SYOV 10

Chapter 10

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Hebenia looked at the owner of the herb shop and asked,

“So, Sister-in-law, these herbs are really expensive, right?”

“They’re legendary herbs that people say went extinct. These are worth whatever price you ask.”

The herb shop owner put on his reading glasses, which hung from a string around his neck, and moved his abacus.

“So, this is the price.”

“…Shouldn’t we be the ones naming the price since we’re selling them?”

Hebenia frowned and stared at the abacus.

“Veri— no, Second Brother, how much does this mean?”

“Two million Liv. That’s way too cheap.”

“Well then, goodbye, Sister-in-law.”

“W-Wait! Hold on!”

The herb shop owner hurriedly stopped the three of them before they could leave.

“Then five million! Five million Liv for three stalks!”

“Why are you still deciding the price like you’re doing us a favor, Sister-in-law?”

“Please! I’m begging you! My wife had a chronic illness! I desperately need Dulcevia! Please have mercy on this old man…”

“You tried to marry my brother even though you’re married?”

“It’s fine! My wife died twenty years ago!”

“…”

Thanks to his desperate effort—even bringing up his late wife—the herb shop owner finally bought the three Dulcevia stalks for five million Liv.

Ian and Verity carefully counted every single Liv the old man gave them.

Ian simply couldn’t trust him.

Meanwhile, Hebenia wandered around the herb shop.

“Do you keep the herbs somewhere else?”

Even though it was a herb shop, she couldn’t see a single herb.

If not for the faint bitter smell lingering in the air, she would’ve never guessed it was one.

“Half the herbs are being sent to the capital.”

The old man handed Hebenia a candy made from boiled licorice root.

Then he muttered,

“What’s her name again…”

“The Imperial Princess.”

Hebenia stopped unwrapping the candy.

Ian and Verity also stopped counting the money and turned around.

“I heard she almost died this time. They say the Clavis family caused it, though who would believe that? Anyway, the Imperial Family is buying herbs from all over the country to treat the sick Imperial Princess…”

The old man clicked his tongue.

“The Emperor must be happy.”

“After all, he finally got rid of the Clavis family—his greatest lifelong enemy.”

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The five million Liv they earned from selling the three Dulcevia stalks became the exile family’s first income.

After leaving the herb shop, the three of them bought all kinds of supplies before returning to the inn.

Daily necessities.

Cloth.

Writing supplies.

Books.

Accessories.

Decorations.

Everything was meant as gifts for the exile family.

“This reminds me of when I bought presents for my mother and younger siblings with my first paycheck.”

“Ian, you’re a rare example of a hardworking young man these days.”

Verity nodded in approval.

“You deserve a bottle of Holy Water as a gift.”

“I-I appreciate the thought… but Holy Water is a bit much…”

“Verity, what about me?”

“You already bought two magical girl toys, Young Lady.”

“Oh, come on.”

“Is this really how you treat a seven-year-old?”

“Please decide already.”

“Are you twenty-five or seven?”

Everything they bought disappeared into Verity’s dimensional storage pouch.

No matter how many things he stuffed under his cloak, it never became any bigger.

‘I wonder if I can learn how to do that too.’

After organizing everything…

The three of them reviewed all the information they had gathered while shopping.

Hebenia spoke first.

“The Emperor seems even more insecure than I expected.”

The knights outside the Primeval Forest.

The old herb shop owner.

And everyone else they had met in the Deste territory.

All of them said the same thing.

The Emperor had always been jealous of the Clavis family.

The situation felt strange.

‘The Clavis family was accused of the crime… yet everyone blames the Emperor instead.’

Even so, it made one thing clear.

Everyone’s hearts were leaning toward the Clavis family.

‘I feel bad for the Imperial Princess.’

No one seemed worried about her.

Not even Ian.

‘Of course, there’s a good chance the attempted assassination was also a false accusation. Maybe she wasn’t even injured. Still… it’s strange that nobody is worried about the victim.’

Just then, Ian spoke.

“If the herb supply becomes unstable, ordinary people will suffer first.”

“The herb shop barely had any herbs left.”

“But they said the Imperial Princess was badly hurt.”

Hebenia couldn’t hide her displeasure.

Ian quietly replied,

“The Imperial Princess has always been sick.”

She had been frail since childhood.

She had never even been healthy enough to spend time outside.

There had been many times when she nearly died.

“For two whole months, I once received orders to always carry a black cloak and a white ribbon because nobody knew when the Imperial Princess might pass away.”

“There were many critical moments.”

“…”

“So if they suddenly say she’s in danger and begin buying herbs from all over the country…”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“I… see…”

It really was strange.

No matter how sick one person was…

Would they really need half of all the herbs grown across the Empire?

‘…Could this be connected to the ore we mined in the exile settlement?’

The mysterious ore.

And the herbs the Imperial Family was collecting.

‘They sound like ingredients for some kind of experiment.’

Just as I was trying to think it through…

Verity suddenly changed the subject.

“By the way…”

“There were quite a lot of armed knights in the town square.”

“That’s probably because of Exilium.”

Ian answered.

“After everything that happened inside the Primeval Forest, they’re naturally on guard. This is the closest territory to the exile settlement.”

“I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

I unfolded the newspaper we had bought from a street stall.

“Look.”

I pointed at the large article on the front page.

“It says the Imperial Prince is currently visiting the Deste territory.”

“He’s here to strengthen the defensive magic formations protecting the territory and the nearby villages.”

Come to think of it…

I could read the writing here perfectly.

That was strange.

But it wasn’t important right now.

“Then…”

“There may also be Imperial Knights here.”

Ian muttered.

“Ian.”

“Be careful.”

I was genuinely worried.

“If you get caught, I’m leaving you behind.”

My happy exile life came first.

“At least pretend you’ll help me.”

“I can’t.”

“I still have adults depending on me.”

“What a dependable seven-year-old.”

Since the topic had come up…

The three of us continued reading the newspaper.

Most of the articles talked about the giant monster that had appeared in Exilium and guessed how the Imperial Family would deal with it.

There was also an editorial about the herb shortage.

It didn’t openly criticize the Imperial Family.

But it cautiously warned that things could become dangerous if this continued.

Another article analyzed how the destruction of the Clavis family would affect the Empire.

Verity simply muttered,

“What a pointless thing to analyze…”

So we ignored it.

Not a single article showed any concern for the prisoners in the exile settlement.

‘Well… that’s only natural.’

To the world…

We were dangerous criminals.

There were even several articles claiming the prisoners had all died after receiving divine punishment.

‘So officially… we’re all dead now.’

It was exactly what I wanted.

Still…

The feeling was complicated.

Then…

We noticed something strange.

“Brother.”

“It’s not here, is it?”

“You’re right.”

There wasn’t a single mention of the mysterious ore we had mined.

‘The knights outside the forest didn’t seem to know anything about it either.’

The Imperial Family hadn’t just controlled the information.

They had erased its existence completely.

It was almost as if the ore didn’t exist in this world at all.

‘Maybe I should’ve left one or two prison guards alive.’

‘There was probably a lot I could’ve learned from them.’

I clicked my tongue in regret.

‘Just what was that ore…?’

Without thinking, I looked at Verity.

Our eyes met.

He simply smiled.

It was an annoyingly smug smile.

‘So he knows something.’

But he clearly had no intention of telling me.

‘Fine. I’ll just use a wish to find out later.’

After organizing everything…

I reached a rough conclusion.

‘The Emperor is suspicious and pathetic.’

‘The Imperial Princess is pitiful.’

‘The Imperial Prince is here.’

‘As for the Clavis family… I’ll leave them aside for now.’

Herb prices would probably continue rising for a while.

‘…Maybe we sold those herbs far too cheaply.’

Still…

The information we gained was worth it.

Now only one objective remained.

Aunt Dallis’ former husband’s home.

The Deste Manor.

“We’re going, right?”

Even though I didn’t say exactly where…

Ian and Verity nodded without hesitation.

Although the Deste territory was small, it was the birthplace of Magical Engineering.

Because of that, the city remained brightly lit even late at night.

The Deste Manor, however…

Didn’t have a single light on.

It looked like a haunted mansion.

Click.

Thanks to that…

We slipped inside without being noticed.

The manor itself looked like a small castle from a fairy tale.

It even had tall pointed towers where a princess captured by an evil villain might be imprisoned.

‘There are two things we need to confirm.’

First.

Find out whether Aunt Dallis’ daughter was safe.

And if she was…

See how she was living.

Second.

Investigate Aunt Dallis’ alleged crime.

‘Among everyone in the exile family…’

‘Aunt Dallis was the only one caught in the act.’

The entire case had felt rushed.

‘If someone wanted to get rid of Aunt Dallis as quickly as possible…’

‘Why?’

If I could answer that question…

It would help us decide what to do next.

Moonlight streamed through the windows, allowing us to see inside the manor.

Everything was neat and spotless.

Yet…

The air felt strangely cold and eerie.

‘By the way…’

I looked around.

‘There’s not a single person here.’

Even an ordinary company had security guards or night staff.

But the Deste Manor felt completely deserted.

Just then…

We noticed light shining from beneath one of the doors.

Ian quietly stared at it.

Then slowly said,

“…One person.”

“I think they’re asleep.”

“You can tell without looking?”

“Now that you mention it…”

Even Ian looked surprised.

His face clearly said,

‘How do I know that?’

“He’s right.”

Verity confirmed it.

“There’s only one person inside.”

“And they really are asleep.”

I slowly turned the doorknob.

The door quietly opened.

The first thing we saw…

Was a bed.

Someone was lying there.

As we walked closer…

We saw an ordinary-looking man who appeared to be in his thirties.

His completely white hair looked strangely familiar.

‘Who is he?’

Before I could think any further…

Verity spoke.

“That’s Baron Deste.”

Ian and I both stared at him in shock.

“W-What?”

“Aunt Dallis’… former husband?”

“Verity, how do you know that?”

“There was a portrait of him in the hallway.”

“He looks exactly the same, except for his hair color.”

“So I recognized him.”

“I honestly didn’t expect this…”

Verity wasn’t surprised because Baron Deste was alive.

He was surprised for a different reason.

“This man has made a contract with a Demon.”

Ian’s and my eyes widened in shock.