Episode 59. Elixir
Goblin spewed a string of thick curses as he entered the count’s chambers.
Dominique furrowed his brow.
He had always been a servant with a notoriously filthy mouth, but there was something twisted about Goblin now, as if his very mind had warped.
“How did the mission go?”
The count asked without the slightest regard for Goblin’s mood.
“I carried it out. But I couldn’t confirm whether they lived or died. The younger one, the mage, was quite quick on the uptake. She seemed to hurl herself out the window immediately.”
Seeing the count’s expression crumple instantly, Goblin quickly added.
“Don’t you worry. If they so much as inhaled a single sip, their lives are forfeit. It’s a lethal poison that can fell even a monster in one breath. I guarantee that.”
Count Silleo folded his arms, tapping his fingers as he organized Goblin’s report in his head.
“One more thing. The young mage who serves as the princess’s escort.”
Dominique’s head turned toward Goblin.
“I ran into the one who made your loyal knight end up like this.”
“You met Binaeril Dalhaim?”
Dominique asked, his ears perking up.
“Was that his name? Anyway, the bastard attacked me out of nowhere, so I barely got away.”
Goblin’s bloodshot eyes and torn garments were proof of that.
Dominique sneered at the sight of him.
“You got beaten by him.”
“…The guards were swarming in, and my mission was the princess’s assassination from the start, not starting some massive brawl.”
“Do you think that sounds convincing, looking like that?”
“Hey, knight sir. Why so disagreeable? Does mocking me restore the pride that got crushed by that brat? If we’d fought properly, he’d be dead by my hand.”
Count Victor, who had been listening, shouted in anger.
“Hey, Goblin. So what you’re saying is, not only do you not know whether the two princesses are alive or dead, but your identity was also discovered by the princess’s escort, is that it?”
Goblin scowled as he answered.
“Geez, you’re uptight. Did you hear my words through my backside? The two princesses are dead anyway. The little brat of an escort is no big deal.”
“Silence! Impudent wretch. I make the judgments. You weren’t discovered as the one who ordered the assassination, were you?”
At those words, Goblin was visibly stung.
But he forced his expression to remain indifferent and spoke gruffly.
“You’re no prophet, so how would you know? Don’t worry. Nothing will happen that harms the money-bag lord.”
After Goblin left, Count Silleo seized Dominique and spoke.
“Commander Dominique, has your body fully recovered?”
“I heard you’ve devoted yourself to training again since returning from the Thornwinter Wetlands.”
Dominique answered, stroking the sword at his waist.
“I have not wasted a single day, dreaming of revenge.”
“You know what I want?”
“Shall I eliminate Goblin?”
“…Not yet. But I believe that need will arise soon. Be prepared. I must go to gauge the atmosphere at the royal castle.”
Binaeril was heading toward the capital suburbs, where Count Silleo was staying.
As he was galloping along, Veritas spoke to him.
—Hey, Binaeril.
‘What?’
—I think it would be best to add one condition to our contract.
‘Suddenly?’
—Yes. I’ve been thinking our contract is a bit too loose.
The contract with Veritas, the Book of Truth.
The condition was that in exchange for teaching Binaeril magic, he would recover its pages.
—Looking back, it’s excessively unfair.
‘Are you saying you only just realized that?’
—I’ll add a supplementary clause. Consider it motivation for you to help me.
‘I’ll hear you out.’
—As you know, my knowledge is infinite. I know everything in this world. That is what I am. The great encyclopedia of magic, the archive of researchers’ records, the very culmination of knowledge!
‘I’m well acquainted with your boasting, so get to the point.’
—Hmph, so indifferent. The new condition is simple. Each time you recover a page, I shall answer any one question you ask.
Binaeril grabbed the reins and brought his horse to a halt.
This was… not a bad proposal.
No, rather, it was a good one.
At the very least, it was not a poisonous clause that would harm him.
‘What’s the occasion?’
—What do you mean?
‘Why are you doing something good for me out of the blue?’
—What are you talking about? I’ve always been on your side. You being able to use magic, and surviving until now with your excessive mana—isn’t that all thanks to me?
It was true, yet it was strangely hard to admit.
Veritas had a talent for making even the most factual words sound unpleasant.
‘Any question?’
—Yes, any question.
‘Even about the scales Zilf mentioned?’
Veritas had not wanted Binaeril to know about the scales.
—Of course. However, only one question is permitted per page. It may look favorable to you, but the truth is, I know something.
‘What?’
—That questions always match the caliber of the one who asks them. Considering the questions an ignorant fool like Binaeril could ask, they can’t be anything but trivial.
Meanwhile, as Binaeril was on his way to find Count Silleo.
Count Silleo had already departed for the royal castle.
The assassination attempt on the princess at the royal castle quickly became rumored among the noble faction.
In a slightly different form.
“The Second Princess attempted to throw herself off the tower along with her sister!”
Viscount Walter Hartmann urgently gathered the noble faction and delivered the news.
“Is it certain!”
“It is certain! This is news from the spy we planted in the royal castle.”
Count Felix Papen felt a slight chill at the black mage’s capabilities.
“How on earth? Can black mages even manipulate people’s hearts?”
“Giving Count Silleo the opportunity was a wise decision, Count Papen.”
“Have both princesses died?”
“It is certain they fell into critical condition. This is the opportunity created by Count Silleo!”
The eyes of all the noble faction members focused on Count Papen.
Count Silleo had refused the summons and was not present.
With him absent, the authority to decide rested with Count Papen.
“Excellent. This is our chance to occupy Essen Castle bloodlessly. We shall advance into the royal castle at once and sweep away the remaining royalists!”
“But Your Excellency, most of our soldiers remain in their territories. The troops we have brought to the capital amount to less than one-tenth….”
“Those at the royal castle will be in even greater chaos than we are. In any case, if we simply contain the Royal Knights, the enemy forces are as good as nonexistent. March!”
Goblin’s failed mission was snowballing, causing uncontrollable repercussions throughout Essen.
At Count Silleo’s temporary residence, which he had since left.
Goblin had holed himself up in his room, claiming he was replenishing reagents, while Dominique remained to watch over the estate, continuing his training.
As the mansion settled into a quiet afternoon, a sudden commotion erupted.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this! Coming here so suddenly!”
“His Lordship the Count is not present at the moment!”
“A mage? We know nothing of this!”
The flustered voice of the butler, struggling with an unexpected visitor, could be heard.
Dominique sheathed his sword and surveyed the scene below.
“What is going on?”
“Commander! This person suddenly arrived, saying he must meet the Count….”
Dominique’s eyebrows rose sharply upon confirming the visitor.
“Dominique!”
Binaeril, his expression flushed, came into view.
Dominique was on the second-floor railing. Binaeril was at the first-floor entrance.
The two glared at each other in silence for a moment.
“How did you come to be here?”
“Where is Count Silleo?”
“…So you received a title and now don’t know your place. His Lordship is not your subordinate.”
“Hey, Platinum Knight. I don’t have time to bandy words with you. If the Count is not here, hand over the mage named Goblin.”
Dominique’s expression hardened stiffly.
‘How does he know about Goblin?’
Goblin had made contact with Binaeril, so some information must have leaked.
“I know no such name. With what confidence do you shove that face before me!”
‘As expected, he’s playing dumb.’
It was exactly the reaction he had anticipated.
‘Then let’s see if he can feign ignorance even when the truth is shoved right under his nose.’
“Goblin was no ordinary mage. Judging by his use of potions, he is likely one of those called black mages. Goblin knew me, and at the same time, he mentioned your name. He seemed to dislike you. Furthermore, though he did not reveal who was behind him, he said he had an ‘employer.’”
“A person who holds a grudge against the princesses and has the means to hire a black mage. And if that black mage knows both the names Dominique and Binaeril at the same time, whose order could it be?”
It could only be Count Silleo.
At this point, denial was difficult.
“Impressive deduction.”
“Tell me where Goblin is. I have something to collect from him.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll tear that mouth open and make you talk.”
Dominique drew the sword at his waist.
“Will you try, if you can?”
The two stood facing each other without moving an inch.
The tension swelled to the brink of bursting, and just as it was about to snap—
“Oh my, I’m tearing up! To hide me so thoroughly. Knight sir, I never thought you had it in you. I’m rather moved.”
Goblin revealed himself from the first-floor parlor.
Dominique and Binaeril’s gazes turned instantly.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t know where he was?”
“Goblin, why aren’t you quietly holed up? What do you think you’re doing now?”
“He came knowing everything?”
“What he knows and you admitting it are different matters. If you come out like this, from our standpoint, there is no longer any reason to keep you alive.”
“Don’t be so stiff. You seem to have come for the princess’s revenge, but you’ve overlooked one thing, brat.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are the only one who knows the count is behind this. If we simply silence this brat mage, there is no chance of us being found out.”
He spoke, shaking the reagent vial held between his fingers.
“As it happens, the elixir I prepared in anticipation of such an event has just finished brewing.”
It was a reagent of a dark red hue, like congealed blood.
A far more intense mana aura radiated from it than what he had consumed during their first encounter.
“Elixir?”
“You don’t know? We black mages call the medicine that maximizes the power contained in magic stones an elixir.”
Binaeril did not know, but it was something similar to what Gasfelt Louis had taken during the Elfenbain subjugation exercise in the past.
A drug that amplified the user’s mana, but carried the risk of corrupting the mind.
That was the elixir.
Goblin gulped down the dark red elixir like water.
His muscles swelled like balloons.
Already a large man, Goblin’s frame expanded until his head reached the second-floor railing where Dominique stood.
“Kuhaha, this overflowing power! Knight sir, let us losers join forces!”
The butler and servants fled in terror at his monstrously enlarged frame.
“Die!”
Goblin’s massive fist came crashing down on Binaeril.