“The high priest has been in this state for the past few days.”
The priests were polite. However, Black couldn't help but feel that they were too polite. The temple had been in league with the six families for twenty years. When you become a priest, you have to give up your family name, but most of the high-ranking priests were either from the six families or had connections with them. Unless Manau had belatedly overhauled the temple, there must have been a reason for their politeness.
“When exactly?”
“It’s been like this since the wedding.”
"Hmm."
A brief moment of doubt escaped his lips. Black did not believe in coincidences. If Manau, who had been perfectly fine at the wedding, was suddenly absent-minded and drooling, there had to be a reason to make him understand.
“What is the diagnosis?”
“We don’t know. We just have to accept the illness, which is also a gift from God.”
It was something that could only come out of a scripture. It seemed like he had practiced it beforehand.
“I guess God gave us poison.”
Fermos had the same idea. His intervention broke the forced politeness.
“What are you talking about! Poison!”
“There are surprisingly many drugs that can turn a normal person into this. Let’s see... I’ll bet on Carbino. It’s the only one available this season. If you take off the high priest’s clothes, you’ll see a purple spot around his heart. This is a symptom of Carbino addiction.”
The priests could not have dreamed that Fermos had extensive knowledge of poisons and medicines. They had never heard of the poison called Carbino, and they naturally assumed that others did not know about it either.
“Take it off.”
The priests jumped when Black gave instructions to the mercenaries.
“Wh, what are you doing! How dare you speak to the mouth of God!”
“What did you do by putting poison in that mouth?”
“That, that... !”
Fermos clicked his glasses up.
“Just today, one of the Klinefelter family’s ghosts came back to life. And right after that, the high priest took poison and ended up like this... Is this really a coincidence?”
“No way.”
Black lifted the sword he had on his waist, sheath included.
“Can you make a cure?”
“I can do it if I have the materials. There is a herb garden in the temple, so it shouldn’t be hard to get the materials.”
“Then make it. I’ll clean up the temple in the meantime. A ghost must have been hiding here.”
“Understood. Hey, one of you stay with me and the rest of you follow my master. Finish before I make the medicine. I don’t want to stay here too long.”
“Yes, Adjutant.”
The mercenaries followed Black with reluctant faces, wondering why they had to beat up a priest. They also used their swords with their scabbards sheathed to avoid shedding blood. They didn’t like it, but it wasn’t difficult. They thought that if they put Manau in his place, the temple would slowly change. That thought turned out to be unexpected, but it was something they could do once. However, time was passing. Since they were tied here, they didn’t know what was going on in Nauk Castle.
“What can I do for you?”
Liene consoled the fatigue that was creeping up on her and faced Dieren.
“I would like you to write me a pass. Since my sister’s marriage, the Kingdom of Sharka no longer requires a pass when crossing the border, but it is late in the day and we are departing from Nauk, so I would like to be careful of any possible misunderstandings.”
It was a reasonable request.
“Oh, I see. Then could you please wait a moment? I need to go to the office and get a pen and paper.”
“I brought it in advance in case it was inconvenient for you.”
At Dieren's gesture, the servant approached and put down the box he was holding in both hands. When he opened the box, which had elegant silver-worked corners, she found paper, a pen, and ink inside.
“You seem well prepared. But I still need to stamp the seal.”
“I don’t think I can cause you that much trouble. As you are the current ruler of Nauk, your signature will suffice.”
“Well then.”
The servant unfolded the paper that had been rolled up and placed it on the small table used for drinking tea. While Liene was holding the pen, the servant opened the cap of the ink bottle and handed it to Dieren. Dieren placed the ink bottle next to the hand holding the pen. The ink bottle shook as if it was about to spill, perhaps because it was nervous.
“...Huh!”
Dieren almost spilled the ink on the back of Liene's hand. But he didn't. Klima, who had been standing quietly on the other side, suddenly approached and grabbed Dieren's hand holding the ink bottle.
“What are you doing...!”
The ink overflowed. The overflowing ink soaked the backs of Dieren and Klima's hands.
“...! Your Highness!”
The servant's face turned pale. Dieren's was the same.
“What kind of rudeness is this! Why would you do something like this!”
Dieren shouted and pushed away Klima's hand. Although it was rude, Dieren's reaction was definitely strange. He was holding the ink-stained hand tightly with his other hand. Klima watched him closely and wiped the ink off his hand with the hem of his shirt, speaking softly.
“Because there was something in the ink.”
“What... what did you say?”
“I would do that. That would be the most effective thing to do in this situation.”
The priests were polite. However, Black couldn't help but feel that they were too polite. The temple had been in league with the six families for twenty years. When you become a priest, you have to give up your family name, but most of the high-ranking priests were either from the six families or had connections with them. Unless Manau had belatedly overhauled the temple, there must have been a reason for their politeness.
“When exactly?”
“It’s been like this since the wedding.”
"Hmm."
A brief moment of doubt escaped his lips. Black did not believe in coincidences. If Manau, who had been perfectly fine at the wedding, was suddenly absent-minded and drooling, there had to be a reason to make him understand.
“What is the diagnosis?”
“We don’t know. We just have to accept the illness, which is also a gift from God.”
It was something that could only come out of a scripture. It seemed like he had practiced it beforehand.
“I guess God gave us poison.”
Fermos had the same idea. His intervention broke the forced politeness.
“What are you talking about! Poison!”
“There are surprisingly many drugs that can turn a normal person into this. Let’s see... I’ll bet on Carbino. It’s the only one available this season. If you take off the high priest’s clothes, you’ll see a purple spot around his heart. This is a symptom of Carbino addiction.”
The priests could not have dreamed that Fermos had extensive knowledge of poisons and medicines. They had never heard of the poison called Carbino, and they naturally assumed that others did not know about it either.
“Take it off.”
The priests jumped when Black gave instructions to the mercenaries.
“Wh, what are you doing! How dare you speak to the mouth of God!”
“What did you do by putting poison in that mouth?”
“That, that... !”
“No! Poison! What a ridiculous accusation!”
Unfortunately, the denial was useless. Manau, lying on the bed, blinking his clouded eyes and shaking his hands intermittently, was no different from the evidence of the poison. The mercenaries quickly separated the priests from Manau. Then they tore apart the rough priestly robes Manau was wearing. As Fermos had said, a purple spot had risen on his chest like a fever flower.
“One, two, three... eight. This means it hasn’t even been a day since you fed it. After three days, the spots would have spread all over the top.”
“It was also a lie that it was right after the wedding.”
“Yes. Well then... that’s interesting.”
Unfortunately, the denial was useless. Manau, lying on the bed, blinking his clouded eyes and shaking his hands intermittently, was no different from the evidence of the poison. The mercenaries quickly separated the priests from Manau. Then they tore apart the rough priestly robes Manau was wearing. As Fermos had said, a purple spot had risen on his chest like a fever flower.
“One, two, three... eight. This means it hasn’t even been a day since you fed it. After three days, the spots would have spread all over the top.”
“It was also a lie that it was right after the wedding.”
“Yes. Well then... that’s interesting.”
Fermos clicked his glasses up.
“Just today, one of the Klinefelter family’s ghosts came back to life. And right after that, the high priest took poison and ended up like this... Is this really a coincidence?”
“No way.”
Black lifted the sword he had on his waist, sheath included.
“Can you make a cure?”
“I can do it if I have the materials. There is a herb garden in the temple, so it shouldn’t be hard to get the materials.”
“Then make it. I’ll clean up the temple in the meantime. A ghost must have been hiding here.”
“Understood. Hey, one of you stay with me and the rest of you follow my master. Finish before I make the medicine. I don’t want to stay here too long.”
“Yes, Adjutant.”
The mercenaries followed Black with reluctant faces, wondering why they had to beat up a priest. They also used their swords with their scabbards sheathed to avoid shedding blood. They didn’t like it, but it wasn’t difficult. They thought that if they put Manau in his place, the temple would slowly change. That thought turned out to be unexpected, but it was something they could do once. However, time was passing. Since they were tied here, they didn’t know what was going on in Nauk Castle.
***
Their feet were heavy. It was almost midnight. Liene remembered something similar to this and smiled faintly. At that time, she was the only one stamping her feet and went to see Sir Fermos. It was the day Lafitte was banished. Emotions change from time to time, but that day was the scariest day of her life. Because she had never had anything like that man before. It was so good, something unbelievable. So she thought it would disappear at any moment.
A small smile became a small sigh. Liene knows. It's a useless thought. But sometimes she's scared. When she open her eyes, she wonder if she'll go back to the time when that man wasn't there. A time when yesterday and today were the same, and tomorrow would be no different. A time when there were no expectations when the seasons were scary, and when her skin hurt because of the dry wind. A time when she could only think about how she would get through each day.
“...”
Suddenly, her shoulders began to tremble and Liene swept her forearms.
“Uh, uh, here...”
Klima, who knew how brought a blanket.
“Oh, thank you.”
He didn't try to cover her directly but just stood there holding the blanket. Liene took the blanket from Klima's hands. When she covered her shoulders, she felt much warmer.
“Can’t you sleep? It must be time to sleep.”
“No, it’s fine. I won’t sleep tonight, Prince... until the, uh, lord returns.”
Liene said lightly as if joking.
“Really? That’s good. I’ll do that too.”
“Yes, I know.”
On the other hand, Klima nodded with a very serious face. That made Liene feel a little sorry.
“I want to grow up first, but I can’t. I feel uneasy too.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I won’t sleep and will guard you well. You can sleep, Princess, but I can’t. I won’t sleep.”
“Yes. Then let’s hold out a little longer.”
Liene forced herself to open the royal records that were no longer in her head. The study had become too cold at night, so she moved to the living room. Klima carried the large, heavy records into the room.
“You’re doing your surveillance properly, right? I mean, people from outside. There are a lot of those people today, strangely.”
This kind of thing rarely happened in Nauk. So it was a strange night. Klima nodded.
“We keep going back and forth, patrolling the castle. Two at a time, twice. So if anything happens, we’ll know right away.”
“It’s sturdy.”
There was no need to worry about the security inside or outside the castle. Fermos said that all the back doors that had been discovered so far had been re-doored and locked. No one had sneaked in anymore. But why did she keep feeling anxious?
“...”
Suddenly, her shoulders began to tremble and Liene swept her forearms.
“Uh, uh, here...”
Klima, who knew how brought a blanket.
“Oh, thank you.”
He didn't try to cover her directly but just stood there holding the blanket. Liene took the blanket from Klima's hands. When she covered her shoulders, she felt much warmer.
“Can’t you sleep? It must be time to sleep.”
“No, it’s fine. I won’t sleep tonight, Prince... until the, uh, lord returns.”
Liene said lightly as if joking.
“Really? That’s good. I’ll do that too.”
“Yes, I know.”
On the other hand, Klima nodded with a very serious face. That made Liene feel a little sorry.
“I want to grow up first, but I can’t. I feel uneasy too.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I won’t sleep and will guard you well. You can sleep, Princess, but I can’t. I won’t sleep.”
“Yes. Then let’s hold out a little longer.”
Liene forced herself to open the royal records that were no longer in her head. The study had become too cold at night, so she moved to the living room. Klima carried the large, heavy records into the room.
“You’re doing your surveillance properly, right? I mean, people from outside. There are a lot of those people today, strangely.”
This kind of thing rarely happened in Nauk. So it was a strange night. Klima nodded.
“We keep going back and forth, patrolling the castle. Two at a time, twice. So if anything happens, we’ll know right away.”
“It’s sturdy.”
There was no need to worry about the security inside or outside the castle. Fermos said that all the back doors that had been discovered so far had been re-doored and locked. No one had sneaked in anymore. But why did she keep feeling anxious?
Liene turned her eyes back to the royal records to console her needlessly restless mind. The royal records were too vast and miscellaneous. And what Liene was looking for was too vague. Liene was randomly looking through the records, wondering if there were any records about drought or water in addition to rainfall, when something caught her eye.
"Ah...?"
It was a trivial record, that one day, more than 20 years ago, a jewel fell off the ring of the Gainers royal family and had to be repaired. It was something that would have been passed over without much thought. However, Liene could not take her eyes off the delicate picture of the ring that accompanied the record.
The ring had a unique shape with several jewels arranged in the shape of the Gainers royal family symbol. It was said that because there were so many jewels, one or two of them would often fall off without any explanation. When this happened repeatedly, the King became very angry and ordered the jewels to be remade. As he used his skills to prevent the jewels from getting caught and falling, the jewels gradually became arranged in an elongated shape that fits the shape of the finger. As a result, the ring became a bit oddly shaped for a ring, and because of that, it earned a nickname. It was nicknamed the key because it resembled an object with a long, rounded end.
“I guess this was it.”
Liene found herself muttering to herself in surprise.
“This ring is...”
Knock knock. That's when I heard a knock on the door of truth.
"Princess."
He was the Grand Prince of the Principality of Alito.
“I have come to ask for your permission.”
“Patrol is over. Nothing unusual.”
Randall yawned deeply.
“Oh, really? Those guys I don’t know?”
“There’s a night watch. It’s suspicious. He barely drinks and doesn’t sleep.”
“Damn. So I can’t sleep either.”
“Should we deliberately let our guard down? Then it will move on its own?”
“I wonder?”
It was tedious to wait for them to make the first move, so it was a good idea to deliberately set a trap to expose an opening.
“If you do it too suddenly, they’ll notice, so take it slow. Like going to sleep.”
“Don’t worry. I can’t believe you can’t do it.”
The lights that illuminated the guard quarters began to go out one by one, with a delay. As if it was the original schedule, the patrolling personnel disappeared, leaving only one light. After a while, when the surroundings became quiet, the suspicious people who had brought Werose left the room with hushed steps. Tiwakan followed them, also walking silently.
"Ah...?"
It was a trivial record, that one day, more than 20 years ago, a jewel fell off the ring of the Gainers royal family and had to be repaired. It was something that would have been passed over without much thought. However, Liene could not take her eyes off the delicate picture of the ring that accompanied the record.
The ring had a unique shape with several jewels arranged in the shape of the Gainers royal family symbol. It was said that because there were so many jewels, one or two of them would often fall off without any explanation. When this happened repeatedly, the King became very angry and ordered the jewels to be remade. As he used his skills to prevent the jewels from getting caught and falling, the jewels gradually became arranged in an elongated shape that fits the shape of the finger. As a result, the ring became a bit oddly shaped for a ring, and because of that, it earned a nickname. It was nicknamed the key because it resembled an object with a long, rounded end.
“I guess this was it.”
Liene found herself muttering to herself in surprise.
“This ring is...”
Knock knock. That's when I heard a knock on the door of truth.
"Princess."
He was the Grand Prince of the Principality of Alito.
“I have come to ask for your permission.”
***
“Patrol is over. Nothing unusual.”
Randall yawned deeply.
“Oh, really? Those guys I don’t know?”
“There’s a night watch. It’s suspicious. He barely drinks and doesn’t sleep.”
“Damn. So I can’t sleep either.”
“Should we deliberately let our guard down? Then it will move on its own?”
“I wonder?”
It was tedious to wait for them to make the first move, so it was a good idea to deliberately set a trap to expose an opening.
“If you do it too suddenly, they’ll notice, so take it slow. Like going to sleep.”
“Don’t worry. I can’t believe you can’t do it.”
The lights that illuminated the guard quarters began to go out one by one, with a delay. As if it was the original schedule, the patrolling personnel disappeared, leaving only one light. After a while, when the surroundings became quiet, the suspicious people who had brought Werose left the room with hushed steps. Tiwakan followed them, also walking silently.
***
“What can I do for you?”
Liene consoled the fatigue that was creeping up on her and faced Dieren.
“I would like you to write me a pass. Since my sister’s marriage, the Kingdom of Sharka no longer requires a pass when crossing the border, but it is late in the day and we are departing from Nauk, so I would like to be careful of any possible misunderstandings.”
It was a reasonable request.
“Oh, I see. Then could you please wait a moment? I need to go to the office and get a pen and paper.”
“I brought it in advance in case it was inconvenient for you.”
At Dieren's gesture, the servant approached and put down the box he was holding in both hands. When he opened the box, which had elegant silver-worked corners, she found paper, a pen, and ink inside.
“You seem well prepared. But I still need to stamp the seal.”
“I don’t think I can cause you that much trouble. As you are the current ruler of Nauk, your signature will suffice.”
“Well then.”
The servant unfolded the paper that had been rolled up and placed it on the small table used for drinking tea. While Liene was holding the pen, the servant opened the cap of the ink bottle and handed it to Dieren. Dieren placed the ink bottle next to the hand holding the pen. The ink bottle shook as if it was about to spill, perhaps because it was nervous.
“...Huh!”
Dieren almost spilled the ink on the back of Liene's hand. But he didn't. Klima, who had been standing quietly on the other side, suddenly approached and grabbed Dieren's hand holding the ink bottle.
“What are you doing...!”
The ink overflowed. The overflowing ink soaked the backs of Dieren and Klima's hands.
“...! Your Highness!”
The servant's face turned pale. Dieren's was the same.
“What kind of rudeness is this! Why would you do something like this!”
Dieren shouted and pushed away Klima's hand. Although it was rude, Dieren's reaction was definitely strange. He was holding the ink-stained hand tightly with his other hand. Klima watched him closely and wiped the ink off his hand with the hem of his shirt, speaking softly.
“Because there was something in the ink.”
“What... what did you say?”
“I would do that. That would be the most effective thing to do in this situation.”
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