-Hidden Estate, somewhere far from Pyno-

.

The day had passed, and now, the night had come.

But since it was summertime, even at 8 P.M, the sin was still ablaze, engulfing the land with its arrogant demeanour.

The puppycod flowers bloomed and danced in a wavy manner, giving the illusion that the fields had come alive.

The ring butterflies still fluttered at this time, showing off their very unique features.

But what made nature proud were the chair-like snails that were the size of a dog.

These snails were a rare delicacy here and only grazed the lands in this manner during Summer.

Their shells have a faint bluish glow to them that seemed mesmerizing. But make no mistake. It was just a defence mechanism against predators.

Once glowing a faint shade of blue, if one were to touch the shell and accidentally lick their hands, they would be paralyzed for several hours straight.

Animals typically fall prey to this. 

Humans captured the snails first, washed them thoroughly, got rid of the gland causing the strange reaction, and ate their snails merrily, and that was that.

It was not strange to say that these snails were a raw delicacy around these parts.

The snails step out in this manner only in the summer in search of more moisture to take care of their overly large bodies.

In Spring, Fall or winter, they were fine. But in summer, the heat could dry and kill them entirely if not careful.

With their large sizes that were as big as an average dog, they could actually finish a bucket of water in one go.

Nature sure was beautiful.

But unlike the beauty outdoors filled with vitality and glee, things indoors weren't looking bright at all.

.

In one of the main buildings, over 30 people stayed within a dining room, all wearing various masks on their faces.

They sat on the table in silence, with no one making a single sound.

And soon, all that could be heard was the steady sounds of footsteps making their way into the role.

He was here!

Instantly, everyone stood up before calmly saluting the incoming person.

"Leader. We salute you."

"Sit."

The burly giant, who was bigger than them all, only nodded his head before joining them at the foremost head of the table.

And instantly, his Goblet was filled by a standing steward. 

The burly man then looked at another man, who in turn kneeled without being asked to.

The burly giant raised his goblet at a high angle and allowed the rum to flow from the goblet into the man's mouth.

The goblet never touched the man's mouth. Only the purplish rum did.

The kneeling man then savoured the taste in silence. And when nothing, or was declared that the wine was good and the goblet wasn't also poisoned as well.

The food tasters also did their duties, with only one dying.

The poor taster gripped his neck in horror as his face suddenly started turning a faint bluish-purple undertone.

~Khack-Khack-Khack~

The taster's eyes bulged out as his body continuously trembled in from the constant pressure he felt in his throat and eyes.

That's right. At this moment, he found himself crying out blood.

The feeling of death slowly closing in on him terrified him silly, so much so that he had lost his sense of thinking.

Now, it was only desperation in his eyes.

Yes! Ever since he had been kidnapped, he had been tortured and made to eat all sorts of poisons. The life of a poison taster wasn't easy.

One would get poisoned and given a portion of the remedy after several days of forcing one's body to get used to the poison.

During this time, he could go on for days without eating until his trainer allowed him to eat. But that was only after each poison training season, which lasted for days. At times, he could eat just thrice in 2 weeks during training. But there were times that it was just once.

Of course while on the job, his only meals would be the things he tasted, nothing more.

And during training, he also had to master how to detect each poison from a single whiff of smell.

The life of a taster was tragic and full of torture.

But after 15 years of service, one could become a junior Poison Trainer, apprentice under a senior Poison Trainer... That is if one made it alive by then.

Typically, 6 out of ten people brought in died in the first week since their immunity wasn't used to poisons.

But the more one trained, the more one's immunity got used to it.

So when poisoned during a job, one would only faint or end up with a slight concussion showing that they were poisoned.

In the end, they would relay what they were poisoned of and get the antidote.

However, the fear was that there were always new and unknown poisons out there in the world.

And just like today's case, this taste tester knew he was going to die.

No! No! No!

He didn't want to die yet.

He got kidnapped and trained daily for 11 years now, dragged like a slave to take jobs and forcefully trained.

So how was all this fair?

He wanted to love! He wanted to live!

And in sheer separation, he dragged his checking body, accidentally touching the leader, while still begging him with his bloodied eyes.

"P-p-please! Help me... Help... Kah-Kah-Kah."

The man began begging but couldn't even talk because of his choking.

But everyone's silence wasn't about the shock of his death.

No. It all boiled down to the fact that he dared talk to the leader and even touched his clothes.

At this point, they felt like the little slave should thank his lucky stars that he would die by poison. Because if their leader made a move, ... Heh... No comment.

More than ever, there was something else that was on everyone's mind.

That so, the real reason they were here.

Sigh... It looked like soon, heads would roll again!