Chapter 234

“Well, I suppose it might leave a little scar.”

The wound was deeper than she’d expected. Worse, the sword High Priest Byron had used was coated in poison.

The poison itself wasn’t a concern since she’d taken an antidote for it right away. But because the toxin had seeped into the wound, it didn’t look like it would heal easily.

“To get rid of it completely, I need the root of a Tubea plant. Apparently, they’re hard to come by these days.”

I don’t have any left in my subspace, either.

“Well, what’s a little scar?”

She’d lived as Grace with scars covering her entire body. One scar hardly mattered.

“......”

...Though he clearly doesn’t feel the same way.

Kainel’s eyes remained fixed on the wound on her cheek, his gaze growing sharper by the second. He looked ready to track down whoever had hurt her and kill him all over again.

[Buuee!]

[Piii!]

“.....?”

Just then, she heard Sooty and Airien crying. They’d been happily playing with Whitey’s tail only moments ago, so why were they suddenly crying?

“Where’s Whitey?”

Come to think of it, Whitey was nowhere in sight. Where did he go?

[Bubu!]

[Ppi!]

At Ceres’s question, the two pointed toward the slightly open window. Were they saying Whitey had gone out that way? She hurried to the window and looked outside, but there was no sign of him.

Tap!

[Kiuung!]

“—!”

At that moment, something dropped down at the window with a soft thud. It was Whitey.

“You.......”

In Whitey’s mouth was a familiar medicinal herb.

Tubea.

It was the very herb she’d just mentioned to Kainel.

Thump.

Whitey came closer and placed the herb in front of Ceres. Then he stared at her expectantly, as if waiting to be praised.

...Didn’t this happen before?

Not long ago, when Duke Schweiss had collapsed, Whitey had suddenly appeared with a rare medicinal herb in his mouth.

[Kiuung?]

Whitey tilted his head when Ceres remained lost in thought instead of picking up the herb.

Only then did Ceres slowly stroke his head.

...Seriously, what are you? Just what is your true identity?

Once again, Ceres was wondering about Whitey, who had appeared before her out of nowhere.

***

“So that’s the wound Cheion mentioned.”

“Cheion?”

It had been a long time since Crown Prince Aseraian had summoned her. She’d considered making an excuse, claiming she was busy or feeling unwell, but...

「If you miss the breakfast I made for you, then you don’t have to come.」

The final line he’d added to the invitation seemed to anticipate what she’d been thinking, leaving her no choice but to accept. She couldn’t very well send Antonian to the academy with an upset stomach again.

“You still have a scar.”

Crown Prince Aseraian sighed when he saw the wound on Ceres’s face.

“It’s almost gone. Luckily, I managed to get my hands on a rare medicinal herb.”

Cheion had used healing magic on her, but it wasn’t enough to erase the faint scar completely. It was still there, but thanks to the herb Whitey had brought, it should disappear before long.

Where does Whitey keep finding all these medicinal herbs?

Just to see what would happen, she mentioned a few other herbs. Sure enough, Whitey brought every one of them back within minutes.

How does he do it?

She even asked him directly how he found the herbs, but...

[Kiuung?]

“......”

Whitey merely smiled and wagged his tail excitedly. Ceres couldn’t ask anything else.

“You’ve done quite a lot this time.”

That was the reason Crown Prince Aseraian had summoned her today. He wanted to confirm the news that had recently reached him.

The sudden corruption of the Holy Spring was a serious matter for the Imperial Family. The Tamer Relic’s power had completely disappeared. As a result, chaos spread across not only the empire but the entire continent.

Even the Dukes’ powers...

Who could have imagined that corrupting the Holy Spring would cause the powers held by the Dukes to vanish as well?

But then...

It was Ceres who solved the whole incident. Once again, she handled everything herself and brought it to an end.

“I hear you were the one who killed High Priest Byron.”

“It was self-defense.”

As though she’d been waiting for him to bring it up, Ceres pointed to the wound on her face. She made sure it was clearly visible, intending to show that Byron had attacked her first.

“You don’t need to explain that.”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Aseraian chuckled softly.

As he just said, he didn’t care that Ceres had killed High Priest Byron. He certainly had no intention of punishing her for it.

After all, she was the owner of the Tamer Relic, and Byron was a murderer. No one could blame her for killing him.

The bodies were found too.

Seven bodies were discovered at the site of the bizarre ritual alone. The people responsible would naturally be sentenced to death.

When the truth came to light, people were once again stunned. The corruption of the Holy Spring was shocking enough, but the revelation that someone had deliberately caused it horrified everyone.

What drew the most attention, however, was the death of High Priest Byron. More precisely, it was the state in which his body was found.

“How exactly did he die?”

His corpse looked like he’d aged hundreds of years in an instant, withered down to the point of resembling a mummy. The sight terrified everyone who saw it.

“It was the power of the Tamer Relic.”

Ceres gave the answer she’d prepared beforehand.

“...Hah.”

Aseraian laughed in disbelief.

“So we’re blaming the Tamer Relic again.”

Am I supposed to keep believing this?

“Your Tamer Relic certainly can do a lot.”

It could keep monsters at bay and detect curses, and now it could apparently dry a person up like that.

“Yes, my Tamer Relic is quite capable.”

Ceres didn’t so much as blink at the Crown Prince’s incredulous stare. If she said it was the Tamer Relic’s power, who could argue with her?

“I heard the spring hadn’t been restored at the time. The Tamer Relic wasn’t able to use its full power.”

“You heard wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“The spring had already been restored by then.”

“I also heard the spring was still red when High Priest Byron died.”

“You can’t believe the word of criminals and religious fanatics.”

Of everyone who had survived that night, only she and Ben were sane.

Ben would never say a word without her permission. Besides, there was no way the Crown Prince could track him down when he was a member of the Sky guild.

“Are you saying they lied?”

“Children lie all the time.”

“......”

Ceres met Aseraian’s suspicious gaze without flinching.

“...Hah.”

A weary laugh escaped him at last.

“If that’s what Master says, then I suppose that’s how it is.”

Ceres nodded as if he’d said something perfectly reasonable. Aseraian’s smile deepened.

“By the way, have you heard from Alex recently?”

“Prince Alex?”

Why is he asking me about his younger brother?

Ceres tilted her head at the unexpected question. Wasn’t Prince Alex at the Magic Tower right now?

“He disappeared.”

“What?”

“He suddenly vanished, leaving only a letter behind.”

Prince Alex had disappeared without warning not long ago, leaving behind just a letter saying he’d gone away to recuperate.

“He seemed to enjoy the medicine and tea you gave him, so I wondered if he’d contacted you.”

“No.”

“Hmm. Cheion is quite worried.”

Apparently, Alex hadn’t looked well before he left.

“I hear he didn’t even go to his usual place to recuperate.”

“.....”

That Cheion... He isn’t skipping meals again, is he?

Ceres clicked her tongue inwardly.

I’d ask Sooty to look for him, but...

Sooty never actually saw Prince Alex before. Ceres sighed.