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Chapter 35
“Kilian.”
“Yes?”
“I clearly said I was going to meet the young duke.”
“You did.”
Looking up at the ceiling above her, Litricia blinked.
“Then why am I in this state?”
Despite her firm resolve to go meet Peter Goodwin immediately, Litricia was currently lying in bed—tightly wrapped in a blanket, no less.
“This is the price of lying.”
Kilian, the one responsible for her condition, calmly flipped a page in his book as he spoke.
Litricia’s smooth, pearl-like forehead creased in irritation.
She slowly began to sit up.
“What lie did I tell? This isn’t exactly the time to be lying around like this.”
“It’s not exactly the worst time to be lying down, either.”
Putting his book aside, Kilian pressed a firm finger against her forehead.
With that, Litricia, who had been holding herself up halfway by sheer will, collapsed weakly back onto the bed.
“You won’t be able to meet the young duke right away anyway. Due to yesterday’s rain, the water level in the Roman Canal has risen, making travel difficult. I just got the message.”
“Oh… that makes sense.”
The Roman Canal surrounded the fabric store that the young duke often visited. Normally, the canal’s waters were calm enough to cross by a small boat, but the downpour from the day before had made it too dangerous to cross, effectively trapping anyone inside.
“We’ve already exchanged messages via carrier pigeon expressing our intention to meet.”
“Did he agree to it?”
“He said he’d be happy to.”
Judging by Kilian’s satisfied expression, the young duke’s response had been more favorable than expected.
“We agreed to meet near the border once the water level drops. Until then, you need to focus on getting a medical checkup.”
He pulled the fallen blanket back up to her chin.
“You’ve told quite a few lies to me lately.”
“What lies?”
“Every time I asked about your health, you insisted you were fine. And this—does this look fine to you?”
With a stern expression, Kilian held up a white cloth stained with blood.
It was the handkerchief she had used to wipe her nosebleed the night before.
Normally, she would have washed and dried it right away, but Kilian had suddenly barged into her room last night, leaving her no time. Unfortunately, it looked like he had found it.
“So you kept saying you were fine all this time—don’t tell me this has been happening every night?”
“No.”
“I can’t take your ‘no’ at face value anymore.”
As Kilian stepped aside with a narrowed eye, Piril, who had been waiting behind him, approached quickly.
“Now that the attending physician is here, you’ll be getting checkups twice a day—morning and evening.”
“Huh? Isn’t that a bit excessive…”
“Litricia.”
At Kilian’s troubled expression, Litricia closed her mouth.
Twice a day seemed a bit too much no matter how she looked at it, but she reluctantly nodded.
Piril then began a thorough examination.
In the end, Piril’s diagnosis was that her condition was fairly good.
Only after confirming this several times did Kilian allow her to get out of bed.
***
Squeeze.
Litricia, wringing out a cold towel to place on Allen’s forehead, glanced at Kilian, who was seated in front of her.
“Kilian, I’m really fine. You heard what Piril said.”
“I’d believe it if I could.”
Kilian continued watching her with suspicious eyes.
Before he could voice his concern again, Litricia distracted herself by tending to Allen.
Luckily, the other knights, who had suffered a severe bout of food poisoning, were recovering quickly. But Allen, as Piril had warned, wasn’t bouncing back as easily—perhaps because of his young age.
“Miss… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come all the way here without permission…”
Allen trembled with emotion as he opened his eyes and felt her gentle touch. He seemed quite overwhelmed.
“What if I gave you my illness?”
“Allen, I told you—it’s not an infectious disease.”
She moistened Allen’s cracked lips, parched from dehydration, and stood up.
“By the way, Kilian, any word from the young duke yet?”
She had thought that once they found the tetrad, everything—both the cure and the chaos—would be resolved quickly. But things weren’t going as smoothly as expected.
The water level in the Roman Canal was receding slower than anticipated, and in the meantime, the number of people poisoned in the capital was steadily increasing.
Worse yet, just as Piril feared, the children who had been poisoned were not recovering well.
As the situation worsened, people began looking for someone to blame. Their resentment was increasingly directed at Kilian.
Some radicals had even started threatening Kilian near the northern border, insisting that he should be banished from the empire.
In contrast, public opinion of Patrick had curiously become more favorable.
Supposedly, he was distributing grain to the sick as a form of comfort.
“We got word this morning. They think the canal should be crossable by this afternoon…”
Kilian opened his pocket watch to check the time.
“By now, he’s probably made it out. I imagine we’ll be able to receive him by tomorrow.”
As if on cue, Mark approached Kilian in haste.
“My lord. A messenger arrived from the border. A man named Peter Goodwin is requesting permission to enter the north.”
***
“I told you already, I’m supposed to meet with the Grand Duke. How many times do I have to repeat myself?”
The slim man standing at the border ruffled his blond hair in frustration.
“I’m sorry, sir, but no outsiders are permitted into the northern territory without the Grand Duke’s approval.”
“What the…!”
The man raised a hand toward the sky in an incomprehensible gesture, seemingly trying to calm himself.
“This is driving me mad.”
“Sir, people are watching.”
“I know. I have eyes, too.”
The sharp-tongued man adjusted his clothes.
Painstakingly straightening his sleeves to a perfect crease, he looked up at the clear sky and brushed off his shoulders.
“The rain lasted longer than expected, and it messed up my entire schedule.”
“I told you we should leave earlier, but no—you insisted on staying at the shop until the rain stopped.”
“I didn’t have any teleport scrolls left. And do you know how much those cost? You’re surprisingly spendy, Nero.”
“You know I didn’t mean it that way, sir.”
“Hmm? Not sure I do.”
Peter replied suspiciously and then changed the subject smoothly.
“Anyway, have we still not heard from my father?”
“No. The duke hasn’t responded to any letters or carrier pigeons for days.”
At Nero’s reply, Peter’s handsome face twisted into a frown.
“Nero. While I was staying at the fabric shop, a sudden outbreak started in the capital, right?”
“Yes, that’s what they’re saying.”
“And Patrick suddenly became a royal secretary?”
Peter rolled his eyes toward the sky as if mentally counting, all while continuing to massage his stiff shoulders.
“And then, the Grand Duke, who hasn’t made contact with anyone for ages, suddenly reached out to meet me? Now, of all times?”
“Yes, that does seem strange.”
Nero’s dry response didn’t faze Peter, who just kept brushing off his shoulders.
“Nero.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Something smells fishy here.”
“Now you’re curious? After I’ve been telling you for days that something was wrong? All you cared about was resting.”
“Shh, Nero.”
Peter pressed a finger to Nero’s lips. Nero flinched in disgust and wiped his mouth furiously, while Peter chuckled.
Then he turned back to the guard.
“Excuse me. Would you please report once more to the Grand Duke that Pi—”
“Young Lord Goodwin.”
Just as Peter was about to reintroduce himself, a large shadow fell over his head.
“Yes, I’m Goodwin…”
“Are you Peter Goodwin?”
“……”
A smile spread across Peter’s face, pleased that someone had recognized him.
Expecting to see another ordinary guard, he turned around.
But what he saw was a knight towering at least two hand spans above him, with a grim expression.
“Nero.”
Peter quickly waved his hand and dragged Nero in front of him like a shield.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he flashed a perfect smile.
“Yes, I’m Peter Goodwin. And you are?”
The knight, momentarily flustered by Peter’s sudden change in demeanor, gave a deep bow.
“It’s an honor, Young Lord. I am Mark Davis, vice-captain of the Silvano Knights.”
The one who had called Peter was none other than Mark.
Ordered by Kilian to escort Peter to the Grand Duke’s castle, Mark had rushed there immediately.
“His Grace has ordered me to escort you to the Grand Duke’s castle. Please, come with me.”
