“What are you saying! You stepped on my foot first!”

Philip led us down another path.

“The road is noisy, so let’s go that way.”

I stopped in my tracks and looked at Philip. I can’t miss this chance.

“Philip. Go break it up.”

“Pardon……?”

“They must be residents of Hertus Territory, right? You’re a knight of House Hertus, so naturally you should protect the residents.”

“I swore my loyalty to Sir Iophe……”

Juan, wearing his robe, shouted ‘As I thought!’ again and clutched his chest area.

“See, Juan agrees too, right?”

“Indeed. Indeed.”

When even the old butler nodded, Philip stopped for a few seconds with a soulless expression, then began to creak.

“……Then everyone please wait here. I’ll resolve this and return.”

I smiled at Philip and raised my fist. Cheer up. However, sensing something ominous in my smile, unlike moments ago when he’d been lukewarm, he dashed into the commotion. He probably intends to resolve it as quickly as possible and return.

“Let’s just watch the bridge while we wait.”

I said that and walked toward the bridge. Then I secretly signaled to Tilla with my eyes. I saw her look at me and nod slightly.

“Is it always this crowded here?”

“It tends to be. Not only residents but also cargo wagons frequent this place. This is a bridge everyone must cross to pass through Hertus.”

As Juan said, the bridge was packed with people trying to cross. Juan stood by the railing and pointed somewhere with his hand.

“Can you see? That stone statue! Right over there, from ancient times……”

Juan’s lecture was starting again.

‘Sorry, but I can’t listen today.’

While Juan kept his gaze on the stone statue, I hid myself among the crowd. Juan’s speech was growing more distant. Tilla grabbed my hand and ran.

“Huff. Haaah……”

“I kept a horse here yesterday.”

“I see……”

I answered while panting as if I couldn’t breathe. My body folded on its own. I should have exercised. While I was having pointless regrets, Tilla brought out a horse. Once we mounted and rode, we were on a forest path in the blink of an eye.

“That witch lives in the forest?”

“Yes. They say she was driven out of the village long ago.”

After going quite a ways, a small wooden house appeared between the gloomy thicket. Even though it’s daytime, it doesn’t feel like day because of the tree shade. We arrived in front of the house and dismounted.

“I’ll wait here.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

I thanked her and slowly approached the wooden house.

Creeeeak.

The old door opened with a loud noise.

“Hello……?”

Is someone actually living here? The interior of the wooden house was full of cobwebs and dust. The deeper I went inside, the more the wooden floor screamed.

“Is anyone here?”

Creak, creeeeak. As I slowly entered, stepping on the floor that emitted eerie sounds, someone shouted. From the second floor.

“Who is it! How dare you barge into my house!”

I looked up to see the old woman I’d seen at the harvest festival that day. The old woman was holding a long skewer in her hand, threatening to stab me with it. I took a step back.

“The door was open…… Sorry. I have something to ask.”

“Hmph……! You’re here to drive me out too! If you’re going to say something useless, get out!”

“I came to ask about healing herbs.”

“……What?”

The old woman stopped her threats with blank eyes, like someone who’d heard nonsense. I took out a few stalks of grass I’d prepared in advance.

“This is it, right?”

“Th-this! Where did you get this!”

She waved her hand trying to snatch the stalks in my hand, but I quickly hid them.

“My story comes first. Answer me first.”

“What answer?”

“Everything about this poisonous plant.”

The old woman led me to the kitchen with disapproving eyes and began her story.

“Seeing as you know it’s a poisonous plant, did you feed it to someone?”

“……”

“Even if they eat it and die, it leaves no trace, so it’s perfect for poisoning. But were you unlucky and that person didn’t die?”

“……Poisoning……”

Then this is…… I felt my fingertips trembling and clenched both fists. The old woman said indifferently.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s definitely because you haven’t fed them enough yet. But where on earth did you get that? Hmm?”

The eyes of the grandmother called a witch gleamed.

“……You don’t need to know. I got it by chance too.”

“So where is it? I knew it was still growing somewhere in Hertus. Right?”

“Can this be used as medicine?”

“Medicine? I don’t think so. It’s just a poisonous plant.”

“But you called it a healing herb. Back then you clearly……”

“Ah, that’s a funny name. If you feed it to a sick person multiple times, at first they seem to get a little better, then at some point it acts as a deadly poison.”

Did the me of the past die from eating this poisonous plant? Even when I heard the word poisoning, but especially hearing from the old woman’s mouth how it works, I recalled my symptoms before death.

‘Back then too, it seemed like my illness was getting a little better, then that happened.’

Then the poisoning culprit might be Rosie. Her name came up in the incident that happened in Viblide too. But why?

‘It’s not like I tormented Rosie like in my past life.’

Although I failed, I tried to find her parents, and I hadn’t earned enough resentment for her to want to kill me. The trouble from the gallery incident alone doesn’t explain it.

……Wasn’t the reason I died in the first place not because I tormented Rosie?

‘Why did Rosie give this to Iophe under the guise of a cure……’

I stopped the complicated thoughts that kept popping up and said urgently.

“I heard it’s effective for the hereditary disease I suffer from.”

“Hereditary disease? That’s news to me.”

“That can’t be. Surely……”

“Well, I have read records of it being used as medicine through special processing……”

“Tell me!”

“Then will you give me that plant?”

“……”

Right after saying such gruesome things about it being perfect for poisoning. Besides, if this witch causes an incident with the poisonous plant, Iophe’s blade might point at me. The witch glanced at my face and spoke again.

“I need that plant. Who knows? If you give it to me, it might become medicine for that disease you’re talking about.”

“I’ll give it to you. But don’t kill anyone with it. Then not only your life but mine will be forfeit too.”

“Good, good! Hurry and give it to me!”

The old woman hastily reached toward me. I turned my body to avoid her hands and said.

“Not yet. Tell me more about those records of using it as medicine.”

“Grrrr…… That medicine…… wait a moment!”

She jumped up from her chair and headed upstairs with a clatter.

“It’s definitely here somewhere! Just wait a bit!”

She said that while dropping books from the second floor. Thud! Thud! Dusty books fell to the wooden floor with sounds.

“Here it is!”

The witch appeared in the kitchen again, clutching an old book. She put the book down on the dining table and began turning pages.

“Somewhere around here…… Ah! This!”

I turned the page her finger touched toward me and read it.

[Healing herb…… This plant is called a healing herb…… It seems the ancient empire people called it a cure for special blood. It’s said they used it as medicine through the following special processing.]

Special blood. I’ve heard of it. That was a term referring to the four great houses of the Empire.

‘Is that why Iophe gave Rosie the poisonous plant? Because it’s a cure for special blood.’

I have the Idebald surname, but I don’t qualify at all for the ‘special blood’ mentioned here.

‘Then my medicine……?’

As I sat there blankly, the old woman tapped the open page.

“See. Was I right? Records of using it as medicine. But it’s an incredibly old story. They probably mistook the numbness from the poison for getting better.”

“What kind of special processing?”

“It says if you infuse it with divine power, it has a different effect, but it’s complicated so I don’t know. Look, it’s written here.”

She held out a piece of paper that had been tucked between the pages. I blankly took the paper and asked.

“……What are the odds?”

“Odds of survival? If I knew that, I’d be a god.”

I had no choice but to face the reality I’d been denying all along. ……There isn’t one. A cure for my disease.

The witch said.

“Take that paper. I just need to receive the plant.”

“Here……”

I put down the stalks I’d hidden in my bosom with a thud.

❀ ❀ ❀

“My lady! Where on earth did you go!”

When we returned to the village square, Philip came running in a fluster.

“I got a bit lost while looking around.”

“Phew. Still, I’m glad I found you early. But…… did something happen?”

Philip said that while examining Tilla and me. I shook my head.

“No. I just seem a bit startled. I want to return to the castle.”

“Yes! Then let’s return right away!”

With the expression of someone hearing welcome news, he guided Tilla and me to the carriage.

❀ ❀ ❀

Philip kept examining Yuena’s expression while following behind her.

‘Did something really happen?’

If something did happen, he should report it. But he couldn’t muster the courage. It was a dilemma he’d pondered dozens of times while searching for her who’d disappeared while he went to stop the commotion.

‘In the end, I didn’t inform Sir Iophe though……’

If he’d contacted the castle as soon as the lady disappeared, there would have been chaos by now. If just a bit more time had passed, that really would have happened.

‘Phew…… Still, I’m glad she returned on her own.’

Philip really didn’t want to feel the pain of the past month again.

‘It was the first time I saw him so agitated since childhood.’

While Yuena was asleep. Any servant who had been watching Iophe during that time would have done the same, Philip earnestly planted reasons for his own actions. However, it was merely rationalization that would shatter before long.