Chapter: 24
The underground prison.
The guards stared at me in disbelief.
“I’ve never seen anyone who looks so at home inside a prison cell.”
“Exactly….”
They looked as though they were witnessing something beyond comprehension, but I merely smiled kindly.
Because it really was comfortable.
‘Our house was underground too.’
Well, not completely underground.
It had been a semi-basement.
I’d pushed myself a little for Mom’s sake.
She needed at least some sunlight.
I was lost in those thoughts when—
Creak.
The prison door opened, and the sound of boots echoed through the corridor.
The soldiers who had been gawking at me immediately knelt.
After all, as long as one set foot in the North, there was one man no one could ever defy.
The conqueror of the North.
Duke Esgarott.
“Synthes.”
The Duke spoke, and the man who had accompanied him lowered his head.
Judging from the name, that muscular giant must have been Baron Synthes, Asta’s father.
Baron Synthes bowed before silently signaling to everyone nearby.
Everyone present withdrew like the receding tide.
Even Baron Synthes left.
In an instant, the underground prison fell silent.
Only the Duke’s breathing and mine filled the room.
The Duke quietly gazed at me through the iron bars.
“So. Why did you summon me while staking your life on it?”
I swallowed hard.
“I… have something to tell you.”
“It had better be important enough to justify calling for me.”
“Well…”
“If you’re about to tell me that Aslan, the leader of the Irregulars, is my son, you’ll disappoint me.”
“…”
For a moment, it felt as though my heart had crashed to the floor.
The blood drained from my entire body.
‘He already knows about the Boss?’
As I froze, pale as a sheet, the Duke smiled faintly.
“Rather, I’m curious why you thought I wouldn’t know.”
I’d forgotten how to breathe as I stared at him.
Another of his nicknames came to mind.
The Devil of the Winter Lands.
…A man without a drop of blood or tears.
I’d never met anyone this terrifying.
I had been afraid when I met the Boss too, but what I felt standing before the Duke was pure fear.
‘Is this really someone I can deal with?’
The Duke only knew one thing—that I had confessed to ruining Camellia.
Yet that alone had allowed him to understand exactly what I was thinking.
He had completely ruled out the possibility that a frightened fifteen-year-old had accidentally damaged Camellia and then confessed out of fear.
He had accurately analyzed me and reached the correct conclusion.
From just one brief encounter.
And then there was his intelligence network, which had identified the Boss perfectly.
He had probably uncovered everything about the Irregulars as well.
“You knew all this… so why did you leave the Boss alone?”
“There was no reason not to.”
“…”
He let out a quiet hum.
“I’m not particularly fond of it, but I already have another son with legitimate succession rights.”
“…”
“Unless I had no substitute, why would I bother bringing him back?”
“…”
“Any other questions?”
“…No.”
The Duke smiled.
“That wasn’t what I expected. Aren’t you going to ask how I could abandon my own child?”
“…”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not the only father who abandons his child.”
I, too, had been abandoned by my father.
The Duke spoke again.
“Very well. Is this the part where you explain how exceptional and admirable Aslan is and beg me?”
“No.”
“Hm. That’s unexpected too. And why is that?”
“Because it would be a waste to tell you all the wonderful things about the Boss.”
“…What?”
The Duke’s eyes widened slightly.
He stared at me before suddenly laughing aloud.
He laughed for quite a while.
“What happened to the child who was trembling in fear? Where did all this courage come from?”
…I was still terrified.
I’d simply decided to change my approach.
I’d realized there was no point trying to curry favor or beg.
And if none of that would work…
“I’d like to make a deal.”
“You? With me?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting. What could you possibly have that’s worthy of bargaining with me?”
“Something incredibly important.”
“Which is?”
I lifted my chin and answered.
“Your life, Your Grace.”
I’ll cleanse you.
So please allow the Boss to enter the castle.
Several hours later.
The Duke’s study.
Baron Synthes entered after consulting both a physician and a priest.
He immediately handed a report to the Duke, who sat quietly in his chair.
“These are the examination results. It has been confirmed that Your Grace was indeed poisoned. Furthermore, just as the child Eustea said, everyone who came into contact with Camellia has also been poisoned.”
“What kind of poison was it?”
“My apologies. It was an unknown poison that appears in none of our records.”
The Duke chuckled.
“She’s useful.”
“…Pardon?”
“That child. She knows things even House Esgarott doesn’t.”
The Duke’s eyes gleamed sharply.
The incident in the prison had been the same.
The child had clearly been terrified.
Her hands had been shaking, and she could barely breathe.
Yet even in that condition, her eyes had remained sharp.
She had been carefully assessing the situation and the people around her, determining which cards she could play and which she couldn’t.
After a moment of thought, the Duke asked,
“I heard that on the way north, she was the one who pushed for an alliance between Prince Luciano and Prince Ain.”
“Yes.”
“Then was she also the first to realize Prince Ain wasn’t suffering from madness?”
“Judging from the circumstances, that seems likely.”
“And how did she uncover the administrator’s corruption? I heard she made quite a fool of San Miguel.”
“We still haven’t discovered that.”
Conversations that would have made Eustea faint from shock were exchanged as casually as small talk.
Within the North, wherever something happened, the Duke had eyes and ears.
Baron Synthes asked,
“Shall I assign one of Your Grace’s personal units to watch her?”
The Duke’s personal force.
A unit equal to the Irregulars’ elite squad.
Having existed longer than the Irregulars, and carrying the Duke’s authority, they surpassed even the elite squad in certain respects.
The Duke gave a thoughtful hum.
“No.”
“…Your Grace?”
“I’m curious to see what amusing thing she’ll do next.”
“Your life is at stake.”
“My life isn’t resting solely in that child’s hands.”
That was true enough.
Eliminating Eustea would have been easier than snapping his fingers.
Baron Synthes sighed.
“Just how much are you enjoying this?”
“I haven’t had this much entertainment in years. More importantly, tell me more about the girl. How exactly did she win over your daughter?”
“I honestly don’t understand my daughter’s tastes….”
“So you’re not very close with her.”
“What child these days is close with their parents?”
“That girl said I was too good for my adoptive father.”
“I’m jealous….”
Baron Synthes let out a heartfelt sigh.
That afternoon.
After being safely released from prison, I headed straight to my destination.
Not the attendants’ quarters.
To Luciano.
Standing outside his room, I smiled awkwardly.
Luciano looked at me with utter disbelief.
“I came back after dealing with the Death Servant, only to hear some rather interesting news.”
“Hehe….”
“The attendant I recommended apparently caused quite the incident.”
“…I’m truly sorry.”
“So why did you come to see me?”
“May I explain inside?”
Luciano stared at me for a moment before walking back into the room.
That was permission.
I hurried inside and carefully closed the door behind me.
Then I approached Luciano, who had already taken a seat at the table.
Pressing my hands together, I said,
“I truly am sorry.”
“Fine. Then?”
“If I’m apologizing anyway… could I add one more shameless request?”
“…What?”
I bent deeply at the waist.
“Please make a deal with me!”
“…”
I didn’t even need to look up to imagine the expression on Luciano’s face.
I could feel his gaze drilling into the top of my head.
It was only natural.
I’d suddenly appeared and asked a prince to make a deal.
‘But this is my only option….’
To cleanse the Duke, I needed mana.
And I was completely out.
Thanks to Baron Synthes, I’d been able to observe everyone poisoned by the toxin.
Those who encountered me frequently had shown noticeably weaker symptoms.
Apparently, because I didn’t know how to control my mana, I’d been unconsciously purifying people wherever I went.
I was basically a walking air purifier.
‘But I’m completely broke when it comes to mana. I have to get it from somewhere else….’
I couldn’t bring the Boss into Esgarott Castle.
That left only one option.
Borrow the power of the strongest person in the castle.
Luciano.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
“At least explain what kind of deal this is.”
Only then did I straighten up.
Luciano gestured toward the seat across from him.
He was telling me to sit.
I cautiously sat down.
“Um… Your Highness. By now you’ve probably realized…”
“That finding the Saintess won’t be easy.”
As expected, he caught on quickly.
I nodded vigorously.
“The tracking orb can only use its ability for about fifteen days at most. After that it can’t be used anymore. It starves to death.”
A tracking orb consumed nothing while tracking.
It survived only because of the strange magical device used to create it.
And its limit was fifteen days.
‘Meaning Yebbi, Prince Ain’s Death Servant, will soon become useless.’
Crossing his arms, Luciano said,
“Ain already told me.”
“Prince Gaspar searched everywhere, but couldn’t even find a single strand of the Saintess’s hair.”
“So what’s your point?”
“Finding the Saintess is only a means of earning His Majesty’s favor. So… doesn’t it work just as well if you present something else that would please the Emperor?”
“You can provide something like that?”
“Yes!”
Luciano smiled.
“Not bad. Then what do you want from me in exchange for this remarkable item?”
“Before that… may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
I looked down at my hands with the most harmless smile I could manage.
“Have you been eating well lately? Are you feeling healthy? You don’t have any major battles coming up, do you? You’re not too tired?”
“…What exactly are you getting at?”
“If you’re perfectly healthy… could you hit me with one really powerful spell?”
“…”
The prince stared at me as though I’d lost my mind.
I quietly looked away.
‘I know. I sound insane too.’
But I had no choice.
That was the only way to absorb mana.
Luciano let out a dry laugh.
“This is unbelievable.”
I feel exactly the same….
“Why would you come up with such a ridiculous idea?”
“Well… I’ve always admired high-purity mana… so I wondered what magic powered by someone as strong as you would be like….”
Luciano silently watched me sweat as I desperately tried to explain myself.
After staring at me for a while, he sighed.
Then he stood up.
‘Is he kicking me out because he thinks I’m crazy?’
I watched nervously as Luciano retrieved something.
Then I recognized it.
‘A Botella!’
An item used to store mana.
Luciano immediately poured his mana into it.
Pure mana accumulated inside the Botella like water.
My eyes sparkled.
Seeing that, Luciano lightly shook the Botella.
“With this, you can test it yourself instead of having me cast a spell directly.”
“If you’d do that much for me, I’d be forever grateful…!”
“So. What’s this item you’re offering?”
“Ah.”
I hurriedly stood up.
Then I began explaining.
“Ingu.”
“Ingu?”
“A deadly poison capable of contaminating both plants and animals.”
“Just poison?”
“Not just poison. It’s contagious. Simply being near it is enough.”
“…!”
I smiled.
“Could there be a better weapon for monster extermination?”
Back when I played the game, whenever I got Ingu, I’d simply throw it into a horde of monsters.
No matter how powerful they were, the entire swarm would be wiped out at once.
“The eastern territories overrun by dragons and lost to them. You could reclaim them without losing a single soldier.”
“…”
Luciano tossed the Botella toward me.
I fumbled but managed to catch it.
“You don’t need to return it.”
“Really?”
I traded a troublesome lump of poison for something incredible.
‘The Botella will be invaluable in emergencies.’
I lovingly stroked the Botella.
Then I looked back at Luciano.
“Oh… can I pay later?”
“…”
“I don’t actually have the Ingu yet.”
“…Bring it before you leave.”
“Okay!”
I beamed.
The moment I absorbed mana from the Botella, my condition improved dramatically.
Coming to Luciano had definitely been the right decision.
‘Now that the mana problem is solved….’
It was time for the Duke.
I gathered everything I needed and headed toward the eastern wing, where the Duke and his blood relatives lived.
Apparently, they had already been informed about me, because the elderly butler guided me without a word.
He led me to a room tucked away in a corner of the eastern wing.
‘It doesn’t look like a study….’
As I tilted my head in confusion, the butler received permission and opened the door.
Something immediately struck me as strange.
The moment it opened, a metallic smell hit my nose.
‘Metal…? No… that’s blood.’
I flinched.
The Duke, who was standing inside, turned toward me.
“Ah.”
But before I could focus on him, something else caught my eye.
Several men.
Bound to chairs.
Hanging limply.
‘Are they dead?!’
The words slipped out before I could stop myself.
The Duke smiled.
“Not yet.”
“…!”
“What are you so surprised about?”
“…Can you read minds too?”
At that moment—
Ahem.
The huge man standing before the bound prisoners cleared his throat.
‘Ah, Baron Synthes.’
Asta’s father.
I’d seen him earlier when I mentioned that others in the prison had probably been poisoned.
Apparently, he’d laughed without realizing it and was now trying to compose himself with a fake cough.
Even the Duke chuckled.
“Weren’t you making exactly that expression?”
“Um… then those people are…”
“They failed in their duties.”
“Oh.”
I understood immediately.
They were probably the ones who had failed to stop the poison from entering the castle, failed to locate it inside, or failed to realize that it had contaminated Camellia.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Wow….’
As I nervously swallowed, the Duke approached me.
“Now then. Let’s see whether you can fulfill your own role.”
I swallowed again.
“Before that, there’s one thing I need to confirm.”
“What is it?”
Clutching the box I’d brought, I spoke with determination.
“May I stay by your side constantly for the next three days?”
“…What?”
I’d never played the Priest class in the game.
Naturally, I knew even less about its advanced class, Purifier.
Which meant I had no idea how to consciously perform purification.
‘I’ve never intentionally purified anyone before.’
My body always did it automatically, so I’d never had the chance to learn how.
That left only one method.
‘Become an air purifier again, just like I did for everyone else.’
I’d simply stay glued to him and wait for the purification to happen naturally.
