A mysterious epidemic that started in Mormic.
It appeared to be spreading to neighboring territories, and at some point, it started raging across the entire empire.
“What does this mean? From the North?”
Today’s report to the palace stated that a plague similar to Mormic’s had appeared in the north.
Mormic was located in the southernmost part of the country. It was strange that a disease that hadn’t even reached the capital had appeared in the north. According to reports, it appeared in the east yesterday and in the west the day before.
The situation in Sertizan was so grim that it was said that the entire empire had been struck by the plague.
Imperial physicians had been dispatched here and there, but they had been unable to develop a cure.
“Your Majesty, the Eastern part of the Empire has…!”
“There are reports from the western part of the empire, too.”
The neighboring countries also began to express discontent with Sertizan.
Some were holding covert military demonstrations, pointing to the imperial family’s incompetence; they feared the plague would spread.
The most extreme was in the Northern Kingdom.
“On top of that, the north is protesting strongly, demanding that Yeffa Cassian be treated with respect, Your Majesty, as she is of royal blood!”
The Emperor closed his eyes, his head throbbing.
The back of his neck was stiff from all the papers and meetings he’d had lately.
When he opened his eyes again, the report from Marquis Lanches continued.
“Your Majesty, the rumors among the commoners are not good.”
“Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
“That it…….”
Marquis Lanches hesitated.
“Rumors… that Sertizan is on his way to ruin.”
“……Hah.”
The Emperor sighed and closed his eyes again. He hadn’t even gotten over the mountain in front of him, and yet he felt like he’d seen an even higher one.
“Is Zikriesen Cassian’s whereabouts still unknown?”
“We found traces of him near Mormic.”
“Mormic? Is that…….”
Where Julion went. Where Rohiriel is believed to be.
The Emperor couldn’t take it any longer and stood up, rubbing his temples.
“Phew… I need a brief respite. Everyone, take a break, and we’ll reconvene later.”
The nobles bowed their heads behind the emperor as he walked quietly out.
Gloom was etched on everyone’s faces, and no one dared to speak first.
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Julion hardly ever left my side, except when I was bathing or changing clothes.
He naturally became curious about Teveroca’s existence, and when I told him she was my mother, he was visibly flustered, not knowing how to react.
“But, well… didn’t you say she had passed away before?”
“Yes, she did, and it’s a long story……. The whole thing was part of Duke Cassian’s plan from the beginning.”
I explained the story entangled with Cassian, and upon hearing it, Julion became even more enraged than I was.
Julion blushed with anger, saying that Duke Cassian seemed too comfortable in the imperial prison.
Speaking of the palace, I decided to try one more time to convince him.
“So when the lockdown is lifted, you should go back. To the Imperial Palace.”
“Are you going back with me?”
“……No.”
“Then I’m not going back either.”
“Julion, you are so…!”
Out of habit, I said Julion’s name, not his title.
Julion’s lips twitched upward.
“I feel like I’ll live. You called me by my name.”
Seeing Julion’s beaming smile, I couldn’t bring myself to call him ‘Your Highness’ again.
I let the words out with a small sigh.
“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not going back.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve told you. Wherever you stay is my home, even if it’s up a dirt road.”
I was about to scold him for saying such nonsensical things, but I held my breath when I met his unwavering golden gaze, intense like solid metal.
Before I could figure out how to respond, there was a knock on the door, and Zenid’s voice came through.
“Miss, I think we have the results.”
“Uh, yeah. Okay.”
A few days ago, I brought water from the riverside and put it in a test solution.
Hearing that the results were ready, I quickly got up, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
“Summon Dr. Chavel and Dr. Marvin. And Teveroca as well.”
“Yes, Miss.”
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The river I tested was the great river that surrounded the town, one of the streams that flowed down from Mount Cavalt.
The Cavalt Mountains are said to be the empire’s highest heart.
Rambletrow, on the border with Mormic territory, was its highest peak.
“And most of the villages in the Mormic estate use the river water flowing down from Rambletrow.”
I continued, pointing to Rambletrow on the map.
The water flowing from Rambletrow branched off into dozens of streams, running through the entirety of Mormic.
But there was only one place.
There was a place where the water from the rambletrow did not flow.
“However, this place. The village across the river, Tehram Village, is the only one in Mormic that uses a different water source.”
A large river flowed from the Rambletrow near the village, but Tehram’s people preferred to use the Dot River, which was further inland.
Apparently, the water there is cleaner and healthier, and they’ve been using it for generations.
‘That’s why they were the least affected.’
They didn’t completely shun the Rambletrow River water and occasionally used it as well. That’s when the outbreaks occurred.
It was only when they did so that they became ill.
“So it’s the water. Something must have happened upstream in the Rambletrow River.”
The good news was that, so far, there had been no human-to-human transmission.
Neither Zenid nor I, nor Chavel and Marvin, who had arrived much earlier, had fallen ill.
“It’s a good thing we had the habit of boiling the water from the Imperial Palace.”
“Indeed. If not, we might have been in the same situation by now.”
Dr. Chavel wiped the sweat from his brow and breathed a sigh of relief.
Dr. Marvin shuddered at the thought.
“I’m worried about the other physicians who were dispatched. They went in the opposite direction.”
“Let’s hope they’re okay. They’re Palace-trained physicians, after all.”
Chavel and Marvin’s conversation flowed smoothly, supporting each other.
I’d heard they didn’t get along at the palace, but they seemed to have really bonded since coming here.
“Anyway, so I’m thinking of going to Rambletrow Peak.”
“But I’ve heard the mountainous region is extremely treacherous, with many ferocious beasts…”
“Still, I need to go there in person to investigate and conduct tests to develop an effective cure. Especially if this hypothesis is correct…”
I looked down at the map and spoke firmly.
Even if it took time, the water was the root of the problem.
“The entire Empire, not just Mormic, may be struck by the plague.”
The situation was very bad.
The best way to deal with it was to find the source and destroy it as soon as possible.
I glanced in my mother’s direction.
“Teveroca, do you have any other ideas?”
Fortunately, my mother had regained consciousness a little while ago and was maintaining her clarity. She lifted her head to meet my gaze when I asked her.
‘She’s definitely more responsive.’
Until recently, she barely reacted when I asked for her opinion.
But after coming to Mormic and continuously treating the patients, she started to change bit by bit.
I don’t know if something triggered her memory from the past or if something else changed in her mind.
The important thing is that my mother’s condition has changed from the doll-like state she was in the beginning.
‘At least my mother isn’t the one who created this disease.’
When I asked her if she was the one who developed this disease, my mother shook her head blankly.
[I was trying to develop a cure for this disease.]
She didn’t create it, but she knew about it because she was researching it to develop a cure.
I asked more questions, and I realized that the Duke was trying to manipulate people by creating both the disease and the cure.
Apparently, the cure was unsuccessful, and if it had been, my mother would have known about it.
However, she only knew the initial symptom treatment methods.
[Teveroca, can you share your research contents with us?]
She nodded readily.
Compassion flashed through her eyes.
Her physician instincts appeared to have been stirred by seeing so many patients.
She carefully considered my question and slowly opened her mouth.
“Plants… also need to be investigated.”
For a moment, I almost fell to my knees.
If something had been wrong with the water in the mormic for so long, the plants that grew on it must have had problems too.
I smiled softly and thanked him.
“That’s very true; thank you, Teveroca.”
I thought I saw the corners of my mother’s mouth turn up ever so slightly.
But then her eyes grew sleepy.
It seemed she would soon fall asleep again.
A quick-thinking Zenid led her out, and I rolled up the map and pushed it to the corner of the table.
“Then it’s decided… we better get moving.”
I said, looking at Julion.
He was going to follow me anyway.
