Chapter 83
Why is this scent here…? (2)
“Hmm.”
“Meow.”
Louis, having exited the temple, scooped Soda—who was wandering at his feet—back into his arms.
“Meow.”
Soda’s playful eyes seemed to ask why, and Louis let out a troubled sigh.
“This doesn’t feel right, Ethan.”
‘…Currently, the supply of the special ointment’s ingredients is entirely handled by the Eragost family. But the timing of the supply change is different from what I knew. It wasn’t 10 years ago—it was much earlier. This is the first I’ve learned of this.’
‘And here—it seems that from that point onward, the ointment supplied to the Wires family was managed separately. That’s a considerable amount, even considering the prestige of a marquis house.’
‘As you know, the temple avoids biased distribution, doesn’t it? Hm… there’s no way other nobles would quietly allow this.’
Recalling the words of the young priest, a faint crease formed between Louis’s brows.
Sensing his worry, Soda rubbed his head against Louis’s palm as if to comfort him.
“Are you worried about this old man?”
“Meoww~.”
Soda nodded, his bright blue eyes sparkling.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Ethan. This old man is fine. But… if the Eragost Marquis is involved, this won’t be easy. Heh heh.”
Louis suddenly remembered the black cargo wagon he had seen at the entrance of the courtyard.
Judging by the guards accompanying it, the contents were undoubtedly valuable. And as he suspected, it was likely poisonous herbs developed by Genoir—magic herbs.
‘Should I have checked it personally?’
Louis let out a quiet sigh at the missed opportunity. Just then, Soda tapped his arm with a jelly-like paw.
“Meow?!”
“You want me to leave it to you? Heh heh heh. Ethan, all you need to do is focus on your duty. Protect the young lady as you are now.”
“Prrr. Meow!”
Soda turned his head in apparent displeasure.
Louis stroked the gray fur of the sulking Soda and smiled gently.
“You’re a cute one. But things are going to get difficult from now on. The burden on our side will only grow.”
A deep shadow fell across Louis’s face as he looked back at the temple.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Aster lightly tapped the blue ointment jar against the desk.
“…20 years ago?”
“That’s right. The supply source changed a full 10 years earlier than publicly known.”
“20 years ago… that would be when the previous Marquis Wires was still alive.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
Aster frowned. His inquiry into the special ointment was relatively recent, prompted by recalling the time he was slapped by Elusiana and the past use of the ointment.
The ointment he used 10 years ago contained ‘paralytic poison.’ Even in small amounts, repeated use could be fatal.
The ointment recently used was leftover from that batch, so it wasn’t a misunderstanding.
Elusiana had been using this ointment since childhood, and the time she began to fall ill coincided suspiciously with the change in supply. He had wanted to investigate in more detail.
But the supply source had changed not 10, but 20 years ago.
Rrrr… rrrr…
Aster rolled the blue jar across the desk, murmuring under his breath.
“That doctor back then… wasn’t going to let it go.”
The doctor had diagnosed him as fine, even though his entire body was stiff.
The next day, the doctor hurried back to his hometown—clearly hiding something.
But at that time, Aster had been lulled by the warm daily life of the Wires family and soon forgot his doubts. And when he recently revisited,
‘They said he’d been dead for a long time.’
It was likely that the person who ordered the action had eliminated the evidence. Which made it even harder to understand. Someone meticulous enough to invest 20 years just to kill one person?
‘What benefit could there be from killing Lucy?’
Aster shook his head. Then Louis, who had remained silent until now, spoke.
“20 years ago coincides with the sudden worsening of the previous Marquis Wires’s illness.”
“The previous marquis?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Records show that at that time, the Wires family purchased a large amount of ointment.”
“So you mean the previous marquis’s death could be related to this special ointment?”
“We can’t completely rule it out.”
Aster gripped the blue jar tightly.
He didn’t know much about the previous Marquis Wires. This had been before he sought refuge with the Sestain Duke family, and even then he had been confined for a long time.
He had heard, however, that a strong marquis suddenly fell ill and died.
But perhaps that sudden illness wasn’t natural…
“If that’s true, it’s no simple matter.”
“And…”
“And what else is left?”
Aster frowned in annoyance.
“It seems the marquis’s wife also consistently used the temple’s ointment.”
“So she didn’t die from childbirth complications.”
A dark, heated intensity spread through Aster’s gaze as he murmured.
“Further investigation is needed, but circumstantially, it’s clear that the Eragost family was involved in the fall of the Wires family.”
Aster’s frown deepened as if to scold Louis for stating what he already knew.
“Therefore, you must be careful.”
Louis looked Aster straight in the eye.
“The Wires family was wiped out, and their presence erased almost completely. Today, hardly anyone remembers their once-great power. And this all happened in just ten years. Do you understand what this implies?”
“The nobles must have united, I suppose.”
“Not just the nobles—you should consider the temple’s involvement. They must have allowed the supply of so much special ointment to the Wires family. This relationship is highly suspicious. And as a precaution, you might also want to investigate the current Marquis Wires.”
“What do you mean?”
“I previously thought the current Marquis Wires’s eccentricities were due to the shock of two successive deaths and the young lady’s illness. But if all these events stem from a single root, his excessive donations and sponsorships seem highly suspicious. A Wires Marquis known for family devotion would never deliberately bring misfortune upon the young lady.”
“So if their goal was the fall of the Wires family, they wouldn’t leave the current marquis alone. Is that what you mean?”
Louis nodded.
“Hah… this keeps getting more complicated.”
Aster had poked at something minor, only to catch an unexpected big result. The outcome wasn’t entirely bad, but it was certainly frustrating.
‘I wish I could just kill every last one of them.’
Yet if he acted rashly, there was no way to predict the danger to Elusiana.
“And—”
Louis added more, as if there was still something left unsaid. Aster, already frustrated, glared at him without hiding his grim expression.
“And what now?”
Louis paused for a moment, then answered.
“It seems the source of the ingredients supplied to the temple… is… First Prince.”
“Genoir?”
At the sudden name, Aster’s face twisted in anger. So the familiar scent of the ointment was his handiwork.
“Ha… unbelievable.”
Aster roughly wiped his face. He thought there couldn’t be more, but there was still something shocking left.
“Khk… khk.”
A bitter laugh slipped from his mouth. After carefully clearing the rough path, some lunatic came along and threw ashes over it.
“My brother was like this before, and even now… utterly hopeless. He’s so anxious that he can’t interfere with his younger sibling’s path.”
Even sharing the same surname felt humiliating.
Golden rings encircled his red eyes, which flickered with a terrifying light.
“Should I just kill him?”
“No.”
“No, no. He only ever says ‘no.’ Not like before.”
Two years ago, Louis appeared before him.
He promised that if Aster became the head of the Sestain Duke family, he could have whatever he wanted.
What he desired most was simple:
To spend a lifetime with Elusiana.
For that, he needed a solid fence of protection.
At the time, Louis’s words were like a devilish temptation—sweet. Being briefly separated from her annoyed him, but he believed they would reunite soon.
He never imagined it would take two full years.
Aster had already reached his limit.
Each day, every hour, every second was a precarious balancing act.
Having waited all this time, could he not endure a little longer?
Nonsense.
That’s why it was unbearable.
To face her daily while privately dwelling on old memories was torture.
To act indifferent when she was within reach—how pitiful he felt.
Every moment, every day, he realized this.
But—
“There’s no end.”
These shameless forces that test his patience appeared endlessly.
First, clearing out the debt-ridden Marquis Milan and taking over the loan business.
Then, fending off a meddlesome nobleman, only for him to insist on dying instead. And a moth-like fool scheming to possess him, alongside the head of some noble faction whose origins were now entangled.
Wave after wave, with no end in sight.
And yet… should he endure it all?
