IQBSA 20

Chapter 20

“I told you. I’m not feeling well.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“What will you do if you don’t?”

“Look here!”

It was refreshing to see someone who could stand up to the Tower Master, but I couldn’t just be happy about it—the two of them seemed to be on a similar level.

‘……Ah, I want to go home.’

Today especially, I longed for home. My precious little rented house that I’d bought with such ambition and barely had time to enjoy.

My heart wanted to quietly slip away from the two of them, but I barely suppressed the urge and stayed put.

“Are you really going to be this uncooperative? In this urgent situation when His Highness is also absent?”

“I regret that part as well. But for whatever reason, my decision won’t change, so I hope we can resolve this through an amicable agreement.”

“Well, I’m not sure about that. I’m deeply concerned that the Tower Master might weaken the subjugation force’s discipline, so unless you swear to never miss a mission from now on and devote yourself wholeheartedly—I don’t think that will work.”

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

I saw Charis’s ears perk up in that instant.

“You’re serious?”

When Roakin nodded, Charis called over a knight standing nearby.

“Hey, go to my room right now and bring paper and a pen—no, wait! Instead of going there, go to the interrogation room and bring a recording artifact.”

“Yes, understood.”

The knight who received the order hurriedly ran out of the conference hall.

“Instead of troublesome writing, let’s just keep it clean with a recording.”

“Whatever you like.”

“Let’s end this tiresome fight once and for all.”

Charis poured out her grievances—how difficult it was every time to mobilize the Tower Master, and how much of a headache his arbitrary actions caused during missions.

Then, as if completely fed up, she shook her head and said:

“Having that crazy Tower Master as your superior—Serpine, I almost admire you.”

“Having someone who appreciates it…… I’m touched.”

Feeling my nose tingle, I chimed in agreement with Charis.

“Honestly.”

Roakin let out a hollow laugh at the two of us getting along so well.

As Charis and I were gleefully badmouthing the Tower Master, the knight who had gone on the errand returned panting, holding a recording artifact.

“I’ve brought the item you requested!”

“Good work, go rest now. Tower Master, would you care to repeat what you said earlier?”

Charis managed to get the recording, confirmed it, and smiled with satisfaction.

“Yes, you may go now. The rest of us will brace ourselves for hard work, so make sure you keep your word—since you’ve made such a big decision.”

I was about to get up and leave when I stopped and called out to Charis.

“Excuse me, Charis.”

“Yes?”

“Speaking of what we mentioned earlier…… His Highness still hasn’t woken up, has he?”

“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”

A flicker of caution appeared in Charis’s eyes.

“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m asking because I wondered if there might be any way I could be of help.”

“Serpine, you…… I heard you’re skilled with potions?”

Word had already spread this far. When I gave a small nod, Charis seemed to think for a moment, then spoke.

“Then instead of standing here, why don’t you have a talk with the physician? Come to think of it, there’s actually something Serpine might be able to help with.”

I’d been curious about the exact nature of the Crown Prince’s condition, so her suggestion to meet the physician first was an unexpected windfall.

‘*Well, let’s at least find out how he collapsed.*’

That would also help uncover what the Empress Dowager was plotting.

Besides, I had no idea where to look for Ramona, but if I hung around the Crown Prince under the pretext of helping with his treatment, I’d likely run into her without much difficulty.

“I’d be happy to.”

“I’ll take you to the physician right away.”

—

* * *

—

“Huh? Where did this old man go?”

After looking around for a while, Charis strode inside and gestured for the others to follow.

“His collection basket is gone, so he must have gone out to pick herbs again. He’ll be back soon, so let’s wait here a moment.”

As soon as I entered, the scent of medicinal herbs hit me. The mix of grassy and earthy smells was oddly calming.

On the left side of the room sat a large herbal medicine cabinet. I slowly scanned the neatly written names of ingredients in each compartment.

‘*Letus leaves.*’

‘*Lavender.*’

‘*Mandrake.*’

The fundamental purpose of medicine was treatment, so the ingredients were subtly different from those used in potions.

I was mainly looking at herbs I didn’t usually get to see when I heard rustling sounds from outside.

“Oh my, we have guests.”

A short, white-haired old man appeared, having stuffed all sorts of plants into his basket—and even with his hands full, he still had more tucked under his arms.

Seeing him like that, Charis clicked her tongue and said in a disgusted tone:

“Old man, you really need to moderate yourself.”

“Tsk, don’t nag. Do you know what I found today? This is something I last saw on the Endal Plains ten years ago—how could I just walk past it?”

The physician proudly showed off his haul and carefully placed them on the table. It was only after he’d roughly organized everything that he came to his seat and sat down, speaking.

“But what brings you to this old man?”

“It’s about what you mentioned the other day…… didn’t you say you suspected the use of a potion?”

“I did.”

Charis sat me down across from the old man and subtly gestured with her chin toward Roakin.

“This person is the secretary to—well—the Tower Master over there, and word has it she’s an exceptionally skilled potion maker. I brought her along because she heard about His Highness’s situation and wanted to help.”

I saw the old man’s gentle face harden in an instant.

“This isn’t a matter to be discussed lightly. Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Don’t worry. You know that the Tower Master is a longtime friend of His Highness Rirenzo, don’t you? No matter how willfully the Tower Master acts, His Highness is the one who covers for him—so there’s absolutely no reason for us to do anything that would harm His Highness.”

Thanks to Charis’s backhanded compliments—sounding like an ally but not quite—a crease formed between Roakin’s brows. Still, he seemed to judge that now wasn’t the time to step in, and thankfully managed to suppress his temper.

“Hmm, I see……”

The physician, seeming to deliberate carefully, finally spoke.

“How much do you know about His Highness’s condition?”

“All I’ve heard are rumors—that he suddenly collapsed one day and still hasn’t recovered.”

“Then you might as well know nothing. Where should I even begin……?”

“I’d like to hear about the circumstances leading up to His Highness’s collapse.”

“I can tell you that—I witnessed it directly.”

Suddenly, Charis stepped forward and interjected.

“The day before the incident, His Highness finished training at the training grounds and went straight to his bedchamber. He did complain of fatigue, but we assumed it was because the aftereffects of Baldeas hadn’t worn off yet, so we didn’t think much of it…… But when he still hadn’t shown up at the training grounds by late the next morning, I went to check on him—and by then, he was already unconscious.”

“Rirenzo used to often fall ill after training in the past. Isn’t this a similar case?”

Roakin, who had been listening quietly, added dismissively, but Charis snapped back:

“No, that was ages ago! Maybe in the old days, but now he’s the Empire’s greatest Sword Master! Even if a monster got him, he’d shake it off in a day or two!”

Even the seemingly flawless male lead had a past he wanted to hide—and that was his frail health as a child.

‘*They even said he wasn’t fit to be Emperor.*’

The imperial bloodline, descended from the hero who defeated the Mad Dragon and unified the Empire—the first Emperor Axion Aldrate—carried an inherited trait of strong warrior constitution.

But Rirenzo, like a mutation, was physically weak, and so—despite being the firstborn—he was criticized as lacking the qualities to inherit the throne.

To earn recognition, Rirenzo spent years honing his swordsmanship through extreme training and emerged as a Sword Master.

No one doubted his abilities anymore, but there was still a tendency to hush up the fact that his natural constitution had originally been frail.

“Alright, calm down. Sometimes, your loyalty toward Rirenzo Aldrate is excessive.”

“That’s only natural—he is the liege to whom I swore my life as a knight!”

When Charis exploded, Roakin rubbed his temples as if his head was ringing and shook his head.

“You two growl at each other like children every time I see you. Now that you’re done, may I speak?”

“Ah, yes……”

The bickering stopped, and the room fell silent. The old man spoke again with a somber expression.

“His Highness has fallen into a state of unconsciousness. His breathing is steady and regular, but he hasn’t regained consciousness for a long time.”

“And the exact cause hasn’t been identified?”

“That’s right. There appear to be no other abnormalities in his body—it doesn’t seem to be a fatal poison, nor was there any external impact……”

The physician seemed lost in thought, as if trying to reconstruct the Crown Prince’s symptoms.

“In all my years, I’ve never encountered a case like this.”

“If it’s not too presumptuous, could I perhaps take a look as well?”

“You mean to personally examine His Highness?”

“Yes. It’s hard to get a sense of things just from verbal reports. I believe you know better than anyone, Physician, that accurate diagnosis requires seeing the patient directly.”

“Hmm……”

Well, if not, it couldn’t be helped. I hadn’t expected much when I made the suggestion, but the physician seemed to be considering it more seriously than I’d anticipated.

After a brief silence, an affirmative answer came.

“Follow me.”

I immediately followed the physician to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber. Roakin and Charis came along as well, of course.

‘*In any case, having too big a house is also a problem.*’

Because it was located deep within the imperial quarters for security reasons, it took quite a while to reach the bedchamber.

As we rounded a corner and approached the high ground, I spotted a man arguing with soldiers in front of the door.

“What’s that about?”

Charis darted forward like a bullet and grabbed the man in question in an instant.

“Hey, what are you doing here……!”

Soon the man turned around, revealing his face, and Charis blinked in disbelief.

“……Prince Enoch?”