Extra Story 7: In the Land of the North (2/2)
Magical tools can be very costly. And with a high level of perfection at that, it's not something that the Count Bright household can easily get their hands on. When there are so many cheaper ways to assassinate someone, why did Count Bright choose the [Conch Flame]? It's more plausible to believe that someone gave Count Bright the [Conch Flame] and instigated him to do so.
Casey was probably thinking about this possibility too. As she bit her lip with a grim face and tried her best to contain her agitation so that she would not say anything that could be used against her father.
Looking at the resilient figure, Louis picked up one of the pieces of red stone and held it up to the light.
”The ruby used in this [Conch Flame] is extremely pure. I had it authenticated by an expert, and he said that it must have come from Glocken.”
”…Glocken?”
”You haven't heard of it? It's a mine in the southeastern part of the Empire. The amount of ore mined is not very large, but it yields high-quality rubies that are ideal for making magical tools… but the Empire exports very little of the ore from the said mine, so it's difficult to find on the market.”
Louis put the red stone back on the table with a clatter. The ringing sound echoed rather loudly in the serene monastery. Louis narrowed his gray-purple eyes and looked at Casey.
”The [Conch Flame] that Count Bright entrusted to you is made in the Empire. Do you know what this implies?”
Casey immediately turned pale at those words. Clever girl.
With that single statement, she speculated one frightening possibility.
If the person who gave Count Bright the [Conch Flame] was assumed to be someone from Randall, the next question would be where did the Randall person get the Empire's Conch Flame?
This brought her to one hypothesis. And that was…
”It's possible that the Randall Kingdom and the Empire are working together behind the scenes.”
A war between the Ridill Kingdom and the allied forces of the Empire and the Randall Kingdom could very well happen in the future. Casey must have finally understood this realization, as she clenched her fists tightly in her lap, but then opened her mouth with her head lowered.
”…As far as I know, I've never seen anyone from the Empire entering or leaving my hometown. The only people who frequented my household were Randall nobles whose names even I knew.”
”Have you ever seen of your father sending letters to the Empire?”
”No.”
”…I see.”
It would have been nice to get some evidence of the connection to the Empire here, but from her testimony, that was not going to be that easy.
If the Empire and Randall were somehow tied together, the Empire, with its overwhelming national power, would obviously be the ”master” of the master-slave alliance. There was also a possibility that the nobles at the far end of Randall were unaware of the relationship between their country and the Empire.
There's no end to the ”what ifs,” but it's always better to remain cautious of the shadow of the Empire.
”I guess there's no more information I can squeeze out of you. Since there seems to be no sign of tea being served, I guess I will take my leave soon.”
As Louis rose from his chair, Casey gave him a short word of ”wait” to stop him.
Louis turned his disinterested eyes to Casey. He was a fairly busy person and disliked wasting his time. And he didn't think he could have anything more meaningful to say to this girl.
”…is Monica doing well?”
Sure enough, what Casey mentioned was not something worthwhile for Louis.
”That's a topic that's less important than the weather if I would say. Well, she's been caught up in a fight with an assassin recently, but still living vigorously, more or less.”
Casey gulped, widened her eyes at the mention of having fought an assassin.
”…I still can't believe it, honestly. I can't believe Monica is the Seven Sages. I mean, she just seemed like a normal girl.”
”[SIlent Witch] is a normal girl?”
Louis couldn't help but chuckle.
Even after seeing Monica used no-chant magic, Casey still didn't have a clear understanding of Monica.
Louis sat back in his chair and gave a cruelly beautiful sneer.
”Do you remember the ”Black Dragon of Wogan” incident six months ago?”
”…yeah, Silent Witch… I mean Monica had chased away the Black Dragon that appeared in Count Kerbeck's territory.”
Count Kerbeck's territory and Count Bright's territory are relatively close to each other, so that incident was probably no stranger to her. Even more so when the Black Dragon was an existence that gave despair to her people.
The flames breathed out by the Black Dragon, or [Black Flame], were unusual flames that burn away even magical barriers. Even for Louis, who's also known as the Dragon Slayer, dealing with that incident was not a simple matter.
”I was the one who dragged Miss [Silent Witch] to defeat the Black Dragon. You see, that little girl was whimpering and saying, ‘scary, scary…' when I did so.”
Casey looked at Louis in astonishment as he blithely confessed his outrageous deed.
”Don't you feel that way too? Yeah, I have some fears, too, you know. But what do you think Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, was afraid of?”
At that time, in a sobbing voice, Monica said to Louis:
”—”Those people of Dragon Knights so scary! Surrounded by so many people I don't know, so scary!” is what she said. That little girl was never even a little bit afraid of the Black Dragon. She, the [Silent Witch] of the Seven Sages, was afraid of the Dragon Knights—humans who came to defeat it.”
It's quite funny, isn't it? Louis whispered, but Casey seemed stunned into silence.
Looking at her reaction, Louis cast a pitying glance at Casey.
”She fears and hates humans from the bottom of her heart… and that's why she can be as cruel as it takes. She's more twisted and heartless than you think.”
That's why Louis chose Monica as his helper in the mission to escort the second prince.
”Don't expect her to have any sympathy for you.”
Louis told him sarcastically, and Casey stood up from her chair with a clatter. Then stormed out of the room, before quickly returning with a mug and a small package in her hand.
Casey slammed the mug of tea down in front of Louis and pushed the paper package to him.
”I've been hesitating whether to give this to her or not, but your words have made up my mind… please give this to Monica. You don't have to mention my name.”
Louis didn't ask about her consent but when he looked at the contents of the paper package, his eyes widened. Casey must have been very upset with what Louis had said since she's been glaring at Louis with sharp eyes.
…It would be easier if you hated her.
What a foolish and soft-hearted girl.
Louis let out a sigh in secret and tucked the paper package into his pocket. He then sipped his mug of tea with an elegant gesture and said.
”I suppose I'll do enough work for this cup of tea… by the way, do you have any sugar or jam?”