Chapter 208

Scratch, scratch.

Cheion stared blankly for a moment before pulling a sheet of paper from the stack and starting to write as well.

A little while later, a server arrived with their desserts and drinks, but the two were so focused on writing that they didn’t even notice.

“U-Um...”

Scratch, scratch.

“The dessert...”

...Your dessert is here.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch.

In the end, the server quietly left the food on the table beside them and hurried away.

***

“...S-Rank?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I entered three Black Forests while I was in the southern region, and S-Rank boss monsters appeared in two of them. They looked unusual.”

He heard that Duke Nora had rushed back to the southern region a while ago. Not long after, reports came in that the other two dukes had also left for the western and eastern regions.

Strange things had been happening in the Black Forests that appeared throughout the Empire. Mercenaries and soldiers who entered them had been killed even though the forests weren’t S-Rank. Those trapped inside also met the same fate.

The report Duke Nora brought back after being the first to return to the capital was even more alarming.

“Unusual, you say?”

“The monster corpses are being brought to the capital now. We’ll begin a proper investigation once they arrive.”

Emperor Devrica’s expression grew solemn. An S-rank boss in a C-Rank Black Forest? Had the Black Forests begun to evolve? If forests that no longer followed their usual patterns continued to appear, the situation would only grow more chaotic.

“They say the other two duchies are the same.”

Duke Schweiss and Duchess Elkein had also hurried back to their territories after hearing that the Black Forests there had wiped everyone out. They had encountered the same kind of monster Duke Nora had faced.

“They are called ‘Chimeras.’”

“Chimeras?”

“They had incredible regenerative abilities.”

The way those creatures instantly regenerated their wounds whenever their attackers let up was still vivid in his mind. Their hides were so tough that ordinary attacks couldn’t even pierce them.

“Not only that...”

Duke Nora paused and let out a quiet sigh.

“I heard two of them appeared at the same time in the Duchy of Schweiss.”

“...Two?”

Two S-rank monsters? Emperor Devrica’s mouth fell open. That was practically a disaster.

“Th-The Black Forest...”

Could everyone have been wiped out again? No. If so, there wouldn’t be anyone left to tell us that two S-rank monsters had appeared.

“Duke Schweiss went in himself.”

Duke Nora smiled faintly, and Emperor Devrica finally relaxed.

“There were quite a few injuries, but fortunately, not many died.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

The low number of casualties, despite two S-rank monsters appearing, was largely thanks to Duke Schweiss.

“However...”

“However?”

Duke Nora clicked his tongue.

“He was hurt.”

“Hurt? Who was...? No way!”

Emperor Devrica’s expression hardened again.

Could Duke Schweiss really have been hurt...? No. Was ‘hurt’ really the right word?

Duke Nora shook his head as he recalled the last time he had seen Duke Schweiss through the video communication orb.

***

“...The duke was hurt?”

“Well... it’s not like he was badly hurt.”

Duke Nora scratched his cheek when he saw Ceres’s expression stiffen.

“How badly was he hurt?”

“Hmm... Just a little? Haha. It’s nothing for you to worry about, Ceres.”

“...”

“I’m serious...”

Duke Nora had been smiling faintly, but under Ceres’s sharp gaze, he eventually looked away.

Just how badly was he hurt?

Ceres was glad to see Duke Nora again after his return from the southern region, but her happiness quickly faded when she heard about Duke Schweiss.

Apparently, he had gotten hurt while clearing a Black Forest. Just a little. Very, very little...

Come to think of it, it was strange that he hadn’t shown his face lately. Was it because he was hurt?

Ever since the three of them returned to their territories, they had made sure to contact Ceres at least once a day. They always used video communication orbs rather than ordinary ones.

They said they wanted to see her face, even if it was only through a communication orb.

Duke Schweiss hadn’t contacted her through a video communication orb for a while. But since he still called using an ordinary communication orb, where they could hear each other’s voices, she hadn’t thought much of it at the time...

Was he avoiding video calls so I wouldn’t see that he was hurt?

“Where was he hurt? And how badly?”

“Well...”

“Uncle.”

“...Beibei told me not to say anything.”

It had been a mistake to hesitate when Ceres asked if anyone was hurt. She noticed immediately and kept pressing him with questions, until he finally had no choice but to tell her.

“The wound itself isn’t that bad.”

Duke Nora sighed heavily.

“But he was poisoned. It’s pretty potent.”

“Poison?”

“The last Black Forest boss he dealt with had a poison.”

Chimera bosses had recently begun appearing in some of the Black Forests. Their appearances and abilities varied from forest to forest. Unfortunately, two Chimera bosses appeared at the same time, and both were highly poisonous.

“Beibei managed to take them both down, but he ended up poisoned.”

“What about an antidote?”

The first thing to do when someone was poisoned was find an antidote that worked against that particular poison.

“Um...”

Duke Nora let out another short sigh.

“The antidotes aren’t working.”

The best healers from the western, southern, and eastern regions had all been sent to House Schweiss, along with every antidote they could find. But the poison still hadn’t been neutralized.

Naturally, House Ellesia, the Empire’s foremost medical family, had also sent someone. Even so, they still hadn’t found an antidote that worked.

Duke Nora planned to head to the western region after checking in with Ceres.

“Are you okay?”

“.....”

“Hey, hey, Beibei! Stay awake!”

“...Hang up.”

“How are you even talking to Ceres like this? You can barely speak. Are you really okay?”

“...Don’t tell... Ceres anything...”

“Hey, hey. Stay awake!”

Recalling the last conversation he had with Schweiss, Duke Nora shook his head. The man had looked like he was barely hanging on.

How was he still managing to contact Ceres every single day?

Thump.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh?”

Duke Nora had been lost in thought when Ceres suddenly stood up, jolting him back to reality.

Where was she suddenly planning to go?

“To Uncle.”

“...Huh?”

“We’re going right now.”

“...Huh?”

***

“Hmm... This isn’t helping much either.”

Herion, head of the Ellesia family, had come to House Schweiss in the western region a few days ago at Emperor Devrica’s orders. The first time she saw Duke Schweiss lying in bed, she couldn’t say a word for quite some time.

[Is he a corpse? He looks like a corpse!]

Jubelios, the Fire Spirit King, finally snapped her out of it by saying exactly what she was thinking.

The wounds themselves weren’t that deep.

The poison is the problem.

It was almost like every poison in the world had been mixed together.

But she couldn’t just mix every antidote she had and give them to him. The combination could cause severe side effects and might even kill the duke.

“Haa...”

I’m stuck again.

She had been treating each symptom as it appeared, but even when she managed to make some progress, new symptoms would emerge and the poison would start spreading again.

“I want to try this herb, but...”

Herion picked up a dried herb and frowned. It would be perfect for treating Duke Schweiss’s current symptoms.

“The problem is, this herb is poisonous, too.”

It might counteract his current symptoms, but if it interacted with another poison still in his body, it could make his condition even worse.

“Waaah! Lady Ceres!”