Chapter 135
At her question, Piony showed an embarrassed expression.
“Yes, remember when my brother took charge of the incident at the Subjugation Festival? But then, by His Majesty’s order, the authority over the investigation was handed to the Magic Tower. He came by to explain that.”
“I see.”
Piony fell silent, glancing cautiously at Eila’s face, worried she might be disappointed.
But Eila, unexpectedly, remained calm. Rather, as though she had already foreseen it, she quietly nodded.
After hesitating a little, Piony added,
“He seemed really sorry. He said it weighed on him that he couldn’t take responsibility and apologized several times.”
“It’s fine. I expected as much.”
“Right, you said before you didn’t put any expectations on me either….”
Eila only lifted her shoulders lightly in response.
This wasn’t about trusting or distrusting Darian—she simply knew Rosia’s backers were still strong, so she had reached this conclusion.
But she couldn’t explain those deeper reasons to Piony, so she kept silent.
Still, Darian came to apologize several times? That’s surprising.
The Darian she knew in the past had been a man who could ruthlessly discard even his lover.
For him to care this much about the business of juniors from the academy?
Or maybe it’s precisely because we’re not close that he bothers?
Back then, when she lost her usefulness, she was cast aside. Now, perhaps he still saw potential value in her.
Of course, the day he would realize how wrong that assumption was wasn’t far off.
And when that happened, he would surely revert to his behavior from the original story.
“So, how is the investigation progressing? If the Tower took over, why haven’t they summoned me even once?”
“Well… the Tower doesn’t seem interested at all. They even rejected the demon corpse you insisted we preserve as evidence, saying they didn’t need it.”
Eila let out a short sigh. She hadn’t expected much, but she hadn’t thought they would blatantly drop it like this.
“Still, my brother seemed genuinely sorry. He said he’d share everything that had been done so far and hand over the evidence.”
“His Highness Darian still kept it all this time?”
“Yes. It seems this matter weighed heavily on him.”
At Piony’s words, Eila’s expression hardened.
Preserving the corpse of a magical creature required both effort and considerable expense.
And yet Darian had gone so far as to bear such a burden for their sake?
What is this? Were his apologies actually sincere?
Because she hadn’t expected anything, the thought left her shaken.
The Darian she knew was nothing more than the Empress’s puppet. And the Empress was not the type of woman who would let her son waste time on such trivialities.
Could this be another distortion caused by the story changing? But even if fate changes, can a person’s nature truly change?
Her mind grew tangled, but soon she shook her head.
No matter what, the truth of who he was wouldn’t change.
She still couldn’t forget how, after achieving his goal, he pretended not to know her and married Freya.
And he was also the very man implicated in poisoning his own sister, Piony.
Eila vowed never to be deceived by him again.
“…I see. That’s… kind of him, then.”
Forcing a smile, she looked at Piony.
Though she doubted him, there was no reason to reject goodwill outright.
Still, Piony looked as though something was left unsaid. She hesitated.
“But, Eila…”
“Yes?”
Piony opened her lips, then shook her head.
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
Eila silently studied her.
Despite her words, Piony’s expression looked deeply conflicted.
A chilling thought crossed Eila’s mind.
Don’t tell me…
She recalled how Piony had passed on Darian’s words just now, almost as if defending him too much.
Could Piony have been swayed by his supposed kindness?
Eila immediately gripped her shoulders and spoke firmly.
“Piony, you know, right? His Highness Darian is not someone you can ever trust.”
Piony’s eyes wavered under her resolute gaze. Soon, she lowered her head and nodded quietly.
“Y-yes, I know.”
“You must never let yourself be swayed. He’s the one who tried to hurt you.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Only after making Piony promise several times did Eila finally feel some relief.
The carriage jolted harshly as it climbed the dirt road.
As they drew closer to their destination, the ride grew rougher. Piony leaned out of the window to take deep breaths, her stomach unsettled.
Meanwhile, Yuria sat with her hands tightly clasped, eyes fixed on her fingers.
Seeing her tension, Eila spoke gently.
“It’ll be fine, Yuria. I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”
Yuria nodded slowly, though her face remained stiff.
“But something feels wrong. I raised them exactly as instructed, yet the plants keep withering…”
“We’ll see for ourselves. Once we know the cause, we can fix it quickly.”
“…Yes.”
Even so, her unease was plain to see. Eila understood her feelings.
This is a matter of life and death for Yuria, too.
After leaving Flor Cosmetics, Yuria had launched a massive lawsuit against Jordic.
Such lawsuits usually dragged on for years, draining enormous sums of money.
Yuria wanted to make Jordic pay with her own hands, so she had staked everything on the success of this cosmetics venture.
Failure to secure materials was simply not an option.
Soon, the carriage slowed and came to a stop. The three women pulled their cloaks tighter and stepped down.
Lujen, the domain’s steward, was already waiting for them and greeted them warmly.
“Welcome.”
Piony went straight to the point.
“How are the Momon herbs faring?”
With a grim look, Lujen answered,
“…The same. No—perhaps worse.”
“I see. We’ll have to determine the cause. Please take us to the cultivation field at once.”
He nodded and guided them to the plot where the Momon herbs grew.
The sight that greeted them made Yuria’s face go pale.
Eila, too, let out a quiet sigh.
“There’s not a single healthy plant left.”
“…Let me take a closer look.”
Yuria knelt, carefully inspecting the herbs one by one.
After some time, she rose, prompting Eila and Piony to question her at once.
“What caused this?”
“Do you have any idea?”
Yuria shook her head with a bitter look.
“No. I can’t figure it out at all.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a long instrument and checked its gauge carefully.
“How strange. The mana levels are definitely low, but…”
Curious about the unfamiliar device, Piony tilted her head.
“What is that?”
“A mana meter. Momon herbs thrive in environments where mana is scarce.”
Hearing the unusual condition, Piony’s eyes widened.
“Ah… so that’s why you said we needed to buy this land.”
Indeed, when Eila had insisted on purchasing land in the Falun region, Piony had been puzzled.
The area was barren due to its lack of mana, so nearly worthless—land that could be bought for almost nothing.
And yet, it turns out to be the perfect condition for Momon herbs. Incredible.
As Piony marveled inwardly, Eila turned to Yuria, thoughtful.
“To grow Momon herbs well, are there any other conditions?”
Yuria paused to think, then nodded.
“Yes. Otherwise, they’re like normal plants. They just need plenty of sunlight and the right amount of water.”
