Chapter 26
Following Chris, I climbed the grand staircase and made my way deeper into the palace.
Above us, a lofty vaulted ceiling soared overhead. We passed through a corridor lined with pillars adorned with intricate carvings.
"This is it. Go in."
As Chris approached, the knight standing guard before the door pushed it open.
Plain tapestries hung on the walls, and benches lined them.
The scribes at their lecterns by the windows all rose at once and bowed deeply.
Chris took out a ring of keys and, without so much as glancing at them, opened an exquisitely carved wooden door farther inside.
"This is my office."
The marble floor was decorated with geometric patterns. A large desk and chair stood inside.
Sturdy-looking, locked cabinets lined the walls.
"Wait here."
With that, Chris opened the door leading to the back of the office.
Beyond it was a small room containing only a simple bed and a chest of drawers.
It seemed Chris's private chambers continued farther beyond.
It was a plain room, but worlds apart from the ones I'd stayed in until now.
I sat on the bed and looked out the window.
With nothing in particular to do, I practiced circulating mana through my body.
Lately, no matter how much I practiced, I felt no expansion in my capacity, but I still needed to keep training so I could circulate mana without any stagnation.
As I circulated mana throughout my body, a bell rang.
"You called for me, Chris-sama?"
When I stepped into the office, Chris looked as though he'd bitten into something bitter.
"Count Delmonte of the Navarre Kingdom has collapsed. In the final stages of tariff negotiations with the Papal States. A stroke."
A stroke—a cerebral infarction?
"Is this a trial from God...? How tragic."
I drew a small breath and clasped my hands before my chest.
"His second son had him rushed here in desperation... while his eldest son has been making suspicious moves in the territory."
Chris gave a sardonic smile.
"Everyone at the Relief Bureau is busy passing the buck. If someone makes a careless attempt and fails, the eldest son will inherit. Then the negotiations will be back to square one."
"I see. And that's why you called me in?"
"Yes. The Light Magic fundamentalists who want to tarnish your reputation forced the assignment through."
Chris let out a long breath.
"The second son is very supportive of the Church. The count must clearly declare before everyone that he intends to name him as his heir in his will... You understand?"
I lowered my eyebrows, looking a little troubled.
"A stroke, is it? I may be able to save his life... but there's a chance he'll be left paralyzed."
"That will do."
Chris answered immediately. His voice carried the cold tone of a politician, not a clergyman.
"The count is physically and mentally exhausted from the heavy burden of these tariff negotiations... After he leaves his will, there'll be no need to force him back on his feet. Wouldn't that be a stroke of good fortune for both the count and our Relief Bureau if he spent the rest of his life quietly in bed?"
"What...?"
I widened my eyes.
"That's... awful, Chris-sama! As a healer, I can't deliberately hold back..."
I made a show of behaving like a respectable healer.
"Noah. I know what you're really like. Don't put on that creepy act in front of me now."
Silence fell.
"On the way to the Holy City, you used 'Heal' while we were interrogating the bandits. An ordinary five-year-old wouldn't have obeyed so calmly."
—I'd underestimated Chris a little.
Back then, I'd prioritized playing the obedient child.
But it was fortunate that Chris was the one who'd seen through me.
As long as our interests aligned, I doubted Chris would be a problem.
Maybe I should dangle a little bait.
"Understood. But I may be able to give you an even better way to keep him on a leash."
Chris's eyebrow twitched.
"I haven't examined the patient yet, so this is only a guess, but the timing of the stroke is suspiciously convenient. The eldest son may have arranged it—perhaps with poison."
Chris narrowed his eyes.
"Even if that's true, there'd be no evidence left behind. How would you distinguish a stroke from poisoning?"
"With my magic, I can extract any poison still in his body."
Chris's breathing stopped for just an instant.
"Irrefutable proof that someone plotted an assassination..."
"We can give it to the second son as a present. He'll be indebted to you for the rest of his life. And..."
Chris prompted me to continue with his gaze.
"If we heal the count completely and send him back to his territory, it would utterly humiliate the fundamentalists, wouldn't it?"
I said, smiling sweetly.
"...You really are something."
Chris leaned back in his chair and stared at me.
"What do you say? Shall we get started right away?"
With that, I tilted my head to one side.