Chapter 22

 

 

 

Chapter 22

 

SEVERAL hours after galloping from the orphanage, Vigo dismounted his horse and tied the reins to the tree he sat under. From under his shirt he pulled out an amber crystal the size of his palm and held it over his head. A second later it emitted a faint glow and reflected the mirror image of a person within its swirling depths. Luscious locks of long, deep-green hair swayed in the liquid tendrils. Hearing Vigo’s summons, Rifaenotis turned around from the herb shelf in his office and ambled over to the crystal.

“Oh, Vigo, my boy. What’s wrong, hon?”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“What’s the meaning of what? Can you fill me in before you snap at me?”

Vigo stroked his stubble and sighed. “Who is the girl? What is she?”

The smile reflected in the crystal gave way to a serious glint. “Might I ask…what you are referring to?”

“Don’t pull your evasive tactics on me. A child at the orphanage was infected with the Ten Day Fever. Her condition was beyond hope. She was on the verge of death. Then the girl you stuck me with came in, took the dying child’s hand, and glowed.”

Even through the less than perfect image in the crystal, Vigo saw Rifaenotis’ eyes widen.

“Immediately after—and I mean immediately—the sick child made a complete recovery. The pocks, the pustules, the scarring, the fever—all of it healed. Side effects that usually take days to weeks to heal, recovered in an instant. I can only think your girl had something to do with this. There’s no other explanation for it.”

“…I see,” Rifaenotis nodded, his momentary surprise replaced with acceptance.

“You know something about this, don’t you? I had to bring her along with me because it was your request. Spit out the truth already.”

“You’re the one who happily consented to it, Vigo dear… I didn’t know Yuki possessed such a power either.”

I don’t remember happily consenting to bringing her.

For all he denied knowing about her power, Rifaenotis appeared spitefully calm on the other side of the amber crystal.

“But…I must admit…I’m not surprised,” Rifaenotis confessed mysteriously.

“What are you talking about?”

“I haven’t questioned Yuki about it too much either. This is all just speculation on my half, but…” Rifaenotis trailed off, using that as the preface for the bomb he dropped next, “Yuki is most likely Lord Cahn’s daughter…and Lord Cahn is no longer with us.”

Vigo gaped. “Huh?! Wh-Why didn’t you say anything about something so important?!”

Intense regret assaulted Vigo for allowing Yuki into a room with a patient stricken with the highly contagious Ten Day Fever. Gooseflesh prickled across his skin as thoughts of Yuki contracting the fever flitted across his mind.

“Because you suck at telling lies, Vigo. Just stare into those innocent, round eyes for a second and you’ll spill your guts to her,” Rifaenotis jested. “Yuki doesn’t seem to know anything about who she really is.”

Vigo heaved a loud sigh. “…How could you tell she’s Lord Cahn’s daughter? Her eyes are black.”

“You could say it’s the intuition of a humble vassal.”

Vigo glared at him. “Don’t screw around! That’s not enough to claim she’s his daught—”

“‘If you trust them first, they will come to trust you.’ She said that was a key point in her father’s teaching.” Rifaenotis’ reflection in the crystal quivered with his snicker. “Hence why she quickly got attached to you, Selena, and me… She trusts us so easily...”

The flames of anger swirling inside Vigo were doused by those words.

It’s been a long time since I last heard those naïve words.

Hearing the saying his Sovereign shared on a regular basis filled Vigo with curiosity. He couldn’t fathom anyone other than his Sovereign spewing such naïve words with conviction.

Is that the basis for his hypothesis? Strangely enough, that specific saying worked in convincing Vigo as well.

“I wasn’t sure if she was his biological daughter, but after hearing what you said, the pieces come together.”

“…What pieces?”

“You see, Yuki was with the Rose Witch before she met me,” Rifaenotis divulged in a whisper, as if their voices could be picked up by someone else.

“Huh? The Rose Witch? You talking about that Witch? How? She was—”

“Yes, she was executed by Maruk just recently. Or so the official word says. But Yuki said the Witch is still alive and well. The execution never even took place according to her,” Rifaenotis disclosed with a broad smirk. “Do you know what this means? To put it short and sweet, someone pretended to be the Rose Witch. Or they were propped up in place of the Rose Witch and executed. At least that’s the illusion cast on the world. But here’s the cincher—why were they confused with the Rose Witch in the first place? Her looks aren’t common, you know?”

Remarkably, Vigo picked up on what Rifaenotis was implying for once.

“And Yuki has been in direct contact with the Rose Witch.”

The Rose Witch—the Witch with violet eyes, also known as the Legendary Witch, famous for appearing in front of people on a whim and playing tricks on them by altering their form and appearance.

“…Yuki’s eyes were violet, so the Rose Witch came for her when she was about to be executed in her place. Is this what you’re getting at?” Vigo summarized.

“That’s what I thought, but…”

Things wouldn’t make sense any other way. She’s Lord Cahn’s daughter and is awakening to some sort of power, which undoubtedly comes from the royal bloodline.

“Yuki doesn’t know anything. Moreover, she said she’s going to Adolunde. You know how I can’t refuse anything Lord Cahn wants, right?”

“Your weakness applies to his daughter as well?”

“Naturally.”

“Poor you.”

“Anyway, let Yuki do what she wants. And if anything happens, help her out. Also, she doesn’t know her own status, so don’t flaunt unnecessary formalities with her.”

It’s back—Rifaenotis’ coddling and overindulging habits. Those caretaker-like habits brought a wave of nostalgia. Vigo’s cheeks eased into an unintentional smile.

“Sure. I’ll help her the best I can within my limits.”

“I’m counting on you to care for her. Especially when she often fails to care for herself. I’m going to progress preparations on my side in the meantime.”

“Preparations? What for?”

A frosty smile touched Rifaenotis’ lips. Vigo knew that smile was the cue not to ask. “Something for you to look forward to in the future, dearie. For now, travel around Rvydom curing people of their Ten Day Fever.”

“Fine, fine.”

The muffled sound of someone calling Rifaenotis’ name from somewhere inside the house on the other side of the crystal reached Vigo’s ears.

“I’m on my way, sweetie. Vigo, I have something to inform you of as well.”

“What now?”

“Lord Galian escaped Cele Prison Tower. He’s yet to be found.”

Those words took Vigo off guard. Galian was Cahn’s violet Knight and a man possessing physical strength on par with Cahn himself. But rumor had it he was captured during the war and imprisoned somewhere. Why would he dare an escape now—after Cahn was gone?

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know the particulars either. Which is why I’m warning you to be on guard.”

Est’s voice calling for Rifaenotis grew louder from the crystal.

“I’ve told you what you wanted to know. Keep Yuki safe and happy,” Rifaenotis instructed and the light went out from the amber crystal.

He told me so much I’m getting a headache trying to organize it. Vigo put his fingertips to his temples and sighed.

“Damn Rifaenotis. He’s entrusted me with an absurd package,” he cursed Rifaenotis and wearily mounted his horse. “Lord Cahn’s daughter? That optimistic, carefree girl?”

Once he mentioned it, her optimism and cheerfulness were a mirror image of her father. Another sigh made its way from Vigo.

“Fret as you may, things will take their own course, huh?” he muttered and kicked his horse into a gallop.

***

A sudden signal had come. A transmission for anyone nearby—it didn’t matter who as long as they could help. The crystal illuminated in the unforgiving hours of night with only letters and no image, saying, “A girl here has contracted the Ten Day Fever. Someone help her.”

A very simple and unadorned message. The abnormality of how it was sent and the uncharacteristically messy letters made it questionable as a message sent by a Mage. When Vigo replied asking where the girl was, the answer revealed they weren’t too far from the orphanage. Very close considering the distance between the orphanage and Rvydom’s capital city. If they were located in a settlement somewhere, there should have been a doctor in the vicinity yet they chose to send out a message only Mages could pick up on—there had to be more behind their plea.

Vigo’s suspicions were proved correct when he arrived at the destination relayed through the crystal.

The rendezvous location was a far too dilapidated building to even call it the house it once was. The miserable, decaying wooden frame looked like an unstable shack now. Whoever he was meeting had chosen to reside in one of the burned down villages; one of the many casualties of war. The settlement built in the ashes of a once vibrant village was as still as death. The sound of hooves brought several men out of the woodwork to stand guard outside with leery faces.

“Are you the doctor?” one of them asked him warily.

“Yeah. Where’s the patient?” Vigo dismounted his horse and handed the reins over to one of the scrappy men.

“This way,” another man said, raising his hand.

Vigo surveyed the area as he walked through the center of the rundown village. Every person he saw was a burly, muscled man that could have made up a mercenary band, bringing a frown to his face. No women or children were in sight.

…What’s going on here?

A village wiped out by the war had become the base of action for nothing but war-hardened men. The men guiding him stopped in front of the building at the innermost section of town—the old mayor’s house.

“This is the place.”

“Is the patient the only one inside?” Vigo inquired, searching to see if there were any other possible infected around.

The man shook his head. “No. Several bonded Knights are inside as well.”

Bonded Knights. Even if they contracted the illness, it wouldn’t mutate much beyond a common cold.

“You have my gratitude for showing the way. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Please help Lady Tita,” the guide said with a bow and returned to the village.

Lady Tita? …A noblewoman? Why’s a noblewoman in a makeshift settlement? Vigo pondered as he placed his hand on the peeling door. He sharply inhaled at the person he saw when he opened the door.

“I take it you’re our doctor?”

Inside was a man in his prime and a young man with darkly tanned skin. And beside them stood the very person Rifaenotis had just warned him about. However, the appearance of the man before him drastically clashed with the person in his memories. Although he had lost a lot of weight and aged dramatically, the sharp glint in his eyes was as bright as ever.

…Lord Galian…

Vigo nearly dropped his medical bag.