by Hyougetsu
According to Eleora, the majority of the emperor’s younger brother’s faction came from Northern Rolmund. The northern esquires who came to the capital had no land or soldiers, so their only real value was as pawns in political maneuvering. However, since they possessed no assets, they didn’t hold much leverage in the political sphere either. Though they were under the emperor’s brother’s wing, their position was quite precarious.
The reason they’d been so belligerent was because they were underlings who had no idea what the overall situation was. For them, the royal palace was their entire world. Of course, that was the same reason they were doomed to never become landed, but even so, it took a decent amount of effort to rope these idiotic nobles into your faction.
Viscount Whatever-sky grimaced and said with an exaggerated sigh, “In order to unite the nobles under the emperor’s brother’s command, I had no choice but to stand my ground.”
Now he was lying. If you want to fool me, you’d better be at least as composed as Yuhit. From all his excuses, it was obvious he was just trying to deceive me into letting my guard down. It seemed there was no hope for us seeing eye to eye. After confirming that there was no one else nearby, I leaned in close to the Count of Slaughter and whispered, “I understand your position quite well, so allow me to impart on you a single nugget of wisdom.”
“Wh-What?”
Still smiling, I transformed into a werewolf and bared my fangs at him. Naturally, the viscount screamed. However, there was no one who heard him. I’d cast sound dampening magic around the room the moment I’d transformed. At the same time, bloody letters appeared on the wall behind me. Blood also started pooling out from under the bed.
So long as my sound dampening magic was in effect, I couldn’t talk either, so I’d asked Lacy to cast illusion magic for me. Turning a room into the scene of a horror movie was a simple task for someone at her level. The prototype she’d shown me before we’d left had been really impressive too. It had been full of nice little touches like claw marks and gore splatters.
The letters in this illusion spelled out the following message: “Werewolves devour all in their path.” Ideally, I’d wanted a longer message, but I’d noticed Lacy was likely to typo if there were too many letters involved, so I’d kept it simple. As long as it was threatening, anything worked.
The Count of Slaughter tried to jump out of bed, but I used my superhuman strength to pin him down. I opened my maw wide and pretended to take a bite out of him. He opened his eyes wide and another soundless scream escaped his lips. Then, he fainted. That would make it the second time today.
I canceled my transformation and returned to human form. Since I’d worn the loose, flowing garb of Southern Meraldia, my clothes hadn’t been ripped during transformation. The letters on the wall and the blood under the bed started to vanish. Lacy’s illusions truly were perfect.
Once all traces of the illusion were gone, I called the viscount’s maid back in.
“The good viscount has gone to bed. It would appear the duel exhausted him a great deal. I will come again some other time.”
“Th-Thank you for coming to visit. I’ll see you to the entrance.”
“Thank you.”
I gave the maid a mysterious smile. Hopefully I looked like an exotic foreign noble to her. As I reached the bottom landing, I heard a commotion from upstairs. Thanks to my enhanced hearing, I could easily make out the conversation.
“He’s a monster! A barbarian! Call the soldiers! His Highness—Inform His Highness of this!”
“L-Lord Viscount!? Please, snap out of it!”
“Unhand me, you fool! The wall! Look at the wall! Don’t you see the blood!? We’re under attack by werewolves!”
“The wall? There’s nothing there, Lord Viscount!”
“Oh no, someone call a doctor! Call the male servants as well! We need to tie down the viscount until help comes!”
The servants were all flabbergasted. With this, Viscount Whatever-sky would start spreading rumors that the foreign noble assisting Eleora was actually a werewolf in disguise.
Unfortunately for him, he had no proof. And publicly, all I’d done was pay my respects to an injured dueling opponent. Furthermore, the crown prince’s court mages had already vetted my identity and publicly announced that I was human. To top it all off, the Count of Slaughter had just lost to me in a humiliating duel. Aside from Eleora and her loyal troops, only the viscount knew the truth. And after our little encounter, he was likely desperate to convince everyone of the truth. Good luck getting anyone to believe you, Whatever-sky.
I knew I was the one that made him like this, but it was kind of sad that all he could think about was trying to get revenge for losing the duel. Together with Lacy, I left the viscount’s manor. A pleasant, cool breeze wafted through the air. It signaled that Rolmund’s short summer would soon be over.
Outside, Fahn and Jerrick—who’d been left there to keep watch—were snickering to each other. They’d heard everything that had gone on in the manor. I looked at everyone in turn, then stretched my back.
“Good work, Lacy. So, do you guys wanna get something to eat on our way back?”
“Now that’s what I wanted to hear, boss. Let’s get some meat. Grilled meat dripping with fat’s the best food there is.”
“I want a fish pie! And fried potatoes!”
Lacy looked from one werewolf to the next, stunned.
“What? But you just ate dinner!”
“That’s not nearly enough for us. Right, boss?”
Jerrick gave me a wink and I nodded.
“Exactly. We’re gonna have a busy day tomorrow, so we need to be ready for it.”
“Yeaaaaaaah!”
Only Lacy looked unhappy about the prospect of eating more.
“Ugh. I feel like I’ve gotten fatter since joining the demon army.”
“Nothing wrong with that. Better to be overfed than underfed.”
“Noooooo!”
* * * *
—Veight’s Letter to Airia: 3—
Dear Airia,
We’ve finally arrived at Rolmund’s capital. Everything is proceeding as planned. As for the capital itself, it’s every bit as massively historic as the rumors would have you believe. The capital has been Rolmund’s cultural center since the days of the republic, so it’s older than all of Meraldia. In fact, all of West Rolmund is quite old. You can feel the weight of the centuries weighing down on the buildings. I wish I could show you these streets. I’m sure you would appreciate them. It saddens me that I can only describe them to you in words.
Due to how cold it is here, much of the food and drink in Rolmund is designed to warm you up. Most of their dishes are soups and stews. And every dish uses plenty of alcohol and fat. The more liquid there is in a dish, the longer it stays warm, it seems. While the food is quite good, I fear I’ll grow fat if I keep eating nothing but greasy meals. I have, however, obtained the recipes of a few choice dishes from Eleora’s chef, as I would very much like you to taste them upon my return.
Oh, and I ended up fighting a duel.
Sincerely, Veight.
* * * *
The day after our duel, Viscount Whatever-sky forced his way into the palace and tried to tell everyone that I was a werewolf. Prince Ashley called me into the palace after his hearing was over and he was escorted out. When I reached the audience chamber, he gave me a sad smile and shook his head.
“My, what a mess. I understand that the viscount supports my uncle over me, but even so, it’s quite improper to doubt the judgment of imperial investigators.”
Naturally, no one had believed the Count of Slaughter’s claims, but that wasn’t the issue. He’d insulted the emperor’s court mages.
Rolmund’s mages weren’t especially skilled. Because they’d focused their efforts into developing magical technology, their individual abilities left much to be desired. I guess that’s the price of modernization. The only exception to this trend was the emperor’s co
urt mages. They alone were masters of their respective magical persuasions. On top of that, they had a lot of pride.
“Lord Veight is a werewolf!”
“That’s impossible. We investigated him thoroughly and determined that he is indeed human.”
“You’re wrong, I saw it with my own eyes! He is a werewolf!”
“If you truly believe your powers of observation are superior to our magic, then feel free to join our ranks as a court magician.”
According to Prince Ashley, that was more or less how the exchange had gone. Sorry, but no one’s gonna listen to you, Viscount Whatever-sky. Everyone would just assume he was being a poor loser. Prince Ashley bowed to me in apology.
“I am terribly sorry for the viscount’s remarks. You came all this way to show your support for the Rolmund Empire, and he treated you not with gratitude, but contempt. His actions have smeared mud on the reputation of Rolmund’s nobles.”
I smiled gently back at the prince.
“Well, I am an outsider. It’s only natural some people would be suspicious of me. The viscount seemed unhappy to see me when I went to visit him after our duel as well.”
“You went to visit the viscount? And despite that he still disparaged you? Unforgivable.”
For a second, Prince Ashley’s face contorted into one of disgust.
“It seems there truly is a need to apologize. On behalf of the emperor, I apologize for my countryman’s rudeness.”
“You mustn’t apologize, Your Highness. I am but a humble servant who has sworn fealty to the empire in return for your protection. It would not do for someone in your position to apologize to me.”
I kept a straight face during the entire exchange, but inside I was celebrating. After a few seconds of deliberation, Prince Ashley said, “In that case, allow me to at least grant you a boon as a show of good faith. Henceforth, if any man insults your person, I will use my authority to have them punished.”
Perfect. Now if anyone tried to call me a demon, I could have Prince Ashley deal with them.
I talked with Prince Ashley for a while longer after that, and it seemed he was just as the rumors described. Wise and gentle.
“Eleora’s plight pains me as well. Though I have had few opportunities to speak with her, she is still my dear cousin.”
Oho, he’s not lying.
“Furthermore, it was thanks to Eleora’s efforts that our empire’s greatest wish was granted. We will finally be able to expand our territories into Meraldia.”
“You can count on me to bring you Meraldia, Your Highness. All I ask is that you show our people mercy once we become part of the empire.”
Since I was technically part of the Eleora faction, I couldn’t officially ask Prince Ashley for any concrete conditions. Not that I needed to, since if my plan worked, he wouldn’t be the one sitting on the throne to begin with. However, if I didn’t ask for anything at all, it would seem suspicious. I was meant to be a Meraldian diplomat, after all. So I’d kept my requests vague. Furthermore, vague requests like these were hard to refuse outright, so they were good openers in negotiations. As I’d expected, Prince Ashley nodded without hesitation.
“Of course. The sunlight that illuminates Rolmund’s lands shall cast its benevolent rays onto Meraldia as well. Perhaps not in the same form, but that’s nothing to worry about.”
Is it just me, or is he implying he’ll only treat us well if we offer to become a vassal state?
“Speaking of sunlight, this palace has a wonderful greenhouse. It might be a little hot this early in fall, but would you like to see it?”
According to the reports I’d read, Prince Ashley was a big lover of flowers. That, combined with his handsome figure, had earned him the nickname the Prince of Flowers. It was a pretty fancy nickname, but it also pissed me off. Isn’t there any magic out there that’ll make all handsome guys spontaneously combust? As I was thinking that, we reached the greenhouse.
“Impressive...”
The imperial palace’s greenhouse was larger and more colorful than I’d thought possible. The glass was nearly transparent as well; it must have cost a fortune to build. Even if I used Ryunheit’s entire budget, I couldn’t afford to build something like this.
That being said, the botanical gardens I’d seen back on Earth had been about this large. What really struck me was the variety of plants in here. Moreover, each plant had a little placard next to it stating its name and native region. It reminded me of a museum.
In this world, there were probably only a handful of places that had such a detailed classification of this many plants.
“This feels more like an imperial museum than a palace garden.”
The prince nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. I’m impressed you noticed. The purpose of this greenhouse is to collect all manner of plants and discover which are useful to us humans. As it is a greenhouse, we even have flowers from the warmer Meraldian regions. They were collected centuries ago and have been cultivated here ever since.”
So Rolmund’s been interested in Meraldia for centuries, huh? As we walked through the greenhouse and discussed the various plants we passed, I noticed something interesting. Though the plants of this world looked very different from the ones back on Earth, many of them had identical uses.
For example, the beautiful flowers of the greenbottle plant secreted a poisonous nectar. But once extracted, the poison didn’t keep for long. Next to the greenbottle was a purple willow, whose bark was difficult to process, but created a long-lasting deadly poison once it was. That was the same poison the assassins in Zaria had used. Further in was the wolf lily, whose bulbs were addictive. And coiled around the purple willow tree was a crest vine, which caused severe vomiting when ingested.
Every plant seemed to be poisonous in one way or another. There wasn’t a single plant that was just pretty to look at. All of them were either used in poisons or medicines. That was probably why I’d felt uneasy when I’d first stepped foot in here. This wasn’t a place to appreciate the beauty of nature, or a simple botanical garden. It was a chemical weapons plant.
Prince Ashley stopped in front of a flower bed and plucked two fruits from one of the plants. They vaguely resemble strawberries, but I shrunk back the moment I saw them. They were witchberries, a plant that grew all over Meraldia. While they looked like delicious tiny strawberries, they were actually deadly. Eating one would cause dyspnea, and if you weren’t treated right away, you’d die. Smiling, the prince handed me a witchberry.
“Here you go, Lord Veight.”
“Prince Ashley?”
I had no idea what he was trying to do here. Considering his love for plants, he was likely this greenhouse’s manager. Meaning there was no way he didn’t know what the witchberry’s properties were.
I sniffed, trying to gauge his intentions from his scent. But all I picked up was a faint sense of expectation. There wasn’t any smell of deceit on him. However, it was entirely possible he was a psychopath who felt nothing when he deceived people, so I couldn’t let my guard down.
Regardless though, I couldn’t afford to refuse a fruit offered to me by the crown prince. Fortunately, I’d been keeping detoxification magic prepared at all times since coming here. I was especially good at handling alkaloids, so there was little worry of me being poisoned to death. Deciding not to think too deeply about the prince’s intentions, I took the witchberry from him and plopped it into my mouth.
Mmm, this is pretty sweet. It had just a little tartness to it too, so it didn’t leave a bad aftertaste. Fruits exist to be eaten and their seeds spread by the animals that eat them, so how come this plant evolved to bear poisonous fruit? I really don’t get nature sometimes. As I was absently thinking that, I realized Prince Ashley was staring at me. He looked completely stunned.
“What seems to be the matter, Your Highness?”
“Well... I didn’t think you would actually eat it.”
Going by the smell of his sweat, he was telli
ng the truth. Still unsure of what the prince had been trying to do, I turned back to the witchberry plant. Oh, the leaves aren’t serrated. And they’re drooping at the ends. Meaning this is actually a different species. Ah, I finally got it. It all makes sense now.
Pretending as though I’d known all along, I said, “This plant looks quite like Meraldia’s witchberry, but the leaves are a different shape. I imagine you have no reason to poison me, Your Highness, so I assumed you were offering me a harmless berry.”
Understanding dawned on Prince Ashley.
“How very perceptive of you. You are correct, this is not a witchberry plant. This is a Rolmund snowberry. While it can be used as food, it also works as a natural remedy once dried and preserved. The fruit looks identical to that of the witchberry’s, so you need to be careful.”
Prince Ashley tossed the remaining snowberry into his own mouth.
“I must say, though, I am impressed you were able to notice such a slight difference right away. I had hoped to surprise you by eating my own after you refused, but my plan failed. It seems I’m not suited to be a tactician.”
“Oh no, you definitely managed to surprise me. You should have heard how fast my heart was beating.”
He really did manage to surprise me, and I wish he’d stop with those kinds of pranks.
Afterward, the two of us continued joking and eating snowberries like a pair of giddy schoolboys. Sometime during our conversation, the prince said, “Did you know, while Eleora was on her campaign in the south, she sent a report mentioning that one of her men got food poisoning from eating the berries in Meraldia. Since witchberries and snowberries look nearly identical, he mistakenly thought they were edible.”
I guess if you’re coming from Rolmund, that would make sense. Even on Earth there were a lot of different species of strawberry.
“Did the soldier who accidentally ate witchberries survive?”
Prince Ashley smiled.
“He did. Luckily, the mage corps’ healers were able to neutralize the poison. Unfortunately, he died in the fighting afterward.”