CHAPTER 180: GUILT AND REGRET

Caroline must admit that she was fascinated by his insight. But she also found his insight to be too far-fetched to be implemented.

"It’s not that I want to discourage you or anything, but each person’s mana is distinct from others," Caroline explained. "If a mana isn’t suitable for the person, then rather than curing, it would become a deadly poison."

Upon hearing that, Leonard’s mind quickly shifted to blood type.

’So mana is like blood type in a sense.’ He thought.

What Caroline meant was that a person’s mana could indeed be injected into someone else to heal, but that was only possible if the caster was manipulating them.

Once the mana injection was done without the caster, then an incompatible mana would become a deadly weapon in the person’s body.

The situation was similar to how those with Type A blood cannot receive Type B or AB blood.

Leonard lowered his head and glanced at his palm. He wondered if his mana could be considered to be the Type O negative blood. Type O-negative blood could be transfused to all blood types.

He held such suspicion because of his capability to help dispel the magic contract that bound Elise and Nadia.

When he learned of this information from them, he was taken aback.

"You don’t have to be too disappointed. Having such a mindset is already a good step to becoming a researcher." Caroline mistakenly interpreted his silent response as being disheartened.

Although she didn’t quite like his behavior and actions most of the time, she appreciated his approach in trying to perfect the Restoration Potion.

"Caroline, remember when we have some preliminary results of my condition?" Leonard asked.

"I do." She nodded and refrained from elaborating further because Shirley was present.

His condition could be said to be highly confidential. Not even she was willing to divulge on the topic much, despite being outspoken.

"Try to take a sample of my mana and do some testing." Leonard began to gather and condense some mana. Needless to say, during the condensation process, he began to struggle.

Sweat began forming on the top of his forehead, followed by an invisible pain that continuously stabbed his body.

He gnashed his teeth and continued to gather the mana.

Thankfully, Caroline wasn’t idling and readily collected the mana from him. She stored them in a special vial that could contain mana. As a researcher, it would be ridiculous for her to not have such items constantly in hand.

"I’ll return to the lab and conduct research then." She calmly said.

Leonard nodded and watched her leave the room.

In the meantime, Shirley retrieved a handkerchief and began wiping off the sweat on his forehead.

"Does the Master still blame himself for Irene’s death?" She pursed her lips and asked.

"I don’t." He confidently responded. "What I feel is guilt and regret. Guilt for not being able to heal her and regret for allowing the incident to occur. The assassin had an opportunity because I allowed it."

Startled, Shirley’s pupils constricted.

What did he mean by allowing it?

"Prior to my arrival here, I encountered an assassin already and learned that a platinum rank from the Assassin Syndicate was after me. They kept themselves hidden, so I wanted to create an opportunity to let them make a move." Leonard said in a bittersweet tone.

He had thought his protection was enough to deflect the enemy’s strike. But he had miscalculated severely. The enemy held a relic that could temporarily bypass the protection, which resulted in Irene’s sacrifice.

His miscalculation cost a life, which was his guilt. As for the regret, he could have had a chance to hasten the Restoration Potion progress by granting Caroline his mana if he had discovered the uniqueness early on.

No, he should have known his mana contained something special, given his condition. Moreover, he had transmigrated over here, so by theory, he should have some advantage over the others.

"Nobody could have predicted it, Master." Shirley wrapped her arms around him and said softly. "If everything can be calculated, then the world would truly be in madness."

"You have a point there." Leonard chuckled and patted her hands.

"Thanks for the consolation. You can also start to prepare the banquet opening with your other sisters. I merely wanted to express some of the regret aloud to deepen my motivation."

At this moment, multiple people who received his invitations should have been gathering by the lobby and waiting to be seated.

Some have silently criticized him for still opening a banquet and only inviting the wealthy, but the majority understood that the hotel could only accommodate a limited number of people.

Not to mention, those who suffered the most were still being attended to under his orders.

However, they all failed to realize that this banquet was required to completely solidify his presence and control in Velastra.

The fourth prince’s force wouldn’t dare to openly confront him, and Marquis Darius was just a toothless tiger now. The only person who could still resist and contend with him was Lord Wesley.

After all, Lord Wesley controlled the Merchant Guild. To summarize, the economy, food source, and workers’ lives were all under his control.

"Master, you have to be careful." Shirley clenched her fist and reminded, "I have interacted with Lord Wesley far longer than you. He’s not a simple person. His schemes run deep, and his power is even more frightening than Marquis Darius."

As much as Shirley trusted Leonard, she knew better than to lie about her worries.

"Are you saying I’m inferior to Lord Wesley?" Leonard mused.

His question went unanswered as she stayed silent.

Seeing that, Leonard gently reminded, "Did you forget why you became a gift to me?"

"Master??!" Dumbfounded, Shirley’s face lowered in embarrassment.

"..."

Leonard was rendered speechless at her reaction. She had clearly misunderstood him.

"You and your other two sisters were granted to me because I offered a special type of fruit to him." Speaking of the special fruits, Leonard truly regretted giving them to Wesley.

He only had a few samples from his uncle.