EPISODE 12

<Veterinarian Druid Episode 12>

Just when his heart was constricting with terror as he was about to crash to the ground, Roykan soared back into the air.

Endlessly upward, as if his heart would burst, then swiftly descending like an arrow.

As his mind grew hazy, thinking that it might be better to faint, Roykan gracefully landed in the main stadium of the venue.

-Whew, Roykan, you're truly amazing, aren't you?

Seeing this massive figure perform such confident aerial maneuvers, words of admiration came out involuntarily.

[To be surprised to this extent.]

Roykan shrugged.

After giving a gentle pat on the back of Roykan, who was making a haughty expression, Tinger came down.

"Ugh...!"

Dan, who had been screaming when will this hell end, collapsed on the ground as soon as he set foot on it.

That's when it happened.

Swoosh!

The eagles that had been circling in the sky began descending all at once.

The dozens of griffins, as if acting as one, showcased a synchronized dance, and the crowd cheered.

"Wow!"

Cheers erupted from the audience.

Thud, thud, thud.

The landing griffins aligned themselves confidently from side to side, centered around Roykan.

Roykan, who was 1.5 times larger than the other griffins, stood out prominently.

* * *

The majestic sight of Roykan's hair soaring into the sky overwhelmed the spectators.

And above all, the reason people were excited was because...

"I never expected the third son of Ulysses to appear riding Captain Griffin."

"Hahaha, you made a really good decision to come today."

"That's right. Will we ever have such an honor again? To see Captain Griffin."

The scoundrel who was treated as if he were worthless within the family shows such excellent performance.

So how exceptional are the other siblings?

People were thrilled by Ulysses' overwhelming skill.

The great Ulysses, the outstanding Eagle Knight.

This event was exactly what they wanted to showcase to the world.

At this moment, the wish of Count Ulysses was fulfilled.

By none other than the youngest who was considered a scoundrel, Marcus Ulysses.

As the audience was moved by this moment, chaos erupted among the journalists.

"Yes, that's right. We need to change the front-page article immediately. The photo should be of Marcus riding Captain Griffin."

"Yes, yes, I will send the revised layout by express mail. We need to release it in tomorrow morning's news bulletin."

"Do I have the special feature article on the Eagle Knights? I need to send it out right away."

"Today's protagonist is none other than the youngest, Marcus. We need to focus on Marcus in the article. I will send it immediately. The title? 'First place is forever first.'"

"Concentrate on capturing footage of Marcus!"

Journalists shouted into their communication devices, waving their hands and capturing videos of the Eagle Knights.

Their target was one person.

Marcus Ulysses.

The journalists focused solely on Marcus.

After greeting the cheering audience, Marcus walked towards the VIP seats.

"Marcus!"

The Countess embraced Marcus, tears streaming down her face.

"What on earth..."

There were many questions the Count wanted to ask Marcus. What had he been doing all this time? How did he manage to ride the fierce Captain Griffin? and so on.

But now was the time to welcome his son.

"Well done."

The Count's face, as he tapped Marcus's back, was filled with pride.

It wasn't only the audience who were astonished.

Fred and Jaden were dumbfounded.

Or perhaps they were even more surprised than the audience.

After all, Captain Griffin is not a creature that easily submits to humans.

According to the records, only the former head of the family, Bartolonga Ulysses, was known to have ridden Captain Griffin.

To think that the youngest would ride such a Griffin.

The Ulysses family members who knew all these circumstances couldn't help but be amazed.

It was when the Eagle Knights who had dismounted from the griffins greeted the audience.

While waving their hands to the cheering audience, Jaden asked Fred, "Brother, how did that guy manage to ride Captain Griffin? I found it difficult just approaching him."

"Well, I don't know either."

Fred, who had only seen Marcus's pitiful appearance until now, even thought that Marcus might be the reincarnation of their ancestor Bartolonga Ulysses.

The crowd went wild with excitement at the appearance of Marcus and Captain Griffin.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, a group quickly left the venue, and it was none other than Duke Olif and his entourage.

As soon as Duke Olif got on the waiting carriage, it departed in a hurry.

When they arrived at a nearby lodging, the Duke shouted, "Bring the one in charge of the griffins immediately!"

Duke Olif was boiling with anger.

The plan that he had nurtured for nearly a year had gone up in smoke.

The enraged griffins should have attacked the people, and by now, this area should have been a sea of blood.

Just in case, they had even practiced in advance.

Surely, the griffins had roared, and the knights who were riding them had also reported injuries.

But why?

The griffin, Captain Griffin, who should have died, was raising its head high.

That wasn't all.

That crazy griffin was attacking him as if it wanted to kill him.

While the crowd must have enjoyed even that as a show, Duke Olif felt a chill down his spine.

He knew better than anyone that the griffin's beak was a deadly weapon.

And Duke Olif saw it clearly.

The person riding on Captain Griffin's back was glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him. It was Marcus Ulysses, the third son of the Ulysses family.

"How dare you insult me?"

Duke Olif spewed his hostility at Marcus. He didn't care about his own actions.

Just then, a voice came from outside the door.

"Your Grace, the potion supervisor has been brought."

"Bring him in!"

A man entered the one who had been conversing with the Duke at Powell Palace.

"How dare you! You were supposed to take care of this matter properly!"

The Duke glared at the man, his face turning red.

"Didn't you clearly say that it would die?"

"Well, yes."

"But can't you see the griffin flying energetically around?"

"......"

The potion supervisor couldn't understand. Why was the griffin that should have died acting like that? He had clearly seen the griffin swallowing the meat.

Although there were a few pieces of meat left, the griffin had already ingested a sufficient amount of poison to die.

"But the griffin didn't die?"

"That, that's impossible."

"It can only be one of two options. Either the griffin you brought is a charlatan, or Captain Griffin is immortal."

The duke bit his molars in frustration.

The observant potion supervisor understood what the duke was thinking.

He would use anyone as an example. That way, his power would be maintained.

If he stayed here quietly, he might end up dead. He couldn't allow that.

"Your Grace, that person, the researcher, definitely lied."

The researcher mentioned by the potion supervisor was Shaun, who had discovered the toxicity of the poison.

A few years ago, Shaun presented a paper titled "<Conium Maculatum and Heart Disease>" at the Imperial Medical Society.

Shaun wanted to research this topic in depth because his three-year-old son was suffering from heart disease.

However, Shaun was a poor researcher and needed money and a laboratory.

At that time, Duke Olif reached out to him.

Desperate to continue his research and develop a potion as soon as possible, Shaun joined Olif's Research Laboratory that day.

The research was successful. They just needed to adjust the dosage and continue developing the potion.

Shaun, who was finally happy that he could heal his son, was betrayed by the potion supervisor who reported him to Duke Olif.

Duke Olif turned to his secretary standing behind him and said, "Deal with him. And this one too."

"P-Please spare me, Your Grace. It wasn't me, it was him..."

Duke Olif frowned.

"I will take care of it."

The fewer people who know about this, the better. The duke went to take care of the matter.

As the executioner led the potion supervisor out, the duke let out a sigh.

"Count Ulysses. That sneaky bastard must have known about this. Otherwise, I can't understand the current situation."

That's right. The person who was taken away earlier must have sold the information to that side. Otherwise, the researcher was the problem.

Duke Olif's anger grew as he remembered the contemptuous Marcus who had glared at him.

"Definitely."

Regardless of the current situation, someday he would definitely take revenge on that person.

Marcus became the target of Olif's operation.

At that moment, the sound of fluttering wings could be heard from the wide-open window.

30 minutes later, Marcus listened to Tinger and Bella's story with a serious expression.

* * *

[Tell me, they were taking that guy away, right?]

[Does that mean he's going to die?]

["Probably. Even that so-called researcher?]

[What do we do, what do we do.]

Bella couldn't say anything when Tinger spoke forcefully.

"He might still be alive."

I got up from my seat and went to meet the Count, who was attending a banquet.

As I approached, the count introduced me to the people and boasted about me, and I politely greeted them and set the mood.

Then I whispered to the count.

"Father, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"It's a bit awkward here. It's about Griffin."

"I see. There's a guest room behind the banquet hall, let's go there."

Following the count, we entered the guest room, and the count locked the door and asked.

"What's the matter?"

I placed a tightly wrapped piece of meat on the table. I had brought it from the Olif Medicine Mountain.

"What is this?"

"This is what Captain Griffin ate."

The count looked at me. It seemed like he was asking why I was showing him this.

"Can you see this leaf? It's a plant called Hemlock."

"I know it's a dangerous plant. What I mean is, why do you have it?"

It was unexpected. The fact that the count knew something that even Healer Dan didn't know.

"Since you know, it's easier to explain."

I began to tell him about everything that had happened.

The count was surprised that with the help of Silver Wolf, I was able to go so far. But when I emphasized that I had treated Prince Melik with it, the count seemed convinced.

"....So you were able to ride Captain Griffin."

After my story ended, the count remained silent for a while.

It was understandable, as the contents were shocking.

"Well, I don't know how much of your story I should believe. But seeing that you were able to come riding on Captain Griffin, it doesn't seem completely false."

"Anyway, the important thing now is that Olif is targeting Suri Mountain. He won't give up after this failure, right?"

"I think the same. That nobleman, his greed knows no bounds."

"So, I have a good idea."

"A good idea?"

I told the count a modified version of the story I heard from Tinger and Bella, making it sound plausible.

"So, what you're saying is that there must be someone in the laboratory or under Olif who is researching this Hemlock?"

"That's right. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to adjust the dosage. Either the amount was too small to have an effect, or it would have killed him instantly. And there's something even more important."

"Tell me."

"This Hemlock plant is not particularly lethal to birds, like Griffin. It's deadly to mammals, like humans, dogs, and cats. It's hard to know without experimentation."

"Hmm..."

The count looked at me with surprised eyes.

"Until now, it was only known that Hemlock is a poisonous substance. It's the first time I've heard of it being lethal to birds or humans."

"Only research on humans has been published."

"Then how do you know that?"

"Oh well, I learned about it from books about animals and from stories I heard while traveling."

It wasn't a lie since I had seen it in toxicology books and on the internet.

"Oh, I thought you were just hanging out with thugs at the tavern."

The count looked at me intently.

"I didn't know that you were so interested in animal medicine. I shouldn't have pushed you to become a knight without knowing that."

For a brief moment, the count showed a regretful expression.

"So, what I'm saying is, we should capture that researcher. And we need to crush them so they can no longer interfere with our family."

"Capture them? And exact revenge on the Duke? Is that possible?"

"We'll catch the researcher before they die. After they die, it's useless."

"That's true. But they might have already gone to kill. Knowing Olif's character, he won't just let them go if he realizes things have gone wrong."

The words that Tinger had said earlier came out of the count's mouth.

"If we know their location, we can get there faster."

"What do you mean?"

"We have Griffin."

"Ah! I see. I should tell Fred to gather the night flyers."

"No, there's no need for that. I will go riding on Captain Griffin."

"Ride on Captain Griffin? How do you know where he is?"

The count's eyes widened.

Right here.

"He's here."