“…What?”

Could it really be that my abilities only failed to manifest during the ceremony?

Did they just now realize the truth and come back to ask me to return?

My mind went completely blank.

Then why was I cast out?

Why did I have to suffer all that humiliation?

But… if I go back now, could something change?

I clenched my fists so tightly it felt like my nails might tear through the gloves and dig into my flesh.

My trembling hands gave me away.

“Irene!”

At that moment, Edmund’s voice pierced my ears.

“Calm down,” he said gently, wrapping his hand around mine.

His bright, sky-blue eyes were fixed solely on me.

Only then did I come back to my senses.

“You are the true heir of Venomaine,”

Janie, who had been kneeling, rose and spread her arms.

“You always wanted a Name, didn’t you? My lord says if you return immediately, he’ll grant you not only a Bronze Name but even a Silver one. And—”

She glanced at Edmund, who was standing beside me, looking down at her with cold eyes.

“If you defeat Edmund Wolfgang at the Silyera Tournament, you could even attain the Golden Name.”

Speaking softly, she took a step forward.

Immediately, Edmund pulled me into his arms and extended one arm outward, as if to say, “Don’t come any closer.”

“Don’t touch her.”

His hands, now larger and bulging with veins, bore sharp claws at the tips.

With a low growl that resembled a wolf’s, Edmund’s pupils had become beast-like, sharp and dangerous.

Janie flinched and took a step back.

Maintaining his guard, Edmund issued a clear warning.

“I won’t hand over Irene. Tell the Duke of Venomaine not to bother with foolish games.”

Janie raised her eyebrows and shouted:

“Hah! Miss, the Wolfgang family is clearly using you! Pretending to treat you well now, but they’ll turn on you later!”

She even used “Miss,” a term she had never once addressed me with before today.

“There’s no way the Wolfgangs would ever harbor a Venomaine! They’re just trying to extract information from you and—”

“Janie.”

I cut her off, my voice flat.

“I’m not going back.”

At my words, Janie and the male servant next to her froze.

I looked away from the two of them and turned to Edmund, who was still holding me tightly.

“Edmund, let’s go home.”

“Irene…”

At the sound of my voice, Edmund’s beast-like pupils slowly returned to normal.

He gave the servants one last piercing glare before turning away.

‘That offer isn’t even worth listening to.’

There were too many suspicious things.

Most of all—how did the Venomaine family know my powers had manifested?

Even I didn’t fully understand the conditions for their awakening, so how could they possibly know?

That thought alone made it clear—I must never accept their offer.

And of all people, they sent not just any servants, but those trained for security duties. That was deeply suspicious.

“Edmund, I’m sorry, but I think we should call it a day—”

Just then, a sharp dagger sliced through the air from behind.

Thanks to our rigorous training at the Academy, both Edmund and I dodged it easily as it grazed past our ears.

When we turned, Janie was glaring at me, her face flushed with rage.

“You filthy half-blood…”

It had been a long time since I heard such genuine, venomous hatred.

“…What?”

The male servant next to her spat and looked at me with clear disgust.

“What the hell? That’s not what the master said. Wasn’t she supposed to give in easily if we said that?”

“I didn’t know she’d be so stuck-up. If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to use force.”

Janie stood and shouted with a sneer.

“Listen up. This isn’t a request—it’s an order. And you’re in no position to refuse.”

I stared at her coldly, but Janie, oblivious to the atmosphere, just raised her voice even more.

“Our master is generously offering to accept a useless, half-blood commoner traitor who groveled at the Wolfgangs’ feet!”

I knew it.

I had suspected they might be lying to lure me in, but now it was confirmed.

They knew. They knew exactly what I wanted most.

And they used that—nothing else—to try and deceive me.

“Edmund Wolfgang, step aside. This is our master’s will. If you continue to interfere, we will consider it a hostile act against Venomaine.”

The male servant smirked, pulling out a vial filled with a dark liquid.

Venomaine’s deadly poison.

It was the only known substance that could counter the Wolfgangs’ regenerative powers and combat prowess.

If Edmund were even slightly exposed to that poison, he could be permanently disabled or die.

They brought that weapon to restrict him from using his wolf powers.

But Edmund didn’t flinch. He simply glared at them.

“I’m sure you understand now,” the servant said. “Risking your life for that worthless girl—”

That was when it happened.

The arm around me vanished.

And in an instant, a wolf the size of a house shot forward like the wind.

Its claws tore through the air, followed by the stench of blood and the male servant’s scream of horror.

“Edmund!!”

When he turned back into a human, his hands and mouth were stained red.

The male servant, wounded in the chest and arm, had collapsed in a foaming heap.

‘He’s insane. Charging at someone with that poison…’

I rushed toward him, relieved to see the vial still intact, rolling on the ground.

“You… You knew it was poison. Why—?!”

Janie, panicked, gritted her teeth and pulled another vial from her clothes.

But at that moment, Edmund turned his gaze on her—his eyes glowing an eerie, piercing blue.

Just for a second, they were terrifyingly bright and sharp.

As their eyes met, Janie’s face turned pale with fear.

“D-Don’t come any closer! What is that…?!”

Maybe she was overwhelmed by his fearless charge, despite the poison. She dropped the vial from her hands.

Her expression was one of someone seeing a ghost.

“No… I was just following orders…”

Janie, trembling, collapsed to the ground.

Edmund, his eyes filled with murderous intent, began approaching her.

Terrified, Janie suddenly turned to me and screamed:

“This is all your fault! You useless wretch, just like your mother!”

That was the final straw.

“…What did you say?”

“You’ll die just like your mother, scorned and cursed by everyone, you wretched thing!”

The curse, filled with pure malice, made my mind go cold—but something hot began to boil in my chest.

Edmund, baring his sharp fangs, was about to pounce on her again, but I blocked his way.

He looked at me in surprise, then stepped back as he saw my cold stare fixed on Janie.

“She’s already broken. Twisted wrist, no powers, nothing. Who’d take pity on her now?”

Blinded by rage, Janie screamed.

“They should’ve locked you in a cold attic to rot—”

I picked up the dagger that had landed in the snow.

Janie, mid-rant, couldn’t even finish her sentence.

“Y-You—!”

The dagger passed by her, and thick, pitch-black blood gushed from the cut.

I felt heat coursing through me. Emotions laced with venom, spreading like wildfire.

“Thanks. You helped me figure it out for sure.”

“…What?”

The condition for my power’s manifestation—

It was powerful, deep-seated rage.

‘I suspected it before, but now I’m certain.’

With a faint smile, I approached the trembling Janie.

Blood, black as coal, stained my dress and dripped to the snow.

It sizzled on contact.

Janie paled as smoke rose from the snow where the venomous blood touched.

“No… That’s impossible! There’s no way someone like you—”

Seeing my toxic blood, powerful enough to melt everything, she shouted in disbelief.

“That can’t be real! I’ve never seen blood like that—”

Janie’s denial was cut off as she met my icy gaze.

I smirked coldly.

“Say it again.”

Pitch-black blood darker than anything she’d seen. Violet eyes glowing like the petals of a deadly Lobelia flower.

To anyone watching, it was clear—

This was the awakened power of a true Venomaine.

“Do I still look powerless to you?”

And with a hiss, something began to melt—followed by a scream.