Even though they pretended not to be, the mercenaries were watching my every move.
Rodrick, the leader of the group, personally brings me in and takes care of me, giving me all kinds of privileges.
Because of this uniqueness, they were all watching me and knew about my missions.
The news that the high-level mission was completed safely also spread quickly among the mercenaries.
"I thought you didn't have much ability."
"But I still work."
Such conversations took place quietly and secretly everywhere.
It is true that my reputation is better than before, but I am still not satisfied.
Even if I were to leave, I wanted to rid Rodrick of the disgrace I had cast on him.
Only by removing the misconception that I wield power based on personal feelings can I make a decision comfortably, whether to leave or stay.
So I prepared for the second high-level mission.
Some of the mercenaries who left for the mission to subdue the monsters said that they were mentally contaminated.
My role was to pretend to watch over the wounded there and secretly treat them for bewitchment.
Of course, Rodrick didn't want to give me this mission.
It was a dangerous mission, but it was only natural that he knew the Kisian was nearby.
However, even he, who was strongly opposed, had no choice but to break his stubbornness after hearing my bruises.
"You said you had been waiting for me to break free from the kinkians. As if you wouldn't do anything like restraint. But your behavior now doesn't feel any different to me."
At my moment, Rodrick raised the white flag.
He had always insisted that he was different from the Kishian, and it was hard for him to ignore the fact that he was one and the same.
Instead, it was dangerous to go alone, so he made it a condition that I go with Hertha and Dirk.
Anyway, it was quite a long distance, so we had a lot of luggage to pack.
I was busy packing up a bag of extra clothes and other essentials.
"Hmm?"
The butterfly-shaped brooch that I always looked at on the table shone brightly.
I had been contacted by another brooch, the Duke of Hersen.
As I gripped the brooch tightly, I heard the Duke's voice as if he had been waiting for it.
- I'm really sorry
When he handed me an apology, it was ominous.
What the hell is going on? As I stiffened in bewilderment, the Duke spoke first.
- There is a little good news and very bad news, and this bad news is really bad news... I think I should apologize first.
"..."
I was getting scared.
I managed to answer with my lips hardened.
"Then I would like to hear the good news first. I need time to prepare myself..."
The Duke replied with a somewhat relieved voice.
- I'm halfway through the deciphered. As expected, it was engraved on the cause of the creation of the monster.
"Creation Cause..."
- Yes, monsters are known to generate naturally for no reason, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
After taking a breath, the Duke continued.
- Have you ever heard that when the essence of nature is condensed, spirits are created? The monster seems to be a being that has been corrupted by some special power.
I don't know much about spirits, but I have heard that they exist.
They are beings that are created in places where the power of nature is dense.
Some wizards borrow the power of these spirits.
While I was thinking about the spirits, the Duke of Hersen continued.
- And the cube seems to be a compass that finds the special object that turns the spirit into a monster.
"Does that mean that if you use the cube to find and destroy the object, you can stop the monster from spawning?"
- Exactly.
I heard that it was a little good news, but it was great news.
If the Duke of Hersen had deciphered it correctly, it was a great discovery.
As I had predicted at the beginning, I had found a way to stop the creation of monsters at all.
However, I was worried about what the 'very bad' news was that I hadn't heard yet.
"What's the bad news..."
I heard the Duke of Hersen take a breath.
As if he were ready to be humiliated, he stammered.
- The cube... Disappeared.
"..."
- Apparently, it was fine until yesterday, but the cube... Suddenly disappeared. There is no sign of robbery, just evaporating...
"..."
I was almost taken aback for a moment, but then a thought flashed through my mind.
I told him to wait a moment, and then opened the safe in his room.
"Here you are, Cube."
The cube was sitting neatly in the safe this time as well.
Just like when you sold it before and came back.
- Yes? How did it happen to be there...
"It looks like an enchanted object that is returned to its owner. Considering that the same thing happened last time."
- Ha... That's a good thing. I was so surprised to think I had lost it.
His voice was a little trembling.
He seemed really surprised.
"I'll leave it to Rodrick for now, so you can take it with you. I have to go on a mission."
- Yes, I will visit the mercenary group again soon. But the mission?
"I have decided to support the subjugation of Viscount Gottlieff's monsters."
- Oh, it must be dangerous right now.
"Yes?"
I heard a voice from the other side of the brooch that seemed a little confused.
- This is actually a top-secret story, and I'm sorry to make a fuss today, so I'm going to tell you. The Imperial Army is currently stationed there.
"Imperial, Imperial Army?"
Without realizing it, I stammered.
Why is the Imperial Army stationed there? Did my father send troops to subjugate monsters?
While I was thinking about it, the Duke told me.
- Elona... The Princess went there to heal those who were contaminated by monsters. Leading the Imperial Army.
The more I listened to it, the more confused I became.
Since Letie was still known as Elona to the people, the Princess the Duke was talking about would be referring to Letie.
Letie went there for pollution treatment?
The Duke continued to tell me, who was surprised, an even more surprising story.
- However, no matter what she tries, the contamination is not cured, so it seems that they are blindly catching the contaminated people to keep trying. So if you go and get contaminated, you can be captured by the yellow army and become a test subject for research on treatments.
"..."
- This is a story that only a few aristocrats in the capital know, so you shouldn't say it carelessly.
"...Yes, thanks for letting me know... Yes, then... I have to get ready to leave..."
- Yes, and if I find out anything during the deciphering, I will contact you.
Soulless, I let go of the brooch.
'Letie, what are you doing with my name?'
Unlike me, who was quietly hiding, Letie was committing quite radical acts.
What I felt for a moment was, of course, resentment.
'How long do I have to be swayed? How long will I have to suffer for the sin of being born as a twin with that child?'
There was a time when I cherished Letie as my only sister.
However, we were no longer family members when I learned that Letie had taken away my own and even had her eyes set on the man who married me.
We are just beings who use our faces and names to eat away at our lives endlessly.
'...I have to stop it.'
The Duke of Hersen must have warned me to be careful, but I couldn't let it go on.
I moved my body and hurriedly prepared myself.
It was a more urgent hand than before.
***
As planned, I left for the Viscount of Gottlief as soon as morning broke.
Hertha and Dirk.
Hertha was so experienced that I didn't have to worry about it.
Dirk was also a veteran mercenary who was carefully selected and brought with him by Rodrick when I escaped from the Grand Siege half a year ago.
He still said that I was beautiful, that I was like a fairy, and that it tickled my ears.
In any case, they were both good men and did not show any nervousness, so the atmosphere was relaxed during the journey to Viscount Gottlief.
However, within a few hours of our departure, we soon ran into an unexpected difficulty.
"Oh my gosh..."
Dirk, who was driving the wagon, suddenly muttered like a sigh.
When Hertha and I, who were sitting in the luggage compartment, turned around at the same time, he pointed ahead with a puzzled face.
"The road is blocked by a fallen tree?"
True to his words, there was a thick log lying on the road we had to pass.
If we had come on horseback, we would have been able to cross it easily, but now we were pulling a wagon.
The wagons were loaded with relief supplies for other mercenaries who had already been dispatched to the scene.
In other words, we couldn't jump over the trees.
Hertha was also confused, tearing her hair out.
"Hmm... I'm in trouble. It would take a long time to go back the other way."
Meanwhile, Dirk got out of the carriage and grunted to push the log, but it wouldn't budge.
I came up with a suitable solution after much thought.
"I will go to the nearby village for help..."
"Looks like you need help, right?"
Just as I was about to ask for help, someone suddenly called out to me from behind.
I turned around with a slight sense of foreboding, and there was a person I knew standing behind me.
With a proud smile.
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