“So what was it? That one thing?”

“Well……”

“What is it? You spoke as if you knew everything. Does Your Highness not know either?”

Ian just gave an enigmatic smile. From his expression, it seemed he had some idea, but no matter how much I pressed, he wouldn’t tell.

“This looks like the place that gravedigger mentioned earlier?”

He changed the subject like this. Seeing that he really didn’t seem to want to answer, I stopped asking further.

“There are more graves here than I expected.”

“If those gravedigger flowers transferred the disease the corpses had, we should look into how the owners of these graves died.”

“Yes. That seems to be the only way to determine the exact disease.”

I looked around with a bewildered expression.

There were over twenty graves here, just counting roughly with my eyes. To find out if anyone buried here died with symptoms similar to the gravedigger’s daughter, we’d have to do a lot of legwork.

We’d have to find and ask each bereaved family, and it was questionable if they would even answer properly.

But I couldn’t just worry endlessly. Though it would be arduous, I steeled my resolve not to give up easily, thinking of the sleeping girl and the gravedigger waiting for her.

“Fortunately, these are nobles’ graves. Noble deaths are recorded in detail in documents, so we should just need to confirm the names and return.”

Ian’s words made my eyes widen.

“Deaths are recorded in documents? I thought we’d have to go around asking everyone……”

“Not all of them, but for bodies less than 40 years old, there’s a high chance records remain. There were many incidents of harm between nobles back then, and as unclear deaths increased, investigators were dispatched when nobles staying in the capital died.”

Of course, even for commoners, suspicious deaths are investigated by security soldiers, and culprits are put on trial.

But I’ve never heard of those records remaining or being able to view them. However, it seems records do remain for nobles.

“That’s really fortunate. Most of the graves here are from about 20 years ago.”

“Then records should remain. They would have been nobles residing in the capital to be buried here.”

“Where are those records?”

“In the Imperial Palace library.”

“The library has things like that too?”

Until now, I asked Ian whenever I needed a book. I did so thinking I couldn’t leave the pharmacy empty for guests who might come at any time. So I borrowed books on herbs and healing arts, and occasionally history books or novels for a change of mood.

But if I had known such valuable materials were in the library, I would have gone to the Imperial Palace library even if it meant briefly leaving the pharmacy empty.

It would have been good study to check what diseases or accidents nobles mainly died from and consider prescriptions accordingly.

This is why they say you have to taste it to know. Even though Ian had allowed me to use the Imperial Palace library, I wasn’t utilizing it properly.

I wanted to run to the library right away. Besides records of noble deaths, could there be materials I didn’t know about, couldn’t even imagine?

First, I could look at those records to understand the gravedigger’s daughter’s condition, and if I used my time well, I might even be able to check the catalog of books……

“No matter how expectantly you look at me, it’s not happening today. It’s too late. I’ll take you home.”

“We really can’t stop by the library?”

“If I say no, it’s no.”

Looking around, I saw the sun had already sunk low. It would be dark soon. I lost track of time seeing patients directly after so long.

“This won’t do. I need to quickly copy down the epitaphs and head back. If we delay, it’ll be too dark to read them properly.”

I hurriedly began recording the names engraved on the tombstones. If I didn’t write them down today, I’d have to come back here to check the names and then go to the Imperial Palace library, which would waste precious time as my route became convoluted.

While urging Ian, I swiftly recorded all the epitaphs and then carefully scanned them with my eyes to see if I had missed anything.

The scenery of the graveyard filled with sunset light was incredibly mysterious and beautiful. I looked around the graveyard, patting my back that had been bent over examining the tombstones.

“The sun will set completely soon.”

“Really? I’ve finished writing. Shall we hurry back?”

Thinking Ian was urging us to leave quickly before it got completely dark, I hastily packed my things. Ian stopped me and said:

“I didn’t mean to hurry…… Since it’s already late anyway, how about going back a bit more slowly? You said you were curious about how this place looks after the sun sets.”

Come to think of it, the gravedigger did say this place is more beautiful at night. If it’s already this dreamily beautiful, how much more beautiful will it be when the gravedigger flowers glow?

“Shall we?”

Ileana would probably be waiting worriedly if we returned too late, but I was too curious and excited about how the scenery here would change after sunset.

The gravedigger flowers were already rare, and I likely wouldn’t have another chance to visit here at night. Didn’t the gravedigger say so? Even though he said people could come anytime, no one visits the graveyard late at night.

As everywhere darkened deeply with the evening twilight, a cool wind began to blow with a hiss. Though the weather had clearly been warm during the day, after the sun set, the chill was as cold as early winter.

“The wind is cold. Put this on.”

Ian took off his outer garment and draped it over my shoulders. Due to our difference in build, it looked more like I was wrapped in a blanket than wearing a coat.

Even with just one extra layer, it became considerably warmer.

Since using Claire’s body, Ian suddenly felt much bigger to me.

Maybe because I had known him since we were very young, or because the image of his pale face lying in bed when he was ill as a child was imprinted on me, Ian had always seemed like a weak and delicate younger brother to me.

Of course, I did have moments of feeling “When did he grow so tall? How time flies” when he shot up during puberty, but I still wasn’t used to Ian’s build that had been striking me differently lately.

It was just that my eye level had lowered a bit, but it was amazing how much difference that made.

Even before, Ian had always taken good care of me, but the image of him as a younger brother never faded. Now, I was flustered to suddenly perceive him as a man of my own age at times.

“Don’t act so grown-up. I’m not used to it.”

“I’m not acting grown-up, I am grown up. How long has it been since my coming-of-age ceremony? And I was mature even as a child. Who was it that used to pick on me, saying I was like a little old man?”

That was me. I didn’t like how he acted like he had seen it all despite his small, cute face.

I would knead his soft, squishy cheeks while telling him that if he was a child, he should clearly express with his face if he liked or disliked something like a child would. If expressing with his face was difficult, he should at least express it in words.

Simons would faint and try to stop me, saying how dare I manhandle His Highness the Crown Prince’s face, but I was also a stubborn little brat at the time, so I wouldn’t let go of Ian’s face.

It was quite a sight to see my red handprints on his snow-white cheeks.

Thinking about it now, it’s amazing Lord Chamberlain Simons didn’t kill me. If I hadn’t known the recipe for Ian’s medicine, I would have long been sunk to the bottom of the river tied to a rock. In fact, I relied on that knowledge to act up.

At first, I was very afraid of Lord Chamberlain Simons, but after realizing he couldn’t harm me, I acted as I pleased. From Simons’ perspective, I must have been a truly insufferable brat.

“His Highness the Crown Prince certainly had that aspect when he was young. Your manner of speech, your expressions, were like an old man who had seen it all. Like a 70-year-old man occupying a child’s body… Huh?”

Could it be that Ian too had the soul of a dying old man enter his body as a child?

In fact, Ian had many close calls with death due to the Prophet’s Fever, and looking at my case, it’s not an impossible story… I gave Ian a suspicious look.

“It’s not.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s not’? I didn’t even say anything.”

“You were making the absurd suspicion that an old man’s soul entered my body.”

“Looking at my case, it’s not such an absurd idea, is it?”

“It’s not.”

“Alright, alright. Did you think I really believed that? Of course I was joking.”

I haven’t completely dismissed the suspicion though… There’s always that one-in-a-million chance, right?