“Kindly sit down, my dear audience.” The King advised to his attendees standing in the meeting room.

The Queen, Dion, Mathilde, Brodveth, and Elara sat on the free space available on the couch. Before the King planned on joking, the Queen dominated him and initiated the meeting.

“I’m so sorry for everything that is suddenly happening, my dear child. If you don’t want to, you shouldn’t push yourself in forcing things out.”

“I’m alright, your highness,” Dion said. “In order to become a mighty knight, I will do what it takes for the monsters to be eradicated.”

“My apologies, Queen, but we already made a pact in cooperating with the kingdom. You can extract information from us. Your family already gave us a handful of help we can never repay within our lives,” Mathilde said.

“Yeah… I heard you’re Elara’s underling now,” the Queen muttered, winking her brows toward the King. When the King received her eye contact, he scratched his head and giggled.

“My queen, am I at utmost importance to attend this conference?” Elara asked.

“Elara, my dear swift maid, you uphold a key information that might connect the dots to these mysteries.”

“But I don’t know if my information was reliable, your highness. It’s been years since I last saw his face.”

“Dion,” the queen said, which made Dion jump his chair.

“Y—Yes!”

“Oh, my sincere apologies to be rude. I might have raised my tone. Don’t get scared at me dear. I’m always careful when talking to someone. Calm down, okay?”

Dion nodded his head while pressing his lips.

The queen hid her lips behind her squirming fingers and asked. “Continuing the conversation, did his eyes glow red?”

Dion looked up, remembering the scientist’s physical details before he answered. “……Yes.”

“It did connect the dots.” The queen leaned the couch and looked at Brodveth. “Cavalry Captain, would you mind helping me a hand?”

“How may I offer my assistance, your highness?”

The Queen continued, “the pressing matter currently would be the investigation of missing women bodies within the slums. Can you expound this more?”

“So, my Queen, I thought the kingdom wasn’t investigating this case according to the man at the tavern,” Mathilde said.

“The kingdom did, for was I who were the object of the undercover intel gathering,” Brodveth said. “The moment the case had been happening, I’m away from the castle to observe.”

“Oh, were you?” The king asked. “I thought you locked yourself in your feather-filled room.”

“Can you bury your opinion to your butthole?” The queen roared towards the king with a noisy breathing. “I humbly apologize for the interuption, Cavalry Captain.”

“It’s alright, my queen. I shall continue the report. I had been living in the slums for years before I became a knight, so I’m the most suitable candidate for this operation. It’s true that I’ve been an acquaintance of Miss Mathilde and Dion before.”

After a pause, Mathilde muttered. “Brod… I thought you forgot us…”

“I would never forget those kind people who helped me. My apologies for not entertaining your attention before. I would like to, but I couldn’t in front of a royal decree.”

“Brod… You looked… healthier than before…” Mathilde said.

She stood, walked towards Brodveth, and touched his face. “Are you eating well now? Looks like your hard work paid off. Everywhere I go, everyone knows your name. You’re too successful now… way beyond where we could never reach.”

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“Miss Mathilde… I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“What happened last year… I should’ve helped you… but…”

“Last year?”

A year ago…

Mathilde was supposed to come home by the afternoon from her work at a noble’s place, which was a family of abusive dictators.

She never realized that coughing became her habit. Its symptoms appeared a year after giving birth to Dion. Sickness lived with her all along, but she ignored it because of financial reasons.

But that day became her toughest day. In the middle of the street, she vomited and fell down the ground, garnering public attention.

She couldn’t move her body, yet her conscious eyes circled to those people that surrounded her. No one helped her. Instead, voices swarmed, talking about how unfortunate Mathilde was in the lowest class.

“Poor her. Slum people are dead weights of the kingdom.”

“Yeah. They’re just the class with the lowest priority, worse, become a factory of criminals. Those who are in the slums doesn’t deserve to live.”

A loud bell rang. The knights from the castle invaded the streets, announcing that the residents should shelter under their houses. The reason was unknown.

The civilians left Mathilde lying on the ground, hyperventilating. Dion passed, squinting his eyes towards the lying woman until it was clear that it was her mother.

Dion ran to her, shouting, “Mom!” Rumbling of steps caught his attention. He tried carrying his mother out the chaos, but it was too late.

It was a death march to him. The stampede caused his back to be stepped by heavy people. He gritted his teeth as his back burned in pain.

To protect his mother, he held back his scream. He shielded her with his thin body, until he suffered broken ribs.

“I’m sorry… Mom…”

At the present…

When Dion recalled what happened, he quickly pulled his mom away from Brodveth. His wide-open arms obstructed the contact between the two.

“You… How dare you, Brother Brod! How dare you step on us! I thought you cared for us… But no. All you think of was your status, your mission, your selfishness!”

“Could you please shut up!?” The queen shouted, halting the two from throwing each other’s arguments. “I didn’t went on the town theater to watch a drama. I needed reports.”

“I—I’m sorry, your highness, but I couldn’t forgive this man who trampled on us,” Dion argued.

“The whole search wasn’t his fault. If you’re angry you got trampled on, blame my daughter. Now, Cavalry Captain, can you give us the report?”

“Yes, your majesty. I spotted a man in a hooded cloak, wearing a mask. His blinking and glowing red eyes were notable. Judging from his physique, he might be a thin person.”

“By thin, you mean young?”

“That’s what I suspect. His height didn’t exceed six feet. He doesn’t have wrinkles on his hands. I consulted the forensic mages and estimated that he might still be a teenager, preferably 17 or 18.”

“T—There’s no denying it,” Elara uttered, standing up her seat. “That’s Elliot. Elliot was within the kingdom’s grounds!”

“This was an alarming matter,” Queen added. “The kidnappings, the experiment, the monsters in the forest… He took a step before us. Elara, are you willing to investigate this matter? You’re the only one who knew Elliot’s face by now.”

“I humbly apologize, your majesty, but my time was completely occupied for watching over Veniara. Though I hated to say this, but I’m not the only one who knows his face. Do you want me to invite her for this matter?”

“Ask her, Elara. Tell her this is an urgent matter.”

***

The castle dungeon was located within the castle’s underground. It gathered criminals, sorted by their offenses.

I passed through the same dungeon once to clear a misunderstanding. Who knew that I would do this again? This time, I faced someone with a major offense.

“What do you want?” A dead-looking man sat on the corner of his cell. “Oh, a royalty. Are you going to laugh at someone pretending to be higher than your status? Higher than God?”

“I am not here for your mumbling,” I said, standing before his cell. “You should answer my questions, else…”

He was the doctor that Dion visited in search for a cure for his mother.

“Else what? You’ll kill me? I wouldn’t care less. Either way, I’ll end up dying. It’s better if you do it quick—”

“I won’t entertain your rants. Answer my questions, I beg you.”

“What a spoiled brat pretending to be an adult.”

“In what book did you learn the term ‘orthomyxoviridae?’”

His eyes widened and his head stood straight. He gulped. “Hey, hey! Kid, don’t you want to get imprisoned too, don’t you? Did that brat tell you that?”

“He did, but he never knew that it was a family of viruses which infected his mother. No one else knew other than me and you.”

“I could just shout here and call the guards to mark a cell your home. You took the wrong path to become an underground doctor. You’ll end up like me.”

I opened my palm to him. A ball of light appeared, dazzling his eyes. I took it off the moment I showed him. “Are you worried?”

“You’re… a saintess candidate!?”

“I might look like a kid, but I might known far greater than you. Hypesviridae, Reoviridae, Togaviridae, and the lates Coronaviridae… some of it might tick out of your brain. There are still things you don’t know about the world.”

“Did you come here just to brag?”

I shook my head. “I have a proposal. Are you willing to negotiate?”

“I like how shady your mind is. I’m willing to listen.”

“First, may I ask your name?”

“…Hugbert.”

Hugbert… Hugbert!? “HUGBERT SEISTAD!?”

“I never disclosed my family name! Where did you get that, kid!?”

My hand flew, covering my parting mouth. My eyebrows compressed as my pupils dilated. Sucking a quick breath, I froze in place.

This man… He was the engineer of the kingdom’s defenses. Most notably…

He was Elara’s future husband!