Now that was quite the confession. After such a heavy revelation, no one knew what to say. The silence lingered, thick and uncomfortable.
Finally, Sirius asked a question in a calm and collected tone, “You said previously that this is a type of herb that will change if imbued with magic while it’s growing. But if magic isn’t used, does that mean the Galle Red Leaf will stay red and Galle Blue Leaf will stay blue without ever changing?”
Sirius’s guess was right on the money.
Considering that the village had fields that were teeming with Galle Red Leaf and Galle Blue Leaf, it was a natural conclusion to assume they could be cultivated without the use of magic.
Chief Mintaka’s expression was pained as he answered, “When it comes to Galle Red Leaf and Galle Blue Leaf…it’s just as you’ve said. But in the case of Galle Gold Leaf, without magic the leaves fade to green, and it ceases to be a medicinal herb at all! That’s why, in order to create Galle Gold Leaf, all three types needed to be cultivated cyclically.”
Seeing the regret etched on Chief Mintaka’s face after he finished his confession, Mirach ran both his hands through his hair, clearly on the verge of losing his composure.
“So, in an effort to prevent a generations-old lie from being uncovered, you fabricated a story about the Galle Gold Leaf being stolen? That’s going too far…”
Mirach trailed off, clearly overwhelmed by the weight of what he’d just learned. Silence settled in once again, even heavier than before.
I looked from Chief Mintaka to Mirach to Lukbar, wondering what to say, when the quiet was interrupted by the echo of rough footsteps coming down the hallway. The door to the parlor swung open, and in stepped a cheerful Miaplacidus, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere that hung in the room.
“Lady Seraphi, I handed out all the leaves!” he announced. “But unfortunately, I was unable to find my one true love. Or, no, perhaps she is just shy and hiding around here somewhere?”
“Milzam!”
Although his gaze had been fixed on the floor until that moment, Chief Mintaka immediately jerked up his head and ran toward Miaplacidus in a panic.
“Milzam?”
Chief Mintaka didn’t seem to notice Miaplacidus’s protests and grabbed both of his arms.
“Milzam, you’ve returned? Is my sister here too?”
But all the village chief received in response to his feverous questions was a flat denial.
“Milzam is my father’s name. While it’s true I do resemble him, I’m Miaplacidus, his son.”
“His…son?”
Chief Mintaka looked astonished as Mirach and I both echoed his words.
“His son?!”
“His son?!!”
Seeing Mirach and I leap from our chairs in surprise, Miaplacidus crossed his arms as if he was putting two and two together.
“Oh, would that make you my mother’s older brother then?” he said, his eyes widening a bit. “That must mean that Galle Village is the ‘golden village’ where my mother was born! I heard the story from my father many times. He wandered into a village that had fields of gold when he was young and met his woman of destiny—my mother. I wonder if I can do the same today…” Miaplacidus concluded in a dreamy tone.
Just because his mother hailed from this village doesn’t mean that Miaplacidus is also destined to have a romantic encounter, I thought, although I kept that opinion to myself.
But Chief Mintaka, on the other hand, was gazing at Miaplacidus with a knowing smile.
“Yes, you’re indeed the son of Milzam, still clinging to those romantic notions despite being an adult! Not only are you the spitting image of your father, but you’re just like him on the inside as well. Tell me, how are your parents?”
“They’re both well. In fact, they get along fabulously. I’ve hardly even seen them fight!”
Hearing that, Chief Mintaka’s eyes glazed over like he was remembering something from the past, and his lips curled into a soft smile.
“Is that so? That’s good to hear indeed. So their marriage was a success.”
But before the chief’s bittersweet mood could overtake the room, Lukbar yelled out, “I knew my instincts were good! I never liked Miaplacidus, and now I see there was a perfectly legitimate reason for it!”
If Miaplacidus’s father was connected to the disappearance of the village’s precious medicinal herbs, of course Lukbar was going to despise his son. Even so, he looked way too pleased to finally have a belated explanation for his bias beyond simply hating anyone with dark hair.
But Mirach quickly refuted that train of thought. “You’re misguided! It wasn’t his father’s fault that the Galle Gold Leaf was taken at all. And even if his father did do something wrong, that doesn’t make the son guilty! The one at fault here is my father, who kept the truth hidden all this time!” he finished, throwing Chief Mintaka a seething glare.
Chief Mintaka could only nod in response. Now that everything was out in the open, it seemed he had no intention of staying quiet any longer. He bowed his head in apology.
“I’m so sorry about all this. After we’re done here, I will confess everything to the village and ask for their opinions on the Galle herbs. They will get a choice in whether we continue to grow Galle Gold Leaf with magic or live without it. Then, I’ll relinquish my position.”
“Relinquish?”
I wrinkled my nose; that was a tricky word. Next to me, Miaplacidus piped up cheerfully, “I’m not quite following what’s going on, but if you’re my mother’s brother, that makes you my uncle. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Ah! You truly are the son of Milzam and my sister. What a kind soul.”
Chief Mintaka smiled appreciatively as Miaplacidus wrapped his arm around Mirach’s shoulder and gave him a few rough pats on the back.
“Mirach, that makes us cousins, doesn’t it?” Miaplacidus pointed out. “Since you’re a year older than me, I guess you’re the ‘big’ cousin, and I’m the ‘little’ one.” He chuckled for a moment. “That’s a bit amusing, considering you’re so much smaller than me.”
“There’s no correlation between age and height!” Mirach snapped back with a pout.
I gazed up at Sirius, “Sirius, does that mean the relationship between those two is like ours?”
“Yes, although neither Mirach nor Miaplacidus would ever be anywhere near as intense, unpredictable, or helpless as you,” Sirius replied rather sternly. I got the feeling he was disparaging me somehow, so I fixed him with a glare.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Meeting you was my downfall.”
I supposed that was a proper answer, but it didn’t make sense. I tilted my head in confusion as Chief Mintaka gave me a little bow.
“Your Highness, I’m incredibly grateful to you for resurrecting the Galle Gold Leaf once more. Thanks to you, the scales have fallen from my eyes. I will discuss a future course of action with the villagers before deciding anything.”
Worried that, depending on the outcome of this discussion, the Galle Gold Leaf would be deemed unnecessary, I desperately tried to appeal to the herb’s effectiveness.
“Mr. Chief, this Galle Gold Leaf is amazing! It’s not even medicine yet; all I did was harvest it! But when I made tea from it, the preventive effects were out of this world! If it were turned into medicine, it’d be incredible!”
“Father, don’t believe what she’s saying. The gold leaves we just distributed to the villagers are special. If we do continue to grow Galle Gold Leaf in the village, it will never be as effective as those.”
What on earth was Mirach saying? Leaves that were processed into medicine couldn’t possibly be less effective than the ones that were simply picked.
I looked to Sirius for backup, but he just loosely shrugged his shoulders without offering any assistance. Argh!