After I came back, I proposed to my childhood friend, and...
Chapter 15
The Neria Palace, where Empress Iyet resided, was filled with a rare sense of vitality.
"Ah, Lady Beatrice! I have been waiting for you. Was the journey here difficult?"
"It’s been a while, Kaya! As for the journey, I just sat in the carriage, you know? I’m perfectly fine."
"Hehe. You are as bright and energetic as ever. Please, wait a moment. I will inform Her Majesty the Empress immediately."
"Oh, why go through all that trouble? You knew I was coming today, didn't you?"
"Of course. She has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. She is even now selecting refreshments in the drawing room."
Well, then!
Beatrice waved her hand to stop the head maid, as if to say it was unnecessary.
Then, she threw open the drawing room doors as if she were entering her parents' room back home and beamed.
"Iyet!"
If the Count of Hartwell had seen this, she would have been smacked on the back again.
Not only had she ignored imperial etiquette, but she had also skipped the honorifics and called the Empress by her given name without permission!
In truth, if one were to be strictly legalistic, she could have been punished according to Imperial Law, but it was fine.
Beatrice was the youngest child with two older brothers.
She knew with uncanny precision exactly how far she could push people's tolerance for her behavior.
"Beatrice? My goodness, if I had known you would arrive this early, I would have hurried my preparations...!"
See? Far from scolding her, the Empress welcomed her with open arms.
Beatrice hugged her tightly and, with a rare display of affection, acted like a spoiled child.
"I missed you, Iyet, so I came as fast as I could!"
"Oh, you!"
"It’s true! I hurried over so much that my side hair is all messy, see?"
"Yes, yes, I understand. You must be tired from rushing here, so let’s sit down."
"Okay! I want to sit next to you, Iyet."
If Beatrice’s mother, the Countess of Hartwell, or Clyde had seen this, they would have rubbed their eyes in disbelief, wondering who that was.
Of course, as the Empress did not see her every day, she was none the wiser.
Beatrice chatted affectionately with the Empress, who was personally brewing tea, when she suddenly clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something.
"Oh, that’s right! I brought a gift for you, Iyet."
"A gift? For me?"
"Yes. It’s not particularly rare or expensive, so it’s a bit embarrassing, but..."
She placed the box she had received from the maid onto the table and opened the lid with a bashful smile.
Inside the box was a 'Nitun Flower,' characterized by its fluffy, yarn-like petals.
To be precise, it was a flower box beautifully decorated with these Nitun flowers and cute ornaments.
"This is..."
As Beatrice had said, it was a modest gift, but Empress Iyet touched the flowers with an affectionate hand.
The 'Nitun Flower' was native only to her homeland, the Kingdom of Beretta, and above all, it was her favorite flower.
"It has been such a long time since I’ve seen a Nitun flower. How did you even know I liked these..."
"I managed to find out from Father. He said they bloom fluffily only when they are rich in mana, so I tried my best."
"It is truly beautiful. I am so happy that you are already able to handle mana this well, Bea."
"Um..."
She hadn't actually poured mana into them herself; she had just rearranged the greenhouse layout to allow more natural mana to gather...
Beatrice hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should tell the truth, but chose to keep her mouth shut.
Empress Iyet and her father, Jedaric, hailed from the 'Kingdom of Beretta,' known as the Magic Kingdom.
Empress Iyet had been an elite, counted among the top genius mages even there.
'If I tell her I just rearranged the greenhouse, she’ll ask why I went through such a troublesome effort...'
She decided to just smile vaguely to brush it off, and the Empress laughed brightly, continuing in a joking tone.
"With this level of skill, you might be able to help me with my work alongside your father before long, don't you think?"
Ah, this—could it be!
Seizing the opportunity, Beatrice naturally picked up on her words.
"Are you perhaps talking about the 'Integrated Treatment System' that combines magical and conventional medicine? I heard you started a pilot program recently."
"Oh my, did you hear about that from Jedaric? That’s right, it was a proposal I drafted myself."
The Empress began to list the details of the 'Integrated Treatment System' with a rather pleased expression.
"Healing magic shares many common factors with divine magic, so it’s easier for imperial citizens who aren't familiar with magic to accept. Furthermore..."
"Hmm."
The way she started explaining without even being asked was just like her father; it was familiar.
Whether they were alchemists or mages, it seemed those from the Magic Kingdom all had similar traits.
'But I’m glad I can see this now.'
In the past, she hadn't known how to look into such things. Even though it involved people she was close to and who showed her much favor.
'And by the time I came to my senses, everything was already over.'
The same went for Empress Iyet’s situation.
'Because the Empress’s Integrated Treatment System was ultimately scrapped during the pilot phase.'
The reason was all too clear. It was because Lady Sharon, the daughter of a Count, had died during the pilot phase.
'This incident affected so many things... well, it doesn't matter now, I suppose.'
Preventing the collapse of this Integrated Treatment System was the 'first step toward obtaining a title' that Beatrice had devised.
'Originally, before I became biased because of Clyde, this was what I had aimed for.'
Well, right now, the Marquisate of Downer was more concerning.
Just as Beatrice was lost in thought, the Empress let out a light sigh and muttered to herself.
"Above all... no matter how much I think about it lately, the proportion of patients suffering from unknown illnesses seems to be increasing. It’s not just my imagination; there seems to be a reason for it, so I wanted to be prepared in advance."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. I was just talking to myself, not to you, Beatrice. I’m sorry, please don't mind me."
The Empress shook her head lightly and offered Beatrice some refreshments, but there was no way Beatrice could let that comment slide.
'Patients with unknown illnesses...'
A spark went off in her mind.
'What if all those patients with unknown illnesses have the same disease, and they just haven't found the cause yet?'
And what if Lady Sharon, who died before the regression, was also one of these 'patients with unknown illnesses'?
'Didn't she just speak of creating the Integrated Treatment System as a kind of countermeasure?'
If so, the hypothesis she had just formed had a very high probability of being correct.
'And since it’s an illness with an unknown cause, it would have been easy for the Princess to interfere.'
Looking back, the claim that 'a fatal mistake by a team member was the cause of death,' which the social circles and newsletters had been buzzing about, made no sense.
A mage as skilled as the Empress would never have let such a thing slide.
'...Now that I lay it all out, the disease itself is very suspicious. It’s not like it’s a curse or something.'
Wait, a curse...?
As she recalled her conversation with Clyde, something clicked in Beatrice’s mind again.
She had a hunch. A hunch that there was some connection between the 'cursed Marquisate of Downer' and this 'unknown illness'!
'Because that’s the most suspicious place in the Empire right now, and the only place where it’s suspected the Princess has been meddling.'
It felt as if a light had been turned on in front of her.
'At this point, it’s like fate is leading me to go to the Marquisate of Downer.'
What could she do? She had already noticed such an important link.
After a moment of hesitation, Beatrice raised her hand and asked Empress Iyet.
"Um, Iyet! Have you ever heard anything about the cursed Marquisate of Downer?"
"The Marquisate of Downer?"
"Yes. They say there are ominous rumors about that place. Something about people disappearing or dying, and dolls possessed by ghosts increasing."
Of course, at this point, the rumor that the Marquisate was cursed hadn't spread yet.
But Beatrice decided to shamelessly mix in some fabrication. For a brighter and happier future!
"I didn't know anything about it either, but when I heard that Clyde and His Highness Crowell were being dispatched to the Marquisate of Downer, I looked it up and found out."
"It is certainly a suspicious rumor."
"Yes. But hearing what you said just now, I thought of that story again. If it’s a place where so many unknown phenomena occur, couldn't an unknown illness be spreading there as well?"
"...Hmm."
"I have a hunch that the clue might be there."
"That is a reasonable point. Bea, are you interested in such inquiries or investigations?"
At the Empress’s question, Beatrice nodded and replied.
"Of course! Actually, as soon as I heard the story about the curse, I thought it had something to do with magic, so I wanted to go along, but I was refused."
"Hmm? Usually, these dispatches are long-term missions, so people sometimes bring their families along. Why?"
"They said it was too dangerous."
"Oh my!"
The Empress laughed like a girl, saying it was a cuter reason than she had expected, and then gave a slightly mischievous look.
"Bea, do you still want to go?"
Shall I help you?
0 Comments