Mia ushered Lorenz to sit down, then took a seat opposite him herself. Patty plopped into the seat next to her, while Citrina sat beside Lorenz.
Now that everyone was seated, Mia turned her attention to the table in front of them and noticed something...odd. There was only tea! Mia glanced at Anne, who simply told her, “It will soon be dinner, milady.”
“I ate with His Majesty just a moment before, so I’ll refrain.”
“Really? Well, if you say so...” muttered Mia as she longingly gazed at the table. I suppose you do need an empty stomach if you really want to enjoy your food, anyway.
One might worry that Mia’s brain would suffer from a lack of sugar, but there was no need to fret. Mia could switch on her brain and function just fine with the amount she had already consumed.
“In that case, let me ask you first about my Great-Uncle Hannes.”
“Indeed...” Lorenz pondered for a moment. “As you are already aware, House Clausius had deep ties with the Serpents. Their history is on par with us Yellowmoons, and they functioned to insert Serpents into the imperial family.”
“I see. You said that was to ensure the emperor didn’t stray from the Serpents’ desires, correct?”
“I believe my old maid Barbara was trained by a Serpent related to House Clausius as well. Though since Serpents are prone to hide their origins and relations, I never was able to confirm that for certain.”
“I heard Barbara suffered at the hands of Viscount Overadt. The Serpent who approached her afterward must have been hiding here in Tearmoon, which means they were very likely related to House Clausius,” responded Mia, using up seventy percent of the sugar content of the jam she had consumed earlier.
“It seems that the heads of House Clausius would lay hands on their subjects, bear children, and adopt those children to educate them in the ways of the Serpents.”
Mia naturally glanced at Patty. She was...silent, simply awaiting Lorenz’s next words.
“Forcing them to first live in destitution inspired a deep hatred of the rich and powerful in these children. Then, House Clausius would adopt and educate them. It was the perfect formula to create the ideal Serpents.”
“I see. How...wicked.” Mia fondly caressed Patty’s head, who responded with a nod as if to say she was all right.
Then, Patty spoke. “Then what happened to H—Marquess Hannes?” She sounded awfully timid.
“He was the younger brother of the former empress. Her Majesty was quite similar to Princess Mia, and was just as smart.”
“Similar?” Patty stared at Mia. Her expression...was not a scowl! Instead, she wore a slight smile, as if she considered the words to be a compliment.
My, is she happy? I’m not sure how to react. Mia was beginning to feel a tad uncomfortable, but she covered it up by taking a sip of her tea.
“As the young brother of such a sagacious empress, Lord Hannes was quite bright himself. He believed House Clausius would harm his sister and secretly maneuvered behind the scenes to dampen their influence on her. He refused all pleas for him to bear children and skillfully evaded all attempts on his life. But eventually, us Yellowmoons were entrusted with assassinating him.”
Patty tilted her head. “That’s...weird. Hannes couldn’t have defied the Serpents like that.”
Those words sparked Mia’s memory. “Yes, that’s right. I hear my Great-Uncle Hannes was suffering from illness. How was he treated? The recipe for the medicine was supposedly a secret held by the Serpents. Did you hand him something else when you brought him abroad?”
“No, not at all. In fact, I wasn’t aware Lord Hannes was ill.”
“Does that mean he recovered?”
“Do you remember which illness it was?”
Mia glanced at Patty, who slowly nodded. “I heard it was called Forbidden Fruit Syndrome...”
“That’s...quite the unusual illness,” said Lorenz, sounding as if he had perhaps accidentally spoken his thoughts aloud.
“Are you familiar, Duke Lorenz?”
“Yes, though it’s incredibly rare. It takes its name from our creation myth. The Secret Garden had two trees, one with the fruit of life, and one with the forbidden fruit. Our first ancestor ate not the fruit of life, but the forbidden fruit, and shortly died thereafter.” He took a sip of his tea. “This event inspired the name. In other words, it’s said to be a disease that afflicts those who reach for the forbidden fruit, thus depriving themselves a chance to eat the fruit of life. In early childhood, it appears as general feebleness, but once the child starts to grow, it begins to eat away at the body. Those afflicted grow gradually weaker until eventually, they pass away in their early twenties. It’s quite the horrendous ailment.” Lorenz shook his head. “A cure has yet to be discovered. While it’s treated by providing the afflicted child with as much nutrients as possible to extend their lifespan, it’s unclear how effective that method actually is.”
“I see. But you’re saying Marquess Hannes never seemed to suffer from this disease. Could it have been a lie by the Serpents?”
Lorenz scowled. “I can’t say. If they were trying to deceive us by naming an incurable disease, you would think they would have named a far more common ailment.”
“Then could he have been poisoned, father?”
Lorenz shook his head. “I considered that possibility as well. They could feign illness by periodically poisoning him, and it could certainly gradually weaken him. Perhaps Lord Hannes had discovered the poison they were feeding him within The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth.”
“That would make sense. It seems like that book would naturally discuss poisons,” offered Mia.
Lorenz once again shook his head, this time with a defeated grin. “That’s exactly what makes it so difficult though, Your Highness. The Book does not only consist of the bad, at least in my opinion. If it speaks of poisons, it would naturally speak of medicine.”
“My, really?”
“Really. Let’s say, for example, one used their medicinal knowledge to become a doctor trusted by the people. Wouldn’t it be much easier for someone who used medicines for good to manipulate the populace than for someone who used poison for murder to do so?” He groaned. “Perhaps Lord Hannes was poisoned, but would House Clausius really go out of the way to poison the children they bothered to adopt? I think it’s more believable that Lord Hannes did suffer from illness and turned to The Book to search for a remedy.”
Something seemed off to Mia. But from what I’ve heard, Great-Uncle Hannes was an avid reader of The Book up until after he was cured. At least, I imagined him fervently flipping its pages right up until he disappeared. But why would he do that if he had already found the remedy?
Mia glanced at Patty and almost gasped. Patty’s eyes were wide, as if she had already hit upon the same possibility that Mia had. I figured it out! That must have been his goal. Duke Lorenz just doesn’t have enough information to realize it yet.
Mia took a calming sip of tea. She watched Patty as she put her thoughts together. Great-Uncle Hannes...must be planning on teaching Patty how to cure his illness. He’ll tell her the remedy that’s written in The Book of Those who Crawl the Earth—no, maybe even hand over the medicine himself. That would be a big blow to the Serpents of the past.
Patty’s brother could only survive if he regularly took medicine, so why had she been able to betray the Serpents? The answer was obvious—because Hannes had been freed from his illness early. But then how had he recovered? By drinking the Serpent medicine that Patty had brought back from the future.
Great-Uncle Hannes must be researching this medicine as we speak to save his past self and free his sister from the Serpents! That means if I fail...Patty will still be fettered to the Serpents, and the present...would change drastically.
Mia gulped.