“Why hasn’t the blood for the sacrifice arrived yet?!”

The Abyss Cult, the last secret society of the dark wizards, had been facing difficulties recently.

Though they had found the perfect opportunity for revenge against the Empire that had persecuted them, things were steadily going wrong.

To activate the new dark magic circle they had created, they needed an enormous amount of sacrificial blood—that is, the blood of living humans.

But for some time now, their supply of blood had suddenly dried up.

“I apologize, Lord. The one who was supposed to bring the blood has suddenly disappeared…”

Venom could do nothing but bow his head in shame as he apologized to the cult leader.

He knew that the cult leader, who had no reputation for kindness, might one day decide to vent his anger, and when that day came, Venom would likely end up as nothing more than a shriveled corpse.

‘Useless scum! And he called himself a notorious villain and serial killer in the Empire! I should have known when he started bragging.’

Venom, too, was in a frustrating situation.

Recently, the Empire’s guards had been patrolling the slash-and-burn villages near the capital, making it impossible for him to attack them and collect the blood as he had before.

As a result, he had no choice but to outsource the task, but the criminal he had hired through the Thieves’ Guild had stopped responding.

The criminal, a wanted man named Shylock, had a list of crimes that made him seem like a vicious and bloodthirsty individual, so Venom entrusted him with the job. However, even after the agreed deadline had passed, Shylock had not appeared, and all contact with him had been lost.

“Are you suggesting that you’d like to offer yourself as the sacrifice instead?”

“If my lowly life can contribute to the grand plan, I am more than willing to offer it!”

In reality, Venom had no such intentions.

He certainly didn’t want to see the world burn and be consumed by darkness as a skeleton; he wanted to witness it while still alive.

But in front of the terrifying cult leader, this was the answer that offered the highest chance of survival, so he said it.

“One life as worthless as yours wouldn’t even begin to cover what’s needed! Go out right now and attack a city to bring fresh blood, you worthless worm!!!”

Venom quickly nodded and hurriedly left the cult’s sanctuary at the cult leader’s furious command.

Although he had barely saved his life, it was only a temporary reprieve.

If he failed to bring back the necessary sacrifices, the cult leader would indeed kill him and use his blood.

The only reason he was spared for now was that the cult was short on hands. The cult leader could easily twist his neck like a chicken’s.

“Damn these Imperial scum! Why have they suddenly started increasing their patrols…”

Venom felt like he was standing at a crossroads, where every path led to a cliff.

If he didn’t bring back the sacrifices, the cult leader would kill him.

But if he attacked a village to get the sacrifices, he would be captured and executed by the Imperial guards.

He couldn’t understand why things had gotten so complicated.

There was no way the Empire could have discovered their secret plan, so why had the defenses around the capital suddenly been strengthened?

Had the criminal who had promised to bring fresh blood been captured? The sudden loss of contact made him wonder.

It seemed impossible unless someone had leaked their plans far and wide.

‘Could there be… a traitor within our Abyss Cult?’

The thought that there might be a traitor within the cult crossed Venom’s mind, but he quickly shook his head to dismiss it.

Harsh environments tend to forge strong bonds among those within them.

Venom himself had never even dreamed of betraying the comrades he had laughed and shared blood with during village raids.

‘The guards can’t search everywhere. There must be some gaps.’

Venom decided to target one of the remaining slash-and-burn villages, hoping to exploit any gaps in the patrols as he prepared to go out.

“It seems we won’t need to increase security around the young master for Volume 4, thankfully.”

Esteban remarked while reading The Iron-Blooded Alchemist Volume 4, which Rupert had handed him.

“Don’t even mention it. These days, even walking around the estate, I can feel people’s piercing stares.”

Even the locals of Somerset, who had reached 100 affection points, as if in a dating sim, were now casting side glances at Rupert. It was needless to say how others felt.

Recently, the number of people using the teleportation circle at the tower in Goldpool Valley had significantly increased, and most of them were heading to one place.

The Somerset estate.

Most of them came to shout:

“Are you even human?! Bring Nana back to life!!!” “Patrasche and Nello are alive; I saw them!!!” “Let the author take a break!!!”

There had been a small incident where a worker heading to the workshop got caught up in the commotion, but at least those who only voiced their complaints in front of the mansion were being civil.

Occasionally, the guards patrolling the mansion would catch people snooping around with clubs in hand.

‘Honestly, isn’t it the author’s fault for turning Nana into a chimera?’

Even when they were caught, they would blame Rupert, which made him hesitant to venture anywhere other than the estate.

“With the release of Volume 4, the already booming goods store will become even more chaotic.”

Rupert clicked his tongue in frustration.

Originally, he had planned to visit the Somerset Goods Store that had opened in the capital, but circumstances had prevented him from going, so he had to be content with receiving reports.

Still, the stories of the store being packed with people since day one brought a smile to Rupert’s face.

Since the store in the capital was overflowing with people, many who expected fewer crowds were now making pilgrimages to the Somerset estate’s goods store.

This had unexpectedly brought prosperity to the estate, and the entire Goldpool Valley region was benefiting from the trickle-down effect, leading the residents to hold celebrations.

The inns were packed with customers coming for meals and lodging, and those coming to buy goods were mostly well-off individuals, who were spending money lavishly, making everyone financially well-off.

“The new figurines are particularly popular.”

The figurines, crafted with the help of Krun’s skills, were masterpieces, so intricately detailed that they seemed to be miniaturized versions of real people, unlike any dolls seen before.

Seeing these figures, people were entranced, leading to frequent fights over who would get to purchase them.

Even though the figurines were only available to customers with gold badges or higher, they sold out on the day of release, leading to a shortage.

As a result, Krun and the craftsmen were working day and night to meet the demand, but they had grown more skilled and were now producing even higher-quality figurines.

Especially since Krun’s teachings had greatly aided the craftsmen, who initially needed his touch on each piece, but could now handle most of the basic work themselves, with Krun only finishing the final touches.

“Young master, aren’t you overworking yourself?”

As they were wrapping up their discussion about the release schedule for Volume 4, Esteban expressed his concern to Rupert.

“Overworking? Hmm… Well, I guess I did work a bit more than usual since I was also working on the fairy tale book this time.”

“I’m certainly glad the book is coming out quickly, but if pushing yourself too hard harms your health, that would be the greatest loss.”

Rupert waved his hand dismissively at Esteban’s concern, treating it as no big deal.

“Haha, I’m used to this. Besides, Brother Manuel visits daily to heal me, so I’m fine.”

Rupert stood up and began to show off his strength, trying to reassure Esteban.

“At my age, it’s normal to stay up a few nights and still be fine. Lifting something like this is nothing!”

Rupert attempted to lift a statue the size of an adult man’s torso in the drawing room.

But the attempt didn’t go as planned.

Thud.

“Huh… Why isn’t there any strength in my body…”

As Rupert tried to lift the statue, his thin arms bulged with veins, but the statue didn’t budge. Instead, Rupert felt dizzy and collapsed into the chair.

“Young master!!!”

Esteban, who had been watching, hurried over to Rupert.

But Rupert, overcome by a sudden wave of dizziness, lost consciousness.

“Did you eat a poisoned apple too, brother?”

Rupert lay unconscious in bed, unable to regain his senses.

A crowd of people had gathered around him.

His family, Count Somerset and Ada.

Esteban, Sena, Krun, and the household staff were all present.

Even Brother Manuel had rushed over after receiving the urgent message.

“What’s his condition?”

“I’ve healed him with holy power, but this is due to accumulated fatigue. The only remedy is complete rest.”

Count Somerset sighed heavily at Manuel’s words.

He had always said he was fine, so they hadn’t interfered, and now he had collapsed from overwork.

As a father, he felt a deep sense of guilt for his negligence.

Rupert had successfully revived the family’s fortunes with everything he touched, so he had been entrusted with too much, excused by the belief that he could handle it.

Even though Rupert had been named his successor, he was still young. Count Somerset regretted not realizing how much pressure he had placed on his son.

“So he’s human after all.”

Krun muttered to himself.

Dwarves prided themselves on their diligence and hard work, but after meeting Rupert, Krun had begun to wonder if dwarves were actually a lazy race.

Rupert worked tirelessly in his studio, pulling all-nighters and downing vitality potions as if they were water, which struck Krun as borderline insanity.

Not only did he draw, but he also visited the workshops, inspecting and supervising the production, and even nagging like a mother.

Krun had even suspected that Rupert might have a twin, one who worked while the other rested, alternating shifts—otherwise, his level of activity was incomprehensible.

The fact that Rupert had finally collapsed wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was that he had managed to keep going for so long.

“We’ll have to force him to take a break.”

Count Somerset’s stern voice prompted Esteban to nod in agreement.

“Of course. I’ll mention in the announcement for Volume 4 that the young master has collapsed from overwork.”

If Rupert were conscious, he would have been horrified and tried to stop them, insisting he was fine. But as he was unconscious, the decision was made without his input.

And, despite the somber atmosphere, Ada was the only one who seemed cheerful, claiming that her brother had eaten a poisoned apple and that she would wake him up by kissing his forehead repeatedly.