Black and yellow pill

After leaving the room, Ethan didn't see Lena near the door. Thinking that she had gone to prepare for lunch, he too decided to go downstairs.

He met her on the way, near the stairway. She was on her way to his room.

"Ethan, are you coming to lunch?"

"Yes, is food ready?"

"Yes, everything is prepared. I wanted to call you, but it looks like there's no need for that."

"Um, yes. Shall we go?"

"Yes."

They both went downstairs. Brenda, her maid, and daughters were already there, and after greeting them, Ethan sat down at the table.

The lunch was served, and after finishing his food, Ethan was pestered by girls, mostly Millicent, to play. And Ethan, unable to resist her cute pestering, had no choice but to play with them. It lasted for about an hour.

Playing was fun, but it was time for the kids to go to sleep for the afternoon, much to Millicent's unhappiness with it, so Ethan, after wishing them sweet dreams, decided to go to study in his room.

***

In Ethan's room.

[Um, teacher, can you teach me?]

It wasn't what he intended to ask, but asking straight if his teacher was okay, in Ethan's opinion, might be bad, so he went with this question.

[It looks like you are more motivated to study. Good. But first, I want to check one thing.]

His teacher's voice was calm and composed, unlike his voice before lunch. And Ethan was happy to hear his teacher's usual voice.

[What do you want to check, teacher?]

[It's about that pill, which can improve your mana quality and quantity. How much time passed after you used it last time?]

Ethan took some time to think.

[The first time my mom gave me one was when I was four years old, after checking my mana with a special artifact. Um, she said that I would only be able to reach the third circle at most with it, and... uh, I don't remember. And the second time she gave one, when I was six years old.]

[So, did your mother check with this special artifact how much your mana improved after you used it for the second time?]

[Yes, she told me that I can reach the fourth circle, almost the fifth.]

[Hmm, I see. So it really can improve your mana quantity and quality. And I read in that book that the better the quality of your mana, the better you can control it, and the better the power behind your spells. Although your mana quantity increases naturally with your growth and when you use it, it still depends on how much mana you have at the beginning. And the more mana you have at the beginning, the faster the growth of your mana quantity will be.]

[Um, are you referring to the book written by the Great Sage, teacher?]

[Yes, so why don't you use that pill for the third time? After all, it can increase your speed to become stronger.]

Ethan contemplated it for some time.

[I'll use it. But before that...]

Ethan changed into a nightgown and went to bed. After he took out the vial with the yellow and black pills, he took one pill out, and after looking at it for some time, he swallowed it and put the vial with the other pills again in his ring.

'Oh, I forgot to tell Aunt and Lena not to worry.'

With this thought, Ethan lost consciousness.

***

Ethan didn't know how much time had passed; his consciousness was still blurry and his eyes were closed. But even though his consciousness was still blurry, he heard the worried voice of a woman and a girl sobbing.

"What happened to him? Do you know about it, Lena?"

"Sob, Sob... I don't know what happened to him. He was alright after lunch, and when he went to the room... Sob, sob... But when I wanted to tell him that dinner was ready, he was sleeping. Sob... and he didn't wake when I tried to wake him... Sob, sob..."

"We must call the doctor immediately. I am going myself; tell others to prepare the carriage quickly!"

"Yes, my lady."

"Um, there's no need to call the doctor. I'm fine."

Said Ethan, after opening his eyes and putting his body in a half-lying position.

"Ethan!""Ethan!""Young Master."

Three voices resounded simultaneously. Two voices were from Brenda and Lena, and the other was from Leta; Ethan only now noticed that she was in the room.

Brenda came closer to his bed and sat down, and Lena too followed after her but didn't sit down; she only stood near his bed. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. And Brenda's eyes were slightly tear-stained.

She placed her hand on Ethan's forehead.

"Ethan, are you really alright?"

She was still worried.

"Yes, aunt, I'm fine."

Brenda removed her hand.

"It doesn't look like you are sick. What happened to you?"

Ethan hesitated for some time; he wasn't sure if it was okay to tell her about the pills. But he didn't want her to worry even more, so he took out the vial with the pills and gave it to Brenda.

"I used one of these pills."

"Is this a pill that increases your mana quality and quantity?"

"Yes."

"Then it explains why you lost your consciousness."

She returned the vial with the pills to Ethan.

"But why didn't you tell us before using it? Do you know how worried I was after noticing that you lost consciousness after waking up from a coma not long ago?"

"Um, I'm really sorry for not telling you before using it."

Ethan hung his head low. And seeing his reaction, Brenda hugged him softly and patted his head.

"It's alright; I forgive you. But you must promise me to tell before using something like that again."

"Yes! I promise!"

"Good boy. But I'm not the only one to whom you should apologize. You know that, don't you?"

"Um, yes."

Brenda let him go and stood up. And Ethan turned his head towards Lena. She was wiping her tears with her fingers.

"Um, Lena, I'm sorry for worrying you."

He made a light bow with his head. And Lena stopped to wipe her tears.

"It's alright. I'm just glad that it was nothing dangerous."

As if to prove it, she smiled cheerfully, tears still in her eyes. Her smile was reassuring, so on Ethan's face too, a smile started to form. He turned his head towards Leta.

"Um, Leta, I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Aw, Young Master, you are too nice. You shouldn't apologize to a simple maid like me."

Despite her words, Ethan can tell that she was happy to hear his apology. Because her constantly half-closed eyes were now fully closed, and her usual smile felt more sincere.

After the round of apologies was over,

"Ethan, you must be hungry, so why don't you change your clothes and come down?"

Asked Brenda.

"Um, okay."

After that, Brenda, Leta, and Lena left the room. And Ethan started to change his clothes. He hadn't heard the voice of his teacher for a while, so he was curious what he would say.

[Um, teacher. What do you think about what happened earlier?]

But there wasn't any response.

[Teacher, are you there?]

What Ethan received in response was silence. Ethan started to worry. He tried to send his mana to the cage, but the cage didn't start to draw his mana as usual, and he didn't lose consciousness.

[Teacher!]