CH 19

It was about a few days after attending the Emperor’s birthday banquet. She looked down intently at the chattering child in front of her. It seemed to be true that something had changed, but there was no way to know what it was. Did other people not feel it at all? She looked at the attendants and knights standing around her, but they only sent her curious glances.

Then, a knock was heard. It was Lubart.

“May I come in?”

“Yes. Come in.”

There was something in Lubart’s hand when he entered the room. It was a small-sized garment embroidered with gold thread on top and bottom of a blue cloth.

“Is this Liam’s clothes?”

“Yes. Deliam’s clothes are regularly made and brought back.”

Lubart, who was trying to put clothes on the child’s body, tilted his head slightly.

“But it’s a bit strange. It’s obviously made with the same dimensions as last week…”

Lubart once again put the clothes over the child’s body and shook his head.

“I guess I’ll have to re-measure.”

“Re-measurements?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you just tell me that you made it to your measurements last week?”

“Yes. It certainly was. Strangely, the clothes are small.”

Lubart winked at the maid next to him. He had a lady-in-waiting bring him tape measure from somewhere.

“Here it is.”

Lubart, who received the tape measure, said to Deliam.

“Lord Deliam, would you like to stand upright for a moment?”

“Huh.”

As Deliam stood up straight, Lubart brought the tape measure to his body. Lubart, who had finished measuring the child, said with a slightly reddened face.

“…I wondered, but it’s true that you really grew up.”

“Liam grew up?”

“Yes. It’s definitely different from the size I took last week.”

Looking at the child, she kept thinking that something had changed, but his body had grown 4cm… She blinked in disbelief. Lubart said he had to talk to the Duke right away, and he busily left the room. The child was touching his body here and there, as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard from Lubart.

“Elia, is it true what Lubart said? Is it?”

“…Uh, yes. To be honest, I’ve noticed something different about you over the past few days, but I didn’t know what it was, so I only questioned it.”

“Then have I really grown up?”

“Yeah. That’s for sure. Your limbs have gotten longer.”

“Uh.”

At her words, the child started running around in place with a brightened face. Because he ran and jumped non-stop, the lady-in-waiting next to him worriedly stopped him. She didn’t know what it was yet, but seeing that the child liked it so much, she wondered if something good was good. Yes, whatever the reason, it’s true that in the end it’s a good thing.

For some reason, she heard the sound of hasty footsteps, and then the door burst open. The Duke came inside with a slightly flushed face. It was evident that he had heard the news from Lubart, and came in a hurry. The gaze of the Duke who lifted the child moved busily up and down. Whether Deliam was surprised or not, he was intent on examining the child’s body.

The Duke, who had been examining the child’s body for a while, let out a big breath.

“…Really.”

Lubart came inside and said.

“Yes. That’s right. The size has definitely increased compared to last week.”

Instead of answering Lubart’s words, the Duke turned his head and stared at her.

“…I unexpectedly got into debt.”

“Yes? What debt?”

The Duke looked at Lubart for a moment.

“Lord Deliam, it’s time to go to class.”

“…Yes.”

The child who was looking at her with a face full of regret left the room with Lubart.

Click.

It wasn’t until the door was completely closed that the Duke’s gaze turned to her.

“Remember how you said the other day that it was very suspicious that a lady-in-waiting sneaked in and changed her candles in the middle of the night?”

“Yes. I remember. But why?”

She didn’t know what the current situation had to do with the suspicious behavior of the maid who was a magician’s companion.

“After we found out that the lady-in-waiting was in league with the sorcerer, we collected all her candles from the mansion and went into the investigation.”

“After investigation, she found that it contained poisonous substances like this.”

“A poisonous plant…”

“It’s colorless and odorless, and it’s a poisonous plant that’s hard to distinguish, so I finally found out by requesting an investigation from the Magic Tower.”

The Duke’s eyes darkened.

“…That means that the grass she smoked affected Lian’s health interfering with his growth.”

“I see.”

“Did the lady-in-waiting who you imprisoned confess that fact?”

“No.”

“Why?”

The Duke’s mouth twisted.

“It was already cursed. She died before she could confess.”

She couldn’t help but be surprised by the Duke’s words. What the hell was the curse on?

“…What curse?”

“The moment you confess, there’s a brainwashing spell that makes your brain cells die.”

“What the hell…?”

“That’s what magic is like. Brainwashing alone can stop brain function.”

“Then the wizard and the man must all be dead.”

“Right.”

The Duke didn’t seem too concerned.

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You haven’t figured it out.”

“It is enough to find out that the candle contains poisonous ingredients.”

“Then I’m glad.”

Then, a knock was heard.

[Duke, it’s time to leave.]

“Where do you have to go? Go quickly.”

Nodding his head, the Duke turned around and headed for the door. Then the Duke suddenly stopped and looked back.

“… Thank you for this time.”

The Duke quickly left the room without saying more and she stared blankly at the door he came out of. What did she hear now? She blinked slowly and slapped her cheek with her hand. Seeing how painful it was, it’s definitely true. It couldn’t be. She felt like she had to do something to focus her attention on so she could forget what the Duke said.

‘Yes, let’s read a book.’ 

It would have been a good way to pass the time since the text was read naturally anyway. She got up, opened the door and went outside.

* * *

She slowly looked around the large space surrounded by books.

“It’s almost like a library.”

This was the place she came to after asking the lady-in-waiting if there was a place where she could read books. There were two stairs on either side, as the books were put up to a very high place. She couldn’t decide where to start, so after thinking about it for a while, she decided to look from the bottom. Politics, history, philosophy, etc… Upon closer inspection, the first floor seemed to be littered with books of a type that were not of interest to her.

She climbed the stairs without hesitation. The second floor seemed to focus on novels and essays. She spent a reasonable amount of time looking to see if there was anything worth reading.

“This would be nice.”

She found one mystery novel and one ordinary romance novel. As she was checking to see if there was anything else to read, something flickered in her field of vision. It was on the third floor, in the farthest corner of the bookshelf.

“…what?”

On the third floor, she stood in front of the bookshelf she was concerned about. It was a fairly thick book, but when she took it out, there was nothing written on the cover. Was there a book without a title? She opened the book, but it was a pure white page with nothing that picked her interes. The next chapter, and the chapter after that as well, nothing was written.

“I came all the way up here.”

It was the moment she was about to put the book back in place. The book fell down as she let go of it. It seemed that the book was in vain due to the thickness of the book. She went down the stairs and picked up a book that had fallen on the first floor. Then, a small piece of paper fluttered and fell to the floor.

“…is this a painting?”

A picture was drawn on the folded paper. A woman with a face that looked very much like the Duke. It could only be his sister, Berka Nathan. Because Berka, the Duke’s sister, resembled her father a lot, not her mother. Anyway, why was this picture included in this book?

She wondered if she should put it back in or take it to the Duke. However, even if she went to the Duke now, she would not be able to meet him anyway because he was out of town. Having come to a conclusion, she sat down on the floor and opened one of the books she had chosen.

* * *

“…Ugh, my arm goes numb.”

She put the book down beside her and squeezed her arms around. There was no clock inside, so she couldn’t tell how much time had passed. She thought it would be better to leave sooner. She stood up holding the book. As soon as she got out, she asked one of the knights standing at the door.

“Did the Duke come back from an outing?”

“He was reported to have moved in a little while ago.”

“Then where is he now?”

“He’ll be in the office.”

“Thank you.”

She immediately turned around and walked out. If it’s the office, she had been to it several times and she had completely memorized the way. After walking for a long time, she suddenly stopped in her seat because of her doubts. When she turned around, two knights looked at her as if asking why she was there. It seemed that the Duke was not the only one whose attitude had become strangely docile. Compared to the first time the knight met her, the atmosphere in front of them was quite different. They didn’t stare as badly as before, and she felt like they answered well in their own way?

For some reason, her mouth was itching.

“Why is that?”

“Do you have anything to say?”

“I’m going to keep looking at it, but don’t you think it’s not normal that I don’t even know your name?”

The knights looked at each other for a while before joining.

“My name is Richard Demand.”

So, the knight who dragged Viscount Lawton was Richard Demand.

“I am Jade O’Dun.”

The knight who went outside with the child on his back was Jade O’Dun.

“Then Richard, and… may I call you Jade?”

“Do whatever you feel like.”

“Does not matter.”

She turned around again and walked towards the office. Finally arriving at the office, she asked the attendant standing in front of the door.

“Is the Duke inside?”

“Yes. He is.”

“Then tell him I want to see him for a while.”

The attendant nodded his head and knocked on the door.

“Lady Elia Lawton wants to see the Duke.”

[Let her in.]

“All right.”

The attendant who opened the door stood aside as if to ask her to enter. Once inside, she walked straight towards the Duke, who was sitting on a chair and peering into the stream. The Duke, who was looking at the papers, raised his head slightly. It was as if he was wondering why she had come. Without hesitation, she held out the book she was holding.

“I wanted to read a book, so I went to the study, but this book had something in it. I opened the book and showed the Duke the picture inserted in it, just in case you didn’t know.”

“…You managed to find it.”

The Duke ran his hand across the picture with his darkened eyes.

“This is a picture I drew while she was still alive when I saw Berka.”

The Duke was silent for a moment. Something uncomfortable air flows in the office. She brought it just in case, but she felt sorry for disturbing him.

“…really sorry. I guess I just found it. I don’t know if you hid it on purpose…”

“You’re apologizing for something that’s nothing. It’s okay, go.”

“Yes. Then I will go.”

It was just the moment she was about to turn around.

“What you’re holding in your hands, do you intend to read it?

She turned her head at the voice she heard. The Duke was asking, pointing to the two books in her hands.

“Yes. I’m bored, and I’m going to read it because I think it’s perfect for killing time.”

“Then read this too. It’s a well-organized novel.”

The Duke held out the blank book with the picture on it.