“Pumpkin?”

Laila turned around with a slightly surprised look. She pondered for a moment and then spoke again.

“Do you mean… the one that sometimes has bugs inside?”

Duchess Himierd stared at Laila with eyes that suggested this was unexpected.

“Yes, that’s right. You knew about it.”

Laila felt her face turning red even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.

It suddenly occurred to her that it was natural for Duchess Himierd to think she wouldn’t know what a ‘pumpkin’ was. Of course, for this shabby-looking, country bumpkin girl…

After a brief hesitation, Laila spoke in a nonchalant voice.

“It’s often used in witch’s spells. Not just pumpkins, but various crystals and sometimes even emeralds are used.”

At her words, Duchess Himierd’s eyebrows were seen to furrow slightly. Was it because her tone, unlike before, now sounded arrogant? Or was it because the word ‘witch’ bothered her?

Who cares. Laila thought. Having experienced too many absurd things in succession, she was mentally quite exhausted.

Seeing Duchess Himierd’s furrowed expression, she felt like she was engaging in childish revenge, but she couldn’t take back the words she had already spoken.

“Miss Kristrad. Could it be that you really are of witch lineage?”

“Did you doubt it even after seeing my hair and eyes?”

“Your eyes are unique, but I thought it could be possible since many of the companions His Highness the Prince brings along are unique. And hair can be dyed, of course.”

Laila slightly lowered the corners of her lips and shrugged.

“I wish it were like that, but unfortunately, this is my real hair. So, yes. As you said, sir… I really am of witch lineage. My mother was a witch, and my grandmother, whom I’ve never seen, was also a witch.”

Duchess Himierd’s lips quivered. She seemed to want to say something, turning her gaze several times, then looking back at Laila, but eventually she turned away without saying anything, pretending to be composed.

Not a pleasant expression. Laila thought. Well, that’s to be expected…

“Sir, the bath preparations are all complete.”

An employee, with a bit of sweat on their forehead, probably from heating the water, said while bowing politely.

Laila, who was watching from behind the duchess, suddenly felt an odd curiosity. With all the work royal employees must have throughout the day, how could their apron be so crisp and clean without a single wrinkle?

“Miss Kristrad, I hear the bath water is ready. While you bathe, I’ll go see if there are any clothes for you to change into. Follow Mel. That’s the girl’s name.”

“…Understood.”

Mel quietly bowed her head and kept her gaze lowered even in front of Laila. As Laila followed behind her, she suddenly remembered something and turned towards Himierd.

“Thank you… Duchess Himierd.”

Himierd, who was about to leave the room with the others, stopped in her tracks. However, she didn’t turn her head back towards Laila.

“Your gratitude is misplaced. I’m merely following His Highness the Prince’s orders. When you see His Highness later, express your thanks then.”

Laila, at a loss for words, stared blankly at the door as it slowly closed. The skirt of the last unnamed woman who left seemed to imprint itself strangely in her mind.

Eustar passed through the central corridor of the royal palace and entered through the door leading to the throne room. The traditional architectural style of Sierou, with its classical pillars and walls restored to their fullest extent, always filled a corner of his heart.

Moreover, on the ceiling was a masterpiece depicting the main deity Sercita and the five gods gathered around the brightly shining ‘Table of Order’ in a meeting.

It was an incomparable masterpiece compared to other ceiling paintings, as each piece was intricately joined and interlocked using minerals and stones of different colors.

However, despite this majestic and beautiful sight, the throne on the high platform was empty. The guards stood like statues, expressionless, while only three scribes were gathered around a desk, engaged in some discussion.

“Oh, Your Highness the Prince!”

Hugo Linker, the chief scribe of the Sierou royal family, belatedly noticed Eustar standing there and jumped up in surprise. As the three scribes bowed deeply in greeting, Eustar nodded to them with a somewhat bitter smile.

“Has His Majesty not come to the throne room again today?”

“We apologize. He had a brief meeting with Count Rubio and other administrative officials this morning, but his headache worsened, so he’s resting now.”

“I’ll go see him myself. Is that alright?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll escort you.”

Hugo stepped forward, but Eustar shook his head.

“No, I’ll go alone. You all continue with your work.”

The scribes looked at each other’s faces for a moment, then bowed politely to him once again.

Passing by them, Eustar entered a small corridor that led directly to the King’s chambers. He heard the scribes sighing behind him, but he tried to ignore it.

When he knocked on the door at the end of the dimly lit corridor where no light entered, a nervous coughing sound was heard from inside. As Eustar’s expression frowned, the King’s closest chamberlain opened the door.

“Your Highness the Prince, you’ve returned.”

As soon as the door opened, a bitter smell of medicine and herbs wafted out. The presence of a deep illness that wouldn’t easily be cured felt like a huge ghost wandering inside the chamber.

“Baso, you need to be more careful. What if it wasn’t me and you opened the door without checking?”

As Eustar deliberately made a joke, a faint smile appeared on the lips of the elderly chamberlain, who had been looking dark as if lost in worry.

“The only one who uses this door is Your Highness the Prince. How could this old body not know that fact?”

“Well, if someone other than me tried to deceive you, they would never see the sunlight again. In that sense, I’m relieved.”

Chamberlain Baso, with a more relaxed expression, made way for Eustar.

The King’s chamber was as splendid as the throne room, but with almost no lights on, and curtains drawn in layers, making visibility poor even during the day. Eustar took a long breath of the stale air, then approached the bed with veils drawn on all sides.

“Elder brother, it’s Eustar.”

Another cough was heard. And behind the veil, a ghost-like silhouette could be seen moving slowly.

“Baso, draw back the veil.”

As the retreating chamberlain fixed the veil to the canopy, the figure of a man sitting up in bed was clearly revealed. Ord Hyanmorik, the current King of Sierou and Eustar’s elder brother.

He looked much older than Eustar. In fact, the two brothers were fourteen years apart, but King Ord looked old like a decaying ruin at an age not yet forty.

His once blonde hair had faded and mixed with gray, looking unkempt, and his once robust build had shrunk more and more, making the gaunt body inside the loose nightgown pitiful.

Ord, who was about to say something, bent over with a severe fit of coughing. Eustar willingly supported his ill brother’s body and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief himself.

“Elder brother, are you alright? I only heard your headache had worsened, but you look worse than that.”

“I’m fine.”

Ord’s voice cracked with a metallic sound. With each breath, a noise like holes being punctured in his chest could be heard.

Eustar looked at the chamberlain.

“Baso, has the royal physician visited?”

“Yes, Your Highness. He prescribed new medicine and performed bloodletting.”

“They keep doing bloodletting but still can’t find the cause of the illness. What about what I asked you to look into before?”

“That is still…”

Ord raised his hand to cut off the conversation between the two.

“Enough. Stop it. Baso, you may leave.”

The chamberlain’s expression was somewhat cautious, but he faithfully followed the royal command. Left alone in the dark room, Ord’s expression softened a bit more.

“Eustar, could you open the curtains a little? It’s stifling.”

Eustar immediately stood up and opened the thick curtains. The midday sun burst in aggressively with a shriek.

Ord’s appearance revealed under the light looked more wretched than in the darkness. The area under his eyes was sunken black, and his lips were dry and cracked all over.

“Elder brother, you should drink some water.”

“No, it’s fine. Rather… let’s talk about important matters first. I had a feeling you would return. How did it go with what you were looking for?”

After a moment of silence, Eustar nodded with a forced smile.

“I found her.”

Ord raised his sunken eyes and stared blankly at his younger brother. His expression was blank, but the emotions in his gaze seemed complex.

“Is she really a witch?”

“Yes, without a doubt. And she’s a powerful medium. Even if we searched not just the kingdom but the entire continent, it would be hard to find a medium as powerful as her. So rest assured, elder brother. With her, we can restore this country, Sierou, even faster.”

“Restore… Yes, that’s what we must do. We must indeed.”

The sound of labored breathing was heard for a moment. Ord, lost in thought while averting his gaze from Eustar, spoke.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s with Duchess Himierd. Considering she might be quite travel-worn, I arranged for her to rest for now.”

“Well done. I’d like to see her. When would be a good time?”

Eustar blinked, momentarily lost in thought. Laila meeting Ord…

Although it was unavoidable now that he had brought her to the royal palace, he didn’t want to burden her right away today. What had already happened would be confusing enough for her.

“If it’s alright with you, elder brother, I’ll bring her tomorrow.”

Ord’s eyes blinked. His eyelids, thinned and wrinkled from weight loss, looked almost like a reptile’s membrane.

Ord, who had been staring blankly at Eustar, said,

“Yes, let’s do that. You may go now. I’d like to have dinner together, but it seems difficult today. We’ll have to postpone it until tomorrow.”

“I understand, elder brother. Then, please rest.”

Ord nodded as if telling him to leave.

Eustar gazed for a moment at him sitting on the bed, wheezing, then left through the main door of the chamber, not the one he had entered. Through the opening and closing door, Chamberlain Baso could be seen bowing to Eustar.

Ord, with bloodshot eyes wide open, muttered quietly.

“A witch… Yes, we need that witch. You need that witch, Eustar.”