Silent Witch

Hilda had used almost half of Monica's room in Everett House as storage, but since the maid had cleaned it periodically, the bed and the desk still looked tidy.

Nero has not woken up ever since Monica arrived at the Everett house, not even once. So she brought him onto hug and went to her room, where she laid him on her bed afterward. She felt Nero won't wake up until spring if his conditions continued like this.

It was honestly surprising for her to have no one to talk to could be this lonely.

She never had this kind of loneliness when living in the cabin alone… but before she knew it, she had become completely accustomed to living together with Nero.

"Will he wake up if he's getting warm enough?"

Monica pulled the blanket over Nero and stroked him from the top of it, but her attempt didn't seem to work.

She kept stroking Nero for a while, afterwards, she quietly stood up, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and sat down at the writing desk.

She wanted to organize all the recent events and questions on paper before going to bed.

I should write what actually happened first…

＊ ＊ ＊

Events Had Happened

• Seven Years Ago: My father was charged guilty of ‘researching the most taboo spell' and sentenced to death.
• One Week Ago: A cursed dragon appeared in Duke Reinberg's territory. The cause of the appearance was witchcraft cast by a shaman. And that shaman was Peter Sams, a servant from Duke Reinberg Mansion.

＊ ＊ ＊

Peter Sams was involved in both cases of her father's execution and the cursed dragon. Following that, Monica wrote all the questions that came to her mind.

＊ ＊ ＊

Questionable Aspects

• By planting a cursed magical tool, Peter managed to create a cursed dragon → Why did he need to create a cursed dragon?
• He also mentioned that he sold her father to ‘His Excellency' → Does ‘His Excellency' refer to Duke Reinberg? Also, for what purpose did he sell his father out to him?
• An influential aristocrat was backing him from the shadow→ Is that person ‘His Excellency' as well? And why did ‘His Excellency' lend his hand to him?
• In his confused state, Peter mentioned ‘I'm not going to be a second Arthur' → Who is Arthur?
• His Highness already knew that the cause of the appearance of the cursed dragon was witchcraft → Then, why did he keep quiet? Did His Highness know Peter was the culprit?

＊ ＊ ＊

After writing all of these events, she exhaled a long breath.

The thing that still concerns her the most is the presence of an influential aristocrat behind Peter. Perhaps the person who lent his hand to him and the person he referred to as "His Excellency" was the same individual.

When Peter mentioned ‘His Excellency', one would generally think of Duke Reinberg, if one considers his status as a servant of Duke Reinberg Household.

However, if one defines Duke Reinberg in a simple term, he was ‘a low-key figure.' He hardly spoke when the negotiation with Falforia took place and was likely a moderate supporter of Prince Felix.

Well, they say looks can be deceiving…

She felt something off when comparing His Excellency's persona to Duke Reinberg. With the only clue—the magic tool Peter used in his last moment—left behind, she tried to investigate it from another perspective.

Monica told Ray Albright the Abyss Shaman about Peter's last moment, leaving the part her father's name was mentioned.

Before handing out the magic tool, she told him that Peter Sams was the culprit behind the Green Dragon incident and he killed himself using this magic tool when questioned.

By now, Ray should have done his investigation about them.

If Peter was proved to be a shaman… It's highly likely he had some connection with the shaman family of Albright. Hopefully, we can find out something from it…

Abyss Shaman told her they should meet again at the New Year Ceremony, and he will bring her some information about his investigation later.

Monica sighed as she crumpled up the note she wrote. Afterward, she cast a chantless spell to burn it into ashes before she threw it into a trash bin.

I'm aware that Hilda is concerned about me…

However, Monica wanted to know the truth even if she has to stake her position as one of the Seven Sages.

Monica laid down Nero to let him sleep on her side and took a book from the bag under her pillow. She got this book, which her father wrote, from Porter's store.

The human body is made up of a vast collection of numbers—it was the sentence at the beginning of the book which she had read many times over.

At first, Monica had a hard time understanding the content with how low her proficiency in biology and medicine was, but after reading the book bit by bit while looking for a reference to comprehend the technical terms, then she could understand how valuable this book is.

Her father was researching the inherited genetics that came from both parents, especially the inherited mana. He mentioned in his book, by analyzing their mana alone he could identify a person and his/her blood relatives.

Perhaps, If her father was still alive, the research of medical science in the Ridill Kingdom would have been more developed. Especially the research on genetic diseases, it probably would have advanced by leaps and bounds by now.

Monica was flipping through the page which probably had been read for hundred times when she suddenly remembered Porter's words.

Wait, I remember he mentioned that he was a friend of my father…

He was the owner of an antiquarian bookstore, a novelist under the name Dustin Gunther and also the man who sold Monica's father's book two gold coins.

Given how he gave his father's book a price worth two gold coins, Monica believed he either recognized the discoveries of her father's research or was very close to her father.

I wonder if Porter has visited my father's lab before…

Frankly, Monica didn't remember much about the people who frequented her father's lab during her childhood. Since she was mostly so absorbed in reading books, the only person she could remember clearly was Hilda, who always gave her sweets.

Ever since a child, Monica could hardly remember a person's face. Her habit to remember people's faces and bodies by their numbers was the result of her trying to escape into the world of numbers after she was frequently abused by her uncle. For that reason, Monica didn't recognize Peter whom she had probably met in her childhood.

While Monica was recalling her childhood memory as she flipped the pages, she just realized that the flyleaf which she thought had not existed turned out to be stuck together with the previous page.

"…?"

She pried open the page gently and found a piece of paper in between. It looked like a piece of manuscript paper. Perhaps someone had pasted some glue to make these pages stick together. After all, this was the only last page that she has been not opened.

She peeled the page as she was making sure to not tear the paper. In there, she found handwriting.

If you've discovered the truth about the Black Chalice, you can come back and find me in the store.

She held up a piece of paper as she inspected it with a lamp.

It used cheap paper and ink, but its color hasn't faded out. Probably it was written a few months ago.

The handwriting was a mess, almost as if it had been scratched. Perhaps this piece of the manuscript was written in haste before he/she applied a thin layer of glue to the last pages and inserted it in between.

If she remembered correctly, Porter was writing his novel at that time. She also recalled some manuscripts and stationery scattered about on his desk. In some cases, a bookstore owner would keep some glue for use.

Did Porter do this?

The store mentioned in the manuscript should be referring to Porter's Antiquarian Bookstore.

But what about the Black Chalice?

She tried to recall her own memory, but she didn't remember having heard about it. The book her father wrote also never mentioned anything about the ‘Black Chalice'.

Is this some kind of a term? Or perhaps some secret code?

Monica pondered heavily over the word of the Black Chalice as she laid down on her bed.

But, the sleepiness has taken over her before she can come up with anything.

＊ ＊ ＊

That night Monica had a dream about his father.

In her dream, she saw the scene where she herself so focused on reading a math book, and her father was sitting on the chair, looking at her while sipping a cup of coffee.

Sitting beside him was a guest whose face and clothes were blurred. From his posture, she could deduce that person was a man.

The blurred man took a sip of his coffee and let out a single breath.

"Haa… its bitter taste is quite strong yet not displeasing. I would say it is quite good. More than anything, it could wake up one from sleepiness. A perfect accompaniment for writing manuscript."

"Hilda had tried to take a sip but she said its bitterness was too strong. Perhaps you are the only person who took a liking to my coffee."

"I always keep my adventurous spirit in everything I do. If one lost their adventurous spirit in their heart, they only live a regressing life, Benedict."

After uttering such a familiar phrase, the guest sipped his coffee and glanced at Monica, who was absorbed in her math book.

"Still, your daughter is a peculiar one. I've been wondering what she read, it turns out she read a math book. Can she understand such a difficult book?"

"Of course, she can. She is my genius daughter after all."

"I guess my novel is not interesting enough for her."

"I feel bad for you. But, don't worry. I will read your novel in her stead."

"I brought this novel for your daughter. I thought a scholar like you would not be interested in an adventure novel like this."

"I think your novel is quite interesting. Maybe the country in your novel was only fictional, but you managed to incorporate the cultures and customs of another country into it. I also find the appearance of the important item in your previous novel very interesting, since they are quite similar to my research. Is that another reference from another country?"

"Well…"

Monica was still focusing on her math book silently while her father and his guest sat beside her as they continued with their talk.

It was only a dream, a guileless dream that she had that night.

Yes, it was only a dream…