VFAI 19

Chapter 19

Why Didn’t You Take My Hand?
2022.09.04

Until now, only two people had ever entered the annex.

It was extremely uncomfortable for someone to suddenly invade my space like this.

I pulled my hand free from Yansi’s grip and looked back at Karl.

“What is it?”

“Mother called for you.”

It seemed to be about the antidote again. Probably because things had been delayed far longer than expected.

But there was something I couldn’t understand.

I looked up at Karl.

“Then why are you the one telling me?”

“…I happened to run into Mother.”

“You don’t need to go through the trouble of coming all the way here. Next time, just send a servant.”

Karl probably didn’t particularly want to see my face either, so that would be better for both of us.

“Brother, you should head back as well.”

After gently telling Yansi to leave too, I left them behind and headed straight to the Duchess’s greenhouse.

“You called for me, I heard.”

“That’s right. Come in, Elodie.”

As if she had expected me, a teacup was already prepared for me at the table.

Those two… what are they doing?

Feeling oddly thirsty, I drank the tea without hesitation, and the Duchess sitting across narrowed her eyes.

Ah.

At tea with a noblewoman, one was supposed to act carefully and never drink first.

It was too late to pretend to be cautious now.

“You called me about the antidote, right?”

“Partly. There’s no rush, so take your time.”

If it wasn’t about the antidote, there would be no reason for her to call me…

Then I suddenly recalled something strange I had heard recently.

“Duchess. The antidotes you entrusted to me—there were 11 types, correct?”

“There were 12.”

Blink.

I tilted my head and frowned. At my reaction, she asked,

“Is something wrong?”

“One of them is missing.”

“Maybe a maid accidentally moved it while cleaning.”

“…I suppose?”

But I disliked having servants enter my room, so only my exclusive maid, Martha, handled it. And Martha was not the kind of person who would make such a mistake.

“Who in the Perdian house would steal poison?”

The Duchess’s words made sense. If someone wanted, they could just pluck poisonous plants growing everywhere like flowers. Poison wasn’t rare in Perdian.

“If someone ignorant stole it thinking it was valuable, they’ll pay the price. Whether they die from it or get caught selling it on the black market and have it returned as stolen goods—it doesn’t matter either way.”

The Duchess listed such terrifying possibilities in a calm tone.

“Haha…”

I could only laugh awkwardly.

“Tell the servants which poison is missing. I’ll send it again.”

“Yes, Duchess.”

“The payment for the sale should come in soon. You can send it through that girl, Martha.”

“Yes. I’ll send the antidotes as soon as they’re ready.”

By the time our business was finished, the teacup was empty.

Just as I was about to leave—

The Duchess spoke first.

“I hear Karl and Yansi have been bothering you lately.”

Her piercing gaze made me tense. I immediately understood what she meant.

A warning not to get close to them.

From her perspective, it was undesirable for someone like me—an outsider—to get close to her legitimate sons.

Duchess’s concern received.

I smiled reassuringly.

“Please don’t worry. I won’t bother them at all.”

“…Hm?”

“I’ll just avoid them. I only meet Karl when he goes outside anyway, so it’ll be fine!”

“…Hm.”

“Then I’ll take my leave!”

I quickly left the greenhouse, worried I might be blamed for something later.

“Poison.”

At the imperial pharmacist’s words, Adenmir’s expression darkened.

“Poison,” he repeated in a low voice.

Poison.

It was nothing unfamiliar to Adenmir.

A position where one could be assassinated at any moment.

Because he was constantly exposed to danger, he had trained from childhood to build poison resistance.

He had undergone training by ingesting poison in gradually increasing amounts, from extremely small doses.

That was why he understood the pain of poisoning better than anyone.

But what puzzled him was why this particular poison had been left open on Elodie’s desk.

Something about it felt wrong.

“What kind of poison is it? Symptoms upon ingestion?”

“It appears to be a poison made by Duchess Temis Perdian. Even a single drop damages the respiratory system, and if this entire amount is consumed, death occurs within seconds.”

As expected of Temis Perdian, the empire’s greatest poison master—it was terrifyingly effective.

“You may leave.”

After dismissing the pharmacist, Adenmir placed the vial on his desk and fell into thought.

Why had the lid of a poison that could paralyze the respiratory system even been left open?

He didn’t think Elodie had done it knowingly.

Did the Duchess attempt to eliminate her?

But the method was too careless for that.

It left evidence behind.

The Duchess he knew would never use such a sloppy method.

“Then why—”

As he murmured, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind.

Elodie’s wrist wrapped in bandages, and the distinct cut beneath it.

“…No way.”

No. Impossible.

That selfish woman, who only cared about herself, would never drink poison.

But once a thought began to flow in a direction, it gained momentum like a rushing current.

Adenmir did not realize—

That he had begun thinking about his fiancée, someone he had long stopped paying attention to.

Clatter.

Inside the unevenly swaying carriage, Karl and I sat alone.

Karl, assigned as my escort for this outing, looked quite displeased.

He kept shifting his legs nervously, glancing out the window, then suddenly pulled the curtain shut and turned to me.

“You’re always stealing my training time.”

“Then next time I’ll just ask Yansi. If it’s one of them, Father will let it slide—”

“No, no way… don’t bother my brother!”

Karl jumped up in protest.

Since when had he become so attached to Yansi? Anyone would think they were close brothers.

Shrugging, I leaned back.

“Where are we going today?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“So I can escort you properly. You, of all people, might suddenly run off somewhere again.”

“I won’t run off.”

I will.

Our destination was the Southern Magic Tower outside the capital.

It was far, beyond a mountain, and quite distant from the city center.

The mages of the southern tower preferred isolation, which was why it was located there.

Although it was one of the same Magic Towers I had visited before, each directional tower functioned independently.

This time, I planned to invest the money received from the Duchess into the Southern Magic Tower.

Diversification was the key principle of investment.

When I refused to tell Karl the destination, he grew more persistent.

“Where is it? Where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“Are you going somewhere weird? Tell me!”

“If you’re an escort, just stay quiet.”

“I’m going to stop the carriage and ask the driver!”

He glared at me seriously.

Annoyed, I finally answered.

“The Southern Magic Tower.”

“Why there?”

“Just to look at magical tools.”

I closed my eyes, signaling I didn’t want to talk.

But Karl, who I expected to argue further, went silent.

When I opened my eyes slightly, his face had turned cold.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Don’t come out. Stay inside.”

“What?”

Before I could respond, he flung open the door and jumped out of the moving carriage.

And then—

BOOOOM!

A massive explosion shook the ground, and the carriage lurched violently.

The horses reared in panic.

I was not spared from the chaos.

“Ugh!”

I slammed into the carriage wall, pain shooting through my shoulder.

Outside, the sounds of metal clashing violently echoed.

An ambush?

Perdian had many enemies. Though I had never been attacked in the annex, the Duke and his sons had faced assassins before.

I assumed Karl would quickly handle it.

But the noise abruptly stopped.

Is it over?

Karl did not return.

A bad feeling crept in.

“…Karl.”

I pulled aside the curtain—and saw something impossible.

Karl, sword driven into the ground, was barely standing, covered in blood.

Around him lay many masked attackers, but it wasn’t over.

Two assassins still surrounded him with murderous intent.

“No way.”

This was Karl Perdian’s direct heir.

He shouldn’t be struggling against such opponents.

Before I could think, my body moved.

I jumped out of the carriage and threw a vial of the Duchess’s poison at the remaining assassins.

“Gah!”

“What—what is this!”

Some poisons didn’t require ingestion—just inhalation could cause effects.

This was one of them.

It wasn’t as strong as ingestion, but it was enough to buy time.

I supported the staggering Karl.

“Those guys… they’ve got a magic tool that nullifies abilities—”

“Shut up and move!”

We had no time.

I dragged Karl toward the driver’s seat. The driver was already dead.

“Run… alone…”

“Don’t ruin my sleep schedule!”

I knocked him on the forehead and quickly detached the horse from the carriage.

“Get on!”

Karl climbed up behind me as I grabbed the reins.

“After them!”

The two assassins began chasing us again.

What do I do?

My ability wasn’t offensive. Karl was incapacitated.

There was only one option.

Run.

But my riding skills were mediocre.

The distance between us was shrinking.

I rode toward the forest to obstruct their vision.

Then—

Karl suddenly turned and threw a dagger from his coat.

Whoosh!

“Guh—!”

One assassin collapsed.

“One left…”

Karl muttered, gripping his sword. But another obstacle appeared.

Neigh!

A cliff lay ahead.

There was no escape route left.

Turning the horse, I faced the pursuer.

There’s still poison.

But Karl was faster.

He leapt from the horse and engaged the assassin again.

Clang!

Even injured and bloodied, he fought fiercely.

“Damn it!”

His sword pierced the enemy’s vital point.

But then—

A sudden attack came toward me.

“Duck!”

I twisted my body—but it was a mistake.

The horse panicked and threw me off.

My body tilted backward.

“Hey!”

Karl’s outstretched hand seemed to move in slow motion.

I reached out—

But then, why?

Don’t touch me. It’s disgusting.

A memory flashed like lightning.

Karl once pushed away my hand and said those words.

He said it was disgusting to touch me.

…He might push me away again.

Without thinking, I withdrew my hand.

That brief hesitation was decisive.

“…Ah.”

I fell off the cliff.

“Karl!”

Rocks kicked by his feet tumbled downward.

The abyss below was completely dark.

“Elodie Perdian!”

He shouted her name until his veins bulged, but it was already too late.

Color drained from Karl’s face.

Shock lingered.

Why.

Why didn’t you take my hand?

“…Why?”

Would she rather die than accept his help?

Did she hate him that much?

The image remained in his mind—her reaching out, then giving up and falling into the abyss.

He still didn’t realize it.

That, somewhere along the way, he had begun thinking about his fiancée again.