Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 289

289

Since I have nothing else to do anyway, I might as well use this time productively. But judging by how things are going, it won’t be easy to resolve. I wanted to handle even the most gruesome incidents smoothly, but it seems impossible. The people of the Count’s family didn’t even know someone had died here. I couldn’t confirm if they were lying, but it was definitely the worst-case scenario.

‘This means I have to bring the incident to light first…….’

The thorny path ahead already felt vivid. Even if I unilaterally claimed there was a murder, no one would believe me, and I couldn’t use the lingering thoughts that ordinary humans can’t see as evidence. I needed to find visible traces that everyone could acknowledge, but that wasn’t easy. I meticulously searched everything, from the countless rooms to the basement and waterways, but nothing seemed suspicious (though, in a way, everything was suspicious since it was all filled with lingering thoughts). There were no hidden secret spaces either.

I should have watched more investigative dramas. I had no idea where to start with a case where I didn’t even know who the victim was, let alone the perpetrator. If there was a missing person, I could at least follow the steps based on that. But it seemed no one had quit or left in recent years. The possibility that the victim wasn’t an insider increased, but that only widened the scope of the investigation.

At this rate, I might have to investigate every incident that occurred in the Stealth Territory. It’s not a large territory in terms of population, but it’s definitely not something I can finish in a day or two. This is a case of the tail wagging the dog [a situation where a minor issue becomes disproportionately important]. I knew I was digging my own grave, but I couldn’t just gloss over it, so I sighed.

I slowly looked around to clear my head. I needed something to change my mood. Just then, I saw a boy in shabby clothes passing by a little further away. He seemed to be working at the mansion, struggling to carry a wooden tub bigger than himself with both hands. The tub was filled to the brim with firewood. It was obviously too much for a child to carry. I went over and helped him lift it, and the boy’s eyes widened.

“Uh……?

“I’ll help you. Where do you need to take it?”

Perhaps because a stranger suddenly appeared, the boy stared blankly before belatedly starting to panic.

“N-No, it’s okay! I can do it…….”

“You couldn’t even walk properly because it’s too heavy. I’ll carry it for you, so just tell me where to go.”

“But…….”

“It’s okay. So, where are you going?”

“T-To the kitchen…….”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Since I had searched every corner of the mansion looking for a suspicious space, I knew the way to the kitchen well. I smiled and led the way, and the boy hesitated before following behind.

“Um, are you a knight, sir?”

“Huh? No. Do I look like a knight?”

“Not really… but you seem incredibly strong. I’ve never seen anyone lift that so easily.”

“Hehe, I am a little strong… but what did you call me just now?”

“I said you’re really strong.”

“No, before that. When you asked if I was a knight, what did you call me?”

“……Sir?”

“……!”

My steps involuntarily stopped. As far as I knew, the title ‘Sir’ was usually used for men. Feeling a surge of emotion, I stared intently at the boy. Sensing unspoken pressure from my gaze, the boy flinched.

“U-Um?”

“I’m not a noble. You don’t have to use that title.”

“Really? You seem like one…….”

“I’m really not. So, just call me comfortably.”

“……Uh, then… Brother……?”

“……You’re a really good kid.”

“……Yes?”

“It’s nothing. Haha, you rascal! You’ll grow up to be a great person!”

I thought there was nothing I liked about this place, but now there’s one thing. The evaluation of Baron Bannon’s mansion, which had been plummeting into the negatives, suddenly soared. Feeling pleased, I ruffled the boy’s hair, and he blushed while looking flustered.

“You can put it here, on this side.”

The kitchen of the Count’s mansion was located underground. I could feel the people working busily inside glancing at me as I appeared with the boy. I ignored their gazes and followed the boy’s guidance. We arrived at the back of a large fireplace at the innermost part of the kitchen. Inside, there were piles of dry firewood and various kindling materials, as if they had already been moved. Judging by the chairs and blankets lying in one corner, it seemed to be a resting area for the workers.

“Thank you so much for helping me.”

“Don’t mention it. But do you move this every day?”

“Not every day. Only when the firewood is less than half full. But these days, it’s getting colder, so the firewood runs out quickly. So, I do it almost every day.”

“I see. That must be tough.”

“It’s my job. But the Count’s mansion pays well, and it’s a comfortable environment to work in. Everyone is kind too. When I go out to the village, everyone envies me.”

The boy seemed genuinely proud of his work. I admired how mature he was for such a young age, but I didn’t feel good. If this were Korea, it would be a violation of child labor laws, but here, it’s considered lucky just to be treated well while working. At times like this, I feel the difference in the development of human rights. ……But I shouldn’t be saying this when I left Alisa, who was about that age, to fight on the battlefield.

“The master is a really good person. The madam and young ladies are all kind too. The third young lady often shares snacks with me.”

Perhaps thinking I was blaming the Count for looking at him pitifully, the boy eagerly defended the master’s family. I chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair.

The errand here was over, so it was time to go back. But something caught my eye in the scenery I casually glanced at. Among the miscellaneous items included with the firewood, there was a slightly unexpected object mixed in. They were books with considerable thickness.

“Who left those there to read?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Those are for kindling.”

The boy seemed to understand the intention of the question and answered with an embarrassed face. I looked at the books with a slightly bewildered feeling. Arkadon has quite expensive paper. Naturally, books are also expensive. They’re not so rare that they’re hard to find, but they’re definitely not something to be used as kindling. Moreover, the discarded books were made of high-quality paper with gold leaf on the edges. In this case, it would be much more profitable to resell them even if they were no longer needed. Baron Bannon seemed quite frugal, so I couldn’t understand why he would dispose of expensive items so carelessly. But what was more surprising than that was something else.

“……It’s the Bible?”

I flipped through it slightly, and dense letters unfolded. Most of the content recorded the doctrines of the Order and the writings of the saints. Just by glancing at it, I could quickly tell which Order’s Bible it was. It was the Bible of the Evil God Kanos. There were several other types of books, but there was no need to examine the contents of the rest. The symbol of the Evil God was openly engraved on the cover.

‘He must have been very disappointed in the Evil God’s Order. Did he dispose of all the Bibles?’

Most of the books were quite crumpled and dirty. Judging from the traces of being roughly handled for a long time, it seemed they had been disposed of before we arrived.

“Did the Baron order you to throw these away?”

I asked casually to confirm, and the boy hesitated before slowly nodding. He was quite cautious, perhaps because it was a sensitive issue.

“You’re on the Emperor’s side, right? The current Emperor is fighting against the Evil God’s Order.”

“Huh? Well, as a result, that’s true…….”

“I knew it.”

The boy’s face quickly brightened as if he had heard the answer he wanted.

“These days, there are rumors everywhere that the Evil God’s Order tried to assassinate the Emperor. So, the master seems to hate everything related to the Evil God. He emptied the Evil God’s Bible from the bookshelf and told us to burn them all.”

“Well, there’s no need to burn them. You could just give them to someone else.”

“He doesn’t want anyone else to worship the Evil God. He forbade it to the madam and young ladies, and to us too. He said we would be severely punished if we took the Bible, so no one touched it.”

“I see…….”

I looked at the dirty Bible with a heavy heart. From Baron Bannon’s perspective, it was something he did for Isana, but I don’t know why I felt so bitter. It’s true that the Evil God’s Order has fallen, and I also disliked the Evil God’s priests. But confirming that someone had left the Evil God because of that was a different feeling. When I recalled Kanos’s playful face, I even felt a sense of sadness.

“……The Order is bad, but there’s no need to hate the Evil God.”

“Gasp! You must never say that in front of the master. He’ll be very angry.”

“Did something similar happen?”

“When he was throwing away the Bible. Aunt Hanna tried to dissuade him, saying he shouldn’t do that even for the sake of Young Lady Yulia, and she almost got kicked out of the mansion. She was the madam’s nanny, so she was safe, but otherwise, it would have been a disaster.”

The boy shuddered as if he remembered what happened then. I asked with a slightly puzzled expression.

“Who is Young Lady Yulia?”

“The third young lady.”

“Ah, the young lady who shares snacks with you. You said he shouldn’t do that for her sake?”

“Yes, the third young lady will become an Evil God’s priest in the future. That’s her dream.”

“Huh?”

I involuntarily opened my mouth at the unexpected answer. The father hates the Evil God’s priests, but the daughter wants to become one. It seems the story is taking a different turn the more I hear. I recalled the youngest of the three girls who came out to greet me with the Baron. The third daughter is taken without even looking at her face, she was the cutest of the sisters who looked exactly alike. But that was all. I didn’t get any particular impression.

“What’s the relationship between the Baron and that young lady?”

“It’s good.”

“……Really?”

I thought the father and daughter were having a religious conflict, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. But maybe he can’t openly say anything to his own child. Well, the third daughter is only about ten years old. It’s a time when she can’t know anything yet. He may have thought there was no need to be strict with the dream of a naive young girl. It was a complex and subtle feeling that I could understand and not understand, so I frowned slightly. Seeing that she gets along well with her father even though he throws away the Bible, it seems that the daughter herself doesn’t have a deep heart.

“But Baron Bannon is quite reckless than he looks. The Evil God’s Order is strict about managing its followers. What if someone reports him for disposing of the Bible so carelessly?”

“Hey, no one among us would do that. Everyone respects the Baron. Honestly, we all understand the Baron’s feelings. The Evil God’s priests are really rude. They sometimes visit to pray for us, but we always feel bad. They’ve often asked the Baron for money outright.”

“……That’s definitely something to dislike.”

“That’s right. So, when the story of the witch who grants wishes was popular, people here didn’t care at all. Everyone else went to the Evil God’s temple in droves.”

“The witch who grants wishes?”

“You don’t know?”

The boy blinked rapidly as if wondering how I couldn’t know that. Judging from his surprised reaction, it seemed to be a very famous story. I had never heard of it, so I had no choice but to shrug.

“What is it?”

* * *

I closed and opened my eyes slowly. The peach-colored ceiling was filled with wooden decorations and gold-leafed patterns at regular intervals. Since it’s a part I don’t usually look at, it seems like today is the first time I’m seeing it properly, even though I’ve been staying in the same space for several days. The well-crafted ceiling created a sufficiently splendid look even without a chandelier. I don’t know who the architect is, but I could tell they designed it with a lot of effort. It was indeed a majestic mansion worthy of a Count’s family.

As I was about to admire it more closely, a familiar face suddenly appeared and blocked my view. From the eyes to the hair, every color it occupied was a strong red. It’s Lapis. As soon as I finished thinking blankly, a cold voice fell.

“Hey, what are you doing lying down since a while ago?”

Her face, staring down intently, was full of displeasure. I stared blankly back and replied.

“……Breathing.”

“……Are you kidding me right now?”

Her already red eyes contained an intense light, and I even felt sparks flying. Who would think of Lapis Lazuli [a blue gemstone], which is blue, when looking at that? I quietly frowned, recalling the thought that I repeatedly have every time I see her. She really has the wrong name.

“Why are you picking a fight again.”

“It seems like you’re the one picking a fight.”

“What did I do.”

“If not, explain your actions properly. You came back and immediately lay down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. You’re telling me there’s no intention behind that?”

This is why it’s a problem not to have personal space. Everyone needs some time alone sometimes, but a room you share doesn’t guarantee that basic freedom. I’m not a shameless person who lies down anywhere like Lapis, so I came to the room, but now that I’m being openly disturbed, I’m looking back to see if there was really no other place. I should have just gone back to the Spirit Realm. I was disgusted with myself for not thinking of that right away and only realizing it now.

“Just. It’s nothing. I just have something to think about.”

“Just my ass. You’ve been doing that for three hours now?”

“……Has it already been that long?”

When I blinked slowly, Lapis’s expression became strange. It was a wary look, wondering what trick I was up to. She’s the one who does more annoying things, but seeing her treat me like a troublemaker made something surge up from within.