CH 67

67　Monologue of A Certain Marquis 8

“The next matter is about the miracle that Goldberg-dono’s son, Theodore, caused.”

―― Here it comes. I thought as everyone’s attention focused on me at once.

“Let us hear the details once again… there are parts that is a little bit too difficult to understand from the story I heard before.”

Well, I myself also didn’t really understand what happened back there though, so asking me for details… was truly a bit hard. Still, I suppose I had no choice but to report everything exactly like what I saw back then.

“Alright, to make it easier to understand, I’ll talk about what I saw exactly as it is.”

I recounted what I saw, from when Theodore coiled the bracelet he made with his own hands to cover the red bruise around Miss Muriel’s wrist to the fact he placed the chick doll Miss Muriel made during the day when they were practicing their magic beside her.

Then, I explained that Theodore began to recite a string of words in ancient language at that time. When he did that, the bracelet and the chick doll suddenly began to glow with a brilliant white light. At that time, the dark red bruise on Miss Muriel’s wrist suddenly came out from beneath the bracelet, and fell on the bed, trying to escape. But then, the chick doll shrouded in brilliant golden light stood on its way and ate it.

After that――

“Sorry, please stop for a moment.”

Prime Minister Blackcurrant stopped me when I was still in the middle of recounting the scene I saw.

“Just to make sure; that chick doll is moving and ate the ‘bruise’ that tried to escape… right?”

“It’s exactly as I say. The chick doll ate the string-like ‘bruise’ that tried to escape.”

Hearing my sure reply, Prime Minister Blackcurrant massaged his temple. He was confused for sure. In fact, even I who saw the event with my own eyes was just as confused as he, so his befuddlement was only a matter of course.

“And… that is the VERY chick doll in that story.” Prime Minister Blackcurrant said as he gestured towards the chick doll made by Miss Muriel that was currently placed on top of the desk. I had silently borrowed this from Theodore for the sake of this hearing. That was why it was here.

At the time, when Theodore fell asleep due to exhaustion, the chick also curled up and perhaps fell asleep too after nesting on his hair. So, after asking for permission to let Theodore sleep on the bed beside Miss Muriel’s bed, I initially planned to placed the chick doll with him. However, the chick doll’s golden light vanished when it got separated from Theodore.

And now, no matter how you looked at it, it is just a normal chick doll. Still, it looked so divine when it shone back then.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Starting from Prime Minister Blackcurrant, everyone took turn to observe the chick doll. However, soon, their expression turned dejected when they couldn’t find anything in it.

“It doesn’t seem to be a magic tool.” Count Spene stated his opinion out loud.

“That’s right, Big Brother. It doesn’t really look like a magic tool at all. And yet, this very chick is the one that create that miracle back then. It was surrounded with golden particles of light and moved as if it has a life on its own.” Bates-dono said, supplementing my story that got interrupted.

Then again, Bates-dono’s action was correct. After all, though I told them that the chick doll moved back then, it had returned to a mere chick doll now. Therefore, having another witness proved my words’ credibility. Look, even after Bates-dono had supported my claim, His Majesty who didn’t see what we saw back then still looked at Bates-dono with dubious look on his face.

“Moreover, the ‘bruise’ came to life too, is it?”

It might sound unbelievable, but believe me, it was the unvarnished truth.

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“Yes, it moved too. There are other eyewitnesses too aside from Bates-dono and I. We can vouch for this.”

“No, there’s no need for that. You’re not the kind of person who are going to make such lies. It is just the event is too astonishing to the point that I can’t even understand.” Bishop Cobalt apologized.

“And then, what happened to that doll after it ate the bruise?” His Majesty asked.

“The chick look satisfied. Maybe the bruise was a treat for it. Anyway, right after that, we heard a cat’s shriek from outside the window as magical power started to gather on the bracelet as Miss Muriel’s condition improves for the better.”

“I think the bracelet is absorbing the mana in the air. The bracelet’s shine might be related to the mana gathered in it. I’m really surprised to see it. It’s as if the mana particles are… dancing in there.”

After I continued the story, Bates-dono supplemented it with explanation from his side. And indeed, the particles back then looked as if they were dancing in joy.

“Mana particles are… dancing? Seriously? MANA? DANCING?” Count Greenwell muttered as if he couldn’t believe Bates-dono’s words just now. I supposed his disbelieving reaction was normal. I myself might react the same way if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.

“Anyhow, let’s see the aforementioned bracelet first. You bring it with you, right?”

“Nope. The bracelet can’t be removed from Miss Muriel’s arm.”

It seemed His Majesty wanted to see the bracelet too. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring them with me. Fortunately, Bates-dono came forward to explain the situation before His Majesty and the others started asking for the reason.

“Even after it lost its shine, it’s still in the state of gathering mana in the air. It might be trying to restore Miss Muriel’s life force. As such, there’s a possibility that Miss Muriel might die if we take off the bracelet from her. We must not undo the miracle that Theodore has painstakingly created, so let’s just keep the bracelet on Miss Muriel’s arm.”

Knowing that a child’s life was at stake, His Majesty didn’t press any further. Still, the bracelet might be confiscated from Miss Muriel once she becomes lively again. I wanted to avoid that situation if possible since that bracelet was the item that Theodore wholeheartedly made for Miss Muriel. So, I definitely didn’t want to do something like confiscating the bracelet, because doing that was akin to rejecting the bond between the two.

While I was pondering about such a thing, Bates-dono continued his explanation. “And that’s what happened. I’ve examined the bracelet on Miss Muriel’s arm, but I’ve come to a conclusion that it isn’t a magic tool.”

“If it isn’t a magic tool… then what is it?”

“I don’t know. But, I guess all of us are familiar with such items.” Bates-dono said with a convincing look on his face.

“It’s something that isn’t a magic tool, yet resembled one. It’s invoked with ancient language and cleanses evil. Furthermore, it’s an accessory offered by a man who offers his 『True Love』 to a woman.”

―― No way…

“Yes, it’s just as you have guessed. I think Theodore’s handmade bracelet is a saint’s ornament, or at the very least something very similar to it.”

Everyone in the room was at a loss for words upon hearing Bates-dono’s conclusion. Although he was not wrong in saying that, I still wanted to erase that triumphant look on his face. In short, I really wanted to punch his smug face. Immediately.

I mean, my son, Theodore ended up getting himself involved in an extremely troublesome matter after all.