CHAPTER 135……………………………………………..
“ I remember the question the Marquis asked me when I was in the Loudney region. He asked if I would truly marry Lady Alter.”
“Yes, that’s right. He’s apparently held feelings for Lady Alter for a very long time.”
“But then, why has it taken him so long…?”
The Crown Prince paused mid-sentence, glancing at me absentmindedly.
I suspected he had just remembered that I was once engaged to Sherbert.
“Now all the questions make sense.”
“Your Highness, while the Marquis likes Lady Alter, we don’t know if Lady Alter reciprocates his feelings yet.”
I continued, watching the bitter expression on the Crown Prince’s face.
“That’s why I want to first see if her heart truly belongs to Your Highness. If it doesn’t, persuading Lady Alter should be easier. But if she admires the Crown Prince and dreams of becoming Crown Princess…”
That would be a difficult task.
I reluctantly left the rest unsaid.
And so, we parted ways, agreeing to meet again soon.
By now, the mornings and evenings had grown chilly.
Winter was approaching.
I hadn’t heard from Sherbert, who had gone south to meet Lady Alter.
In the meantime, I received updates through the Debl organization.
[“Lady Goddess, we’ve identified who purchased the Celeron and Memur scents distributed by our organization. They moved so cautiously, but after checking several places, we finally traced the user.”]
Chenler, the head of Debl, had been sending reports like this constantly.
Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked who could be buying these forbidden scents. The reply shocked me.
The user who had purchased them was finally revealed.
‘…The Alter family!’
Impossible.
Why would the name of the Alter family appear here?
I read it again and again. It was indeed the Alter family.
I wondered if Debl had made a mistake, but they were the empire’s top organization. They wouldn’t be wrong.
‘Why are they ordering so much scent every month?’
This was an illegal trade item in the empire.
Yet secretly, the Alter family had been consistently purchasing it.
‘I still don’t understand, no matter how I think about it.’
Then, an official letter arrived through the family.
It was from Inspector Fren.
He had been recognized for solving the Shant Kerace case and had recently been transferred from the north to central south.
But the letter also mentioned another reason for his assignment in the south.
“Are there many strange deaths?”
The letter explained that strange deaths had been increasing in the south.
People would disappear, return after a while, live normally for a few days, and then suddenly collapse and die.
At first, most were thought to be natural deaths.
But as the incidents repeated, an investigation began.
The answer was clear: to see it for oneself.
‘First, I should inform Sherbert.’
I intended to send a letter to Sherbert, who should be near the Alter family in the south, to update him on the situation.
Then, suddenly, my hand froze mid-pen.
It had been a long time without any contact from Sherbert.
I worried something might have happened to him.
‘No, it can’t be… it won’t be…’
Even as I tried to reassure myself, a sense of dread washed over me.
I immediately ran to Ron and the Duke to share everything about Sherbert.
Before, I would have tried to handle everything alone, but not anymore.
With Ron by my side, and with the Kerace Duke and my family around, I vowed not to bear everything alone.
And I wanted at least Ron and the Duke to know.
Both of them looked worried as they listened.
“Still no contact with your brother?”
“Yeah. Not yet.”
Several days had already passed.
The letters I sent had returned twice, as I couldn’t meet Sherbert.
Sherbert’s traces in the southern region had disappeared.
Bang. The Duke slammed his armrest, breaking it instantly.
“Who dares to target the Kerace bloodline!”
Anger radiated from him, and he seemed ready to go search for Sherbert immediately.
Ron managed to calm him, and the Duke took a deep breath and drank his tea in one gulp.
In the now calmer atmosphere, I spoke up.
“I don’t even know if Sherbert has met Lady Alter or not, and it’s frustrating.”
Ron’s dark eyes locked onto mine.
“Ann, let’s go together.”
He then turned to the Duke.
“Duke, Ann and I will go to the southern region. We’ll find Sherbert and also meet Lady Alter.”
The Duke agreed.
He would have opposed it before, but we were no longer children.
Besides, Ron was a Swordmaster, and I an invincible magician—no stronger combination existed.
Still, the Duke looked at me as a father worrying for his daughter.
“Ann, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. Ron can go alone.”
“No. Even if Ron doesn’t go, I have to. I’m the one who first spoke with Sherbert about this.”
Reluctantly, the Duke nodded and gave Ron his earnest instructions.
“Ron, you were the gift I gave Ann on her birthday. Remember?”
“Of course. I swore my life to Ann’s loyalty.”
It was a rare, deeply moving exchange between father and son.
The Duke patted Ron on the shoulder with moist eyes.
Ron returned a calm smile.
I quickly pulled myself away from their touching father-son moment and prepared to move.
We arrived in the southern region.
This journey included Ron, myself, Kautz, and Gurtur.
Before searching for Sherbert, we met Inspector Fren, who had urgently contacted us.
“Long time no see.”
“Yes. I was surprised to receive your letter… strange deaths?”
Fren lowered his hat slightly, then paused, and handed us hats so we could conceal our identities.
“This is Hetron Village, where strange deaths have been happening frequently.”
The ground was muddy from yesterday’s rain.
Villagers watched us warily as we walked.
Ron spoke first.
“They disappeared and returned, then died afterward? Did they show any symptoms when they returned? Were there witnesses?”
Fren lowered his voice.
“All who returned were… like fools. Their eyes were blank, and they could only say simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ They didn’t seem alive at all.”
“Any connection to the Shant Kerace case?”
“No, the witness testimonies make it hard to compare to the northern Shant Kerace case.”
“Why?”
“Most died at home or while walking outside. No attacks, nothing.”
“Ah, so they were assumed natural deaths.”
I frowned while listening to Ron and Fren.
Natural deaths? Impossible.
There must be a connection to the Shant Kerace case.
“Ahhh! Help! Someone, please!”
Suddenly, a scream drew everyone’s attention.
A terrified young man lay on the alley floor.
In front of him, two people stood in a strange posture.
Their limbs hung limply, giving off an unnatural presence.
I sensed a dark aura from them.
“Miss! Don’t go closer! They’re—!”
Before Kautz could stop me, I ran forward.
“Ann!”
I heard Ron rushing behind to grab me.
I stood behind the two strange figures approaching the collapsed youth.
I stretched out my hands to push them away…
“…!”
I froze.
Their eyes were empty, lips cracked and dry, limbs wobbling unnaturally.
It was…
“…like zombies!”
As I shouted, the two figures swayed toward me—and collapsed.
“Ahhh!”
Ron’s strong hands grabbed me, pulling me away from the zombies.
At that moment, I heard the young man on the ground speak.
“Damn it.”
What was that?
Surely, the hollow zombies hadn’t spoken.
I realized belatedly that I was clinging to Ron in a back hug.
His hands gripped my waist.
His chin brushed my head.
His solid chest pressed against my back.
“Ann! Are you okay?”
“…Yes. Thanks, Ron.”
I patted his hands to shake off the shock.
“You… felt frustrated, right?”
“A little.”
Ron finally released me.
Thud.
The two zombies fell to the ground without touching me.
Fren observed them and spoke.
“This is it. The ‘natural deaths’ witnessed by people.”
“They died?”
“Yes. Both stopped breathing.”
“…Haa.”
It was incredible.
Witnessing such strange deaths firsthand… now I understood why Fren said the investigation was difficult.
At that moment, everyone’s attention had been on the zombies.
“That woman… it has to be her.”
The voice came from the young man who had been on the ground.
He had risen and dusted off his clothes, addressing everyone.
“She’s the one who killed the two people who were just fine moments ago.”
