Chapter 13
“I apologize. Normally, we ask guests their purpose at the counter, and once the truth is confirmed, we escort them downstairs. However, recently there have been many cases of people causing a commotion in the workshop after being caught lying.”
“I understand. Though it’s not a pleasant feeling.”
The muscular clerk helped Esdel get to her feet and added.
“Still, those bandages help relieve fatigue when you wear them. It’s a power that Alek has.”
The boy, hearing his name, grinned widely and sat down close by.
“Are you really going to the Order of Healing Priests? Please don’t. I’ve been there, and you have to wake up before sunrise to wash with cold water, and you have to pray for four hours a day. On top of that, you have to talk in a greasy way!”
“A greasy way?”
“May the gods be with you… Yuck.”
It was a childish sentiment. Esdel tried to recall if she had thought the same way when she was young, but then remembered that there hadn’t been a temple in her territory a decade ago. It was only relatively recently that the church’s influence had grown so strong.
‘I thought their influence grew naturally along with the growth of the Peridon Holy Alliance….’
Perhaps the cause and effect were the other way around.
‘If they had used Awakened individuals from The Unknown with abilities like healing, it would have been much easier to expand the church’s influence. That would be a true miracle, after all.’
The well-built clerk said.
“Our branch manager will be here soon. She just went out for a short walk. If you have any other questions, you can ask her then. What would you like for tea?”
“Just a glass of cold water, please.”
“I’ll serve it with ice.”
‘Ice?’
She had thought the workshop’s income must be decent, but it seemed they were earning even more than she expected. To be able to serve ice to a visitor who might not even join meant their income likely surpassed that of the Reinhardt County.
Esdel drained the glass of water the clerk brought in one gulp and leaned back on the sofa.
Being underground, the lack of windows was inevitably suffocating, but efforts to compensate for it were visible everywhere. Lanterns were hung on all the walls as well as the ceiling, and it was clear that care had been taken with the carpet on the floor to lighten the atmosphere.
Just as she was thinking this, a scream was heard from the stairs above. The clerk standing next to Esdel chuckled, ha-ha, and stood up.
“It seems the manager has arrived. Please wait a moment.”
The clerk, who had briefly disappeared towards the stairs, soon returned carrying a person completely wrapped in bandages in both hands. The only thing visible of the person, whose eyes were also meticulously covered, was black hair sticking up like weeds.
It seemed it wasn’t just outsiders they treated this way.
Recalling that she had been in the same state just a few minutes ago, Esdel solemnly turned her head away.
“Manager, please wait a moment.”
The muscular clerk approached the manager with a pair of scissors. Wondering what he was about to do, Esdel watched them intently. She had never seen another Awakened person properly use their ability, so she was also curious.
‘…Huh?’
But there was nothing to see.
The clerk just flicked his hand once, and the bandages were smoothly cut away. That was it.
Esdel frowned for a moment, then relaxed her eyes. Come to think of it, it would be stranger to understand it just by seeing it once. She didn’t even know how her own ability worked, after all.
From within the thick pile of bandages, a woman with short hair emerged. She didn’t seem bothered at all by having been wrapped in bandages like a taxidermied corpse; she was smiling brightly.
“Alek!”
“Yes!”
“Next time, check the person’s face properly before you wrap them up!”
“Yes….”
“Still, I feel refreshed thanks to you. Go on and play.”
“Yes, Jillian!”
The boy scampered off into the back. The clerk who had been with them also gave a nod and returned to the counter upstairs. Once the two had disappeared back to their posts, the interior finally became quiet.
The woman approached the sofa, tidying her messy hair with her hands.
“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Jillian Morrow.”
“Ah, I am Esdel Reinhardt. I have a few questions about The Unknown.”
“You’ve come to the right place! Are you an Awakened?”
When Esdel affirmed, Jillian smiled brightly and sat down across from her.
“What are you curious about?”
“First, I want to know everything that is known about The Unknown. Additionally, it would be great if I could also hear about the transfer situation within the Cartara Archipelago.”
“Hmm… Let me tell you this first. We don’t have a proper grasp of the situation within the archipelago ourselves. That area is under the jurisdiction of the autonomous security force, and there are geographical limitations as well. We have to cross the sea to get there, after all.”
“Which means you know plenty about The Unknown from this side.”
“That’s right. But strictly speaking, this is confidential information. I’d love to tell you, but it’s difficult to leak it to a young lady who isn’t even a member.”
Esdel nodded. She hadn’t expected to get information without any price.
“I’ll join. Before that, I’ll add my own conditions.”
Esdel took the pen Jillian offered and added a clause in the middle of the membership application form. Seeing this, Jillian, without a hint of surprise, brought out a teacup. After steeping tea leaves in the teapot, she checked what Esdel had written.
“The right to view all information about The Unknown and a six-month conditional employment term, I see.”
Esdel lifted her teacup and observed Jillian’s expression.
She’ll refuse. Any proper administrator naturally would. What Esdel had just proposed was akin to a newly hired low-level tax officer asking for full, uncensored access to the territory’s ledgers.
Esdel simply wanted to know how much authority this woman held in the organization before negotiating.
But instead of refusing outright, Jillian took a sip of her tea and said.
“I have good intuition, Ms. Reinhardt. My gut is telling me. That I absolutely must hold on to you, Ms. Reinhardt. It feels like the world will come crashing down if I don’t.”
“……”
“Let’s make it a one-year term membership, Miss Reinhardt. In return, we’ll adjust it so that mission participation is only mandatory for six months. How does that sound? If you agree, I will have the documents sent to your residence as soon as they are organized.”
Truthfully, Esdel had only intended to scout out the atmosphere and information-gathering capabilities of each organization today. That was why she had thrown out such an excessive condition.
Which meant she had by no means expected such a response.
When Esdel finished signing the application and went upstairs, the coward Sir Darren was outside, hugging a dagger and a blade sharpening tool set. Hearing the news of Esdel’s enlistment, he scratched his head and asked.
“Don’t you think you decided too hastily, my lady?”
“There were no other options for me besides this place anyway. If our conditions match, there’s no need to drag things out.”
While the two were talking, the clerk’s voice came from the counter.
“That will be 51 gold in total.”
“…I believe I told you to choose something under 50 gold, Sir?”
“It’s only a one gold difference, please cut me some slack.”
“I’ll deduct one gold from your salary, so you know.”
“Ack, then I’ll put this back!”
Darren ran to return one of the small daggers to its place. In the meantime, Esdel took out her wallet and paid the price. The well-built clerk handed her the packaged items and said.
“You don’t need to worry too much. The manager has a really good intuition, you see.”
“By any chance, is that also an ability?”
“Of course. The manager retired after working in the field until two years ago, and during her active years, there was never a single sudden transfer incident.”
“Then why isn’t she doing it now?”
“Once the Corrosion progresses beyond 80%, you must retire from the field. It’s one of the few rules of the Order.”
“The Corrosion progresses?”
“You didn’t know? Every time you use your ability extensively, the mark of The Unknown spreads. As it continues to corrode you, the Awakened eventually meets the same fate as The Consumed.”
“What….”
Esdel frowned.
This was the first she was hearing of it. Theodore had never once told her that she shouldn’t use her ability.
She was about to ask for more details. The knight who had left the dagger behind strode over.
“My lady, are we heading back now?”
“Just a moment….”
Esdel was about to wave the knight away, but the clerk stopped her.
“There will be another chance to talk. I’ll see you then.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Esdel nodded. In any case, her ability showed its true worth when she died. It wouldn’t be easily consumed by minor things like healing small scratches, so there would be no problem in hearing about it slowly.
👑🏰
The carriage stopped at the entrance to Birchwood. Darren, who had gotten out of the carriage first to escort her, tilted his head as soon as he opened the door. Esdel, who was preparing to get out, asked nonchalantly.
“What’s wrong?”
“There are people out from the mansion, my lady?”
“Hm?”
Esdel took Darren’s hand to get out and lifted her gaze.
As he said, the butler could be seen standing in a line with the servants in front of the main gate. They spotted Esdel’s carriage and were approaching.
‘I don’t remember giving any notice about my return time.’
Esdel looked up and examined their attire. It wasn’t suitable for standing in the cool winter air. Yet, seeing that no one was shivering, it seemed they hadn’t been outside the gate for long.
She handed over her luggage and asked.
“It must be hard working outside in the cold. Have you been waiting long?”
“Not at all, my lady. The master told us you would be returning around this time, so we just came out.”
“I see. Then please take my knight’s luggage as well.”
Esdel pointed to the luggage Darren was holding. After confirming that her knight handed the luggage to the servants, she began to walk, following the butler. Her outward expression was composed, but her mind was in turmoil.
She had not told Theodore her destination, let alone her return time.
‘So how could you have known that?’
Doubts about her husband-to-be were piling up one by one, forming a precarious tower on the verge of collapse. Esdel had no intention of pushing it over with her own hands. It had only been a little over a month since their first meeting, so she had the generosity to give it more time.
But if something more were to be piled on top of this….
Then, even if Esdel did nothing, everything would lose its balance and crumble.
She had been so shocked by the previous night’s events that she had questioned him too much in the morning. But from now on, she intended to approach more cautiously. It seemed her fiancé was not the type to explain things straightforwardly.
“Butler, where is Theodore?”
“The master has not yet returned. He left a message to serve you dinner first, so it seems he will be back after midnight.”
“I see.”
Esdel, who had been heading to her room, stopped in front of Theodore’s room, which was located right next to hers. Looking at the closed door, she thought to herself.
‘He won’t come tonight, I suppose.’
She did tell him to knock if he was going to come, but would he really visit two nights in a row?
Even while thinking this, Esdel resolved to lock her door securely before falling asleep tonight. It would open easily if he was determined to pick the lock, but at least it could put a brake on his actions for once. Whether it was for comfort or something else, communication had to come first.
👑🏰
Theodore stood listening to Esdel’s quiet breathing from beyond the closed door.
Old memories resemble dreams. You have to close your eyes and trace them with your fingertips to retrieve just a few, and some are forgotten, never to surface again. That’s why Theodore sometimes, no, often felt as if he were living in a dream.
Nevertheless, there were moments he remembered distinctly. The memory of a terrible season, so vivid that the temperature and humidity felt seared onto his skin.
The day he first set foot in Birchwood was summer. The dry air made his lips crack, and no matter how much water he drank, his body dried up like a leaking bowl.
Even in such a season, the woman wore a long robe that covered her down to her fingertips. She would rather let her body suffer from the heat than wear any clothes that revealed even a little bit of skin. That obsessive attitude didn’t change even when she slept at night, and the day etched in his memory was like many others.
It was by chance. He heard something fall to the floor with a thud as he was passing by the door.
When he opened the door and went inside, he found the woman collapsed on the floor beside the bed. She was tightly wrapped in a blanket over her thin nightclothes, her face deathly pale, and she had vomited. Her entire body was a ball of fire. It was only natural, having wrapped herself in a blanket in this weather.
He forcibly snatched the blanket from the woman’s hands. The woman, drenched in a cold sweat and dry-heaving, desperately tried to avoid revealing her skin, which was covered in black letters.
If he had found her just a little later, she might have suffocated on her own vomit. But she fought tooth and nail as if such things didn’t matter, scrambling to hide the blemishes all over her body.
The stuffy air in the room, the temperature of the woman in his arms, the scream-like sobs echoing in his ears.
Theodore tried turning the doorknob. The door was locked. Instead of knocking and waking Esdel, he listened quietly.
He could hear calm breathing from inside.
Yes, the woman was sleeping peacefully.
So this was just a bad dream that would cease to exist if he forgot it.
👑🏰
Esdel sat in the carriage, gazing blankly outside. Having stayed for only a few days, the birch forest on the way from Birchwood to the city center felt as familiar as her own.
Ten days until the Night of the Winter Queen.
To purchase the necessary items for her stay in the capital, she had to move quickly before the festival period began in earnest. She had put it off until now, but any further delay would mean waiting until the new year.
‘And since the Order might contact me, it would be good to get a decent sword.’
Esdel mentally reviewed the things she needed to buy today, then let out a small sigh.
‘He’s not showing his face.’
Ever since he sent word through the butler that he would be home late, Theodore had been returning to Birchwood late every day. When she asked the maids, it seemed he came in every night, but he would leave again before sunrise, leaving no time for conversation.
‘I thought about staying up all night, but I can’t even do that.’
When she sat in the drawing-room the previous night, the servants approached one by one to dissuade her. Then even the butler came running out, pleading with her, saying Theodore would be greatly displeased if he found out they had let her wait there.
“The master rarely stays at the mansion, my lady. When he returns today, I will be sure to tell him you were looking for him, so please go to bed first. I will have the maids prepare your bed.”
With everyone so anxious, it was impossible to push her will any further. Esdel had no choice but to return to her room.
‘I feel like I’ve been caught up in something.’
Esdel found herself lost in thought about Theodore again. She replayed every conversation they’d had, trying to figure out if she had missed something.
‘Did I push him too hard that day?’
But after barging in at night and staring at her with such fierce eyes, wasn’t letting him off with just a few questions a cheap form of forgiveness?
Having come to the capital alone with only one knight, one person’s absence felt like a rather large void. It hurt her pride to admit that she was secretly looking forward to seeing him, but she couldn’t deny the facts.
Esdel let out a breath, her mood somewhat subdued.
Darren, sitting across from Esdel, was completely absorbed in spinning a dagger with his fingers, regardless of his lady’s mood. He seemed to be trying to twirl the palm-sized dagger with his four fingers, excluding the thumb, but it would fall without even completing a single rotation.
“Is that even possible?”
“I saw with my own two eyes a man on the street doing it perfectly just a few days ago, my lady. I will definitely succeed within this week and protect your honor, my lady!”
As he said this, the dagger fell to the floor and stuck deep into the carriage floor. Esdel clicked her tongue and pulled the dagger out. It was Birchwood’s carriage, lent by the butler, and now it was embarrassingly scratched.
Darren darted his eyes around, avoiding Esdel’s sharp gaze. Then, as soon as the carriage stopped, he shot up from his seat as if he had been waiting for it.
“My lady, let’s go! I will do my best to choose a fine sword!”
“We’re stopping by the dress salon first. You don’t seem like you’d be much help picking out clothes, Sir, so take a break and come back in an hour.”
“Yes, my lady! I will kill some time nearby and then come to get you!”
“That ‘nearby’ wouldn’t happen to be that gambling table over there, would it, Sir?”
When Esdel asked in a sharp voice, Darren laughed awkwardly and took a step back.
Where his feet were headed, a small gambling table run by a red-haired man and woman was set up. A man with a gentle impression and neat bangs cut to his eyebrows, and an expressionless woman with her long hair tied high in a ponytail. The two looked like siblings to anyone who saw them.
“Minimum bet of 1 silver! Guess which cup it’s in and get 10 times your money back!”
While the man smiled brightly and beckoned customers, the woman moved the cups. A white die repeatedly appeared and disappeared between the five cups moving dazzlingly across the stall.
