TLNTAAM Chapter 13

A Fastball Cold Enough to Break Bone

Even when I was Lee Hwayun, soju had never been much of a habit. Right now I was desperate for some.

What sat in front of me wasn't soju and dried snacks. It was a pitch-black poison fruit.

'Eat it. Just eat it.'

Won't kill you. And the itching does go away.

I shook out the oil tree fruit and antidote powder and ate them both, then let out a sigh deep enough to sink the floor. I shuffled back to the chair and dropped into it. Behind me, someone laughed.

Heh-heh.

I turned around.

The affable-looking knight pointed at me and kept laughing.

"Dio, this kid is hilarious. Her face just keeps changing."

Once it started, there was no stopping it. He was laughing outright now. The red-haired man looked at him with an expression of resigned contempt, then went back to writing in his notebook.

"What's your name?"

He ruffled my short hair as he asked. Annoying, somehow. I said nothing.

Then he said:

"I heard a strange rumor from the castle today."

'Now what.'

"Word is His Majesty spent the night with a little maid."

The monocle shook his head in a way that said beyond help. I just covered my face. Maybe it was the oil tree fruit. My whole body was itching again.

'I'm going to lose my mind.'

This knight had been messing with me from the start.

"The maids were all stirred up, so I asked around. Sabina told everyone to keep quiet. That made me curious. Who is this maid, exactly, that a rumor like this is going around? And not about the previous king, either—about His Majesty."

"Is that why you came here, Sir Leo?"

"Among other reasons. So, kid. I'll ask again. What's your name?"

If there'd been a mouse hole in the wall, I would have gone in. I lowered my hands. Sighed.

This wasn't just bad luck. This was catastrophically, profoundly, thoroughly bad luck.

"Nina Cage."

"I'm Léomede del Vencel. Knight to the king. Head of House Vencel. Call me Leo."

Leo. Sure.

I gave a thin smile and bowed my head. 'When would I ever call a king's knight by his first name? Let's never meet again. Don't even run into me accidentally. Actually—just don't come looking for me at all!'

I desperately hoped this would be the end of it.

"They said the maid was young but quite cute. I was curious. And it's been a while since I've seen Dio."

And what he got instead was me, covered in hives. What a shame. Truly.

"Hey, kid. Let me ask you something."

I looked up at him. At this point, a strange calm had settled over me. Every possible emotion had already cycled through. I was approaching enlightenment.

"Did you really spend the night with His Majesty?"

'Hey—you—!'

So direct it was bone-chilling. Knights. All reckless charge and no preamble. I laughed, exhausted.

'Fine. You want an answer? You'll get one.'

"He slept holding me like an ice pillow last night. No—wait—there's no way anything actually happened. Look."

I jumped up from the chair and walked over to him.

"Small, right?"

Nina's head came up to somewhere below his waist. I grabbed my apron and spun around.

"Obviously nothing happened?"

The knight nodded agreeably.

"The Saint was right there too. He just finds it cool when he touches me! That's all!"

'There's no way the king would do anything with a child too malnourished to even grow properly! His entire preference is Seraphie and Seraphie alone! I'm just a free gift with purchase!'

"Yeah, figured as much."

The knight stroked his chin and grinned broadly. I glared at that easy, cheerful smile.

"Then why did you ask!"

"Just checking. His Majesty wouldn't. Not after everything he went through. He'd never go down the road of the previous king."

"It's a pointless rumor."

"He worked too hard to get where he is. He wouldn't."

'What does that mean? The handsome man with the good face, good body, and seemingly good everything—he had it hard? And what's this "road of the previous king"?'

'I thought the king was supposed to be decent?'

'I don't know much about absolute monarchy and hereditary succession, but that level of power seems like something you'd welcome with both hands?'

'Wasn't the premise that he was a good king until he went obsessed over Seraphie? Or wasn't it? Either way, he's the male lead of a TL novel. He can't be a useless king running a broke kingdom.'

Confused, I tilted my head and asked.

"Um—what does that mean, exactly?"

At my question, the two men looked at each other. They didn't answer. Which left me, the one who'd asked, standing there awkward.

"Ah. Right. You're from another country."

"Isn't this well-known even in the holy city?"

"She's young. Probably just doesn't know. She came from the countryside too."

"Where exactly is she from?"

The monocle looked me up and down and answered.

"Sineryphyll. Quite far even from the holy city. A very small village past the Forest of Saints."

"Never heard the name. Must really be out in the middle of nowhere."

"It's a sparsely populated area. Access is restricted—Hans apparently had quite a time getting through. I myself only knew it from maps until she mentioned it."

Both of them looked at me now. Their eyes carried an unspoken pressure: say more about your hometown.

I answered willingly.

"It really is just fields and mountains. A small village and one chapel. That's everything."

"How many orphans were there?"

"About thirty-nine. They'd leave when they came of age, but new ones arrived quickly."

The red-haired man pushed his monocle back. Something was clearly turning over behind his eyes. The knight crossed his arms and stroked his chin.

'What. What is it.'

Why was the atmosphere suddenly so serious? This seemed to be about Nina's situation, but why did only the two of them seem to know something?

"Suspicious."

"Isn't it."

They reached that conclusion cheerfully, in complete agreement.

"What? What's suspicious? I want to know too."

"Look, don't just have a whole conversation with your eyes. Explain it to me. This seems to be about my situation and I know nothing—it's unsettling. I have enough on my nerves already. Adding one more thing to worry about isn't fair. I don't want to think about anything else! Ugh, life is really difficult. I want to quit being a maid. Just give me the chance. I'll quit everything!"

The muscular man pointed at me and asked the monocle:

"She seems a bit off. Did you give her something weird?"

"Ah. The antidote contained luminacho."

"That's used as a truth serum. Look at her—her face is flushed."

The red-haired man looked at me and said:

"There was bara leaf in the mixture as well. She'll be feeling somewhat intoxicated."

The knight whistled. Listening to that rising note, I finally registered that I was not operating at normal capacity.

'A little dizzy, pleasantly fuzzy, mood lifting despite everything—exactly like being drunk.'

So that's why I'd had no control over my emotions. Not stress. Drugs.

"Blast it. Why did he give me that? Sure—he's not eating it himself, so he'll spread the experience around."

I slumped back in the chair, arching my spine. The ceiling came close, then receded. The world swayed like a wave.

"How are you feeling?"

The monocle came over and rolled up my sleeve, checking the rash. I sighed deeply.

"Feeling floaty."

"Drunk."

"I think I'm saying everything I'm thinking out loud?"

"That's the luminacho. I included it as an anti-inflammatory, but the effect seems rather pronounced."

His loosely tied red hair tickled my nose. I pushed it away.

"Tie your hair properly. It bothers me every time I see it."

Pfft—

I knew who laughed without looking. I shot a glare at the knight and closed my eyes. If I kept watching him, I had a feeling a fist might fly.

'I have no control over my actions whatsoever.'

'Stay calm. Nina. Think about the future. Everyone in this room outranks you by several leagues. Think about your life expectancy. You can't afford to crash and burn.'

"How strong is the truth serum effect?"

"Uncertain. It's a small dose, but this one responds to herbal compounds too quickly and intensely. Likely related to her divine power, but I'm still researching the cause."

"Is that so?"

The short-haired knight strode over and shoved his face right into mine as I was staring at the ceiling. Normal Nina would have looked away. Current Nina just stared back.

'Why? What do you want?'

I was too tired to turn my head. So I observed him openly.

He was reasonably handsome. Striking eyes. Strong nose. Good. The scar at the corner of his eye suited a man with features that sharp.

'Infuriating, yes. But as a superior, probably decent?'

The kind of person you'd actually want above you. I'd been noticing, lately, how many competent people Iberia had. A perceptive knight. A physician who did his job. A head maid who was both good-natured and formidable, and a senior maid who was seasoned.

'Clear division of responsibility.'

The king had godlike power, and his subordinates were all genuinely capable. The reason this nation was strong settled into my bones, suddenly and freshly.

The knight grinned and asked:

"Nina Cage. Just one question."

I blinked hard against the haze and looked at him.

"How did it feel, spending the night with the king?"

'What kind of garbage question is that! Who are you! Why would you ask that!'

Another fastball cold enough to break bone. Landed right on target. I made no effort to keep my face neutral. The knight just kept up that easy, pleasant smile.

'Stay calm.'

'Think of it as a stress interview. Nina. That's how you live longer.'

I took a small breath. Said one thing.

"I might die."

The end of that sentence trembled slightly. My genuine, honest feeling. One more incident like this and my delicate nerves would grind down to nothing.

Pffhahaha!

The knight turned away and laughed freely. He laughed so hard the walls seemed to shake. He appeared to be trying to restrain himself, but once started, the laughter only stretched longer.

'Go ahead. Laugh.'

How long it went on, I didn't track. The ceiling was going back and forth. I straightened up in my chair.

I caught sight of the red-haired man.

'Oh?'

He was covering his mouth, laughing. The knight was one thing, but this one—I'd assumed nothing short of a dagger would get through. That was unexpected.

"I like you!"

The knight clapped me heartily on the shoulder. Still no concept of his own strength. One clap and I slid right off the chair.

Thud—

I sat on the floor and blinked. 'What kind of day is this. Twice.'

"Oh. Sorry."

He apologized exactly as he had before. Still genuinely meant. I wobbled upright and sat back down.

"I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt."

'What a state I'm in. But what does this matter next to everything else. Mountains upon mountains ahead of me and nothing in hand—that's the real problem.'

"She's entertaining. Cute and got guts."

"I suspect it's the truth serum. That's why she's talking this way in front of you and me."

"That's right. I'm normally calm. Would I be blathering like this if I were in my right mind?"

'I'd take this to my grave before saying it out loud.'

The knight found something hilarious again and laughed another round. He had the energy of a man about to roll across the floor clutching his stomach.

'Go on. Laugh. You're laughing and I want to cry.'

"So inside that tiny head, all these entertaining thoughts are happening, but normally she keeps them hidden?"

I was about to say something again. I covered my mouth. There was genuinely nothing to be done about words bypassing my brain entirely.

The knight pulled my hands down.

"Don't cover up. Talk. I won't kill you."