Britia felt cold sweat trickling down her back. Something was exhaling rough breaths on the back of her hand.
She thought of it as “something” because the breath was as cold as ice. No human breath could be that cold. As Britia froze in fear, it began to mumble something. She couldn’t understand what it was saying.
Suddenly, Britia remembered a story she had heard from a priest in her hometown when she was a child, about a very evil spirit that wandered the world for centuries.
It was said to breathe out icy air that could freeze people and curse them in an ancient, forgotten language.
Could it really be an evil spirit? No, it can’t be. It must be someone like Sig, who has a tail that I happened to grab.
“Sig…”
Britia whispered his name in a thin, desperate voice.
“I can beg for your forgiveness until your heart softens, but I’ll do it by your side.”
Sig spoke seriously, saying that no matter how much she told him to go away, he couldn’t comply.
When her desperation didn’t reach him at all, Britia felt a wave of despair and glanced at her hand before quickly turning her head away. A black mass, coiled around the railing, was writhing and moving on the back of her hand.
“Why are you acting like that, Britia?” Sig asked, noticing something was strange about her rough breathing.
“On… on my hand…” Britia slowly loosened her grip and pointed at the evil spirit with her eyes. Suddenly, the spirit lunged at her.
“Aaaaah!”
“Britia!”
“Help me! Sig! Aaaaah!”
Sig desperately wanted to help, but he couldn’t see anything. He had no idea what the problem was.
Britia screamed as she frantically tried to pry the spirit off her face. It was slippery, like touching a partially melted block of ice, making it impossible to grasp. Finally, she managed to grab its tail and hurled it against the wall with all her strength.
With a faint *ting* sound, a red glass bead bounced off the wall and fell down the stairs. Instinctively, Sig stomped on the bead, shattering it.
As the spirit writhed in pain and became visible, Sig finally saw it with his own eyes. This was the second time he had seen an evil spirit.
For a brief moment, the spirit’s form became visible before it was sucked into the shards of the shattered glass bead and disappeared.
Britia, drenched in cold sweat, stared at the broken shards. She felt as if that horrifying creature could leap out again at any moment.
“Britia,” Sig approached her as she collapsed to the floor, her legs giving way.
“…Britia, what exactly did you see just now?”
What did I see?
Britia couldn’t comprehend what he was asking.
“Didn’t you see it, Sig? That black thing made a horrible sound, and it breathed cold air all over my face!”
Britia hesitated when she saw the serious expression on Sig’s face. She recognized that expression all too well. It was the same look people gave her when they feared she could see dead souls.
“It wasn’t a dead soul…”
In fact, Britia wasn’t even sure if it was or wasn’t. It was the first time she had seen something like this.
“It… it must have been a monster.”
“If it were a monster, I would have seen it too. But I didn’t see anything, nor did I hear any sound.”
“Sig, are you doubting me right now?”
Was he thinking I’m unpleasant, scary even? Britia couldn’t bring herself to ask out of fear.
“I’m not crazy. I haven’t been cursed, either…!”
“I believe you. I’m just surprised that an evil spirit appeared here and that you could see it,” Sig said as he hugged Britia, who looked like she was about to burst into tears, telling her to calm down.
“Then why did you look at me with such a scary face?”
“Scary… If my face looked scary, I’m sorry.”
Sig seemed taken aback, not expecting Britia to say he had a scary expression. Britia sniffled, looking at Sig, who appeared a bit downcast. It was the Sig Turas she knew.
“No, Sig, you’re cute. What was scary was just now… Ugh, I don’t want to think about it.”
The cold, slimy sensation still lingered on her hand. Britia groaned, repeatedly wiping her hand on his back.
“Is it still there?”
When Britia shook her head, Sig picked up the pieces of the bead. Britia instinctively turned away and buried her face in his chest.
“I suppose we should cut the walk short.”
When he offered to take her back, Britia looked up at Sig slightly.
“Will you laugh at me if I say I’m scared to sleep alone tonight?”
When she asked if he could stay with her, Sig looked momentarily flustered but then shook his head. For a brief moment, he had strange thoughts, but he quickly reprimanded himself, realizing it would be rude to someone genuinely afraid.
However, as soon as they returned to her room and Britia asked him to sit next to her on the bed, Sig’s heart began to race again.
The fact that an evil spirit had appeared was a serious matter, and this was the Imperial Palace, making it even more significant. Despite understanding the gravity of the situation, Sig found it hard to concentrate as Britia leaned against his arm.
Moreover, her breathing seemed a bit labored. Sig glanced at Britia. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was sweating.
“…Britia?”
When Sig touched her forehead and neck, his eyes widened. She was burning up with fever.
“I’ll fetch a doctor.”
No, if it really was an evil spirit, perhaps he should call a priest instead.
Deciding he should summon both, Sig was about to get up when Britia grabbed his arm.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t leave me alone.”
Her feverish voice trembled with tears. Unable to bring himself to leave her, Sig ultimately picked her up and ran.
Britia’s body grew hotter and hotter, like a furnace. Sig quickened his pace in alarm.
—
Two full days had passed, but Britia was still suffering from a high fever. Fortunately, the priest had determined that there was no deep-rooted curse, so she should recover once the fever subsided.
Of course, the fact that an actual evil spirit had appeared was far from fortunate.
“Whoever did this, they’ve committed an atrocious act that makes you want to curse them,” the vice-captain said, looking at Britia, who was bedridden, and Sig, who hadn’t left her side.
“His Majesty is furious and has ordered all the railings in the palace to be inspected.”
The vice-captain doubted they’d find another cursed object, but surprisingly, they did. It was found not far from the Empress’s chambers.
The enraged Emperor summoned every priest available and ordered them to search the palace thoroughly.
“What’s the origin of the bead?” Sig asked in a low, grim voice.
“It’s difficult to trace. It’s just a common trinket that children in the village play with.”
“There must be a method used to trap the evil spirit inside it.”
The vice-captain quietly nodded.
In the North, they were called dark spirits; here, they were referred to as evil spirits. Unless they revealed themselves, they were invisible. Only priests empowered by the goddess could sense their presence.
“If it wasn’t the work of a mad priest, then it was a crazed sorcerer. Of course, it could very well be both.”
No matter how skilled a priest or sorcerer was, they couldn’t have carried out such a large-scale plot alone. There were likely several accomplices, and they probably had the backing to allow them easy access to the palace.
“I have a feeling that the attack on Lady Britia at the Slanford estate, the disappearance of the large quantity of Plu that Devon sold, and this current incident are all connected,” the vice-captain remarked.
Sig quietly agreed with the vice-captain’s assessment.
“Is Radars still keeping his mouth shut? We’ve agreed on the price. Give him whatever he wants.”
The vice-captain crossed his arms, frowning.
“Even if we offer everything, he refuses to speak.”
If his goal were money, he’d sell even the smallest scraps of information, but his refusal to reveal anything was a bad sign. It likely meant he had already decided it was safer not to sell any information at all.
“I thought about targeting Bryan’s weaknesses, but since Slanford is a fervent supporter of Your Highness, there’s nothing we can do.”
If only he were on Grand Duke Camelon’s side, they could have captured and thoroughly interrogated him. No, that would only cause more trouble with the lord of Nir. The amount of resources that come from there is too significant. If they decided to raise transportation fees like Robley did, it would be difficult to handle.
Brian was undoubtedly aware of this, which is why he felt confident that they wouldn’t touch Hati. The vice-captain clicked his tongue.
“What about directly capturing Brian?”
“As much as I’d like to, the Count Radars, who is pulling the strings from behind the scenes, would make a move.”
The situation was a headache for the vice-captain, who felt stuck.
“How did it go with trying to persuade Brian through Harty Slanford?”
“The Duke made the suggestion, but Brian apparently feigned ignorance even to the Count, claiming he knew nothing.”
He even acted aggrieved, as if he, too, was being unfairly accused, making it almost believable that he might truly be unaware.
“We’ve hit a dead end, My lord. I’m out of ideas.”
Should we just ignore the Count Radars and capture Brian? No, we don’t know what information they’re holding. If we pretend to surrender and feed them false information, it could lead to an even more deadly trap.
“It would have been nice if the Duke’s charm, so well-received by Lady Britia, worked on Brian too,” the vice-captain said, tapping his thigh, unable to come up with a better plan.
“The Duke’s charm is mine.”
At that moment, Britia interrupted with a voice that was dry and cracked.
“You’re awake?”
Sig asked, and Britia blinked as she sat up.
“Your fever seems to have gone down a bit, but you still need to take it easy,” Sig said, placing a hand on Britia’s forehead. There was still a slight fever, but it was much lower than before, which was a relief.
Sig handed her a cup of water, urging her to drink. Britia gulped it down and then let out a long breath, frowning.
“Brian promised that if I ever discovered the identity of the person behind the order to kill me, he would tell me. He swore on Radars’s name.”
The vice-captain noticed the growing fierceness in Britia’s half-closed eyes.
“But now that I’ve nearly died twice, he claims he knows nothing. Is that really true?”
“It’s certain that Brian knows important information and is hiding it.”
Britia pursed her lips, breathing heavily, before slightly lifting her head with determination.
“Then I’ll persuade—no, I’ll threaten Brian myself.”
