TPOP 106

Chapter 106

***

The first subjects of investigation were the servants of the main palace and the secondary palace. However, since the former Chief Steward, Lunok, had already died and the Chief Maidservant of the main palace, Emile, was injured, the investigation proceeded with the general servants, excluding those two.

"Ah, I saw the young lady speaking with a certain commoner youth who delivered pigments to the secondary palace!"

The testimonies followed one after another.

"I am not acquainted with that young lady. I only knew her as a maid mentioned by an acquaintance. I merely struck up a conversation because I found it fascinating that she was in the imperial palace! The conversation we had was nothing special. She asked about the atmosphere in the capital, so I simply relayed the rumors circulating in society—."

Among them, they managed to glean something useful.

"The physician who serves as the royal physician of Ormance examined the young lady three times. Mistress Emile, the head maid, would have reported all three visits to His Highness. On the day the young lady awoke, she spoke with that physician and caused a small commotion—it was clearly the young lady who dropped the cup—"

Lines gradually added to the rough sketch. With each new testimony, the picture gained color and shadow, drawing closer to the truth. Unable to draw by hand, he kept adding lines in his mind.

When the general circumstances were pieced together, Felix commanded.

"Bring the maps. Focus on the topography of the northeastern continent."

"Yes, Your Highness."

A vast map encompassing neighboring countries, centered on Karman and Ormance, was pinned to the studio wall.

Felix used crimson paint for the first time in ages. Even though the work didn't require precision, his left hand faltered dozens of times. He didn't care, as long as it was recognizable. Dozens of red lines and symbols appeared on the map.

A full day passed, and the completed work unfolded before Felix's eyes.

***

The rain had completely stopped.

The hot sun pierced the clouds and shone upon the earth. The summer familiar to the Karman people had returned.

However, the capital, ravaged by floods, could not be easily restored. They called the disaster that struck in midsummer a curse from the gods.

Hugo Christen visited the imperial palace almost daily.

"Is he holed up in the painting studio again today?"

Emile, who had returned to the main palace, shook her head instead of answering.

The search still showed no progress. A month had passed; there were no more places left to search.

The only one who hadn't given up was the Crown Prince, who still hadn't withdrawn the search order. This fact meant Karman's borders had been sealed for over a month. The coronation was delayed, of course.

He was now the de facto emperor. No one doubted the successful transfer of power, and indeed, all nobles treated him as emperor. Yet without a formal coronation, his official title remained Crown Prince.

This didn't mean Felix neglected his duties. Handling his duties was also a measure of his ability to separate public and private matters.

Even while secluded in the secondary palace, he handled all necessary tasks without fail. Though it might have seemed he was holed up there idly painting whatever he fancied or enjoying the thrill of hunting down spies, Hugo knew this leisure was earned by swiftly and accurately completing all required work on time. Felix had only abandoned his duties and immersed himself in private life for the past few months, when he was entangled with Diana.

So perhaps this current state was acceptable? He had endured a minor setback, but the rebellion had been successfully suppressed, and the woman who had clouded his lord's judgment was gone. Couldn't the brief turmoil be dismissed as a minor side effect from a poisonous weed he'd never encountered before?

Hugo vaguely held onto that hope, but it was still too early to relax. Once he finished the official business awaiting his approval, Felix shut himself away on the third floor of the palace annex without fail, every single day. It had been a long time since he'd entered his bedroom.

'With his right hand still not healed, what could he possibly do there alone?'

The art studio was, literally, a space for painting. And right now, the Crown Prince was in no condition to paint.

It wasn't his left hand; it was his right hand that was shattered. Hugo remembered how dearly his dead sister had cherished her son's hands.

"My child's hands are the eyes that see the world clearly. They should always remain so..."

His heart was rotting inside, but still, he was his only nephew. He couldn't help but worry. If only his right hand hadn't been in such a state, he wouldn't be so concerned.

Hugo turned and headed for the palace.

Two knights stood guard in front of the painting studio on the third floor.

"I need to see His Highness."

"His Highness ordered no one to be admitted."

"Just let me try. I'll speak to him myself."

The knight reluctantly opened the studio door. Felix was in the innermost room of the studio. Hugo, who had been about to cross the studio, paused and glanced left and right.

"……?"

A massive map dominated the left wall of the studio. All the paintings that had originally hung there had been taken down and carelessly tossed onto the floor.

This was no ordinary map. It was a military map, detailing topographical information and strategic strongholds.

Hugo's spine tingled. He stepped closer to the map. Rough brushstrokes were visible on the stiff paper.

"Ormance."

The surrounding nations appeared relatively clean. Red dots marked the paths connecting Ormance and Karman—bridges, rivers, mountain trails. Red lines traced the routes. Examining the nearby terrain, Hugo realized with a thunderclap.

"This is..."

Every crimson line was a front line.

***

"Your Highness, might we speak with this uncle for a moment? That map you have pinned to the wall—what purpose does it serve? Surely my guess is mistaken?"

The noisy individual knocked on the door again. He had clearly seen the map displayed outside.

It wasn't worth answering point by point. Felix focused all his attention on the movement of his left hand.

His limbs, refusing to move as his mind commanded, caused immense frustration. Bringing the image already complete in his mind into reality should be easier than breathing, yet he couldn't even move a single stationary object.

Diana's antidote lay beside the easel. He had retrieved it from a drawer in the table of the main palace's bedroom. He had thought it didn't matter if he didn't give it to Diana right away, since he could give it to her anytime. But now, even if he wanted to give it to her, he couldn't.

Felix drew it with his left hand. A slender, long, opaque black glass vial. Even drawing that simple form, his lines were crooked. He kept drawing anyway.

Only after several hours did a distorted antidote appear on the canvas. He gave it a name.

Arrogance

It was placed beside the canvas where he had once thrown mixed paints. Its title, <Fear>, was an abstract work nearly unrecognizable as a form.

His canvases were no longer used to hold paintings, but to wildly unload the random thoughts that surfaced in his mind. Thus, paintings 'stained' with things other than people were scattered everywhere.

As he painted whatever came to mind, clarity gradually emerged. Felix switched brushes and drew a sharp breath.

"War is absolutely out of the question. It's not about Ormance's military strength. Turning the people's will toward war is something only a madman like the late emperor, incapable of discernment, would do!"

"I know, so shut up and get lost."

The commotion outside the door was irritating. His thoughts interrupted, Felix grabbed the brush and threw it. 

Bang! It was unbelievable how loud the sound was, considering it was just a brush hitting the door. The noise outside instantly ceased.

A day had passed since he completed the tactical map outlining the attack and defense lines. It was a flawless strategy—one that promised victory if he could just take that map outside and move his army immediately. He had completed it in a single night.

The only foreign power capable of luring Diana away was currently Ormance. If they had kidnapped the maid prepared to antagonize the Empire, it meant they knew she was a spirit summoner too. Naturally, even if the Emperor of Karman demanded it, they wouldn't willingly hand her over.

If Ormance played that game, the easiest and most convenient way to bring Diana back would be war.

That is, assuming Diana remained there quietly.

What if he attacked Ormance only to find Diana wasn't there? Wouldn't that be a waste?

Would a woman who left even the Crown Prince of Karman because she disliked him really stay quietly bound in Ormance?

"I want to go to the spring."

The place Diana always wanted to go was always one place: home.

She was destined to return to the Valestega Spring in the old royal castle of Dortes. A flash of excitement like lightning sparkled in Felix's eyes as he found the path he must take.