“Fortunately, knights were patrolling the area, so they rushed to Lord Kalion, and they immediately went to the nearby Wizard Group and informed them that before we arrived. The wizards managed to keep Lord Kalion breathing with healing magic.”
The doctor led Erna into a large room while she talked. The moment they’d entered, the air smelled of blood. Orpé quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hands, unable to withstand the foul smell.
Erna stared blankly at the inside of the room. In the center of the bare room was Kalion lying in a large bed. Each time Kalion’s body moved up and down, the knights next to him gripped his arms. The wizards were drenched in sweat as they continued to summon magic nonstop. On the other side of the bed were doctors desperately pouring something into Kalion’s mouth.
Squirming and shivering, Kalion spat what had been poured into his mouth. The brown liquid sprayed from his mouth and stained the bed sheets.
Unlike Erna, who was distraught at the sight, the doctor said calmly, “Thankfully, Lord Kalion threw most of the poison as soon as he drank it. After coming here, we drugged him so he could vomit even more. Furthermore, we’ve confirmed what kind of poison it is.”
“…what is it?” Erna asked weakly. Her gaze lingered on Kalion still.
“This is a poison used more for inducing pain than killing. So thankfully there is nothing wrong with his nerves… but there was damage to Lord Kalion’s lips and throat. He will recover, but he will be in intense pain during the recovery phase.”
Erna was staring at the healing magic the wizards next to Kalion were making when she immediately summoned magic in the air. Each letter she drew emitted a stronger light than the others. The magic unfolded the moment Erna put her hands down. When the golden light covered Kalion’s body, his jerking stopped. The doctors held on to Kalion again.
Erna wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. Using magic in large quantities drained strength from her body. However, she was less concerned about her own body. Knowing that Kalion’s pain had been reduced comforted her a little.
“What about Adelaide?” Erna asked. This time, she faced the doctor.
“Princess Adelaide is currently in custody at a room in the knights’ building now.”
“Drag her in here.”
Instantly, the knights felt Erna’s anger and left the room like a lightning bolt.
Erna approached Kalion. She could see that the sheets were completely bloodstained. She stared blankly at him as though she was asking why such a horrible thing happened to him.
Noticing this, the doctor answered instead, “It’s because the poison he swallowed causes pain. As nothing good comes from it touching his skin, we have to get rid of it as soon as possible.”
At that, Erna understood why the servants constantly changed the sheets and wiped Kalion, who shook away the doctors’ hands when they tried to open his mouth.
“From now we have a problem. We cannot completely cure him through magic. Eventually, we have to use medicine on the poison that has spread in his body… because Lord Kalion keeps rejecting what we put into his mouth.”
Erna could guess why. While spending time with Kalion, there had been times when he talked about his past. Of course, neither of them had much good in their childhood memories, so there were no long stories. But Kalion had told her about a time he ingested poison when he was a child. He’d said that from then on, he couldn’t swallow anything—which was why he had looked like on the verge of death when he first came to Hessenguard. Kalion had said that he thought he would die from merely swallowing.
Erna gritted her teeth. She thought about what the doctor had said. This is a poison used more for inducing pain than killing. The one after Kalion was obviously someone who knew his childhood; someone of ill will to make him recall the same pain he had felt as a child.
Erna was looking up at the ceiling when she called Orpé’s name.
“Orpé.”
“Yes!”
Erna summoned magic in the air. Without disappearing, it floated to Orpé’s side and flew away.
“Open the drawer of the desk in the main building and bring me all of the shards of the Piece of the Sea. It will open if you bring that.”
“…huh? Yes, madam!”
Orpé grabbed with both hands, as if catching a butterfly, the magic lettering floating in mid-air before bolting out.
Erna stood in the center of the room as Orpé left, then she started summoning magic circles. The wizards standing next to Kalion’s bed suddenly became curious about what she was summoning.
So, they stared attentively at her, and one by one, their faces froze.
What Erna was summoning wasn’t the magic she normally used. The sum of the letters that were appearing in a frenzy had already surpassed one hundred.
The wizards recalled the magic Erna had summoned in the lake region before. What she was summoning now was obviously… magic greater than then. Realizing that, one of the wizards gasped with her eyes wide open.
“You can’t! You can’t!”