“Julion, I think there’s something on here. Can you take a look?”
At first glance, it appeared to be just wet from the water. However, the wet appearance was peculiar, and there were small glimmers scattered around.
Julion didn’t respond, and when I turned to look, for some reason he was squeezing his eyes shut.
“Julion, what are you doing?”
Something had seemed off about him earlier. The moment I saw him waiting in front of the boat, I felt a mixture of surprise and joy.
Although I asked why he came, the moment I saw the worried expression on his face, I already knew. He had come after hearing the news of me falling into the water.
Embarrassed, I pretended not to know. Fortunately, the Empress arrived, and the conversation naturally shifted.
Just when I thought the incident was concluded, Julion, sensing something strange, climbed onto the boat to examine the damaged part.
I also wanted to check, so I followed him.
‘I wonder if Julion is hurt somewhere?’
Just as I was beginning to wonder if I should give him a checkup, he opened his eyes, frowning.
“Where… What are you talking about?”
Only then did he show interest in what I was saying.
Perplexed, I raised my finger again and pointed to the white substance.
“That thing.”
“Indeed, this is quite strange.”
As I touched it, glimmers appeared on the tips of my fingers. When I brought it near my nose and sniffed, I could smell a faint floral scent.
“Perfume……?”
Many perfumes worn by women contain glitter for cosmetic purposes.
Upon close examination, Julion opened his mouth.
“If it is indeed perfume, I wonder why there is so much of it here.”
Even as he spoke, Julion seemed to have already deduced the answer. I also had a rough idea of the reason.
“No matter how many ingredients there are in perfume, I have never heard of anything that can corrode wood so quickly.”
It was clear that the perfume had something to do with what had happened to the wood.
The problem was that, while everything seemed to point in that direction, there was no clear information or evidence.
“It’s as if it turned into paper… Wait a minute, Julion. Let me check something.”
A sudden thought crossed my mind as I pressed my hand against the broken plank and examined it closely.
As expected, it wasn’t simple corrosion; it felt like the substance itself had undergone a change.
“Julion, have you ever heard of Elento?”
“Elento? Isn’t it an oil extracted from elephant hide? It’s commonly used as a main ingredient in tracking scents, I believe.”
“That’s right. But it also has other uses; did you know that?”
“If it’s another use, perhaps for clearing…”
At that point, Julion’s eyes suddenly turned vicious.He seemed to have caught on to what I was implying.
Elento. It was a special oil extracted from elephant hide that allowed oil and water to emulsify.
If there were no other side effects, it would have been widely used in daily life, but there was a fatal drawback—it turns wood into a mushy state.
That’s why, except for deliberately dismantling wooden structures, it had almost no practical use.
Julion, grasping the general situation, spoke in a low voice.
“They put Elento in a perfume bottle.”
“That seems likely. Perhaps they even mixed it directly with the perfume.”
“What’s certain is that they prepared in advance, thoroughly and systematically, even before entering the palace.”
With each word, Julion’s statements gained weight.
I, too, felt angry.
Why would someone damage the boat like this, causing Countess Rivolain to fall into the water?
‘Did they originally target the Countess or perhaps they just aimed for the failure of a boating excursion?’
I had suspicions about the culprit.
‘It must be Yeffa. There’s no way she would have let the evidence be found so easily. Now, what should we do?’
I wondered if a regular lady or a noblewoman would plot such a scheme by mixing Elento into their perfume. Most of them probably didn’t even know about Elento’s existence.
“Actually, I have my suspicions, but the question is how to prove it…….”
As I was lost in thought, Julion’s voice dropped heavily.
“What if we use the scent of Elento? The culprit’s body or clothes likely still carry the scent.”
“Are you saying that we use tracking ingredients in reverse?”
“Yes. It’s colorless and odorless to humans, but there are birds that can smell it.”
“But where can we get such a bird now? It’s a rare species.”
The tracking using Elento was occasionally used in Cassian. It involved mixing it with perfume, spraying it, or subtly applying it to the target’s body and then tracking them.
The tracking birds were called Canary, a rare species native to the south that fed on parasites in elephant hides. Canaries were so obsessed with Elento that they could trace it even kilometers away.
I used to keep a few canaries in Cassian’s mansion, but I left them behind when I came here.
Is there any other way? Am I missing something?
While contemplating, a small laugh came from Julion. He was smiling, raising one corner of his mouth.
“Rohiriel, do you know what the Emperor’s hobby was?”
Confused by the sudden question, I looked at Julion without answering.
“Collecting rare species. As you know, if it’s rare, the Emperor collected it without exception.”
“Ah……!”
Apherium alone was not just rare; it was a legendary plant. How many other rare plants were there in the Golden Garden?
‘I thought he only collected plants.’
I didn’t realize it included animals as well. As my eyes widened in surprise, Julion suddenly wrinkled his brow and avoided my gaze.
“Well, ahem. Anyway, they should be in the palace. Those Canaries, I mean.”
“Where are they? Can we get them right away?”
“…Yes, we can, but first I must speak to the Empress.”
Having said that, Julion swiftly turned and descended back to the ground.
It was unclear why his mood had suddenly turned somber after just having smiled.
Grumbling, I followed him off the boat, where everyone was waiting for us with curious eyes.
In the meantime, Yeffa also seemed to be innocently joining in with an eager expression.
“Your Highness!”
Zenid, who was standing next to Count Rivolain, monitoring her condition, approached.
Hemion was supporting the countess with Madam Thetman, and looking at her condition, it seemed she would need medicine again soon.
‘The pain must be coming back.’
If the Canary could only inhabit places permitted by the Emperor, it could complicate matters a bit.
‘For now, we should take the Countess to Garnet Palace.’
Catching the culprit is important, but we can’t take too much time when there’s someone who needs medical attention right now.
The Empress’s expression grew worse by the minute as she listened to Julion’s story.
‘Since it was an event hosted by Her Majesty.’
It was only natural for her to be angry if someone deliberately ruined the boating event. Having heard the entire story, the Empress stepped forward with a serious expression.
“It seems someone intentionally sabotaged the boat.”
Although her tone was calm, the impact of her words was significant.
A commotion erupted on the lakeshore as the young ladies covered their mouths in surprise and looked at each other.
Facing the gathered people, the Empress made eye contact with each one and continued speaking.
“It will quickly be revealed who is responsible if we investigate. Does anyone here have no intention of confessing their wrongdoing?”
The once-buzzing voices fell silent, leaving a heavy hush in the air.
‘Perhaps everyone is worried about being accused.’
What caught my attention was Yeffa.
Standing among the young ladies, she wore a frightened expression. But, having seen her face for years, I instinctively knew it was a facade.
That expression was a mask.
Yeffa tended to stiffen her face when genuinely scared, like a doll, unable to do anything.
‘She seems quite self-assured.’
Given the limited time to handle the situation, it seemed precautions had been taken to make it less easily discoverable.
It was probably the most secure place for a noblewoman.
‘The possibility of hiding it inside her undergarments is high.’
However, without concrete evidence and based on mere suspicion, even if it was the Empress, we couldn’t delve into a noblewoman’s clothes.
The only trustworthy lead was the canary Julion would bring.
“Do you have no intention to confess?”
After waiting for a while, the Empress spoke in a cold voice.
