Chapter 45
Elena, who had briefly waited for Erika to greet Diana, gestured to Roil and Erika. The three of them quietly entered the adjoining room connected to Diana’s bedroom and locked the door.
“Poison.”
“Poison, huh?”
“Poison, right?”
Roil, Elena, and Erika spoke in unison.
“Aunt’s face is dark, her nails… there’s no other way to put it, it’s definitely poison.”
“Blood was coming from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The doctor will examine her soon and confirm the cause of death, but anyone could see it’s poison.”
Erika and Roil each added a word.
Elena unleashed the anger she had been suppressing in front of Gloria.
“I’ll find whoever did this and shove their guts into their mouth.”
It was a fierce, uncharacteristic remark from Elena, but no one stopped her. Roil, of course, agreed, and even Erika nodded in approval.
“Was it that child, Lirin, before?”
Erika asked.
“No, it can’t be. That child still has a watcher assigned.”
Roil shook his head.
Silf and Nesh, perhaps aware of the tense atmosphere, quietly observed from a corner. Seeing Nesh calm while their own hearts trembled with anger, Elena remembered something she had almost forgotten.
“We need to prepare the funeral.”
When they called Carzel’s butler, Benner, he had already prepared letters to the Emperor, the nobles, and even to Edelheim.
“When can the funeral start? It’ll take ages to send a letter to His Majesty, get approval, and have the spirit mage come here.”
Erika said as she calculated the time.
Noble funerals were conducted by spirit mages in Edelheim. In a world where gods were not believed in, the spirit mages offered blessings for the deceased’s return to nature.
To have a spirit mage preside over a noble funeral, the Emperor’s approval was required. And sending a “Request for Spirit Mage to Conduct Funeral” from a distant border to the Emperor could take several days.
“But I’m here. I’m His Majesty’s granddaughter. Nesh can go. We can reach His Majesty’s bedroom or dining room directly.”
Elena said as if it were no problem at all.
“Faster than the regular messenger too.”
Roil added.
Elena sat at the table, took out a sheet of paper, and wrote a note with swift, confident strokes of her pen.
Grandfather!
I hope you are doing well.
Thank you for the sable fur and brooch you sent! I decided to make the sable fur into a scarf. I’m looking forward to making a beautiful scarf.
But grandfather, I have a favor to ask. The mother of my best friend and my mother’s close friend, Countess Diana Carzel, has passed away. The funeral will be held at the Carzel residence. Please send a spirit mage.
There is no one in Edelheim using Nesh’s special potion. Since Nesh has no one to deliver letters there, I am giving all letters to you to deliver to Edelheim as well. Please ensure they are delivered.
I will come to see you soon.
—With love and respect,
Elena Quinter
Once Elena finished the note, she attached two letters and the note to Nesh’s neck.
“Wow… You’re probably the only one in the empire who can use the Emperor as a messenger. Is this really okay?”
Erika, who had been watching Elena write, said.
“It’s urgent. I’ll do nice things next time.”
Elena picked up her pen again.
“Should we send one to Serel, Lian, and Santuke too? Nesh can stop by them after visiting the palace; it’ll be faster than sending a messenger.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Erika nodded. Elena took out three more sheets and quickly wrote the notes.
“Nesh, go to His Majesty as fast as possible. On your way back, stop by Serel, Adrian, and Santuke to give them each one. Understood? His Majesty, Serel, Adrian, Santuke.”
As she attached the notes to Nesh’s neck, she repeated the recipients once more. Nesh meowed in acknowledgment and immediately flew out the window at high speed.
Elena, closing the window, suddenly exclaimed:
“Ah! Why didn’t I think of this before? Erika is a spirit mage too!”
Startled by Elena’s sudden words, Roil and Erika looked at her.
Roil understood Elena’s meaning first and urgently called Erika.
“Erika, help me.”
Erika glanced between the two of them for a moment, then realized what Elena meant.
“Oh, you’re right! I’m a spirit mage! We don’t need to wait for a spirit mage from Edelheim!”
Elena grabbed her arm and asked:
“Erika, do you know how to read the memory of a place?”
“Read the memory of a place?”
Roil asked.
“You know when Sir Walter came before and did it with Benner? Asking the spirits about what happened at that place.”
“Oh, that. Is there a special way to do it? I couldn’t see how Sir Walter did it then. Erika, can you do it?”
Roil’s eyes were filled with anticipation as he awaited Erika’s answer.
“I’ve read about it in books, but I’ve never actually tried it. Isn’t it just asking around while walking? I’d need to run around with Silf, I think.”
Erika’s uncertain voice was followed by her suddenly standing up.
“We have to at least try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll have to pray a spirit mage from Edelheim comes quickly.”
Erika called Silf, who had been quietly watching from a corner.
“Silf, come here.”
Silf flew over. Erika stroked its hair with her finger and asked Roil:
“Where did aunt collapse?”
“On the stairs leading to the second floor.”
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s go.”
The three quickly left the room, Silf flying above Elena’s head.
“Silf, read the memory here.”
Stopping halfway up the stairs to the second floor, Erika spoke to Silf. Silf flew to the railing, peeking around a post as if speaking to someone unseen.
Though Elena and Roil only saw Erika’s Silf, it seemed to be communicating with another unseen Silf.
“She stumbled while going up and fell?”
Erika muttered to herself.
“Is there another spirit here?”
“Can you hear? Can you hear it?”
Roil and Elena focused on Erika.
“Yes, I can hear it. Right now Silf is talking with another Silf that stayed around these stairs.”
Erika glanced between Elena and Roil. Then she crouched down near the spirits.
While Erika listened to their conversation, Elena whispered to Roil:
“You said you didn’t have many spirits at home. Must’ve come from somewhere else. Good thing.”
“Yeah, it’s lucky we didn’t start with nothing.”
With that, Roil fell silent.
The conversation ended quickly. Erika’s Silf seemed to ask the other Silf a lot of questions, but gained little information.
“The lady living here stumbled up the stairs, vomited blood, tried to call someone, and collapsed. Shortly after, an old man with white hair found her and took her away. That’s all my Silf knows.”
“We need to go down to the first floor and read more memories.”
Elena sighed quietly. Roil quickly descended the stairs, followed by Elena and Erika clutching their long skirts.
Diana had apparently been supervising the maids on the first floor until just before she died. Following Erika’s guidance, the children traced Diana’s path on the first floor. Roil’s expression darkened with each step.
Impatient Elena couldn’t wait for Erika to relay the conversation. She tried to sense the other spirit speaking with Silf and focused on the surroundings, but gained little.
Erika, frustrated leaving the questioning to her Silf alone, began asking spirits herself.
Through several spirits, they finally reached Diana’s greenhouse.
“Are there spirits here too?”
Erika nodded and approached the table in the greenhouse, the same table where she and her friends would gather during irregular Pollet visits.
As Erika stepped forward, Elena and Roil followed. Silf flew ahead, dancing over the table as if interacting with an invisible presence.
‘Huh?’
Elena stopped as she approached the table.
“Why?”
Roil, walking beside her, noticed she was missing and looked back.
“No, let’s go.”
Elena rubbed her eyes and nudged Roil toward the table.
She doubted her own eyes. Across from Silf on the table, she thought she could see faint, transparent forms. The air seemed to ripple, dancing along with Silf’s movements.
‘What… is that?’
She squinted, trying to get a clearer look, but the air’s ripples teased her, appearing and disappearing.
Erika, seated at the table, gestured to the Silf. Elena and Roil sat beside her. Silf landed on the table, grasping the air’s ripples.
‘Could that be a spirit?’
Looking closer, the ripples’ size and faint shape resembled Erika’s Silf.
“Silf, were you here this morning?”
Erika repeated her previous question to the other spirits.
Elena focused all her senses on the faint ripples. Though visible only occasionally, the presence was undeniable. Yet Silf’s voice remained unheard.
“It was here. Since when?”
Erika relayed the response and asked Silf again.
“What!”
Erika suddenly exclaimed, startling Elena and Roil.
“Why? Why?”
“The spirit hadn’t been in the greenhouse all the time. It stayed near the lady for several days. A few days ago, it found the woman wearing the most splendid clothes in the mansion, liked her energy, and stayed nearby. After she died, it returned to the greenhouse.”
“The lady wearing the mansion’s most splendid clothes… must be Aunt.”
“Could only be Mother.”
Roil’s eyes flashed with renewed determination as he watched.
