed like a pillar in a world that was collapsing. She shook her head sharply, pulling her mind back to the present, far from these painful memories. She was in her laboratory, surrounded by familiar flasks and instruments. On her workbench, she was isolating molecules from new plants she had recently collected. The reassuring silence of the laboratory enveloped her work, a routine that was almost calming. It had been several weeks since her tea with Lady Sera, and her nightmares had dissipated. During this time, she had avoided all contact with Elysia, ignoring her letters and refusing to see her when she had appeared at her door. She simply was not ready to face her, not yet. These weeks of forced isolation had allowed her to reflect deeply. Her entire life had been guided, even controlled, by her best friend. She had hardly ever participated in social events, had no other friends, and had even limited her ambitions in the scientific field, all because Elysia had convinced her that these studies were unworthy of a Lady. She had conducted research and pursued her studies, but always with reluctance, a constant fear of standing out even more as the odd one in her family and society. But today, her laboratory and experiments were her only comfort. As she handled tubes and reagents, lost in thought, the door to her laboratory opened softly. Lucille, the only one allowed to enter, appeared. "Dinner is served, miss. Your father and brother are waiting for you." She nodded, setting her instruments down with some reluctance. The family dinner ritual was a moment she often dreaded. Especially lately, when the discussions almost exclusively revolved around the crisis at the borders. Around the table, her father and brother were discussing the growing tensions at the borders. The marquis, her father, was deeply involved in managing the crisis, using his skills as a negotiator to secure vital resources for the army, while Lucian participated in the development of military strategies. Helia, usually withdrawn during these discussions, listened this time with particular attention. She had heard of the crisis for months, but the details had always eluded her, as if the stakes seemed distant. Yet, that evening, an unexpected curiosity pushed her to speak up. "I heard it was a new species of wild boar causing all this havoc at the border," she said finally, breaking her silence. "How could the situation have escalated this much? Aren't the knights able to control them?" It was not the first time such a dangerous creature had appeared. With the dense mana emanating from nature, it sometimes happened that too high a concentration at the birthplace of an animal led to mutations, transforming an ordinary species into an uncontrollable threat. Worse, in some cases, the