As a faint light flowed from her hands, the wounds slowly began to heal. After a moment, Ted slowly opened his eyelids and asked.

“I counted to 100.”

“Already? But what should we do? The treatment still has a bit more to go.”

“Then should I count to 100 one more time?”

“Yes. That will do!”

“Okay.”

As if much of the tension had eased, the child even smiled brightly at Veronia. Then he closed his eyes again. Seeing his small lips constantly moving, it seemed he was diligently counting numbers in his mind.

‘This is much slower than when treating other children’s hands and feet. It’s really strange.’

There was much to find out – what the needle marks were, by whom and for what reason needles had been inserted into the child’s body, and whether it was related to Ted’s symptoms.

‘For that, I’d like to hear even a small clue from the person involved first. I’ll have to try to get closer to Ted for now.’

Finally, the treatment was finished. Ted’s eyes widened, as if he found his clean stomach very fascinating.

“Th-thank you, Healer.”

“That’s my job. But the treatment isn’t completely over yet.”

“What? …Why?”

Tension returned to Ted’s face, which had been calm. His friend Thomas’s face beside him was the same.

“Thomas and the other friends started hurting from their hands and feet, but only Ted started hurting from his stomach. So I’m worried.”

“Ah…”

It wasn’t intended, but the child’s face became scared. But some explanation of the situation had to be given to the child, so it couldn’t be helped.

“So I think Ted needs to stay here in the ward while I examine his condition. Of course, I’ll tell the orphanage teacher separately, but I’m telling Ted first. Do you understand?”

“…Yes.”

The child with a gloomy expression nodded.

Ted’s hospitalization procedure was quickly completed. Fortunately, there was a hospital room available.

When I explained the situation to the orphanage teacher, she readily agreed to stay by Ted’s side as his guardian. Ted’s expression brightened considerably, as if relieved by those words.

However, the problem was that there were more children showing symptoms similar to Ted’s.

Including Ted, there were five in total, and all showed symptoms of rotting and festering from the stomach while their hands and feet were clean. Moreover, needle marks were found on all the children’s bodies.

When I asked the children about the needle marks, they all kept their mouths shut tight and rolled their eyes, only checking the situation. The orphanage teacher seemed to have been completely unaware, as she was even more surprised than Veronia.

“My goodness! Could the children have played with something sharp? But there’s nothing like that in the orphanage… If they really are needle marks, who on earth did such a thing? It must be someone who comes and goes to the orphanage? This is the first time I’ve seen such a case, so I don’t know either. What should we do?”

“The children seem very shocked right now, so let’s leave it for now. Could you ask them again tomorrow or the day after, when you have the chance?”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Leaving behind the orphanage teacher nodding vigorously, Veronia left the ward.

But even late at night, when she returned to the count’s mansion and went to bed, her mind remained in that hospital room. An unpleasant premonition kept lingering around the back of her neck.

‘This is really strange. I must find out who did such a terrible thing.’

The next morning, when Veronia arrived at the clinic, she had to hear unexpected news.

“It was the director of Michelson Orphanage. He came in the middle of the night and caused a disturbance.”

“The director caused a disturbance? Why?”

“He seemed very uncomfortable that some children were hospitalized without his permission. We said it was a necessary measure based on the children’s condition, but he was unreasonable. In the end, he took all the children away.”

“…….”

That orphanage was indeed a bit strange. The rare symptoms shown by some children, the needle marks, and now the director’s disturbance. The puzzle pieces seemed to be fitting together more and more.

‘They said it was the largest orphanage in the south. It seems the director is up to something suspicious inside. I’ll have to investigate.’

Veronia’s eyes narrowed sharply.

It was past midnight again when Veronia was able to return to the Eidenbenz Count’s mansion today. Her body was tired, but her mind was clear. She opened the bedroom door, thinking of discussing the orphanage children with Killian.

“You’ve returned?”

Killian greeted her. With a hot kiss.

Though their lips had met countless times, far from getting used to it, it was dizzying enough to shake her mind every time. The back of her head tingled as if goosebumps were forming, then she had to flinch at the suddenly boiling body temperature.

Soft lips stubbornly and persistently craved Veronia’s lips. Was he intending to devour all of her breath without leaving any?

Killian thoroughly explored her lips again and again. Veronia, overwhelmed by his endless entanglement, pushed his chest slightly and said with a moan.

“Haa… Killian… Stop…”

Soon Killian’s lips parted reluctantly. Veronia was just as reluctant, but she had to catch her breath first.

As Veronia was taking deep breaths, Killian gently embraced her. Like someone who didn’t want to be apart even a little.

“I missed you.”

A smile spread across Veronia’s lips at the low voice.

For a moment, guilt raised its head, wondering if it was okay to feel such sweet love and be this happy when she had come to help a region suffering from a terrible disaster.

“Me too.”

“I missed you more. And you were 5 seconds late.”

“What?”

Could it be that the 5 seconds he mentioned was the time between his “I missed you” and her “Me too”? Was it a reproach because 5 seconds was too long? Veronia’s mind was confused by the questions that simultaneously arose.

Killian, unaware of the situation in her mind, pressed his lips against hers again. A kiss more gentle, deeper, and more greedy than before continued for a long time.

“What’s this?”

Only after the heat had subsided somewhat did the box on the table enter Veronia’s sight. Killian quickly answered her question, as if belatedly remembering something he had completely forgotten.

“Ah, it’s from Onyx.”

“From Onyx?”

Inside the box was a communication orb about the size of an adult’s fist. Along with a note saying ‘Please contact’.

“He sent a communication orb, so it must be urgent. Killian, hurry.”

At Veronia’s gesture, Killian immediately sat down beside her. As Veronia pressed the button on the communication orb, the light blinked a few times before the entire orb brightened.

− Hey!

“Onyx!”

“It’s been a while.”

A familiar face appeared in the communication orb. Onyx’s face looked very haggard, as if he had been busy with work.

− Are you all doing well?

“We’re busy with lots of work, but we’re fine. But Onyx, you look very tired?”

− That’s right. I’m tired. Running the most competent information guild in the capital is really hard work! The requests never stop coming in.

“We’re always grateful for your hard work.”

“But you know health is more important than work, right? Take it easy sometimes.”

Onyx chuckled for a moment at the words of gratitude and concern, then immediately got to the point.

− I found out the source of the magic circle discovered in the Oaks mansion.

The Oaks mansion was where the former emperor had died in a fire accident. It had only been a few days since they last visited there, but Onyx and his guild were indeed competent to have already found out.

− It’s a very small workshop in the borderlands. Run by a family. But when I investigated the flow of funds invested in the workshop, Club Ares came up at the end.

“Club Ares… I think I’ve heard of it before.”

Killian’s head tilted to the side as if he almost remembered.

− Club Ares is a club where middle-aged noble ladies are mainly active, showing great interest in child welfare issues.

“Ah, right! My mother used to participate occasionally.”

“The Duchess?”

“Yes. She seemed to do volunteer work or hold bazaars and exhibitions.”

− Quite a few noble ladies are affiliated, and their range of activities seems to be quite wide. But I also investigated the flow of funds for that club. And I discovered this amazing fact!

Onyx said proudly with his arms crossed. His smiling face exuded endless confidence.

“What is it?”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell us already.”

As Veronia and Killian urged, Onyx chuckled for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

− The huge stream of money sponsoring Club Ares is none other than the imperial family.

“The imperial family?”

− Yes. It’s been since 10 years ago. The documents say that a large sum was consistently donated from when the emperor was the crown prince.

“Then… are you saying that Jonathan sponsored the workshop under the name of Club Ares and received magical tools from the workshop? Are you saying Jonathan is somehow connected to the former emperor’s death?”

− There’s no conclusive evidence yet. Let’s just say there’s a possibility.

“……”

An emperor who killed the former emperor and took his place! A son who killed his father! For a moment, silence fell between the three people.

Onyx was the first to break the silence.

− I have one more interesting piece of information. This one is quite expensive though. What do you think? Interested in buying?

Onyx’s boastful voice sounded very annoying, but at the same time, they were very curious about the information he had. Killian retorted with an arrogant expression and voice.

“How much? Just say it. No, you don’t even need to say it. Send the invoice right away.”

− As expected of our Prime Minister! Understood!

“Now, hurry up and tell us.”

At Veronia’s urging, Onyx lowered his voice as if telling a secret story.

− A few days ago, Prince Tate visited our guild. And he requested an investigation into Michelson Orphanage in the south.

“Michelson Orphanage…!”

Veronia’s eyes widened at the familiar name that flowed from Onyx’s mouth.