Invitation of the Crescent Moon - Chapter 80

It had already been a week since Ashika disappeared. Even amid the silence, those searching for her moved without a sound.

The study filled with cigarette smoke had a faint herbal scent lingering in it. Erwin, who had entered, instinctively raised his hand to his mouth before quietly lowering it.

From the dim interior, a voice full of ennui flowed out.

“Are you still searching?”

“Yes. It seems both Igraine and Talion are looking for her.”

Erwin glanced at the curtained window before shifting his gaze to Marquis Maiheller.

“Are you certain that Duke Talion wasn’t involved in Lady Igraine’s disappearance?”

“It seems he went to the Igraine estate trying to meet her directly, but was instead captured by Duke Igraine.”

“What about threatening Lady Igraine at the racetrack?”

Erwin tensed at his father’s interrogation. He had wanted to see how Drushia would react if Ashika fell into danger. He had merely had someone push her from behind, but his father’s reaction was strange.

“Seeing that woman fall, Duke Talion’s eyes went wild and he chased after her. It doesn’t seem like an ordinary relationship.”

When had they grown so close? Their meetings had been so secretive that by the time he noticed, it was already too late.

“Since he even sent a marriage proposal, there’s no need to confirm it anymore.”

Marquis Maiheller sank deep into his chair and looked at his son. Though he appeared relaxed, Erwin couldn’t let his guard down.

“So neither side has any prospects in the end.”

Whether Talion or Igraine. It was like talking to himself. Erwin, who had been watching carefully, cautiously opened his mouth.

“What about… kidnapping?”

A sneer flowed from Marquis Maiheller’s lips. Though it seemed like a rebuke at first glance, his deep teal eyes were emotionless and weary.

“You have no fear.”

Erwin lowered his gaze to avoid showing his displeasure.

After all, she was just one woman. He couldn’t understand why they needed to be so careful when there was nothing to fear.

“If it seemed that simple, why do you think I waited so long?”

He had no intention of rebuking his simple-minded son. Marquis Maiheller slowly rose from his seat and pulled the bell cord.

“Rather than that, it might be better to make things bigger.”

His thoughtful expression looked momentarily pleased. The subtle excitement felt in his voice made Erwin’s spine tingle.

‘What are you planning to do now?’

Even though this was his own father, whenever he felt this way, he couldn’t believe they were connected by blood.

The servant who came after hearing the bell received orders to go out and ran back out of the study.

“Are you going to the Crown Prince’s palace?”

Marquis Maiheller rarely left the estate. When he did venture out despite the inconvenience, his destination was usually the imperial palace or the Crown Prince’s palace.

“What use is a toothless tiger? Though it hasn’t outlived its usefulness, don’t get dragged along by that connection. The one you need to build connections with isn’t the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, but the Crown Prince.”

The Emperor’s reign wouldn’t last long. Though it was admirable that he tried to escape his mother’s shadow, he was inherently incompetent.

“Yes, Father.”

Today’s destination was the imperial palace. Erwin stopped thinking and obediently followed the instructions.

The awning stretched over the carriage blocked the sunlight but couldn’t keep out the dust. As the dry weather continued, dust occasionally flew into the moving carriage.

Erwin covered his mouth with a handkerchief and observed his father’s expression. Only his body swayed with the jolting vibrations of the carriage, while the Marquis’s gaze directed toward the street remained emotionless.

A face so detached it seemed withdrawn from the world. The appearance that didn’t reveal even minimal desires was difficult to understand, even for his own son.

“Father.”

Not turning around at his son’s call didn’t mean he hadn’t heard, but rather that if he had something to say, he should just say it.

“About Shafri’s marriage. Is Her Majesty the Empress Dowager demanding it?”

Only then did Marquis Maiheller turn to look at his son. Unable to meet his gaze, Erwin flinched and lowered his head.

A gaze dried and twisted like a dead tree with only the bark remaining and the inside hollowed out.

Eyes from which even minimal human emotions like reproach or worry had disappeared made him realize that for Marquis Maiheller, Shafri’s existence had already been forgotten.

So there was nothing more Erwin could do. The gaze that had lingered on his son indifferently shifted back to the street scenery.

The carriage was entering Amanoia Street. The street, mainly crowded with temples, priests’ quarters, and herb shops, was bustling with people today.

The late summer sunlight and the dry atmosphere smelling of dust. A gust of wind arose on the street lined with monotonously colored buildings. At the same time, dry dust rose hazily, obscuring the view.

Erwin closed his eyes, and Marquis Maiheller frowned. His gaze, which had been turning indifferently to avoid the dusty wind, stopped at a certain point.

“Stop.”

“Pardon?”

“Stop the carriage immediately!”

The flustered coachman hastily pulled the reins.

“Father? Why…”

Erwin’s eyes widened at his father’s agitated expression, which he had never seen before. However, before the carriage had even stopped completely, Marquis Maiheller jumped out.

“Father, it’s dangerous!”

“Ugh.”

His hasty movement made his body sway as if about to collapse. It was a body that had never been used roughly before. The Marquis moved his stiff legs and ran toward where people had gathered. Behind him, Erwin’s voice calling out to him.

“Move aside, move aside!”

He roughly grabbed those blocking his way and paid no heed to the screams of noble ladies. When he crossed the dusty street and reached the end of the road, he was out of breath and his body trembled.

‘I definitely saw it. Was it a mistake?’

Marquis Maiheller frantically looked around. Even knowing it couldn’t be true, he couldn’t withdraw his gaze.

‘Could it be that you’re alive? Is that it?’

Just the possibility made his heart tremble with such shock and ecstasy. The intense longing and greed toward that single existence that had shaken his soul from the very bottom.

“Uh-ha, ha,”

For the first time in truly long years, he felt the awareness of being alive.

“Ahahaha!”

Marquis Maiheller laughed aloud with madness gleaming in his eyes. Regardless of Erwin’s gaze as he ran over in surprise, regardless of the gazes of people who stepped aside in fear.

****

“I’ve prepared all the medicinal herbs you ordered, but do you want to check them directly again this time?”

The herb merchant spoke to the woman who stood blankly looking at the door.

“Madam?”

“Ah.”

Iben shuddered and approached the display case, trying to shake off the eerie sensation following her from behind.

“Are you cold, dressed so heavily in this weather?”

The herb merchant looked at Iben with curious eyes. She was dressed entirely in black clothes with a black hat, and had even covered her face with a black veil hanging from the hat. Though she was a customer he often saw, she was a strange woman every time he saw her.

“No. Just give me the medicine.”

“Come on. We haven’t been dealing for just a day or two, so why don’t you trust people?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I want to check the condition of the herbs.”

“This or that, really.”

Despite the merchant’s complaint, Iben stubbornly checked each herb laid out one by one. But the feeling she had felt earlier wouldn’t subside, so she kept turning around.

“Package it like this.”

“Are you carrying it yourself? There’s quite a lot.”

“Just carry it to the carriage.”

She seemed unusually hurried today, which looked unsettling. The merchant finished the calculation and called a clerk to carry the packaged goods. When Iben came outside, it was already late afternoon.

‘Why am I so anxious?’

She felt she had been outside too long. Though she handled almost everything through Rine, purchasing herbs was the only thing she did directly.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been going to the same place for too long.’

Repeated routes would eventually leave a trail. Having lived without threats for so long, her vigilance had probably become lax. While thinking she should change her suppliers and trading methods, the carriage arrived at the art shop.

Iben entered through the back door instead of the front door of the building. As if he had been waiting, Nile ran to greet her as soon as she opened the door. Of course, it wasn’t because he was happy to see Iben.

“She still hasn’t woken up today either. Isn’t something terrible going to happen at this rate?”

An anxious expression and a voice full of concern. Iben called for Rine and moved toward the warehouse.

“Don’t you trust my words that much?”

“She’s been unconscious for a week, but you only say she’s fine, so who would believe that?”

Nile followed her with quick steps, seeking an answer. Seeing Nile’s worried face, Iben sighed.

“Do you happen to know about the ecstatic coma state that sorcerers experience?”

“Sorcerers? Ecstasy? What are you talking about?”

“It’s similar to that, so you can’t forcibly wake her up.”

“Is Lady Igraine becoming a sorcerer?”

Nile’s eyes widened.

“No, that’s not it.”

Iben waved her hand dismissively as if annoyed.

“Anyway, just know that and go away. Don’t whine like a puppy that needs to pee.”

“At least take a look at her. What if something goes wrong by leaving her like that?”

Though he seemed to be whining like a child, Nile’s expression was serious. Even if he didn’t know the detailed reasons, he knew the current situation wasn’t normal.

It was a strange incident. That night when they left the Igraine estate, at some point while they were wandering unable to find an exit, Ashika suddenly started running ahead.

While chasing Ashika, Nile never lost sight of her for a moment. But for an instant, though it was brief, she disappeared. As if she had dissolved into the air.

Maybe it was an optical illusion. It was a very short moment, and when he stopped in surprise, she was opening the door of the hunting lodge.

As if her mind was occupied by something, Ashika didn’t respond no matter how much he called her. She found and opened a secret passage in an unexpected place, and until she ran through the space without a single point of light and came outside, Ashika never looked back at Nile once.

And when he thought they had escaped the estate, Ashika collapsed and fainted. Since she wouldn’t regain consciousness no matter how much he shook her, he brought her to Iben instead of their planned safe house.

Iben left the worried Nile behind and called for Rine. For some reason, it was a day that made her feel tired for no reason.

Inside the bedroom located in the deepest part of the building. A subtle herbal scent stung the tip of her nose. On the table, herb bundles brought to mask the medicinal smell occupied the vase in place of flowers.

Iben picked up the necklace that lay quietly beside the vase.

“Do you happen to know when the jewels became like this?”

“They were cracked from when we took it off.”

At Rine’s answer, Iben frowned.

Five blue-purple jewels set in the pendant. Three of them were cracked. She tried scratching and tapping the jewels covered with spider web-like fine cracks, but they didn’t break.

“Strange.”

Iben tilted her head and put the necklace down on the table. Beyond the table, on the bed, the necklace’s owner lay in the same state as yesterday.

When Rine pulled over a chair and placed it beside the bed, Iben leaned her tired body against the chair and sat down.

“Were there any other changes?”

“She seemed to be having nightmares.”

“Nightmares.”

Ashika’s sleeping face looked peaceful. Though somewhat pale from the loss of color, she didn’t look like someone who had been unconscious for a whole week.

“Is it really alright?”

Though she hadn’t shown it to Nile, even Rine had doubts.

“Actually, I don’t know well either. I’m only guessing.”

“Will she wake up?”

“There’s no doubt about that. This child can’t even die easily.”

You know that too, don’t you? At the muttering like talking to herself, Rine’s expression darkened. The meaning of those words was a curse, not a blessing. Iben’s colorless face was paler than usual.

Rine’s gaze quickly checked Iben’s complexion before dropping down. At some point, Iben had begun to dislike people looking at her face, and this applied to Rine, who had been with her for a long time, as well.

“Should I light some sleep incense if you’re anxious?”

“No need. You know it’s been fine for quite a while now.”

“You don’t hear the voices anymore either?”

“That’s right. It’s strange too. Maybe they found a more direct method rather than vaguely tormenting me. I don’t know what it is though.”

Though there was the problem that this couldn’t be considered fortunate.

“Maybe it’s time for all of this to come to an end.”

The subdued tone was neither joyful nor expectant. Her heart, worn away over long years, no longer responded to feel such positive emotions. Still, she couldn’t give up because there were still things left to protect.

Though the room wasn’t hot, Ashika’s face was tangled with black hair as if she had broken out in a cold sweat. Iben gently brushed Ashika’s sleeping face with her fingertips.

She checked if her body had grown cold by stroking her neck and shoulders, then pulled the thin summer blanket up to her chest.

Iben withdrew her gaze from Ashika and opened her mouth.

“What happened to the kids on Talion’s side?”

“We handed over most of the evidence we had.”

Her eyes, which had been looking at Rine, stopped somewhere in the air. From her hesitating lips came a sigh close to lamentation.

“But they still aren’t doing anything.”

Rine, who had been hesitating, spoke her honest feelings with her gaze cast downward. Perhaps what might be closest to the truth about the present.

“I think they’re trying to cover it up.”

“Everyone’s cowering in their burrows like scared mice, busy hiding. Even when you throw them food, they act like that, so what use are they?”

Though she said that, she couldn’t really blame others. It wasn’t just them who knew the truth but kept their mouths shut.

Iben’s gaze turned toward Ashika, who was sleeping quietly.

“In the end, only this child is left to use.”