Meanwhile, Mihail went back down the slope and carried the woman by the waist up to the top. After rescuing the child and woman, Aegonite, Kinvil, and Mihail rushed to pull the carriage out of the pit.
“Thank you, sir, thank you so much.”
Aegonite removed his gloves and shook them as he responded to the coachman’s gratitude.
“You could have been in serious trouble since hardly anyone passes by here. You need to be careful on these treacherous roads.”
“I’ll be more cautious from now on. Thank you again.”
The woman and coachman expressed their gratitude several times before leaving. After confirming the carriage had disappeared from view, Drushia’s party changed direction as well.
They didn’t rush their journey after exerting themselves. Perhaps after traveling for half a day more, Mihail suddenly spoke to Aegonite.
“Um, Captain. About that…”
“What is it?”
“That carriage earlier, wasn’t it a rental carriage?”
“A rental carriage? Why does that matter?”
Nobles almost never used rental carriages because they had their own family carriages. So they hadn’t paid much attention to it.
“Do people take rental carriages on long-distance journeys?”
Drushia stopped his horse and turned to look at Mihail. Mihail continued his explanation with a doubtful expression.
“Rental carriages are designed for well-paved city roads, so they’re not very durable. They’re completely inadequate for mountain paths like these. And there isn’t another city within a day or two’s travel from here.”
Belatedly, it struck him as strange. However, there was nothing else particularly suspicious about the encounter.
“They were commoners without any weapons.”
“Yes, that’s true, but…”
The man who appeared to be the coachman, his wife, and a small child. They seemed defenseless, so no one had been on guard. But the moment he heard Mihail’s words, Drushia felt a chill run down his nape.
“Excuse me, Captain…”
Kinvil, who had been quietly following, struggled to speak.
“What’s wrong?”
“Actually, I’ve been feeling strange since earlier. It’s…”
“Kinvil!”
Before Kinvil could finish speaking, he slipped and fell to the ground. Aegonite hastily dismounted and approached him. Drushia and Mihail also got off their horses.
“Aegonite, how is Kinvil’s condition?”
“His pulse is a bit rapid, and he has a fever.”
Drushia’s face hardened at Aegonite’s response. Unconsciously, he ran his hand over the back of his neck, which was growing hot. He had an ominous feeling.
“What could be the problem? It wasn’t Kinvil who helped the child and woman up, was it?”
“No, that was me.”
Mihail answered.
“The child, the woman, and the rope.”
Drushia muttered as he thought carefully. Those were the only people or unfamiliar objects they had contact with there.
“The… rope?”
Belatedly, Aegonite also recalled the situation.
“Only Kinvil wasn’t wearing gloves. But there’s no reason for them to do this to us, is there?”
“What if I was the target?”
If they had been short on people, Drushia would have stepped in to help too. Aegonite’s face instantly hardened.
“Your Grace, are you alright?”
Drushia quietly gestured to Aegonite. Sensing something was wrong, Aegonite moved quickly.
“Check the back of my neck.”
“Yes, excuse me, Your Grace.”
After politely asking permission, Aegonite pulled down Drushia’s collar.
“Your Grace, when were you injured?”
“Injured?”
“There’s blood everywhere. Didn’t you notice?”
Though he hadn’t felt any wound, blood had soaked through, thoroughly wetting the back of his neck.
“I didn’t feel anything.”
“You have a fever too. What on earth happened?”
“It must have been that child.”
Drushia muttered absently.
The youngest and seemingly weakest child had been the most dangerous opponent. Had they lived peacefully for too long? It was a mistake to have let their guard down because these people appeared to be unarmed.
“We’re returning to the capital. Aegonite, you take Kinvil, and Mihail, go ahead and inform Kalf about this. Have physicians and pharmacists ready and waiting.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to go to a nearby village and see a healer first?”
“If I was the target, do you think it would be that easy to cure? Besides, if they wanted to kill me, they would have used a deadly poison. We need to move while I’m still conscious.”
With one person already collapsed, Drushia didn’t know when he might fall too.
“We’ll return to the capital as quickly as possible.”
Drushia gave the order firmly as he mounted his horse. Hoping to maintain his consciousness, he hastily set off.
However, things didn’t go as planned. Drushia’s condition deteriorated rapidly, and he finally lost consciousness when they were just a day’s journey from the capital.
****
Despite attempts to maintain secrecy, rumors that Duke Talion had been brought in unconscious spread discreetly.
Under the direction of Chief Advisor Kalf, three family physicians who had been on standby rushed to attend to Drushia and Kinvil, but none could determine the cause.
“So we’re just supposed to sit here and do nothing? We should look for other physicians and find a solution!”
Kalf raised his voice for the first time. But no matter how much he pressed, there was no way to devise a solution that didn’t exist.
“We could contact the former Duke and request help from the Imperial Palace.”
“How long would it take to contact the estate, seek an audience with His Majesty, and summon the imperial physicians? Can someone who’s been unconscious for three days wait that long?”
Drushia remained unconscious throughout. His once-healthy skin tone had turned completely gray, unlike any poison they had seen before.
While Kalf was berating the physicians, a commotion broke out outside the door.
“Open it. I have enough authority for that much.”
“The Duke is in no condition to receive visitors.”
“I know that, which is why I’ve come. Butler, open it at once!”
The sharp voice was loud enough to reach inside the bedroom. Kalf left the physicians and opened the bedroom door.
“Baron Crowny, I’ve come to see Dru.”
Shafri, who had been arguing with the guard knights, brightened upon seeing Kalf. Behind her stood two unfamiliar attendants carrying large bags.
“This is a place for patients. It’s not proper to cause such a disturbance, Lady Maiheller.”
“Let me see Dru.”
“He’s in no condition to receive guests.”
“I already know that. I heard that neither his personal physicians nor other doctors can do anything. I’ve come to help.”
Kalf’s gaze shifted to the middle-aged man who had come with Shafri.
With a pale complexion, prominent cheekbones, and unusually large eyes, his fingertips showed green and blue stains. When he met Aegonite’s stern gaze, he quickly lowered his eyes.
“This is Noah, the Maiheller family’s physician and pharmacist.”
“Is he not from the Empire?”
“Is that important right now? He’s worked exclusively for our family for decades. Surely Baron Crowny doesn’t doubt the word of me, Dru’s fiancée?”
Kalf found it difficult to refute Shafri’s claim. Though Drushia had mentioned breaking off the engagement, he had postponed the paperwork. As a result, Shafri, as Duke Talion’s fiancée, was currently the highest-ranking person in this mansion.
While Kalf was exercising authority as the Duke’s proxy, he couldn’t ignore the fundamental difference in their positions.
“Please, let me help.”
Shafri was practically begging now. Kalf stepped away from the door with a stiff face. With this silent permission, Shafri entered the bedroom with her two companions.
“My God, Dru!”
Shafri was shocked to discover Drushia lying motionless on the bed.
“This is an unconscious patient. Please leave him to me for now, miss.”
Noah stopped Shafri as she tried to rush to Drushia.
At Kalf’s gesture, two guard knights followed them into the room. While Noah examined Drushia, Kalf and the knights watched with wide eyes.
“How long has he been unconscious?”
“Three days now. There’s another patient who collapsed five days ago and has remained in the same condition. His grace maintained consciousness for quite some time.”
Noah lowered Drushia’s upper garment to examine the wound on the back of his neck. Then he checked the red mark extending from his shoulder.
“The Duke personally went to the anomalous region with the expeditionary force, didn’t he? This was probably caused by what they call an expedition mark or expedition insignia.”
It was a fact known to everyone, with no secrecy about it.
“The expedition insignia is not a simple scar. It’s a mark that appears on people who have survived being engulfed by the anomalous region. I’ve heard it’s quite a powerful toxin that kills many people. Survivors seem to develop some kind of immunity, which must have acted as a first line of defense.”
“Can you find a treatment method?”
“We’ll have to look for one now.”
At Noah’s gesture, his assistant opened and spread out the bag. Among the numerous medicine bottles and unidentifiable tools, he took out a knife as thin and small as a paper cutter.
“What are you doing?”
Kalf intervened when he saw Noah bringing the knife to Drushia.
“I’m going to draw blood to check if it’s a poison I’m familiar with.”
Kalf and the other knights who had entered the bedroom grew stern. Noah calmly questioned:
“You asked me to find a method, didn’t you? Are you going to prevent the treatment?”
“Baron Crowny, please cooperate. I’ve vouched for him, haven’t I?”
Shafri stepped forward, looking around at Kalf and the knights. Kalf reluctantly instructed a nearby knight:
“Lend him your dagger.”
The knight took out a dagger from inside his garment and handed it to Noah. Noah used the knight’s blade instead of his own tool to make a cut on Drushia’s hand. While watching this, Kalf spoke:
“From now on, any tools to be used on the Duke will be prepared by us. Also, keep in mind that any medicine the Duke takes will be tasted by us first before it can be administered.”
Shafri was speechless at this unwavering vigilance. Noah filled a small vial with Drushia’s blood and turned to Kalf.
“If that’s the procedure, I have no objections. More importantly, we need to check if there are any other abnormalities on his body. Would you please remove the Duke’s clothes?”
Noah politely asked Kalf. Before giving instructions to the knights, Kalf turned to Shafri.
“Lady Maiheller, I would appreciate it if you would leave now.”
Kalf was one of the few confidants who knew the true relationship between Drushia and Shafri. While he needed help, he couldn’t expose his master’s vulnerability to just anyone.
“Then, Noah, I’m counting on you.”
Shafri complied willingly and left the room.
Under Kalf’s command, both knights and the Duke’s physicians moved in perfect coordination. After basic treatment, servants came in to clean the messy room. Bloodstained clothes were also removed.
After Noah began treatment, Shafri insisted on staying at the Duke’s residence. No one could dissuade her from her claim that she couldn’t leave her unconscious fiancé alone. Eventually, Shafri was given a guest room.
