I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 230

The two men left without ever noticing me above them. As soon as they disappeared down the hallway, I jumped down and entered Erika’s room. The room was dimly lit, with only a single candle flickering on the nightstand beside her bed. The air was thick with the scent of herbs and ointments, a testament to the various attempts to rouse her from her coma. Despite the efforts, Erika remained unmoving, her chest rising and falling with each slow, measured breath where she lay.

Erika was motionless on the bed, her usually elegant features now appeared frail and sickly. Her silky black hair was spread out around her, contrasting sharply with the pristine white of the pillow. Her heart-shaped face was pale, almost translucent, and her eyes were closed, as if lost in a deep, dreamless sleep. The elaborate diadem she usually wore was sitting on the nightstand, and the red jewel that had once adorned her forehead was connected to it.

The lover’s tear necklace still hung around her neck. It was vibrating ever so slightly, but Erika didn’t respond to it at all. I walked up to her and put my hand on her forehead, and I frowned. I could feel her body signs, and she came off as healthy. After sending a few cells into her body, my frown only deepened. I could detect any poison inside her. Rather than being in a comatose state, it was more like she was in torpor. Her body temperature, heart rate, and metabolism had all slowed down to a minimum, leaving her in a continuous sleep. Most people understood this as hibernation.

When I tried to push her body into waking up, I was shocked to feel a sudden resistance surge and then push me out. I stumbled back, shocked for a few moments. It was rare that I felt something overpower me, although this was in the form of mana, the one attribute I was still lacking in. The power that came from her body was not her own, and I realized I recognized it. This was the energy of the immortal whose palace we visited together.

The immortal had given us each a tear necklace and a technique. I had never found out what technique she had given Erika. As soon as we left the box, we were forced to split up, and then she left town without saying anything. By the time she returned, I had forgotten to ask about it. However, I was now suspecting that whatever she was given was what she was using now. That meant that whatever technique the Blanche family was thinking about using on her might end up hurting her instead.

I pulled my hand away. I left a sentinel on her just in case and then headed back out into the hallway. This time, I was aiming for the treasury room. I didn’t quite know where it was, but I had my suspicions based on where the Capala Mansion had theirs. As I had come to learn, although these mansions seemed spacious and excessive, there was good reason paragons built things in this way. In my world, there was a concept known as Feng Shui. However, in science, we might say something like form follows function.

The mansions were specifically built like circuit boards, funneling energy along the supports and structure to create areas with purpose. The Capala household actually had a few books about this, so I had a basic understanding of how they used the structure of a building to conduct energy. It created points where they could concentrate on absorbing energy, points where they could strengthen the structure of the building, and points where they could power defensive and offensive arrays. Naturally, a treasury would design itself to block detection and protect the contents inside.

In a way, ironically, by blocking detection, you inadvertently signaled the location of the thing you were trying to keep hidden. While a person couldn’t know the contents inside, they could tell that they were being blocked. This made a certain area of the mansion come up like a red flag. I quickly headed down there. I was a bit surprised to find there were no guards in front of the door of the treasury. Perhaps it was uncommon to have guards, but I thought it was just because the Capala household couldn’t afford them. Then again, the Blanche household wasn’t a powerful paragon family. They were an upstart desperately fighting for relevance. It was shocking that the Frankford family was even willing to marry off their son. What did they gain from the exchange other than a tie to the Capitol?

I shook my head. I almost missed being in a gang. At least, in a gang, the rivalries were all clear and upfront. When two people went to kill each other, it was always for a clear reason. Among these paragon nobles, there was so much intrigue and double speak that even trying to work it out made me dizzy.

I walked up to the doorway, but I didn’t immediately open it. There would naturally be some kind of protective barrier. From what I understood from the few books I had read, the lock would be code-based. In short, there was a code associated with the defensive array, and to bypass the code, one needed the key. The head of the household had the secret key, which he could use to generate one-use keys for others to enter. Did that mean I needed to apprehend him and force him to give over the master key, or perhaps I needed to wait until he sent someone to fetch the technique?

Just as I was considering my options, the doorknob turned and the door flung open. This time, it had been so unprepared that I was still standing there when a person stepped out of the room. They were robed up, and wearing a mask. More importantly, I could see the scroll in their hands.

I was just about to attack, but then they spoke. “It’s you again!”

It took me only a second to recall that I had seen this exact getup before. Instead of attacking, a smirk formed on my lips.

“Miss Stride, we’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

She made an irritated expression. “Why am I not surprised to see you? I let you leave with the technique before. This time, I’m taking it!”

“Let me?” I asked, amused, but then I tilted my head, feeling confused. “What I want to know is why are you stealing a technique your family just went out of their way to give the Blanche in the first place?”

She took a step back, suddenly looking confused. “What are you blathering about? Isn’t this the technique from before? I know you work for the Frankford family, but I already checked their treasury, and they don’t have such a technique.”

“What treasury haven’t you broken into?” I asked in disbelief, then shook my head. “However, you appear to be mistaken about some things.”

“Doubtful,” she sneered. “I predicted the Frankford family must have left it with an ally, and with the Blanche family marrying them, I checked and found this powerful technique. Since you’re here, it’s all but confirmed!”

I let out a sigh, wondering just what kind of thoughts went through this woman’s head. “Your brother traded this technique with an old man from the dark guilds. He then gifted it to the Blanche family for their wedding. I’m the one here to steal it!”

“You dare accuse the Stride family of associating with the dark guilds?” I seemed to have hit a nerve.

“Why would I lie?” I cried out. “You’re part of the Stride family, don’t you know?”

Her expression flickered, but then she looked back. At the same time, I heard footsteps racing our direction. Although there were no guards, the pair of us had been speaking too loudly. The Blanche household wasn’t completely bereft of guards like the Capala household, and they were a smaller estate besides. Our commotion immediately outed us. Realization and panic seemed to flicker in Tiffany’s eyes. Her eyes searched desperately for something, but whatever it was, she couldn’t find it.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and grabbed her, pulling her into the treasury room.

“Unhand me!” she cried out.

“Shut up! Do you want to get caught?” I hissed as I looked around the room.

“You…” She pouted, but she didn’t fight back.

My eyes settled on a corner, and I pulled her toward me. She immediately tried to pull away, her hood and mask getting knocked back as she did, revealing her face. Her cheeks were red. She looked angry.

“Stop it!” I snapped. “This is my first time doing this, and I’m not even confident it will work.”

“Wh-what are you saying?” she hissed, but I ignored her as I created a layer of cells around us.

“I can hide us, but not if you keep moving!” I whispered in her ear.

Tiffany’s body shook. However, whether we were caught in the Blanche treasury or escaped was all dependent on her.