The blue rash vanished without a trace.
Just as Chelsea had said.
“See? It worked, didn’t it?”
“Ah, my poor heart…”
Jeryl’s eyes narrowed into triangles as she glared at the person before her, heart still pounding. She was about to start scolding when, sensing the oncoming nagging, Chelsea hurriedly changed the subject.
“What’s the difference between the blue rash that appeared on me and the one that appeared on the nobles at the banquet?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Why did normal purification magic work on me but not on them?”
“…It did work on them too. It just didn’t cure it—only stopped the rash from spreading.”
“But mine disappeared completely, didn’t it?”
That was true.
“You said the liquid from the crushed petals splashed on your arm?”
“Yes.”
“Come to think of it, all the convulsing patients brought to the clinic had blue rashes spreading around their noses and mouths.”
“What’s the difference, then?”
“It means they didn’t just touch the petal liquid like you did.”
The banquet nobles hadn’t touched the plants either. They had simply…
“They inhaled the molecules floating in the air. That’s why there was that unpleasant smell.”
“Molecules? Like rebellious ones?”
“They’re like… really, really tiny particles. But that’s not the point.”
Realizing the pieces fit perfectly, Jeryl jumped up from her seat.
“Just touching the liquid isn’t enough to cause severe rashes. And of course, it doesn’t trigger hallucinations or violent behavior either.”
“Then, people have to eat or inhale the petal liquid to lose their minds?”
“Exactly.”
Chelsea had only had skin contact.
The patients and nobles had ingested or inhaled it.
That was the crucial difference.
Sure enough, direct ingestion would be far more dangerous than simple contact.
“If we analyze it further, we might find a clue to prevent the next massacre. Chelsea, did you bring the plant?”
“Um…”
Her clear crimson eyes flicked upward toward the ceiling. Jeryl suddenly felt uneasy.
“I burned it. I panicked when I saw the blue rash.”
“…”
“But I did manage to learn something.”
Jeryl felt her blood pressure rise so fast she got dizzy. She’d lived twenty-four healthy years without ever fainting, but now she had to grab the bedpost for support.
Chelsea continued, unfazed.
“The plant is a rare herb that only grows in the Pope’s Forest of the Holy Empire.”
“…The Holy Empire? Did you ask Chevy?”
“Yes. He said he’s only heard of it before, never seen it himself.”
Chevy was a former spy for the Holy Empire—currently working as a servant and spy in the Crown Prince’s palace. Quite the résumé.
“Apparently, long ago it was used as a hallucinogen for monsters in tournament fights, so they called it the Madness Herb.”
A week passed after her conversation with Chelsea.
During that time, Jeryl gathered as much information as she could about the Madness Herb.
“But… why couldn’t I find anything…?”
It was rare to begin with, but every single related document was classified as top secret—completely inaccessible.
“And the only sample we had, Chelsea burned… There must be more hidden somewhere in the palace.”
No doubt the palace was hiding a large stockpile of Madness Herb to use in the next massacre.
Now, all that was left was to sign the First Knight Order Healing Mage Employment Contract that Caron had sent her for her undercover mission.
Still, signing something he’d handed over after a fight didn’t feel great.
…Come to think of it, it’s been over two weeks since I sent that letter, and there’s still no reply.
Pouting, Jeryl stood and waved to the children.
Today was the day of the clinic’s long-awaited picnic that she and Ian had been preparing for weeks.
“Kids, don’t go too far!”
“Okay!”
Most of the children spent their days confined to beds, so seeing their bright, smiling faces made her heart lighten.
“Miss Jeryl, I caught a dragonfly!”
“I caught a dung beetle!”
“I ate an ant!”
A crowd of children came running toward her from the grass, chattering loudly.
Among them, a brown-haired boy was chewing something with a guilty look.
“Keshu, spit out that ant. Gross.”
“I swallowed it.”
“You’ll get a stomachache.”
“Aw, I don’t like being sick…”
Sometimes Jeryl felt more like a kindergarten teacher than a healer—being one of the few young healers at the clinic.
She placed a gentle purification spell on the boy’s tummy, then waved the group of mischievous kids away like she was setting them free.
“Go play near where Mr. Ian is. Don’t wander off.”
“Okay!”
Ian, who had taken a rare day off, crouched down to greet the children running toward him.
“You’ve gotten good at playing with them now.”
At first, he’d been so awkward, unsure how to deal with kids.
Once, he’d pushed one too hard on the swing—
The kid literally flew. Luckily, Ian had caught him in time.
Jeryl chuckled at the memory. She turned to wave at him.
The knight standing in the sunlight smiled softly back. The pale, haunted look he’d had during their first reconnaissance was gone.
Her karma score hadn’t changed, though.
But the system window was getting closer. Ian was walking toward her, misinterpreting her wave as a summons.
“Did you call for me?”
“Oh, no… I was just waving hello.”
“Ah, I thought you had something to say.”
He gave an awkward smile. A soft early-summer breeze blew, cooling the warmth between them. The greenery swayed, and Ian took another step closer.
When she looked up, his calm green eyes met hers.
“Jeryl, there’s a butterfly on your head.”
“Huh? Where?”
“Allow me to remove it.”
But before she could react, the butterfly spread its wings and landed right on the tip of her nose.
“Achoo!”
It tickled so much!
Jeryl shook her head like a wet puppy, shivering. Ian’s hand, which had reached out to help, froze awkwardly in midair.
“…It flew away.”
“As it should. That startled me.”
“I was going to take it off for you…”
His voice sounded strangely dejected.
“Well… next time it lands, you can take it off then.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely do that.”
That was… unnecessarily solemn.
For a second, she almost suspected he might catch one just to put it on her nose again.
Still rubbing her ticklish nose, she spoke to the resolute knight.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Could you help the other healers gather the kids?”
“Yes, of course.”
The problem arose not long after that.
“Jeryl, there are fourteen kids, right?”
“No, fifteen.”
At his question, she glanced over the group of children huddled together.
One, two, three… fourteen.
“One really is missing.”
“Miss, earlier Keshu went over there to catch a butterfly.”
A child pointed beyond the boundary line they had marked earlier.
Jeryl and Ian’s expressions hardened instantly.
Beyond that line was a cave.
The elderly director of the clinic sighed with worry.
“He must’ve slipped through the barrier we set up.”
“I’ll go get him, Director.”
“I’m coming too.”
Ian followed as Jeryl hurried off at a run.
Please don’t let him have gone inside the cave.
Anxiety gripped her chest.
The thick bushes parted—and the familiar cave came into view.
Crouching, Ian examined the ground.
“The footprints stop here. Looks like he went inside. I’ll go in—please stay here, Jeryl.”
“I’m going too.”
“It could be dangerous. I told you the ground’s unstable.”
“If he’s hurt, I need to treat him immediately.”
Unable to leave a child’s injury unattended, Jeryl stepped into the cave entrance.
“Keshu!”
Her desperate voice echoed. Thankfully, an answer came quickly.
“Huh? Miss Jeryl?”
It was a bright, cheerful voice—not far away. She sighed in relief.
Then—
“Yip!”
…Yip?
“Miss, look! I found this!”
“Ian, that’s…!”
At her horrified shout, Ian instantly drew his sword.
Shing! The metallic sound rang through the cave.
“Yip…”
In the child’s arms was a Luxo cub.
