I was so glad that I wore gloves; if I hadn’t, he would’ve noticed how clammy my hands were from anxiety. The carriage was dark inside, and that eased my nerves a bit; I felt bad that I hadn’t complimented him back, and I decided to share my thoughts.
“Mr. Vil, you look very handsome yourself today,” I said. “You remind me of a prince.”
“Sounds like I don’t look so great normally,” he replied.
“Your usual self is very good-looking, of course. But you’re more handsome than usual today.”
“Hmm…”
The carriage was dark, and I couldn’t make out his expression. His tone was casual and normal, making it hard for me to sense any changes in emotion.
“Totally off topic, but how many years has it been since you last visited the palace?” I asked.
“Oh, this is my first time,” he replied.
“It is?! Have you never attended a banquet or ball hosted by His Majesty before?!”
“Never. I’m not a fan of loud places.”
“O-Oh…”
I’d assumed that the son of a high-ranking noble would’ve been used to these evening events.
“Don’t worry,” he added. “I’ve hammered the layout of the palace in my head.”
“Wow… Uh, that sounds very reliable…”
I gazed out the carriage window as I chatted away with him. I spotted some ladies outside in fluffy mantles, their footsteps eager as they prepared for their debut. They must be walking to avoid carriage traffic.
“There must be a lot of carriages near the castle,” I mentioned. “I wonder how long it’ll be until we can get in.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Mr. Vil said. “We’ll use the noble road, a path reserved for those of the upper class. We should be able to enter the castle grounds in no time.”
He’s the son of a powerful noble, all right. He even gets special treatment on the road.
“Ah, and before I forget, just call me ‘Vil’ for the ball,” he said.
“Huh? Why?”
“You’ll see.”
Or, you know, you could just tell me. I guess now’s not the time for him to tell me yet.
“Then I shall call you ‘Lord Vil.’ How does that sound?”
“No, just call me by my name.”
“Er, but…”
“I’m not someone worthy of being called ‘lord’ anyway.”
Looks like he’s pretty set on this one.
“All right, Vil…” I said awkwardly. “I hope that’s okay.”
He gave me a satisfied nod, but internally, I felt weird calling my mysterious private instructor so casually by his first name. In exchange, I’ll have him call me by my name, too. Whenever he called me by my last name, I’d sit up straight like I was being called in class. Since he was my teacher, I tolerated it until now, but I just couldn’t get used to my last name being called.
“Then I’d like for you to call me by my first name too,” I said. “Call me Misha.”
“All right,” Vil agreed.
As the streetlights shone into our carriage, I saw him more clearly. His arms were crossed in front of him as he gazed into the distance, and his expressionless visage made me wonder if he really understood my request. Then, I noticed a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel glued to his shoulder. It’s so cute… I mean, when did it get there? It’s the same color as his jacket, so I didn’t notice it until now.
“What’s wrong?” Vil asked.
“Oh, nothing!”
Maybe he’s got a good reason to have that creature on him. I’ll just turn the other way for now.
I noticed a fork in the road ahead, and we took the path toward the gates that were protected by guards. I guessed that this was the noble road. It only took a mere five minutes for our carriage to roll up in front of the castle’s back entrance.
I’d always gazed at the castle from a distance and never dreamed of seeing it so close; it stood solemnly and proudly, towering over its surroundings. The night sky masked most of its majestic glory, but the brick walls gave the building a historical feel, like a soldier who had braved countless years.
When we stepped inside, the royal chamberlain guided us toward a waiting room where we’d spend our time until the ball began. I didn’t expect to be left in a room alone with Vil. Since we had no other attendants, the chamberlain must’ve assumed that we were engaged to each other. I’d managed to avoid situations like these until now, but I currently had nowhere to flee. And since Vil wants to investigate the castle, it’s not like he’d refuse to head in… This is awkward. Oh, maybe I can talk about the flying squirrel.
“Um, Vil, you’ve got another squirrel on your chest,” I said.
“Yeah, I brought this guy along to scout the area.”
“Ah, so it’s here for a reason.”
I advised him to hide the squirrel so that it wouldn’t stand out, and Vil gently grabbed the creature like a ball of mochi and plopped it into his pocket.
Ugh… What else can we talk about? The silence is deafening… Oh! Right, I received a letter from Professor Whipp earlier. Now seems as good a time as any to read it—I think it’s a report on the poison. I’d received a letter from her just as I was about to leave school, and I didn’t get a chance to read it.
“Vil, may I read a letter I received from Professor Whipp?” I asked.
“Go right ahead.”
“Thank you. Er, it’s actually in my garter belt, so I have to lift my dress up a little. If you don’t mind, can you turn the other way for a few moments?”
“Why in the world would you keep a letter there?”
“Dresses don’t have pockets.”
He sighed and turned the other way. I used that chance to quickly lift my skirt and reach for the letter sandwiched by my garter belt.
“Thank you. You can turn back now.”
“Just read the damn letter,” Vil muttered.
“Right.”
I cut the envelope open and unfurled the letter. As I thought, it informed me that poison was detected in Vil’s blood and food. I quietly handed the first page of the letter to him, and Vil, perhaps already expecting this outcome too, maintained his composure as his eyes scanned the paper.
“As expected, someone mixed poison into my food.”
“So it seems.”
The analysis report came back as positive for million ore. This ore was actually used to treat certain ailments and was a highly effective cure for those sick with a certain disease. However, the ore became toxic to those who weren’t sick, and they would immediately fall ill. This poison accumulated and remained in one’s body; if they ingested too much over the years, it was fatal.
“I…didn’t expect this poison,” Vil muttered.
The culprit was slowly but surely chipping away at Vil’s health until he would inevitably die. Professor Whipp had assumed that the culprit used some kind of plant or monster’s blood—substances that were known to be purely toxic for humans—before she realized that she was looking at it from the wrong angle. Hence, why it took so long for her to pinpoint the substance. She also mentioned that the potion I made had some qualities that served as a mild antidote to the poison—it wasn’t enough to completely cure the user, but it definitely alleviated some symptoms and also helped remove some of the poison that accumulated and stayed within one’s body.
This explained why Vil felt so much better when he took my potion. I didn’t recall ever adding an antidote to any of my products, but the professor hypothesized that I had a blessing as well. In my mind, a blessing was flashier than that. It could help the hero defeat the Demon Lord or a saintess bring forth a miracle to cure fatal wounds and sicknesses—the blessing I received felt rather dull in comparison.
“What else does the letter say?” Vil asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you seemed pretty shocked.”
“H-Ha ha, um, er…”
Right, I didn’t tell him that I made the potions yet. I kept quiet about it because I didn’t want to get dragged into trouble, but now that I’m in the thick of it, I might as well just say it.
“Truth be told, the potion that you’ve been taking was actually made by me,” I revealed.
“What?! Really?!” he shouted.
“Yes… You can ask Professor Whipp if you don’t believe me. She’s been giving me permission to continue selling my potions.”
He crossed his arms in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me about that until now?”
“Er, I don’t know… I just couldn’t really find the right timing to bring it up.”
He let out a loud sigh, and I took my chance to mention my blessing.
“Um, Professor Whipp also mentioned that my potions are blessed with some antidote properties,” I added. “And it’s very compatible with you.”
“That makes sense…” he muttered.
“Yes, though it’s a bit of a shame that my blessing seems rather dull.”
“Your ‘dull’ blessing saved my life, though. I’ve almost completely rid my body of that poison, apparently.”
“Right. I guess I can see it as a miracle.”
In any case, I could now see why my potions worked so well on him and that Vil was certainly being poisoned by someone.
“I’d like to talk about this more later,” he said.
“O-Okay.”
We have to focus on our investigation first.
“Let’s catch the culprit,” I said firmly.
“Yeah,” Vil replied with a nod. He noted that he already knew where the wig was. “The wig’s been moving around, so I suspect the culprit has it on their body and is on the move.”
“That narrows it down considerably!”
The culprit was currently in a special section of the royal castle. Normal bystanders weren’t allowed in that area, but that information alone was more than enough to narrow down our list of suspects. Vil was sitting tight for the moment so that he wouldn’t raise any suspicions, but he planned to act the moment the ball started. But who in the world is after his life anyway? I’m sure we’ll confront them today, but still…
“It’s almost time,” he said.
“Yes, it is.”
He stood up and offered me a hand; it felt less like an invitation to a graceful dance and more like a knight offering help to a comrade in arms on the battlefield. I accepted his hand and together we strolled into the battlefield known as a debutante ball.