Home/My Youngest Keeps Bringing Me Male Leads/ch 64

Chapter 64

He looked perfectly fine.

No injuries, no sign of exhaustion.

Relieved, Agnes smiled broadly.

"When you didn't come back, I was so worried—I came to make sure you were safe."

"My kind Agnes, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. I'm sorry for causing you unnecessary worry by not sending word."

Silmare then belatedly turned his gaze to Rupert.

"While I was away, Amy seems to have returned as well."

"Yes...!"

For some reason, her heart swelled.

Though they'd only been apart for about a month, so much had happened.

She was sure he'd be amazed, with a bright smile, so she wanted to take him home quickly and show him all the changes.

Meanwhile, Cesenor, who had slowly approached, looked around and asked.

"Why are you here? There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious."

"It's a long story."

Silmare shrugged, looked at the three of them briefly, and let out a thin sigh.

"The house is small, but come in for now."

The cabin was old but fairly neat.

On the right were a bed and table, and on the left a workbench, suggesting the owner was an apothecary.

The shelves lining the walls were filled with glass bottles containing unknown powders or dried plants.

Scales, a small mortar, and tools like spatulas were also visible.

And in the corner of the workbench sat an old man.

He looked terrified, huddled with bloodshot eyes staring at the uninvited guests.

"Who is this?"

She asked Silmare beside her, but he didn't answer. Instead, he held out a glass bottle that had been by the window.

The round bottle was filled with withered blue flowers resembling cornflowers.

"I've been waiting for this, which is why it took so long."

"What is it?"

"Have you heard of 'Romanil'?"

"No, it's the first time I've heard that name."

The men behind her also looked, but they all shook their heads.

As if he'd expected that, Silmare nodded silently.

"Romanil is a herb that grows in the Kingdom of Meridis, at the foot of the Eternal Mountains. It was originally used as an anesthetic for severe injuries. Since the empire has treated such things with magic, you've probably forgotten even the name."

"But why this... was Captain Miller badly injured?"

Silmare shook his head.

"The reason Romanil is used as an anesthetic is that in small doses, it produces a drunken effect. It dulls pain and impairs judgment."

Agnes immediately understood what Silmare was getting at.

"Someone used this on the captain of the guard."

"Yes."

"Then what's Captain Miller's condition now?"

"He was given an overdose from the start."

"What happens with an overdose?"

"It causes a person to lose their sanity."

"Good heavens, so just to keep him quiet..."

"That's my assumption."

Silmare, always as gentle as a warm spring day, now had a face as heavy as lead.

As if unforgiving of whoever had used Romanil this way, he gave the old man in the corner a cold stare.

"With an overdose, the person becomes addicted and can't live a normal life. Basic functions like eating and sleeping are possible, but holding a conversation is impossible. Since the herb doesn't exist in the empire, I couldn't let it go—I had to investigate."

When he'd realized Harold Miller had been given Romanil.

There couldn't be many people who knew the knowledge of the distant Kingdom of Meridis.

Above all, even in Meridis, mages had been dispatched, and it was said the knowledge had long since been lost.

He'd assumed there must be someone who made it, and after tracking them down, he finally found this place, explaining the process calmly.

She was simply amazed.

"How did you find him?"

"Romanil has a distinct smell when processed. Humans can't easily detect it, but animals are sensitive. I thought that if it had been used anywhere outside Meridis, the animals would remember."

Even so, finding someone who could be anywhere on the continent couldn't have been easy.

The time Silmare had been away must have been a testament to how fiercely he'd pursued this.

Her guess seemed right, as even Cesenor beside her looked impressed.

Suppressing her emotion, Agnes cleared her throat and asked.

"Then is this man the one behind it?"

"No. He just took commissions and prepared the medicine. He's from Meridis, so he knew how to handle Romanil."

"Then the one who commissioned it is the culprit."

Could she finally find out who had attacked the mansion?

At first, she'd thought it was just for money.

But if so, they wouldn't have gone to such trouble.

There must be another motive.

Silmare must have thought the same, which is why he'd come this far.

Holding the bottle of Romanil, Silmare continued.

"According to him, the orders don't come regularly. A letter arrives through unknown channels first, and then the Romanil is sent to him."

"Is it magic?"

As soon as she asked, Cesenor was already examining the bottle.

"No. There's no trace of magic. And there are fingerprints."

"That's right. A child from the village brought it. When asked where it came from, they said it was just left in front of their house, along with a letter addressed to this house."

"It's a wonder they delivered it. They could have just ignored it."

"They said a reward would be left in front of the house if they delivered it. I tried to investigate on my own, but the other side was quite careful—I couldn't find anything."

If even Silmare, who could use animals, couldn't find them, then no one else could.

"Does it really need to be that complicated?"

Cesenor rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

In cases like this, he had to find the one behind it by any means.

Since the opponent was clearly an evildoer, Agnes would have to accept it.

"I'll use magic to search his mind. He couldn't have flown here from Meridis, so he must have met the client at least once."

The old man, seeming to understand what that meant, gasped in terror.

"Oh, no...!"

"You knew how it would be used, yet you made it and supplied it anyway—that's already a crime. Don't think you can escape."

"I only, I only made the medicine! Really!"

"You don't know who it went to?"

"Stop it, mage. I already checked—he really only made the medicine."

Feeling something odd about Silmare's interruption, Agnes interrogated the old man on a different point.

"Then how do you deliver the medicine? You'd have to send it after it's finished, right?"

Again, the answer came from Silmare. He'd already investigated this.

"He said that a few days after sending the Romanil, a letter arrives. It tells him to leave it at a certain spot."

"Ah! So that's why you waited. To take the package, they'd have to come in person unless they use magic."

"Yes, Agnes. That's why I was late."

Rupert, who had been listening quietly, stepped forward.

"I have a question, Sir Silmare."

"What is it?"

"How many doses does that amount make? I'm wondering how many people could be given an 'overdose.'"

"That's for him to know. How many?"

The old man answered readily.

"Not many. About one or two..."

"Did you get orders often?"

"No. Sometimes years would pass. It's rare to get repeated orders like this year."

Hearing that, Agnes fell into deep thought.

"Then it's been used continuously over time. When the supply runs out, they order again. There could be more victims than we think."

Trailing off, Agnes soon tilted her head.

"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths? It's not a deadly poison, and they went to the trouble of hiding in a distant place with an unclear path. Is it really that important?"

"Lady Agnes."

Cesenor smiled wryly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"This is just my guess, but for those in power, this could be very useful."

"Pardon?"

"Since even a small dose impairs judgment, it could be used as a truth serum. And since it doesn't rely on magic, it can be used without involving the Tower. Plus, it's not lethal, so you could get rid of someone without it drawing too much attention."

"But if they lose their sanity, wouldn't people around them find it suspicious?"

Silmare added an explanation.

"Romanil is colorless and odorless. It can be slipped into water or alcohol. Above all, an addicted person suffers from agonizing pain, and there's only one way to relieve it: continuously consume something that similarly numbs the senses."

"Can't painkillers help?"

"Maybe drugs could. But usually, drinking readily available alcohol is enough to ease it. Those around them would just think they're addicted to alcohol, not Romanil."

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