Chapter 192 : Chapter 192
Chapter 192 - The Imperial Envoy
The Youngest Son's bloodshot eyes opened.
“...How long was I asleep.”
To the words he uttered at the same time, Enad replied.
[About 5 days.]
“...That's crazy.”
I forced my creaking body up, which had barely moved for 5 days.
The muscles all over my body were sore, but at least my stomach didn't hurt. It was the same even when I gently rubbed the spot where the dokdan was.
“The poison settled in better than I thought.”
[Better than you thought?]
“I thought in the worst-case scenario, a hole the size of a fingernail might open up.”
Honestly, the pain was that intense. The Head Maid had named it a pain greater than childbirth, and I didn't even want to think about the first two days.
Still, to think I had been lying down for 5 days.
“I should get up now.”
[You're not fully recovered, are you? I still feel like your stomach is squirming.]
“You can feel that too?”
[Vaguely. Don't forget that we share the same body. When you feel pain, I block it on my own.]
“That's quite convenient.”
Muttering, I got out of bed completely. For someone who had been lying down for 5 days, my body was remarkably clean.
“Did someone wash me?”
[The Head Maid did.]
“Right. I thought so.”
First, I was about to change my clothes, but they were also very neat. There wasn't a single wrinkle, as if they had just been washed and well-ironed.
Come to think of it, my nose and throat felt comfortable too. An interior where not a single speck of dust could be found, even with the eyes of a vampire noble.
“The Head Maid must have worked very hard on managing the room. She must have had a tough time.”
[Ask her yourself later.]
Enad shut his mouth after those last words.
Drrrrk—
I opened the outer wall and walked through the Dark Moon Grand Castle. I started with walking because I felt I needed to move my body.
As I did so, the inside of the castle I saw was strangely clean. It was one thing for my room to be clean, but for the entire castle to be like this was hard to accept easily.
The Dark Moon Grand Castle was by no means a size that the Head Maid and the Butler could handle on their own.
“I heard that the request for more personnel from the Butler's Department was put on hold.”
I muttered and searched for a reason, but nothing came to mind.
Still, for now, I continued walking and thinking about other things.
“I need to select an envoy to go to the Imperial Family. The authority is probably mine.”
The faces of several people flashed through my mind.
“First, you and I, Enad, are confirmed.”
[Damn it.]
“The Gatekeeper has to be excluded, and since the Butler is here, I should take the Head Maid. Then, with Kairos and the Forest Witch, that makes about four people.”
The only ones that came to mind right now were the four of us, including myself. If I included the Magic Sword, that made five.
The number five was quite stable, but the Magic Sword didn't have a body, so I needed one more person with a body.
Who would be good?
As I was pondering in my head, something at the end of the hallway caught my eye.
“...A feather?”
An emerald-colored feather was lying at the other end of the hallway. When I went over and picked it up, the feather was bigger than I thought.
The feather, about the size of my palm, seemed to have fallen from a rather large wing.
“There shouldn’t be anything here that would have a feather like this.”
Looking at the shape and color of the feather, I had a few guesses, but none of them were suitable for a human residence.
Rustle—
A presence behind me.
“……”
Drrrrrrrrrk—
Without even looking, I moved the outer wall and the floor to quickly create a one-person prison.
“I wake up to find a new member of the family.”
A stranger, caught by the suddenly raised floor, lowered ceiling, and narrowed outer walls.
“Ah, hello. Youngest Son. It's my first time greeting you.”
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
I asked a fundamental question.
Because the one in front of me was a harpy. A monster called a half-human, half-bird that enjoyed eating meat.
Below its arms were large wings, and looking at their color, it was definitely the owner of the feather. But for a harpy, it spoke as well as a human.
It was clear at a glance that this was no ordinary creature. Even just looking at its attire said as much.
“Seeing as you're wearing a maid's uniform, I can guess why you're here, but were you sent by the Butler's Department?”
“The Family Head sent me.”
“...The Family Head?”
“Yes, yes.”
The harpy, who had been crouched between the walls, squirmed and came out.
“I came here yesterday and was planning to greet you when you woke up, but I didn't expect it to be in this way. Hahat….”
The harpy with the green feathers, who had laughed awkwardly, lowered her body once again in a formal greeting.
“My name is Jephy. I am in charge of the twenty harpies appointed to the Dark Moon Grand Castle's maid corps.”
“So twenty of you came.”
“Yo-you don't have to worry, we will absolutely not cause any problems or anything of the sort.”
“Since the Family Head sent you, I'm not worried. Just seeing your cleaning skills already gives me confidence.”
“Th-thank you!”
Jephy smiled brightly, revealing sharp fangs. It was quite easy to read her, as her wings fluttered according to her mood.
“Then for now, I will call you Head Maid Jephy.”
“Yes!”
Watching the brightly smiling Jephy, I was newly impressed by how amazing Lubosch was for handling not only this castle but also Hexa. But I digress.
“Where is the Head Maid?”
“The Head Maid seems to be in Hexa right now. Kairos also went that way.”
“Conveniently gathered together. Alright. Go about your business.”
“Thank you!”
I returned the feather and moved outside.
The sun of Eclipse was still pitch black, and the lights on the road were as bright as ever. When was the last time I walked down here instead of in the sky?
I couldn't even remember, so it must have been a very long time ago, or never at all.
Looking at it this way, I really had run like a racehorse without looking left or right.
But what could I do. With death chasing me from behind, I had to run for my life.
“I think I've only been here a handful of times.”
I paid for it with my own money, but it was content I had rarely enjoyed.
As I entered, I felt familiar energies from above. Those energies also detected me.
Judging by the clattering sound coming from the stairs over there.
“Master. You're awake.”
“You've completed your Polymorph.”
“Fortunately, yes. Now there's no need to unnecessarily take up space.”
“Are the others upstairs?”
“Yes. The human called the Forest Witch said she completed a new medicine, so I followed Josephine here.”
At the words ‘Forest Witch's new medicine,’ even the Youngest Son's ears twitched.
When I followed Kairos upstairs, everyone was there, just as Jephy had said.
“Youngest Son! You look all better now?”
“There’s no problem with moving.”
“You must have met Head Maid Jephy as well.”
“Yes. I found a feather lying around.”
A brief sense of relief flashed across the eyes looking at the Youngest Son. Among that relief was also the Forest Witch's.
“President. It's been a while. You told me to come to a boring meeting, but I was surprised that only you were missing.”
“I'm sorry for worrying you.”
The Forest Witch, who was in the center of the people, beckoned.
“Come closer. We were just about to get to the main point anyway.”
What the Forest Witch had placed among the people was the Blue Flame potion she had previously shown to the Clone Son.
The difference was that it looked cleaner and purer than before. It seemed she had secretly continued her research.
Since it wasn't surprising anymore, I went closer.
“What public funds did you embezzle this time?”
“...It's research, not embezzlement. Hmph, hmph.”
The Forest Witch, who corrected the Youngest Son's words, introduced the new medicine after a couple of fake coughs.
“The name of the potion is ‘The Second Blue Flame.’”
“If it's the second blue flame, is its effect different from last time?”
“That's right. Last time, it was simply to grant flame resistance and to allow one to imbue their magic with blue flame.”
“I'm using that version of the potion well! Kairos taught me how to better handle the blue flame that I can now control with the potion!”
“Josephine is right.”
“You've all worked hard.”
There had been a lot of progress while I was sleeping. For now, I'll see her new talent another time.
The Forest Witch, receiving the Youngest Son's gaze, continued her introduction.
“The Second Blue Flame focuses most on the characteristic of being able to burn what you want. Depending on how you use this characteristic, its uses really change.”
The Forest Witch's voice, which was comfortable to listen to yet somewhat sleepy, seduced the president as if casting a spell.
Like a presentation to get money from investors, the Forest Witch appealed to its usefulness.
“What the potion needs to take effect is a sample of what you want to burn. And a certain amount of the potion mixed with the sample.”
“If you mean a certain amount.”
“It's exactly the amount in this bottle.”
Wait a minute. If I summarize what she just said.
“So if I put an opponent's hair in the potion and make them drink it, all of their hair will burn off?”
“Yes. They would become bald like that.”
“A fearsome potion indeed.”
That was Kairos's review. However, his assessment was not simply about becoming bald.
“If I put my scales in it and drink it, does that mean all my scales will burn off?”
“Dragons are a different story. The amount of scales is too much, and besides, you're a Fire Dragon.”
The Youngest Son's pale hand picked up the bottle.
“It'll be hot. It's always in a heated state because of the blue flame inside.”
“It doesn't matter to me. How much hair is needed to make someone bald? I don't think one strand would be enough.”
“It's proportional to the amount you want to burn. To make someone bald, about a handful.”
“A handful.”
The way he quietly muttered that unit made everyone watching swallow their saliva.
As if there was someone he absolutely wanted to make bald, his bloodshot eyes stared intently at the bottle.
The Forest Witch pointed at him with her chin and asked.
“Why. Are you trying to make your siblings bald?”
“No. I just used baldness as an example; I'm not actually trying to make someone bald.”
“Right. The Youngest Son isn't that vicious.”
“If you keep embezzling, I might make you drink it someday.”
“……”
"The embezzlement witch's mouth shut on its own. As an added touch, she found herself self-consciously fiddling with her own lush hair."
While everyone was instinctively touching their own hair, the Youngest Son finished his thoughts.
“Josephine. Kairos. Lores. Head Maid. You will go with me to the Imperial Family as an envoy.”
“Me! Me! Why me!”
The Butler raised his hand high and jumped up and down, but at the same time, his horns also went up and down.
The Youngest Son touched the tip of his horn.
“The Imperial Family is currently in turmoil. I'm afraid you might be misunderstood for no reason if you go.”
“Hnng….”
The Butler's head drooped, but he brightened up again quickly.
“Then I'll play with the new birds in the house!”
“Alright. Do as you please. Just don't eat them.”
“Okay!”
The Butler smiled brightly and stepped aside. He may look this young, but he was a deep fellow.
The ones chosen by the Youngest Son as the envoy looked at each other.
Most of the people here knew each other well, but there were definitely some who were meeting for the first time. For Kairos, most of them were.
The dragon, who received the most gazes, blinked its large crimson eyes.
“Should I introduce myself?”
“That's what you do when people don't know you. There's no one here who doesn't know you.”
“An imperial envoy. I'm an envoy.”
“Our objective is to target the critically ill Crown Prince, to separate the Imperial Family from Wisdom as a base, and further, to make them our allies.”
“Why aren't you listening to me.”
“There's no need to go in large numbers; these five, who have received the Family Head's seal, will move in a small group. Field support will be replaced by agents from the Intelligence Department.”
The Youngest Son clapped his hands lightly.
“Forest Witch, prepare at least five of the second blue flames, and we will depart tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
“There will be much to prepare.”
The envoy quickly dispersed to prepare for tomorrow.
“That was fun….”
Only one person, looking particularly gloomy, walked towards the cauldron to make potions.