The carriage carrying Yuric and Baron Cameron entered the Marquis’ residence. The two of them got off at the station and headed toward the main palace.
The palace, built with great practicality, stood out more for its grandeur than its artistic beauty. Yuric could feel the long history of this place where the Demon had fought fiercely with everyone else as he looked at the ancient palace.
“Come this way.”
Yuric walked a step behind Baron Cameron, looking around inside the palace. When the servants noticed the Baron, they stepped aside to make way for him.
They soon arrived at the audience chamber and were allowed in after seeking permission. Thick columns lined both sides, and a red carpet extended from there all the way to the Marquis’ seat.
Yuric bowed respectfully to Marquis Shriner, who had a slender figure and an imposing presence.
“Pleased to meet you, Your Grace. I am Mage Yuric.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve been waiting for you. I heard you are a capable mage.”
After some light conversation, the Marquis and Yuric moved on to the main topic.
“Actually, there has been an unfortunate incident in the palace, and I would like your advice on it. Have you explained the situation, Sir Cameron?”
When the Marquis glanced at the Baron, he nodded slightly in response.
“There’s no need to go into details then. Mage Yuric, I want you to find out what’s causing this situation.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Following the Marquis’ order, Yuric and Baron Cameron left the audience chamber. Outside, they found an older mage waiting for them, who introduced himself as Court Mage Strauss.
“Mage Yuric.”
“I have read your paper on the treatment of Mana Blockage Disease. It was very impressive.”
Court Mage Strauss came here to assist Yuric at the Marquis’ request. He was there to relay the results of the investigations conducted by the court mage team.
Yuric first wanted to check the condition of the patient.
The first place they visited was the chamber of Young Master Calicoma, the third son of the Marquis, located in the annex. He was resting in bed to recover, but his condition wasn’t severe. He was conscious and able to move around, but he easily tired after even slight activity and occasionally fainted from exhaustion. Additionally, he often had nightmares.
“Nightmares, you say?”
“I often see dark figures. They say black things are the Grim Reapers, but I hope I won’t really die because of that, right?”
“Dreams are just dreams. You don’t need to worry too much about them.”
The other chambers in the annex also housed the Marquis’ children, all of whom were experiencing similar conditions. Recently, they had become as weak as elderly people, and they were all gripped by fear of death due to the similar nightmares they experienced.
After finishing the investigation in the annex, Court Mage Strauss provided additional explanation.
“All those suffering from the illness are plagued by such nightmares.”
“It feels similar to the ordeal at Drexter Fortress.”
“That’s what we were discussing. Could it be that the influence of the Tower of Surveillance reached this far? But if that were true, why is only this place affected?”
Yuric pondered deeply. Even though it wasn’t a major issue, he considered the possibility that Lisi might be responsible.
He carefully examined every corner of the Marquis’ residence but found nothing unusual. There were no traces of magic or curses. This was likely why the court mage team had struggled to find the cause and eventually sought external help.
Realizing that a simple investigation wouldn’t suffice, Yuric decided to stay for a few days. The Marquis readily agreed.
Yuric stayed in a private room in the guest palace. On his way back after dinner, he stopped a young maid and asked if anything strange had happened lately.
“My sisters and brothers have all been feeling increasingly weak recently. I sometimes have bad dreams too.”
That was all she could recall.
After finishing his conversation, Yuric returned to his quarters alone. The dimly lit window outside seemed to carry a somber atmosphere.
‘It could be an internal issue…’
Yuric thought about various possibilities before finally falling asleep late at night.
…
Yuric had a dream that night.
He wandered through the Marquis’ residence, which appeared deserted. At one point, he arrived at the backyard where he encountered a dark figure.
With disheveled hair, it glared at him and charged at him as if screaming.
Ah!
Yuric woke up with a start, drenched in cold sweat.
He now understood what people’s nightmares were like.
Early in the morning, Yuric had breakfast and headed back to the annex. He visited each chamber to check if anything unusual had occurred during the night.
On his way to the backyard from the previous night’s dream, he spotted a child peeking from the end of the corridor. The child looked to be around six years old. Yuric approached and squatted down beside the boy. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be the Marquis’ young son.
“Hello, my name is Mage Yuric.”
However, the boy stared at him silently and turned away without a word.
Yuric followed the boy. Coincidentally, the boy was heading towards the same backyard Yuric intended to visit.
It was a backyard that no one visited anymore and was almost neglected.
Bushes grew thickly over the walls, and grass covered the ground up to ankle height. Dandelions sprouted haphazardly, and a solitary large tree stood alone in a corner.
The boy approached the tree and looked up at its branches. Yuric stood next to him.
Pointing at the branches, he said,
“My mother lives here.”
“Your… mother?”
“Yes. Mother, Mother!”
The boy tapped the trunk of the tree with his palm and called out to his mother.
But his mother did not appear.
“My mother is shy. She doesn’t come out when there are other people around.”
“I see. I was hoping to meet your mother too. It’s a shame.”
“In fact, I haven’t seen her much lately. I think my mother is sick. I hope she isn’t sick.”
“I sincerely hope the sick will get better.”
The boy looked at Yuric.
“My name is Ifir. My brother seems nice. No one believes me. They say I’m a liar. There’s really my mother here…”
Yuric smiled and said,
“I believe you.”
Just then, someone rushed into the backyard. It was the boy’s nanny.
“Young Master, what should we do if you disappear without saying anything?”
“I came to meet my mother.”
The nanny’s face softened.
Yuric realized there must be a reason. He followed the nanny and the young master back to the annex. While the young master was eating, Yuric asked the nanny for more details.
“A year ago, the second Lady passed away from illness. Since then, he keeps saying she’s there.”
“What kind of tree is this?”
“I’m not sure. It’s been here for a very long time. People say there’s a spirit in it, so they haven’t cut it down.”
The nanny looked at the door of the dining hall.
“Every time I see Young Master, I feel so sorry for him. Things are already quite tense in the palace these days…”
“In my opinion, Young Master is very smart and excellent. So there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Yes, Mage.”
After finishing his meal, Ifir led Yuric back to the backyard. Despite the nanny’s objections, Yuric gave a slight nod indicating it was okay.
Ifir went to the backyard and pointed at different spots.
“This is where we played hide-and-seek, and this is where we read books!”
As Ifir described, his eyes gradually blurred.
“This is where we took naps together, and this is where we played with toys, and this is where we… and this is where we…”
The young boy suddenly collapsed onto the grass and cried.
“I miss my mother. Mother, Mother…”
At that moment, something slowly rose from the tree.
Ah.
A thin fabric-like substance floated gracefully and wrapped itself around the boy.
It was undoubtedly a spirit.
“Mother…”
Ifir felt his mother’s warm embrace.
Yuric watched quietly.
He observed the spirit embracing the boy’s pain and longing, embodying the love of a mother.
Surely, within the spirit, there must be the true love of a mother.
Soon, the spirit flew back to the tree. The boy bid farewell again, but this time, he didn’t cry.
“Mother, goodbye. We’ll meet again later.”
The nanny standing in the backyard saw nothing.
But the boy and Yuric saw it.
There was definitely his mother there.
Yuric approached the young master and hugged him tightly.
“You have a wonderful mother. I can tell how much she loves you.”
“Yes! I love my mother very much!”
Yuric walked toward the tree.
He examined the branches and trunk of the tree meticulously.
The tree was dying.
—
