The Antidote!

"Sera! Shoot!"

When the snake released its venom into Maiko's ankle, it backed away and silently slid back under the bed. 

Karyan watched how life was slowly leaving Maiko's eyes, "such a drama queen..." Karyan rolled his eyes, "forget it!"

He squatted down, quickly grabbed Sera by her neck, and dripped some venom out of her teeth.

In his previous life, Karyan was called almost a doctor, finding many types of medicines to heal people, and the antidote of the snake's bite was simple, "the venom in your teeth is..." 

Karyan looked deeper, "Serpent's bait would do the trick."

He immediately rushed over to the corner of his room where he kept the plant just in case of an emergency, "still growing, nice!" he uncovered the hidden pot and carefully plucked leaves from the shimmering, silver-green plant.

While completely focused, he began crafting the antidote to counter the snake venom.

"I actually want you dead, but not now...wait until I turn 16 and no threat could harm me. I will kill you in a more sadistic way than a snake's poison."

With Maiko's lifeless form nearby, Karyan swiftly crushed the silver-green leaves, mixing them with a clear liquid, "thanks, God that I always carry water, you're a lucky one."

The room filled with the soothing scent as he worked, creating the antidote in a race against time.

The crushed leaves released a calm, earthy fragrance, like a fresh morning in the woods. It floated in the air.

 Despite the urgency of making the antidote next to Maiko's still body, Karyan managed to enjoy his old days.

Gently, Karyan approached Maiko's side, carefully lifting his head. 

With a small dropper, he poured the antidote, drop by drop, hoping the mystical elixir would weave its healing magic and bring life back to Maiko.

Relief washed over Karyan as he observed the returning color to Maiko's skin.

"Good..." A long sigh escaped him, grateful for the antidote's success, "I will not be discovered just yet."

However, for revenge, Karyan chose to express his joy in a lighthearted way.

With a grin, he tapped Maiko's head with his foot, squeezing his dirty shoe onto his face, "and for the final."

Karyan lifted his foot and smacked Maiko's nose, one time, two times.

"It's equal," he felt no guilt at all.

When life was slowly returning to Maiko, he opened his eyes, "what the heck?" He asked when he saw the young boy sitting in front of him.

"Did I wake the princess up?"

"You...what did you do to me?!"

"Knocked you out, of course. What? You don't remember that punch to your face?"

"Stop joking around, brat, a kid like you could never knock me out!"

"Well, I guess then that blue thing under your eye will not be explained."

"What blue-?" Maiko immediately touched his face just to feel a tingling and sharp sensation vibrate through his body, "what is this?" he asked.

Karyan furrowed his eyebrows, knowing that the antidote probably wasn't the best one, and he would still feel the effects of it, needed to get him out of his room.

"My brother is in the mansion, by the way," Karyan spoke while observing Maiko's reaction.

"The snake? Where? When?"

"I saw Estera come and go, I think they're not far. Imagine what weak security we have if a mere maid could come and go as she pleased," Karyan laughed and mocked.

"Son of a-!" Maiko immediately got up and walked out of the room, still dizzy and swinging; he was screaming in the hallway.

"Sigh... Sera!" He raised his voice, "come here!"

In a matter of seconds, the snake slowly came back from underneath the bed.

"You can't do this again!" Karyan spoke to her like she was human, "if you'll bite him again, they will discover that I'm the real me, you understand that?"

Feeling down, Sera lowered her eyes and tried to turn away, "don't go yet," Karyan ordered.

"I need to examine your venom better." He went to his table, opened the drawer, and took out the small tube, "I think it should be enough," he whispered as he came back to Sera, "now be nice and release some of it here. I need to see how strong your venom is."

He placed the tube near Sera's fangs and saw how yellow liquid was coming out of it, "okay, enough."

Sera removed her fangs from the wooden tube and went back hiding under the bed.

"They took the fire magic out of me, but they can't take my origins," Karyan smirked.

Poison.

His plan was to make poison.

If he couldn't completely use the fire element, and with Anaksu being dead, so no magical creature to support his magic; he was going to use something he was an expert in.

"First, I will give some to the servants who mistreated me and Karlin and watch them die slowly. Then, when the time is right, I will pour some into Maiko's drink and then Bar-" he paused when he said his mother's name.

"A woman alone will not be able to rule the house and carry the name, not after having bastard children like us... Well, I'm at fault for that, but still... I will kill her fast, so she won't feel any pain, after all the burning scars she will have now..."

Karyan closed his eyes and bit his lip, "as for Mateo..."

A loud knock interrupted his thoughts, "here's your food. The lord said you can finally have some bread."

Karyan looked at the food and the crumbs left on the wooden plate, "you ate my meal." He accused.

"A bastard child will not speak to me in that tone," the maid Rosa replied.

She despised twins because of the weird obsession Barbara had over them, like a love and hate relationship.

And that also drove Maiko crazy because every night he would invite Rosa into his chambers; he would only talk about his sister and the twins, leaving a little to almost none thoughts of her.

"And you're just a maid, my uncle's slut-"

Without being able to continue, the maid threw the wooden plate at Karyan.

"Ptui! Now eat the food from the ground."