Chapter 10

Hebenia looked at the owner of the herbal medicine shop.

“So, sister-in-law…”

“This herb is really expensive, right?”

The old shopkeeper put on the glasses hanging around his neck and started moving the beads of his abacus.

“It’s a legendary herb that people believed had gone extinct.”

“Its value is whatever people are willing to pay.”

He finished calculating and pushed the abacus forward.

“So…”

“Here’s my price.”

“…Shouldn’t we, the sellers, be the ones setting the price?”

Hebenia frowned at the abacus.

“Veri… I mean, little brother.”

“How much is that?”

“Two million Liv.”

“That’s way too cheap.”

“Goodbye, sister-in-law.”

“Wait! Hold on!”

The old shopkeeper hurriedly stopped the three of them as they turned to leave.

“Five million!”

“Five million for three stalks!”

“Why are you still acting like you’re generously setting the price?”

“Please!”

“I’m begging you!”

“My wife suffers from a chronic illness!”

“We desperately need Dulcevia!”

“Please have pity on this old man…”

“You’re married?”

“And you still proposed to my brother?”

“That’s alright!”

“My wife died twenty years ago!”

“…”

Thanks to his desperate efforts…

Including shamelessly using his late wife as part of his sales pitch…

The shopkeeper finally bought three stalks of Dulcevia for five million Liv.

Ian and Verity carefully counted every coin on the spot.

Ian simply didn’t trust the old man enough to leave without checking.

Meanwhile…

Hebenia wandered around the shop.

“Do you store your herbs somewhere else?”

It was a herbal medicine shop…

Yet not a single herb was on display.

If not for the faint bitter scent lingering in the air…

She wouldn’t even have guessed what kind of shop it was.

“Half of our herbs have already been sent to the capital.”

The old shopkeeper handed Hebenia a piece of candy made from boiled licorice.

Then he muttered with his eyes closed,

“That…”

“…Imperial Princess.”

Hebenia’s hand froze halfway through unwrapping the candy.

Ian and Verity also stopped counting the money.

“I heard she nearly died this time.”

“They say the Clavis family caused the incident.”

“Not that anyone actually believes it.”

“Still…”

“The Imperial Palace has been buying herbs from all over the Empire to treat the Princess.”

The old man clicked his tongue.

“The only one benefiting from this…”

“…is the Emperor.”

“He finally got rid of the Clavis family.”

* * *

The five million Liv they earned from selling three stalks of Dulcevia…

Was the exile group’s very first income.

After leaving the herbal medicine shop…

The three of them bought all sorts of supplies before returning to the inn.

Daily necessities.

Fabric.

Pens.

Books.

Accessories.

Decorations.

Everything was meant as gifts for everyone back in the forest.

“This reminds me of buying presents for my mother and younger siblings…”

“…with my first paycheck.”

Ian smiled faintly.

“Ian.”

“You’re a remarkably responsible young man.”

“You’ve earned a reward.”

“I’ll give you a bottle of holy water.”

“I-I appreciate the thought…”

“…but holy water feels like a bit much.”

“Verity.”

“What about me?”

“You already bought two magical girl toys.”

“Oh, come on.”

“How can you bully a seven-year-old like this?”

“First decide whether you’re twenty-five…”

“…or seven.”

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

No matter how much they stuffed inside…

The bag never became any larger.

I wonder…

Could I learn to do that too?

After organizing everything…

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

Hebenia spoke first.

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

Everyone they’d met…

The knights outside the forest…

The herbal medicine shop owner…

The ordinary people of Deste…

All said the same thing.

The Emperor had always been jealous of the Clavis family.

That’s strange.

The Clavis family supposedly committed the crime…

Yet everyone blames the Emperor instead.

Even that alone revealed where public opinion truly lay.

I feel bad for the Imperial Princess.

Not a single person seemed worried about the actual victim.

Not even Ian.

Of course…

There’s a good chance the attempted assassination was fabricated too.

Maybe she wasn’t even injured.

Still…

She was supposedly involved in a huge incident.

It’s strange that nobody seems concerned about her.

Then Ian spoke.

“If the herb supply becomes unstable…”

“…people everywhere will suffer.”

“Even that shop barely had any herbs left.”

“But they said the Princess is seriously injured.”

Hebenia sounded dissatisfied.

Ian quietly shook his head.

“The Princess has always been sickly.”

“She was born weak.”

“She’s hardly ever been able to leave the palace.”

“There have been countless times she nearly died.”

He continued,

“For two months…”

“I once carried a black cloak and a white ribbon everywhere because we were constantly told she might die at any moment.”

“There really were many close calls.”

“…”

“So suddenly buying herbs because she’s in danger?”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s never happened before.”

“I see…”

She had a point.

No matter how sick one person was…

Would they really need half the herbs produced across the entire Empire?

…Could it be related to the mysterious ore we mined in the exile camp?

The mysterious ore.

The herbs the Imperial Palace was desperately collecting.

Those sound like ingredients for some kind of experiment…

She was just beginning to put the pieces together…

When Verity changed the subject.

“By the way…”

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

“That’s probably because of Exilium.”

“The disaster in the forest happened nearby.”

“This is the closest territory.”

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

Hebenia unfolded the newspaper she’d bought from a street stall.

“Look.”

She pointed at the large headline on the front page.

“It says the Prince is currently visiting the Deste Territory.”

“Apparently he’s here to strengthen the magical defensive formations protecting the territory and nearby villages.”

…Wait.

I can read the writing here perfectly?

She found that strange.

But since it wasn’t important right now…

She let it go.

“If that’s true…”

“There may be Imperial Knights stationed here as well.”

“Ian.”

“Be careful.”

She genuinely sounded worried.

“If you get caught…”

“…I’m leaving you behind.”

“My peaceful exile life comes first.”

“Could you at least pretend you’ll help me?”

“I can’t.”

“I have people I need to protect.”

“What a surprisingly dependable seven-year-old.”

Since they were already discussing it…

They continued reading the newspaper.

Most articles talked about the gigantic monster that had appeared in Exilium…

Or speculated about how the Imperial Palace would respond.

One editorial mentioned the herb shortage.

It never openly criticized the Imperial Family…

But carefully warned that the Empire could soon face serious problems.

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

Verity only muttered,

“What a pointless thing to analyze…”

So they skipped it.

Not a single article expressed concern for the prisoners from the exile camp.

Well…

That’s only natural.

They were supposed to be dangerous criminals.

Several newspapers even claimed the prisoners had died as divine punishment.

So according to the outside world…

We’re all dead.

It was exactly what she’d wanted.

Still…

It felt strangely unpleasant.

Then…

The three of them noticed something odd.

“Ian.”

“It’s not here, is it?”

“…You’re right.”

There wasn’t a single mention of the mysterious ore they’d spent months mining.

Even the knights outside seemed completely unaware of it.

The Imperial Family hadn’t merely censored the information.

They’d erased any trace that the ore even existed.

Maybe…

That ore officially doesn’t exist at all.

Maybe we should’ve kept one or two guards alive.

There was still so much we could’ve learned from them.

She clicked her tongue regretfully.

Just what was that ore…?

She looked toward Verity.

Their eyes met.

Verity only smiled.

An irritating smile.

He definitely knows something.

But he clearly had no intention of telling her.

Fine.

I’ll just make it one of my wishes later.

After organizing everything they’d learned…

Hebenia summarized the situation.

The Emperor is a suspicious coward.

The Princess is pitiful.

The Prince is here.

The Clavis family remains an unknown.

And…

Herb prices would probably continue rising.

Maybe we sold those herbs too cheaply…

Still…

The information they’d gained made it worthwhile.

Now…

Only one objective remained.

Mrs. Dallis’ former home.

The Deste Manor.

“We’re going.”

Hebenia didn’t even need to say where.

Ian and Verity both nodded immediately.

* * *

Although the Deste Territory was small…

It was famous as the birthplace of magical engineering.

Even late at night…

Bright lights illuminated the streets.

The Deste Manor…

Was completely different.

Not a single light was visible.

It looked more like a haunted mansion.

Click.

Thanks to that…

They slipped inside unnoticed.

The manor itself resembled a small fairy-tale castle.

Elegant.

Old-fashioned.

Complete with pointed towers where a princess might be imprisoned by an evil villain.

There are two things we need to confirm.

First.

Find out whether Mrs. Dallis’ daughter was safe.

If she was still alive…

Check how she was being treated.

Second.

Investigate Mrs. Dallis’ alleged crime.

Among everyone in the exile camp…

She’s the only one whose crime supposedly happened in plain sight.

The whole case had always felt rushed.

If someone wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible…

Why?

Finding that answer would tell them what direction to pursue next.

Moonlight streamed through the windows…

Making it possible to see inside.

Everything looked spotless.

Yet…

An unnatural chill filled the mansion.

By the way…

Hebenia looked around.

There’s not a single person here.

Even an ordinary company building had security guards or night staff.

This enormous mansion…

Had absolutely no sign of life.

Just then…

She noticed light shining from beneath one of the doors.

Ian stared at it quietly.

Then spoke.

“…One person.”

“I think they’re asleep.”

“You can tell without even looking?”

“…Now that you mention it…”

Even Ian looked confused.

His expression clearly said,

How do I know that?

“There’s definitely only one person.”

“And yes.”

“They’re asleep.”

Fortunately…

Verity confirmed it.

He slowly turned the doorknob.

The door quietly opened.

The first thing they saw…

Was a bed.

Someone lay sleeping inside.

They approached carefully.

The man appeared to be in his thirties.

He looked completely ordinary.

Except…

His hair was completely white.

It looked strangely familiar.

Who is he?

Standing beside her…

Verity answered.

“That’s Baron Deste.”

Both Hebenia and Ian stared at him in shock.

“What?”

“Mrs. Dallis’… former husband?”

“How do you know that, Verity?”

“There was a portrait in the hallway.”

“His hair used to be a different color…”

“But his face is identical.”

“So I recognized him.”

“So…”

“He really is alive.”

“Even I didn’t expect that.”

Then Verity quietly added,

“This man…”

“…has a contract with a demon.”

Hebenia and Ian’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads.