I was picking herbs in the glass greenhouse when it happened.
“My Lady, you have a visitor.”
Today, I was expecting Todd, Natu, and Aite to visit. They were coming to report on the Grand Temple’s activities.
“Come on in. I’ve been waiting for you…!”
Without asking who it was, I happily opened the greenhouse door. But standing there was Brantley.
“You look like you were expecting someone else.”
He was biting his lower lip, and his voice was tight as if he was holding something back.
“I came to tell you something. Remember what you said last time about Prache…?”
“Oh!”
Without thinking, I touched the corner of Brantley’s red lips. He had bitten down so hard that I was worried they might start bleeding at any moment.
“Uh…”
Brantley was visibly startled when my fingertips touched his lips.
The tension in his face, caused by jealousy, softened noticeably.
I was just as taken aback.
‘Was I being too forward, even for a friend?’
Surprised by my own actions, I quickly pulled my hand away.
“Your lip looked like it was hurt.”
“My lip?”
He seemed unaware.
“Come on. I’ll put some ointment on it.”
I grabbed Brantley’s wrist and headed to my laboratory.
‘Holding his wrist should be fine. It’s not like I’m touching his lips.’
As he followed me, Brantley only breathed heavily behind me without saying a word.
‘Is he really okay?’
I glanced back, but since his head was lowered, I couldn’t read his expression. Since he was quietly following me, I assumed he was fine.
When we reached the laboratory, I opened a drawer and pulled out the most effective ointment.
Without thinking, I dipped my fingertip in the ointment to apply it, but when I saw Brantley’s face, I realized my mistake.
“I- I wasn’t planning to apply it like this. I meant to use a swab…”
In my haste, I accidentally knocked over the box of swabs, spilling them all over the floor.
As I awkwardly fumbled, Brantley picked up the spilled swabs and promptly threw them in the trash.
When I looked at him with wide eyes, Brantley suddenly grinned, looking pleased, “It’s fine. Just apply it directly.”
“Really?”
Brantley nodded.
I gently applied the ointment to his lips. His lips flinched slightly at the touch of my fingers, which made me feel a bit strange.
“This will reduce the swelling quickly, and it’ll help with the bleeding too,” I said as I wiped my fingers.
Brantley gently touched the area around his lips where I had applied the ointment, looking very focused.
I grabbed his wrist again, “Don’t touch it.”
When I warned him sternly, Brantley nodded reluctantly.
After a moment of relief, he glanced around my lab.
“I recently redecorated. Other than Dad and me, you’re the first to be in here since then,” I mentioned.
Brantley’s lips curled up into a smile.
“Oh, right! You said you had something to tell me?”
“Yes. I mentioned that the Grand Temple had figured out that we were searching for Grouser. So, I’ve been personally looking into the temple’s movements.”
Personally? I widened my eyes in surprise but quickly understood.
‘Brantley is a Duke now. He’s in a position where he can easily look into things like that on his own.’
Moreover, Brantley had mercenaries who were willing to risk their lives to serve him loyally.
They were currently integrated into the Duke of Eisen’s knights but were also handling various tasks.
I listened closely to what Brantley had to say.
“There are two common factors in the recent disappearances in the capital.”
Why is he suddenly talking about disappearances?
Seeing my reaction, Brantley smiled as if he had anticipated it and continued.
“One is that all of them invested in Morning Glory Flowers and suffered significant losses. So, it was concluded that most of them either took their own lives out of despair or went into hiding because they couldn’t handle their debts.”
“What’s the second common factor?”
“Their last known whereabouts were at the Grand Temple.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“The Grand Temple kidnapped those people?”
“That’s what I believe, but there’s no evidence yet that the temple did it. Moreover, it’s quite common for people to seek solace in the temple before making a significant decision, so not everyone would believe it so easily.”
After hearing his story, I pondered deeply.
‘If the Grand Temple really did kidnap people, what could be their reason?’
And why were they targeting people who each had a plausible personal reason for disappearing?
A sudden cold premonition flashed through my mind.
“Now that the flower craze has died down, there are no more people likely to disappear due to failed investments.”
Brantley’s expression hardened at my words.
“That means…”
“If the disappearances were really caused by the Grand Temple, then they are probably looking for another group of people they can quietly abduct,” Brantley said in a somber voice.
“Or maybe they’ve already found them.”
It was a suspicion neither of us wanted to voice, but I was thinking the same thing.
I remembered the poor people who had flocked to the Grand Temple. The temple that used to favor those in power. I hoped the reason they had recently started attracting the poor wasn’t what I feared.
Brantley spoke again, “We need to investigate this further.”
“I’ll look into it as well.”
Until we gathered more information, anything we thought was just a guess.
To clear my head of the spiraling doubts, I began to fidget with the herbs I had brought from the greenhouse.
As I touched the herb leaves, a subtle minty scent filled the laboratory and my rapidly beating heart started to calm down.
The tension on Brantley’s face also seemed to ease.
“What’s this?”
“Clianthus. It’s an herb used to make headache medicine.”
“Do you have a headache?”
“No, not me. My Dad is suffering.”
I was planning to make headache medicine for Dad with this herb.
“I want to create a remedy tailored just for him, suited perfectly to his constitution.”
“Do you want me to help?”
Brantley stood up from his seat and came closer. I gave a small smile and held out the basket filled with herbs.
“Then, could you pick out the best ones from here?”
“Of course.”
Brantley quickly sorted through the herbs.
Once he finished, he seemed a bit bored and began looking around the room. His eyes landed on the medical book lying on the table.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a medical journal that my mother passed down to me.”
“Oh…”
“If you’re curious, you can take a look.”
With my permission, Brantley eagerly opened the book. But he immediately furrowed his brow.
It was natural. The text was highly specialized, making it hard to understand. I chuckled softly and reached out to the book he was holding.
“You have no idea what it’s saying, do you? It’ll only give you a headache if you—”
But, for some reason, Brantley didn’t let go of the book.
I tried once more to take it from him, but Brantley just clutched it tightly, his face grim with concentration.
He looked almost like a statue.
“Brantley?”
At that moment, Brantley’s deep, dark eyes locked onto mine.
A gaze that felt like it could pull me in. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and closed my eyes tightly. When I opened them again, I found myself in a place I had never seen before.
“!”
A space enveloped in darkness. Pure darkness, so thick it felt like black paint could smudge onto my fingertips.
‘W-where am I?’
How did I end up here?
In less than a second, I had been transported to this place. I shivered in the darkness, but I saw a single spot illuminated by light.
It was a white altar. I approached the altar and realized that someone was on the other side.
Though hidden in the pitch-black darkness, I could feel their presence.
– It’s been a while.
A familiar voice came through. It was the being that had tested me a few years ago.
Back then, too, when I came to my senses, I had been transported to the cave where Sherry was kidnapped.
“Who are you? Where have you brought me this time?”
– I thought you came here knowing who I was.
Instead, a puzzled voice came from the other side.
“I don’t know who you are. You’ve never told me. And I didn’t come here on my own.”
– …….
“Where is this place? Is it another world or something?”
– To send you to another world, I would have to use a “forbidden power.” That is a taboo that should never be used recklessly. If it’s used, divinity is destroyed.
“A forbidden power?”
– Anything that goes against the laws of this world, anything that twists the ordained cause and effect, is forbidden. The moment you violate the taboo, divinity is destroyed.
“Wait a minute. Divinity? Then you’re not possibly….”
– Anyway, if you didn’t come to find me, it’s time to go back. Someone is calling you desperately.
Before I could respond, I felt dizzy again.
I instinctively closed and reopened my eyes, and I was back in my laboratory.
“Hanelope?”
When I turned my head in a daze, Brantley was shaking my shoulder.
“Are you alright? What were you thinking about?” Brantley sighed in relief as he spoke.
“Brantley. Was I here the whole time?”
“Hmm? Of course.”
“……”
“You were suddenly staring off into space without saying anything. I was shocked.”
Then what did I just see? Who did I meet?
I looked at the medical book in my hand.
“Brantley, why were you holding onto the book so tightly earlier?”
“Did I do that?” Brantley asked back, sounding confused.
His handsome face, answering innocently, had not a hint of deceit.
‘There’s something weird about this book.’
And then, the realization hit me.
I spoke in a trembling voice.
“Brantley, I think I just visited the temple of Grouser!!!”
