Chapter 19

At the same time.

I was waiting for my brother and enjoying a leisurely morning tea party since I didn’t know when he would arrive.

A sweet scented candle called ‘Black Rose’, which was popular these days, was lit inside the tea room with all the windows closed like a secret room.

I watched the smoke rise from the scented candle.

The vapor of smoke spreads thickly, and the pungent scent lingers at the tip of the nose…

The Black Rose did exist.

Sally, who was taking care of refreshments by my side, asked me carefully.

“Do you like Black Rose?”

“Ah, yes.”

“You told me to close all the windows on purpose, so I guess you love it! I thought so!”

Sally and Jenny seemed a little puzzled that I suddenly found a Black Rose, but I still smelled the scent spreading through the room.

A sweet, languid fragrance filled my nose.

I took a sip of black tea and nodded.

The fragrance of Black Rose has now spread throughout the tea room, since I have some time to spend while sipping tea. I carefully asked.

“Do you have any good news?”

“Ah, yes! Do you know that there’s a family swordsmanship contest coming up?”

“I’m so excited to watch the competition!”

I enjoyed listening to Sally and Jenny’s chatter, and a smile on their lips formed as they talked.

“Who’s going to represent each family? It’s not just a contest, it’s a festival…! It’s going to be really lively and fancy!”

I nodded and smiled at them.

“It’s…”

They babbled and poured tea over and over again whenever the teacup was empty.

“I heard that human festivals are also amazing.. Have you seen the human festival Lady Astel?”

“I haven’t attended any festival before.”

It’s because we were poor.

I didn’t have much time to relax, enough to enjoy a festival.

At least, I had seen the lantern festival with my brother from afar.

I took another sip of black tea with a little smile on my lips. Sally cheeks blushed and she brightly said.

“Have you ever been to the ’11th -month Carnival’? I was really curious about the 11th-month carnival among human festivals!”

I put the teacup down with trembling hands.

Jenny, unaware of my condition, poked Sally with a curious look.

“What’s the 11th-month Carnival?”

It was a question for Sally, but I unknowingly bit my lips for no reason.

I know best what the 11th-month carnival was.

It’s an event that happened in the empire 13 years ago and after our family was framed.

The palace held an annual carnival in every 11th-month, celebrating the anniversary of the assassination of the rebellious Vietry family.

This was how the festival was created.

Count Vietry’s family, the Empire’s greatest wizard, has secretly destroyed the existing imperial family for several years and established a new state.

They summoned warlocks and old astrologers to curse the current emperor.

They called in black magicians and old astrologers to curse the present emperor.

In the meantime, the betrayal of several counts and servants revealed their conspiracy.

It was also revealed that Count Vietry tried to tear and kill the Emperor, and that he tried to oust other noble families as well as the fact that it was a family stained with corruption.

Everyone pointing their finger at Count Vietry.

The Emperor devised a way to defeat Count Vietry, who had been accused of conspiring against him and prevent him from rebelling again.

It was to call the knights every 11th-month to kill the leaders of conspiracy, to open the Colosseum for bullfighting, and burn the Vietry family’s seal.

At the beginning of each carnival, the Emperor repeatedly emphasized Count Vietry’s inverse and how trashy and disgusting they acted.

So in people’s minds, our family was remembered even worse.

Sally took out the crumpled newspaper from her pocket.

I read the newspaper over Jenny’s shoulder.

“The 11th-month carnival… Look at this!”

⌜ The 11th-month Carnival, 

When the tragic 《Vietry Family》 was killed.

A Carnival for the great Empire would be held! ⌟

However, contrary to the facts revealed, Count Vietry had never committed corruption or contrived treason.

With my trembling hand, I raised the teacup again and sipped.

I’ve decided to think that my heart was beating fast because of the black tea I’m drinking.

Surely, my brother would succeed for the revenge of our family.

Then our family’s name would be cleared from the false accusation soon, so it’s going to be okay.

Like the description of the villains in the original, I tried to imitate the victorious smile our family deserved.

I won’t die like in the original story.

Boom! That was the moment.

With a loud roar, the door of the tea room opened roughly.

It was Sam and several healers of Duke’s healers that pushed in roughly.

“What brings you here?”

“Don’t you know?”

No, I know why you came here.

But I looked at them with an innocent face as if confused from their sudden appearance.

Behind Sam, Ricardo, the Jaguar family’s predecessor, walked in stiffly.

“I have to kill this child, Won! Bring that body here?”

“I have a sense of duty as a healer, Ricardo!”

“Okay, anyway, that kid put my curse to rest!”

”It’s a scammer who prescribed narcotic medicine! Rather than treatment, it’s trying to kill you! Don’t you believe me? Who offered grace to the blood of the Jaguar family?

After all, he was a master of manipulating people around him

He played along with Ricardo.

“Give me just a few minutes. Then I’ll prove her skills right away!”

“This guy and that guy asked me that already! Anyway, one person dies. Do you understand?”

Ricardo growled as he tried to grab Sam by the collar.

I looked at the two alternately and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Yes.”

Thinking it’s not me who dies, but Sam’s side of course

* * *

“I’m glad you found it right away, but Ricardo could have died after 10 days of prescription.”

The atmosphere in the tea room, which was fantastically peaceful and fragrant, was completely destroyed.

I spoke to him in a calm tone.

“Sam, how did you know if I prescribed a narcotic?”

Sam shook the black square artifact in his hand with a mean smile.

“Why? I know because I’ve recorded everything you said.”

It seemed to be a recording artifact.

I simply pointed out his story.

“Wasn’t it illegal to record the privacy of patients at the treatment center?”

“Rather than that, you’re more unethical. A person who acts more is a problem.”

Responding as if he had nothing to lose, he blinked his eyes while speaking.

His eyes were rolled around, and his mind was somewhat distracted and confused.

“It would be immoral for a healer to prescribe a narcotic.”

I nodded with a slightly brazen look on my face.

Certainly, prescribing narcotic sleeping medicine was immoral, abandoning its ethics as a healer.

As I came out confidently, one of the healers behind him said, pointing to his legs.

“Sam, you’ve got to give us the right evidence.”

“We don’t know whether she really prescribed a narcotic or not.”

At the end of his words, Sam turned on the recording artifact.

Along with the clatter, Ricardo’s conversation with me last time was heard.

-A drug-type sleeping candles?’

-Yes, no one gave me that, but… I’m an old man who’s about to die anyway. So just give it to me.

-Well… open your mouth for a moment. Then I’ll prescribe it for you.

-…You’re really going to prescribe it for me?

Sam’s expression looked proud with the clear dialogue heard from the artifact.

At that time, Ricardo, who remained still at Sam’s request, stepped forward again.

“I asked for a prescription! Don’t call me for nothing. It’s been a while since I was able to sleep comfortably. When I think about it, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing to die comfortably. Because I don’t want to see people fighting with each other.”

It was quite surprising that Ricardo sided with me.

I looked at Ricardo with a slightly thrilled expression.

He snorted and turned his gaze away from me.