Chapter 62: Eirene

“These are the documents you requested, Your Highness.”

Zenon carefully pulled out the neatly organized papers he had prepared.

They were all copies he had transcribed himself.

The documents had come from the Imperial Records Archive and concerned the recent movements of the Marquis and the nobles surrounding him.

“I’ve marked anything I found even remotely suspicious.”

“You’ve done well.”

“Oh, and this time—congratulations on stopping the Marquis so successfully.”

“Thank you.”

Rohan accepted the documents with a satisfied smile.

“I’ve brought some papers as well today.”

Next, Lucretia also produced a paper envelope.

There were far fewer than Zenon’s, but they too contained important information.

Today, it had been a while since everyone gathered together.

Though the great matter had ended, their revenge was still ongoing.

“What’s this?”

“It’s about the Marquis’s business trip—you remember you asked me to look into it?”

It was from a long time ago.

Not long after Rohan and Lucretia first joined hands.

After the Marquis had suddenly returned from his trip, Rohan, suspicious, had ordered her to investigate.

Lucretia shrugged as she spoke.

“I know it’s late. But please know I never gave up looking into it.”

“I know.”

It couldn’t have been easy to get information.

After all, the Marquis’s trip was to none other than the Kingdom of Raolasis.

A kingdom that, apart from sending mercenaries, preferred isolation over foreign exchange.

That place was notoriously difficult for outsiders to travel, so Rohan had expected it would take time.

“The official reason was, as you know, to form a military alliance. At least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.”

“If that’s the case…?”

Lucretia looked at the papers.

“Would you take a look at this?”

Rohan nodded and drew out the documents from the envelope.

He was silent for a moment.

“Preparing for war.”

His heart lurched.

Even back then, the Marquis was preparing for war.

And the first target…

‘It must be the Prana Confederation.’

The region where the other races lived would be the Marquis’s first target.

According to the documents, the Kingdom of Raolasis itself wasn’t making any significant moves.

That was only natural.

The Prana Confederation was so powerful that a poorly planned attack would likely be countered.

“It seems they’re preparing for something. But I don’t think it’s going to happen right away.”

Lucretia’s words were right on point.

They were waiting for the right ‘moment.’

‘In the end, what exactly was the Marquis after?’

Rohan fell into deep thought.

At that time, the Marquis was obsessed with starting a war.

It was while he was distracted with that madness that Rohan was able to grow in secret.

“But… Still. I just can’t figure it out yet.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s nothing. Go on.”

As Rohan nodded for her to continue, Lucretia cleared her throat.

“Ahem, it’s too soon to be shocked. Please check the next page.”

Rohan did as she said and pulled out the following sheet.

“This is…”

An unfamiliar, bizarre symbol—no, script.

Yet somehow, it felt familiar.

“This is the same character you showed me before, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. The ‘Ring.’”

Lucretia touched her neck as she answered.

“I found the same character in the house of General Nerva, the famed commander of the Raolasis Kingdom’s strike force.”

Her eyes blazed with passion.

“Isn’t it fascinating and strange? How did something like that show up there?”

“You’re saying this character came from the Kingdom of Raolasis?”

“Yes.”

Lucretia let out a troubled groan.

“In trying to investigate, one of our people nearly died. We almost had a disaster.”

Which meant it was that important.

“What language could this be?”

And why…

Why did this script feel so familiar?

His head began to throb for some reason.

“Don’t you think there’s a connection between Marquis Fabian’s desire for the ‘Ring’ and this? The first time I saw this, I got chills all up my arm.”

The two studied the document with grave expressions.

Only Zenon, not understanding any of it, blinked awkwardly.

“We’ll need to look into this more… I can’t make any sense of this strange script.”

“What is it?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Zenon finally stood up.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen these letters. Even if we try to investigate, it’ll probably take a long time…”

“Huh? Isn’t this ancient Yubrita?”

“What?”

Rohan’s grave expression turned to confusion.

“Yubrita?”

“Yes. The script used by the minorities of that region before modern Yuta.”

“Are you certain, Secretary?”

Lucretia’s eyes lit up.

“Now that you mention it…”

Rohan recalled.

Zenon.

He was an avid collector of ancient books!

“Do you know what this character means?”

“That much, I’m not sure. But I’m certain it’s the Yubrita script. I’ve seen it before at an old book society meeting.”

“Amazing! You really know so much, Secretary!”

Lucretia’s face brightened.

“Even if we don’t know what it says, we at least know what language it’s in—so the rest is just a matter of research, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. It was only difficult when we didn’t know the script. Now, it’s just a matter of time before we decipher it.”

“Kya! How exciting! Thank you, Secretary!”

Lucretia, thrilled, hugged Zenon, whose face instantly turned bright red.

“This was really important to me. If it weren’t for you, I might have never known.”

“I-I’m just glad I knew, truly. Ha ha…”

Meanwhile, Rohan stroked his chin as he looked at the characters.

‘I really have seen this somewhere before.’

But where?

Where had he seen characters you’d only find in a rare ancient book?

Was it in the Imperial Library, where old books were kept?

Or else…

“…!”

Rohan’s eyes widened.

‘That pocket watch!’

Right before he died falling from the tower.

That moment when his body moved on its own—he’d seen the pocket watch the Marquis held.

On its lid, this very script was engraved.

“That’s it, there’s definitely a connection.”

The Kingdom of Raolasis, the ancient script of Yubrita, and Kazin Fabian.

Those three were all intertwined.

“Zenon. What’s the name of the ancient book where you saw this script?”

“Uh… I think the title was ‘Wildflower.’”

“Wildflower?”

“Yes. Only the title was translated, so I can’t be certain it really means ‘wildflower.’”

“A translation, huh… Who did it?”

“I’m sorry, that I’m not sure about. But I do know who owns the book.”

Rohan’s serious expression prompted Zenon to reply with equal gravity.

“Goupi Monterzac. He runs a small bookshop on the outskirts of the capital.”



***



Meanwhile, Count Needro was receiving a message early that morning.

“We’ve found a woman named Eirene.”

“Oh, already?”

Using his vast network, the Count had tracked down the healer Rohan requested.

And she wasn’t just any doctor—he’d discovered she was known for curing severe cases among noble families with her unusual methods.

But the problem was those methods.

“So, she really uses… poisons instead of herbs?”

“According to our informant, she’ll use anything and everything bizarre. Some praise her as a miracle worker, others dismiss her as a quack.”

“Is that so? Hmm.”

He wondered what sort of woman she was.

A miracle worker to some, a charlatan to others.

What would His Highness want with such a woman?

As ever curious, he mused to himself before speaking.

“As one gets older, one comes to rely on physicians. If she’s truly skilled, I’d like to be treated by her someday myself.”

Count Needro’s body was full of aches and pains.

Aging was a frightening thing.

‘If His Highness is searching for her… she can’t be just a quack.’

But then, how did His Highness even know about her?

The Count shook his head and gave up on that line of thought.

From what he’d seen, Rohan was not someone whose motives you could easily deduce.

“Where is she? Let’s go.”

Since it was Rohan’s request, he decided to find the woman himself.

And, of course, he was also curious about this method of using poison for treatment.

The Count took a carriage and arrived at a village.

A settlement on the outskirts of the capital.

“How does one even heal with something like that?”

“You’re gambling with your life, aren’t you? It’s do or die anyway—if you’re just waiting for death, might as well take the risk!”

Murmur murmur!

As soon as he arrived, he heard voices and turned his head.

“That must be the place.”

As he drew closer, a young man with a deathly pale face came running out of the crowd.

“Aaah! I’m not doing it! I said I’m not!”

And behind him rang a clear, mischievous female voice.

“My, my! If you can run off like that, you must not be that sick after all!”

Long, silver hair.

He spotted her at once.

She was holding something the size of her hand…

The Count’s eyes narrowed.

“A venomous spider?”

A giant spider notorious for having claimed many lives.

“I’m telling you, it really works! Why doesn’t anyone believe me? It’s the best thing for reducing symptoms…”

The silver-haired woman grumbled to herself.

Count Needro frowned.

No matter how effective, he simply could not understand the idea of treating patients with a giant venomous spider.

“You’re Eirene, are you?”

His deep voice made the woman turn around. Her golden eyes fixed on the Count.

“And you are?”

And the Count was taken aback.

Because of her silver hair and clear, sharp voice, he had assumed she was an older woman—but seeing her face, she was just a very young lady.

“Someone wishes to meet you.”

“Someone’s looking for me? Hm, judging by your getup, you must be a noble, Grandpa.”

“…”

If he judged by attitude, she was a zero.

Count Needro sighed in disbelief and shook his head.

“Yes, the person I serve wants to see you.”

At that, Eirene blinked.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Money.”

“…?”

“Give me money. Then I’ll go with you.”

“…”

Was it really right to bring this woman?

For a moment, the Count hesitated.

“How much do you want?”

“Hmm, about fifty gold crowns?”

“What?”

Fifty gold crowns, just for coming along?

‘She must be crazy…’

Still, an order was an order.

The Crown Prince had said to bring her, so he couldn’t refuse.

“Fine, I’ll pay.”

“Really? I just guessed you were rich and tried my luck! Nice!”

Her words grated on the Count’s nerves.

“So where are we going? Let’s go right away!”

She quickly packed a few medicine boxes and medical tools into her waist pouch, put on her coat, and followed the Count out.