“Hmm... I’d have to examine it first, but there are occasional cases where people react like that after being bitten by insects that parasitize certain trees. Wouldn’t it be best to boil Judy berries together with Ellaim leaves and observe the reaction afterward?”
The woman’s questions continued even after that. Herion answered every one of them with enthusiasm.
She had no idea why the woman was asking these things, but it didn’t really matter. It had been too long since she had this much fun exchanging knowledge with someone.
***
“Ceres, where do you keep going every day around this time?”
Cheion couldn’t hold back his curiosity anymore.
Recently, Ceres had been disappearing at the same hour every day. Since she was never gone for long, he tried to ignore it, but more than ten days had passed.
“A test.”
“A test? What kind of test?”
“A test to see whether someone is worthy enough to be entrusted with the future.”
“The future? What future... w-wait a minute, could it be that you’ve fallen for someone?”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Th-then, what test is it? Can I take it too? I’ve been working really hard lately!”
“What is the Dyke flower used for?”
“...What’s that? Do I need to know it to take your test?”
“...Are you doing your work properly? How’s the defensive magic progressing?”
“Ah! You’re changing the subject again!”
When a question came back instead of an answer, Cheion sighed. He had thought they’d grown close by now, yet she still kept so many secrets.
“The exterior installations are finished. Only the interior work is left now.”
“That fast?”
“Of course. I’m the one handling it.”
“......”
At that overflowing confidence, Ceres looked at him with a dubious expression.
“Tower Master, could you take care of this for us?”
“Nope. You lot can handle that yourselves.”
That was only yesterday.
“Lord Cheion, could you help us with this?”
“Relying on others too much is a bad habit. Try doing it yourselves. Experiences like that help you grow.”
That happened merely a few hours ago.
Just thinking about it made Ceres sigh.
“Cheion.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re definitely going to live a long life.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Considering how much the people around him complained about him, he would live a very long life.
For the past several days, all Ceres had seen was Cheion skillfully dodging the mages asking for his help while slacking off whenever he had the chance.
“Would you like some tea? Should I bring you some?”
Even if it was only temporary, she was still technically his secretary, so the least she could do was that.
Still looking at Cheion like he was a hopelessly immature child, Ceres rose from her seat.
“Ceres.”
“What? Don’t you want tea?”
“Have you ever been here before?”
“...No.”
“Hmm...”
Should I really believe her?
Remembering everything Ceres had done here since the first day, Cheion couldn’t shake his suspicious gaze.
“What’s that place? Why is it so big?”
“The herb storage.”
“Then what about that next building? The kitchen? There’s smoke coming out of it.”
“That’s where they brew medicine.”
“Really? But how do you know that?”
“...I just had a feeling.”
For someone claiming it was her first time here, she knew the layout of the estate far too well.
It wasn’t just the kitchen, either. Even without the servants telling her, Ceres would naturally find what she needed and head straight to the right places like she had been here countless times before.
Anyone would find that strange.
The one assigned to guide them that day was a newly recruited healer.
The senior healers were already overwhelmed dealing with the aftermath of the Black Forest incident, and with the family council meeting drawing near, the entire estate was in chaos.
After watching the young healer stumble through mistake after mistake, Ceres stepped forward with a faint smile.
“Go ahead. I’ll take over.”
“P-Pardon? B-But...”
“I’ve walked around enough to figure out the layout.”
“Still...”
“Go.”
“Y-Yes!”
“You really haven’t been here before?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
Under Cheion’s doubtful stare, Ceres awkwardly scratched her cheek.
It wasn’t exactly a lie. Since becoming Ceres, she really never visited this place before.
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
Just then, voices drifted in through the open window. When Ceres glanced outside, she spotted several maids chatting amongst themselves.
“Why was the meeting date suddenly moved up?”
“Wasn’t it supposed to happen two months from now?”
“No idea. The head maid’s been in a panic because there’s barely enough time to prepare.”
“So that’s why there was shouting coming from the lord’s office earlier?”
“There was shouting? Why?”
“How should I know? Maybe he didn’t like the meeting being pushed forward.”
The meeting... They must mean the family council.
From the maids’ conversation alone, Ceres could roughly piece together the situation.
As for why the meeting date had been moved up, she knew better than anyone.
“Did you hear the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“The ring the lord always wears. People are saying it’s fake.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“Watch your mouth! If someone hears you saying that, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
“I know, but... when you think about it, doesn’t it feel strange?”
“What does?”
“The lord, obviously. He’s never once used the power of the ring.”
“Well, maybe he’s never had a reason to use it?”
“I heard the imperial family requested his help once, and he rejected them immediately.”
“Oh, I heard that too. Apparently, he wasn’t even busy at the time.”
“That’s why people are saying he refused because the ring was fake.”
“Really?”
When the maids continued gossiping amongst themselves, the corners of Ceres’s lips curled upward.
Who do you think started that rumor?
Me, obviously.
.
.
.
Chapter 14: The Real Ring
“It’s been a long time.”
“Welcome, Lord Oselt.”
Creel, the head of House Ellesia, bowed deeply before the elderly man, lowering himself nearly to the point of folding in half. Yet the old man’s expression only hardened further.
“I assume everyone has gathered.”
“Yes. Everyone is present.”
Oselt Ellesia.
An elder of House Ellesia and an immensely wealthy man. More than half of the family’s funding came from him alone.
More importantly, however, he was the head of the Council of Elders.
“Lord Oselt.”
“You’ve arrived.”
As soon as he stepped into the conference hall, everyone immediately rose to greet him.
The difference between their attitude toward Oselt and the respect they had shown Creel only moments earlier was unmistakable.
“Sit.”
After taking the highest seat under the family head’s position, Oselt turned toward Creel.
“There’s an interesting rumor going around.”
“A rumor...?”
“That ring.”
Oselt’s gaze settled on the family head’s ring adorning Creel’s right hand. He clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“I don’t know why such nonsense has spread, but now that people are talking, it’s best we settle the matter properly.”
The rumor had spread far too suddenly and far too quickly. Almost like someone had deliberately orchestrated it.
An investigation was immediately launched, yet not a single trace could be found. There was clearly someone behind it, but not the smallest clue had surfaced.
That fact alone left Oselt uneasy.
So there was still information beyond even his reach.
“I assume you’ve heard the rumor as well, Lord Creel.”
“...Yes.”
Creel’s eyes trembled. The color slowly drained from {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his face.
Who the hell started it?
Naturally, no one had been more horrified by the rumor than Creel himself.
When his butler first informed him of it, he had sat there speechless for a while, his mind completely blank from the shock.
Was there really someone who knew the ring he wore was fake? Or was it merely a reckless rumor thrown out at random?
The real issue was that the family council meeting had been moved forward because of it.
And the one responsible for advancing the schedule was Oselt himself, the head of the Council of Elders currently seated before him.
“What are your thoughts on this rumor?”
“Th-That...”
Under Oselt’s cold stare, Creel swallowed dryly.
There’s no avoiding it now, is there?
He had prepared himself ever since hearing the meeting would be moved up. Even so, the words refused to leave his mouth easily.
“The rumor... is true.”
“...What did you just say?”
“It’s true?”
“You mean to tell us—”
The moment those words left Creel’s mouth, the atmosphere inside the conference hall froze over.
Every gaze fixed on him turned sharp and hostile.
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